Guinea worm

noun

variants or guinea worm

: a slender, parasitic, nematode worm (Dracunculus medinensis) of tropical regions that has an adult female that often attains a length of over 3 feet (91.5 centimeters) and is the causative agent of dracunculiasis

Note: The Guinea worm undergoes larval development in small freshwater copepod crustaceans (genus Cyclops) which are ingested by humans in contaminated drinking water. When the Guinea worm larvae are released, they pass from the stomach and intestine to the thorax and abdomen for maturation and mating. Gravid females of typically 24 to 40 inches (60 to 100 centimeters) in length migrate through subcutaneous tissues towards the skin especially of the lower legs and feet. At the skin surface, the female worms form painful blisters from which they slowly emerge approximately 10 to 14 months following initial infection. Upon immersion in water, the female expels hundreds of thousands of young larvae.

Examples of Guinea worm in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

People become infected after drinking water that contains parasites that will become Guinea worms inside a person’s body. —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 2 Oct. 2024

Just one human case of Guinea worm disease has been reported worldwide this year. —Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY, 29 July 2024

Under his leadership, the center monitored over 115 elections, hosted dialogues between Israelis and Palestinians, and contributed to the near eradication of Guinea worm, a parasitic disease. —Stuart E. Eisenstat, Foreign Affairs, 20 May 2024

If the Center is successful in its mission, Guinea worm will be only the second human disease, after smallpox, to be pushed over the cliff of extinction. —Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 2 May 2024

Over a long career, much of it spent at the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization and the National Institutes for Health, Dr. Breman worked to stamp out deadly tropical diseases like smallpox, malaria and Guinea worm. —Adam Nossiter, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2024

Back in 1994, the company developed a mesh water filter that would protect people from Guinea worm disease, at the time a scourge across Africa. —Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 8 Apr. 2024

The Guinea worm eradication program has employed a two-part strategy to interrupt the Guinea worm’s transmission cycle. —Kimberly Paul, The Conversation, 2 Feb. 2023

The organization touches lives in 80 countries around the world building houses for the homeless, helping farmers in developing nations, training nurses, and eradicating Guinea worm disease, a debilitating parasitic infection spread by drinking water contaminated with the worm's larvae. —M.l. Nestel, ABC News, 19 Nov. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1699, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

Guinea worm

noun

variants or guinea worm

: a slender, tropical, parasitic nematode worm of the genus Dracunculus (D. medinensis) that has an adult female that often attains a length of over 3 feet (91.5 centimeters) and is the causative agent of dracunculiasis

Note: The Guinea worm undergoes larval development in tiny freshwater copepod crustaceans (genus Cyclops) which are ingested by humans in contaminated drinking water. When the Guinea worm larvae are released, they pass from the stomach and intestine to the thorax and abdomen for maturation and mating. Gravid females of typically 24 to 40 inches (60 to 100 centimeters) in length migrate through subcutaneous tissues towards the skin especially of the lower legs and feet. At the skin surface, the female worms form painful blisters from which they slowly emerge approximately 10 to 14 months following initial infection. Upon immersion in water, the female expels hundreds of thousands of young larvae.

called also Medina worm