JUBA – Authorities in Lakes State have said plans are underway to investigate a suspected Guinea worm case reported in Yirol East County.
Abraham Maluac, the County Surveillance Expert, told City Review on Monday that a 15-year-old girl with a wound presumed to be a Guinea worm was reported on Sunday in Meragok Buma, Malek Payam of Yirol East County.
He said they were yet to investigate the case.
“I went on Sunday and investigated the report and they (relatives of the suspect) told me it was Guinea worm,” Maluac said.
“But I did not see anything, what I did was to advise them to ensure she stays at home until the wound is healed,” added the expert.
Maluac said although the wound did not look like that of the guinea worm, he urged the parents not to allow the girl to go to water sources before the case is confirmed.
“I have the report and I am going to send it to Juba for further investigation,” he said.
The speculation adds to the series of guinea worm cases in the country. About 17 cases have so far been reported in Duk County in Jonglei State.
In April 2021, health authorities in Jonglei State reported 17 new cases, a major setback to the government’s efforts to eradicate the disease since it was last reported in 2018, a year after it was declared out of South Sudan in 2018 by the World Health Organization and Carter Foundation.
Previous cases
The deadly disease was commonly reported in Kapoeta of Eastern Equatoria State, Greater Upper Nile, and parts of the Bahr el-Ghazal region, particularly in Rumbek and Yirol.
Guinea worm is a water-borne disease that affects mostly people living in tropical areas with no access to safe and clean drinking water. It is contracted through drinking contaminated water containing larvae.
In 2018, the case was reported just four months after South Sudan received free guinea worm certification by the World Health Organisation (WHO). According to the WHO in 2018, the disease had affected over 3.5 million people in Africa and Asia in less than two decades.
Guinea worm, also known as Dracunculus medinensis, is a nematode that causes dracunculiasis, also referred to as guinea worm disease.
The disease is mainly caused by the female which, at up to 80 centimeters in length, is among the longest nematodes infecting humans. In contrast, the longest recorded male Guinea worm is only 4 centimeters.