GUINEA WORM POSTER
Date
38777
Description
A sign in Taha, Ghana warns those with Guinea worm disease not to enter the water. The worms create painful blisters in the skin through which they slowly exit the body, people often seek relief from the pain by soaking it in water. However, when people with emerging worms bathe or step into sources of drinking water, the worm will release hundreds of thousands of eggs, or larvae into the water. Water fleas then eat the larvae, and people who drink unfiltered water from the the pond become infected - continuing the life cycle of the parasite
Source
The Carter Center Office of Public Information, Health Programs
453 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30307
www.cartercenter.org
Citation
Taha, Ghana
Credit: The Carter Center/E. Staub, “GUINEA WORM POSTER,” The Global Health Chronicles, accessed September 25, 2023, https://globalhealthchronicles.org/items/show/4918.