Going, Going, Almost Gone: A Worm Verges On Extinction - Polidicks

[URL="http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2014/07/08/329519260/going-going-almost-gone-a-worm-verges-on-extinction"]NPR Link[/URL] [quote=NPR]But the worm's final chapter is near: The world is closer than ever to wiping the parasite off the face of the Earth. There were only 17 cases of Guinea worm in the first five months of this year, the Carter Center reported Monday. That's a 75 percent reduction from this time last year, when 68 people reported infections. Back in the mid-'80s, more than 3 million people were catching the parasite each year. Then an international campaign started slashing cases, year after year. "We anticipate we'll end 2014 with less than 100 cases," says Dr. Ernesto Ruiz-Tiben, who leads the Guinea worm eradication effort at the Carter Center. "The data speak for themselves. Great strides have been made against Guinea worm." Now Guinea worm has been eradicated in 17 of the 21 countries where it ever existed. And the worm has cropped up in only two countries this year: South Sudan and Chad. Most of us aren't familiar with Guinea worm. (It's never existed in the Western Hemisphere.) But once you hear how it infects people, you probably won't forget it. The parasite lives in tiny fleas swimming in fresh drinking water. When someone accidentally swallows a flea, the worm's larvae are released inside the person's stomach. The larvae mate and mature inside the abdomen. Then about a year later, a painful blister appears on the person's skin, often on a leg or a foot. A long worm slowly emerges from a hole. The worm doesn't usually kill you. But its exit is debilitating and excruciatingly painful. To remove the worm, a health worker winds it around a small stick and manually pulls it out of the skin over the course of a few weeks. During the process, a person usually can't go to work or school. The disease is also known as dracunculiasis, or "affliction with little dragons," because the worm feels like tiny, hot daggers poking through skin. This burning sensation makes a person want to dip the blister into cool water, such as a lake or river. Then the worm releases a fresh batch of larvae into the water. And the infection process starts all over again. There is no cure or vaccine for Guinea worm. So the Carter Center, together with local health agencies, has focused on stopping the parasite's spread. They teach people to filter water, and they dig wells for clean drinking water.[/quote]

Just read what these things do. Good fucking riddance.

Where is PETA on this one?

[QUOTE=seano12;45329371]Where is PETA on this one?[/QUOTE] I don't really think parasites count as animals

[QUOTE=seano12;45329371]Where is PETA on this one?[/QUOTE] peta tends to not care about bugs as much as mammals.

thank christ this one has been solved, this is genuinely a scary as shit thing that can easily be prevented [editline]8th July 2014[/editline] also sensational headline, the worm is not going extinct, the people getting infected are dropping

[QUOTE=Sableye;45329493]also sensational headline, the worm is not going extinct, the people getting infected are dropping[/QUOTE] Given that the Guinea worms exclusively infect humans, there's really no way they're gonna exist after infections end.

[QUOTE=codemaster85;45329475]peta tends to not care about bugs as much as mammals.[/QUOTE] i find it hilarious that peta are speciesist

[QUOTE]There is no cure or vaccine for Guinea worm[/QUOTE] This is weird, it's like saying "there's no cure or vaccine for mosquitos"

[quote]The worm doesn't usually kill you. But its exit is debilitating and excruciatingly painful. To remove the worm, a health worker winds it around a small stick and manually pulls it out of the skin over the course of a few weeks.[/quote] uuuuruggghhhhhhh gross

[QUOTE=ragin cajun;45329782]uuuuruggghhhhhhh gross[/QUOTE] At least it's usually on a leg or foot and not your penis.

[QUOTE=seano12;45329807]At least it's usually on a leg or foot and not your penis.[/QUOTE] [I]Usually.[/I]

Guyana worms are horrifying, they are these really long white stringy things that live in your flesh and you have to pull them out.

[QUOTE=ragin cajun;45329782]uuuuruggghhhhhhh gross[/QUOTE] You missed this bit: [quote]To remove the worm, a health worker winds it around a small stick and manually pulls it out of the skin over the course of a few weeks.[B]During the process, a person usually can't go to work or school.[/B][/quote] Worth it. :v:

somebody post pics it's my fetish [sp]don't[/sp]

Who's gonna give in first? Dracunculiasis? or Polio? Place your bets!

[IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Dracunculus_medinensis.jpg[/IMG] that white isn't string [i]It's the worm[/i]

As if there weren't enough reasons to stay the fuck away from Chad and South Sudan.

[QUOTE=007JamesBond007;45330544][IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Dracunculus_medinensis.jpg[/IMG] that white isn't string [i]It's the worm[/i][/QUOTE] that's not the worm [I]that's its tongue[/I]

[QUOTE=Mort Stroodle;45331802]that's not the worm [I]that's its tongue[/I][/QUOTE] [img]http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121116034826/spongebob/images/0/0f/Scary.png[/img]

[QUOTE=Psychokitten;45330380]You missed this bit: Worth it. :v:[/QUOTE] A excruciatingly painful procedure that goes on for weeks? No, it's not fucking worth it.

[QUOTE=Elecbullet;45330540]Who's gonna give in first? Dracunculiasis? or Polio? Place your bets![/QUOTE] This one, Polio vaccines are hindered by misinformed terrorists.

The wiki article for this worm is all broken English