The reported incidence of dracunculiasis (i.e.,
Guinea worm disease) in Nigeria declined substantially
during 1992 -- the fourth consecutive year in which
reports of known cases declined. This report summarizes
dracunculiasis surveillance data for Nigeria and
describes progress toward eradication of this disease.
During the 1991-1992 epidemiologic year (i.e., July
1991-June 1992), 201,453 cases of dracunculiasis were
reported in 4576 villages where the disease is endemic,
a 25% reduction from the number of cases reported during
1990-1991 (Figure 1). Since 1988-1989, the number of
reported cases has decreased 68.5%, and the number of
villages where the disease is endemic has decreased 22.9%
(from 640,008 cases in 5932 villages) (1).
Nigeria's Guinea Worm Eradication Program (NIGEP)
intensified all major control measures during 1992,
including extending health education and community
mobilization to all villages with endemic dracunculiasis,
promoting education about the disease in schools in areas
with endemic dracunculiasis, distributing cloth filters
to more than 70% of the villages, and targeting at least
30% of the affected villages for provision of safe
drinking water. In addition, during 1992, Nigeria
completed its transition from annual retrospective
surveys to monthly reporting of cases by trained
village-based health workers in each of the villages with
endemic dracunculiasis. During 1993, NIGEP will introduce
use of temephos (Abate (registered) *) to treat unsafe
sources of drinking water in selected villages in which
the disease is endemic.
Reported by: Federal Ministry of Health and Social Svcs,
Nigeria. Global 2000, Inc, The Carter Center, Atlanta.
WHO Collaborating Center for Research, Training, and
Eradication of Dracunculiasis, Div of Parasitic Diseases,
National Center for Infectious Diseases, CDC.
Editorial Note
Editorial Note: The number of dracunculiasis cases
reported in Nigeria (1992 population: approximately 90
million) in 1992 is similar to that reported in Ghana
(1992 population: approximately 15 million) in 1989. The
annual rate of decline in reported cases has decreased
from 31% from 1989-1990 to 1990-1991, to 25% from 1990-
1991 to 1991-1992. Although Nigeria is expected to
complete its eradication of dracunculiasis by the end of
1995, control measures must be intensified during 1993-
1995 to reach this goal.
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