What are the causes of dracunculiasis?
Dracunculiasis, also known as Guinea worm disease (GWD), is an infection caused by the parasite Dracunculus medinensis. A parasite is an organism that feeds off another organism to survive. GWD is spread by drinking water containing Guinea worm larvae.
What is the causative organism of guinea worm?
Dracunculiasis (guinea worm disease) is caused by the nematode (roundworm) Dracunculus medinensis.
Can dracunculiasis be eradicated?
Dracunculiasis (guinea worm disease) has been eliminated from 19 of 21 countries where it was endemic in 1986, when an estimated 3.5 million cases occurred worldwide. Only Chad and Ethiopia reported cases in humans, 15 each, in 2017.
Where is dracunculiasis found?
Today, dracunculiasis, more commonly known as Guinea Worm Disease, is only found in 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It is caused by a nematode, or flatworm, Dracunculus medinensis, which infects small Crustaceans, called Cyclops which dwell in water supplies.
What was the first disease to be eradicated?
Despite its devastating impact on the human population, smallpox is no longer considered a threat, thanks to a worldwide immunization effort that eradicated the disease by 1977. Smallpox is the only human disease to have been completely eradicated.
Can a virus be eradicated?
To date, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared only 2 diseases officially eradicated: smallpox caused by variola virus (VARV) and rinderpest caused by the rinderpest virus (RPV).
How many people have died from smallpox?
Today, the virus only exists in two secure laboratory facilities in the U.S. and Russia. One of history’s deadliest diseases, smallpox is estimated to have killed more than 300 million people since 1900 alone.
Who cured smallpox?
Edward Jenner (Figure 1) is well known around the world for his innovative contribution to immunization and the ultimate eradication of smallpox (2).
Does smallpox still exist?
The last naturally occurring case of smallpox was reported in 1977. In 1980, the World Health Organization declared that smallpox had been eradicated. Currently, there is no evidence of naturally occurring smallpox transmission anywhere in the world.
How did Janet Parker get smallpox?
The Shooter Inquiry found that Parker was accidentally exposed to a strain of smallpox virus that had been grown in a research laboratory on the floor below her workplace at the University of Birmingham Medical School.
Is there a vaccine for smallpox?
The smallpox vaccine protects people from smallpox by helping their bodies develop immunity to smallpox. The vaccine is made from a virus called vaccinia, which is a poxvirus similar to smallpox, but less harmful.
What vaccine was given with a gun?
1967: Nicaraguans undergoing smallpox vaccinations nicknamed the gun-like jet injectors (Ped-O-Jet and Med-E-Jet) as “la pistola de la paz”, meaning “the pistol of peace”. The name “Peace Guns” stuck.
Can you be naturally immune to smallpox?
An interesting observation during the smallpox scourge was that people who survived natural smallpox developed life-long immunity against the disease, but immunity following vaccination begins to wane in vaccine recipients 3–5 years after vaccination, even though the majority of vaccine recipients retain some level of …
Does TB have a vaccine?
Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is a vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) disease. This vaccine is not widely used in the United States, but it is often given to infants and small children in other countries where TB is common. BCG does not always protect people from getting TB.
Does TB vaccine last for life?
The BCG vaccination is thought to protect up to 80% of people against the most severe forms of TB for at least 15 years, perhaps even up to 60 years.
What age is the TB vaccine given?
BCG vaccination is rarely given to anyone over the age of 16 because it does not work very well in adults. But it’s given to adults aged 16 to 35 who are at risk of TB through their work, such as some healthcare workers.
Where is TB most common?
Worldwide, TB is most common in Africa, the West Pacific, and Eastern Europe. These regions are plagued with factors that contribute to the spread of TB, including the presence of limited resources, HIV infection, and multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB.
Who is at high risk for tuberculosis?
Persons who have been Recently Infected with TB Bacteria Persons who have immigrated from areas of the world with high rates of TB. Children less than 5 years of age who have a positive TB test. Groups with high rates of TB transmission, such as homeless persons, injection drug users, and persons with HIV infection.
What is the survival rate of tuberculosis?
Death remains a common outcome for patients with TB. Case-fatality rates are reported to be between 7% and 35% [17–19]. Delayed treatment and infection with multidrug-resistant strains of mycobacteria are associated with increased risk of death [20–22].