Africa in Peril: Guinea Worm Disease

In a land where there is not enough food, and 70% of the world’s HIV positive population lives what could get worse? How about a contaminated water supply?

This disease, who’s technical name is Dracunculiasis, is not a fatal disease in the sense that a person dies from the complications from it.  It is the after affect of the disease that causes the most damage.

The disease is a worm whose larvae infects the water supply. Since there is little or no sanitation process in most of the water supplies it is spread easily by those infected. The worm enters the body and into the intestine.  most worms that we are familiar with in America it doesn’t not emerge with bowel movements. It instead begins a voyage from the intestine exiting it through the wall. Most cases the worm exits the body by tunneling its way out through some point on the leg.

Image via Wikipedia

This is also the time where it releases more larvae when ever it gets into contact with water. Therfore contaminating another water source spreading the disease.

Most people do not know they are infected until the worm begins to emerge and by this stage it causes a blister and swelling where it is going to emerge. It is ver painful and makes it fard for the person to walk or work. 

That is how the disease causes a problem. The villages rely on the work of everyone to produce food and care for the crops. If enough people are infected it can cause a serious affect on the amount of crops get produced.There is already malnutrition in Africa and the need every ounce of food they can get.

It is an easily prevented disease, if only they had clean drinking water ortaught the proper way to prevent spread of such a disease.