ID#: 8234
Caption:
This image shows you the painful suffering of a young girl named Akouma, living in the village of Agbande, in the Dofelgou District of Northern Togo, who was infected with Guinea worm, Dracunculus medinensis. A Guinea worm field nurse named Golda, was in the process of extracting an adult worm from the girl’s lower right leg. The Guinea female worm had migrated, over a period of approximately one year, to its site of emergence in order to release its eggs in a local pond or stream. Before the worm emerges, a blister develops on the skin. This blister causes a very painful burning sensation, and within 24 to 72-hrs, 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 (25.23 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.