Is Dracunculiasis on the Verge of Extermination?

The feasibility of eradicating dracunucliasis has already been discussed for multiple decades. Serious efforts to stop the disease have been going on since the late 80s (Aylward, 2005). Due to the life cycle of worms in the Dracunculus genus, eradication would be possible if certain steps were taken to reduce the spread of the disease. Since Dracunculus medinensis is known to only infect humans, control efforts would not need to focus on possible reservoir hosts in the environment. Since the disease is widespread, control of other animal species would be expensive and not feasible in many of the areas, so without worry of reservoir hosts, the disease can be more easily eradicated. Treatment of drinking water or clean water sources would be required to avoid the disease. This may be too expensive in some communities where a well cannot be built or water cannot be easily treated before use. Water sources could also be treated to destroy any copepods which may be hosting larvae, though this would not be feasible on a large scale. Programs aimed at educating people about the disease would be possible, such as teaching them how to avoid it or prevent the spread of the parasites. Control efforts such as these have already resulted in a decrease in the number of infections. In the early 90s, the number of infected individuals was estimated at 3 million, instead of over 10 million as it had been a decade earlier (Selby, 1992). Commitment of local governments to build concrete lined wells and make drinking water filters available has been important to the efforts.

Aylward, R.B.  Birmingham, M. 2005. Eradicating Pathogens: The Human Story. British Medical Journal, Vol. 331, No. 7527. 1261-1262.

Selby, P. 1992. Dracunculiasis: The End of the Worm. British Medical Journal.

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