What does dracunculiasis mean?

Definitions for dracunculiasis
dra·cun·cu·lia·sis

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word dracunculiasis.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. Guinea worm disease, Guinea worm, dracunculiasisnoun

    a painful and debilitating infestation contracted by drinking stagnant water contaminated with Guinea worm larvae that can mature inside a human's abdomen until the worm emerges through a painful blister in the person's skin

Wiktionary

  1. dracunculiasisnoun

    an infection caused by an infestation of the parasite Dracunculus medinensis

Wikipedia

  1. Dracunculiasis

    Dracunculiasis, also called Guinea-worm disease, is a parasitic infection by the Guinea worm, Dracunculus medinensis. A person becomes infected by drinking water containing water fleas infected with guinea worm larvae. The worms penetrate the digestive tract and escape into the body. Around a year later, the adult worm migrates to an exit site – usually a lower limb – and induces an intensely painful blister on the skin. The blister eventually bursts to form an intensely painful open wound, from which the worm slowly crawls over several weeks. The wound remains painful throughout the worm's emergence, disabling the infected person for the three to ten weeks it takes the worm to emerge. During this time, the open wound can become infected with bacteria, leading to death in around 1% of cases.There is no medication to treat dracunculiasis. Instead, the mainstay of treatment is the careful wrapping of the emerging worm around a small stick to encourage its exit. Each day, a few more centimeters of the worm emerge, and the stick is turned to maintain gentle tension. With too much tension, the worm can break and die in the wound, causing severe pain and swelling at the ulcer site. Dracunculiasis is a disease of extreme poverty, occurring in places with poor access to clean drinking water. Prevention efforts center on filtering drinking water to remove water fleas, as well as public education campaigns to discourage people from soaking their emerging worms in sources of drinking water. Humans have had dracunculiasis since at least 1,000 BCE, and accounts consistent with dracunculiasis appear in surviving documents from physicians of antiquity. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, dracunculiasis was widespread across much of Africa and South Asia, affecting as many as 48 million people per year. The effort to eradicate dracunculiasis began in the 1980s following the successful eradication of smallpox. By 1995, every country with endemic dracunculiasis had established a national eradication program. In the ensuing years, dracunculiasis cases have dropped precipitously, and 15 previously endemic countries have been certified to have eradicated dracunculiasis, leaving the disease endemic in just four countries: Chad, Ethiopia, Mali, and South Sudan. A record low 15 cases of dracunculiasis were reported worldwide in 2021, and the number dropped to 13 in 2022. If the eradication program succeeds, dracunculiasis will become the second human disease ever eradicated.

ChatGPT

  1. dracunculiasis

    Dracunculiasis, also known as Guinea worm disease, is a parasitic infection caused by the Dracunculus medinensis worm. It's transmitted to humans through consumption of contaminated water. The disease is characterized by painful blisters and ulcers, usually on the lower limbs, through which the worm emerges. It can cause severe pain, secondary bacterial infections, and can incapacitate individuals for weeks or months. Dracunculiasis is currently targeted for eradication by the World Health Organization.

Wikidata

  1. Dracunculiasis

    Dracunculiasis also called guinea worm disease, is a nodular dermatosis produced by the development of Dracunculus parasite in the subcutaneous tissue of mammals. Dracunculus medinensis has been reported in humans, dogs, cats, horses, cattle, and other animals in Africa and Asia. A similar species of the Dracunculus genus, D. insignis, is a parasite which causes Dracunculiasis in dogs, raccoons, minks, foxes, otters, and skunks of North America. Dracunculus medinensis is a long and very thin nematode. The parasite enters a host by way of host ingestion of stagnant water contaminated with copepods infested with guinea worm larvae. Approximately one year later, the disease presents with a painful, burning sensation as the female worm forms a blister, usually on the lower limb. Once prevalent in 20 nations in Asia and Africa, the disease remains endemic among humans in only four countries in Africa. The guinea worm is one of the best historically documented human parasites, with tales of its behaviour reaching as far back as the 2nd century BC in accounts penned by Greek chroniclers. It is also mentioned in the Egyptian medical Ebers Papyrus, dating from 1550 BC. The name dracunculiasis is derived from the Latin "affliction with little dragons" while the common name "guinea worm" appeared after Europeans saw the disease on the Guinea coast of West Africa in the 17th century.

U.S. National Library of Medicine

  1. Dracunculiasis

    Infection with nematodes of the genus Dracunculus. One or more worms may be seen at a time, with the legs and feet being the most commonly infected areas. Symptoms include pruritus, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or asthmatic attacks.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of dracunculiasis in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of dracunculiasis in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1


Translations for dracunculiasis

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • DracunculiasisLatin
  • డ్రాకున్క్యులియాసిస్Telugu

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"dracunculiasis." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 7 Oct. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/dracunculiasis>.

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