Worm disease set for eradication

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A tropical worm disease that has plagued people since ancient times could be eradicated in less than two years, experts predict.

The World Health Organisation said Guinea worm disease, or dracunculiasis, now only affects around 25,000 people in nine countries.

In the early 1980s an estimated 3 million people were infected in over 20 countries.

The worm causes crippling leg ulcers, sometimes the size of tennis balls.

NEWLY WORM-FREE AfghanistanAlgeriaCameroonCentral African RepublicDjiboutiGabonLiberiaMozambiqueSierra LeoneSwazilandTanzaniaZambia

These ulcers burst, releasing a spaghetti-like parasitic worm that can be 0.8 metres long.

Victims experience a pain so excruciating they say it feels as if their leg is on fire, and often they jump into water to seek relief.

At this point the worm in their leg releases thousands of larvae, contaminating the water, and putting anybody who drinks from it at risk.

Fiery serpent

The disease was found in Egyptian mummies, and is thought to be the "fiery serpent" often referred to in texts from ancient Egypt and Assyrian Mesopotamia.

Lorenzo Savioli, WHO director of Neglected Tropical Diseases, said: "This is the culmination of years of efforts by local and international groups to see this disease eradicated."

Twelve countries were declared Guinea worm-free in early March. If progress continues at this rate, the disease could be eradicated in less than two years.

At present, the disease is still endemic in certain villages in sub-Saharan Africa.

There are a number of low-cost methods to prevent people from becoming infected.

These include providing safe drinking water supplies, filtering drinking water using fine-mesh cloth, and preventing infected people from wading into water sources to relieve the pain.

It is also possible to gradually pull out the worm, and clean the ulcer to prevent bacterial infection.