Dracontiasis, or dracunculiasis, is a nematode infection caused by Dracunculus medinensis (guinea-worm). The major clinical problem is secondary infection of the worm track, causing CELLULITIS, SYNOVITIS, epididymo-ORCHITIS, periarticular FIBROSIS, and ARTHRITIS; TETANUS is a potentially lethal complication. CHEMOTHERAPY is unsatisfactory and the time-honoured method of extracting the female adult by winding it around a matchstick remains in use. Surgical treatment may be necessary. Ultimate prevention consists of removing Cyclops spp. from drinking water.
n. a tropical disease caused by the parasitic nematode Dracunculus medinensis (see guinea worm) in the tissues beneath the skin. The disease is transmitted to humans via contaminated drinking water. The initial symptoms, which appear a year after infection, result from the migration of the worm to the skin surface and include itching, giddiness, difficulty in breathing, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Later a large blister forms on the skin, usually on the legs or arms, which eventually bursts and may ulcerate and become infected. Dracontiasis is common in India and West Africa but also occurs in Arabia, Iran, East Africa, and Afghanistan. Treatment involves extracting the worm or administering anthelmintics.
a nematode worm, Dracunculus medinensis, that is a parasite of humans. The white threadlike adult female, 60–120 cm long, lives in the connective tissues beneath the skin. It releases its larvae into a large blister on the legs or arms; when the limbs are immersed in water the larvae escape and are subsequently eaten by tiny water fleas (Cyclops), inside which their development continues. The disease *dracontiasis results from drinking water contaminated with Cyclops.... guinea worm
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