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Clinical Features Dracunculus mediensis
  • "The clinical manifestations are localized but very incapacitating. 

  • The worm emerges as a whitish filament (duration of emergence: 1 to 3 weeks) in the center of a painful ulcer, accompanied by inflammation and frequently by secondary bacterial infection.

  •  In endemic countries, the annual incapacitation of a substantial proportion of the population, at a period of intense agricultural activity, has serious economic consequences."

  • Courtesy of the Division of Parasitic Diseases at the National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

A B
  • "The female guinea worm induces a painful blister (A); after rupture of the blister, the worm emerges as a whitish filament (B) in the center of a painful ulcer which is often secondarily infected.  (Images contributed by Global 2000/The Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia)."

  • Courtesy of the Division of Parasitic Diseases at the National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

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