ID#: 8224
Caption:
This image reveals the painful suffering being sustained by a young girl named Akouma, who was infected with Guinea worm, Dracunculus medinensis. Two health workers are extracting an adult worm from the girl’s lower right leg. The Guinea worm had migrated, over a period of approximately one year, to its site of emergence from its subcutaneous location, out through a ruptured blister, in order to release its eggs in a local pond, or dam. The blister causes a very painful burning sensation, and within 24 to 72-hours, ruptures. Once the white, spaghetti-like worm emerges from the wound, it is pulled out, only a few centimeters each day, and wrapped around a small stick, or piece of gauze. Sometimes a worm can be pulled out completely within a few days, but this painful process often takes weeks.
High Resolution: Click here for hi-resolution image (24.84 MB)
Content Provider(s): CDC/ The Carter Center
Creation Date: 2001
Photo Credit: E. Staub
Links: Copyright Info: The Carter Center
Categories:
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Copyright Restrictions: Yes - This image is copyright protected. Any public or private use of this image is subject to prevailing copyright laws. Please contact the content provider of this image for permission requests.