| Definition: |
A parasitic helminthiasis infectious disease that involves parasitic infection by the larvae of the nematode Dracunculus medinensis, which are transmitted to humans by drinking water containing copepods infected with the larvae. The female, which contains larvae, burrows into the deeper connective tissues or adjacent to long bones or joints of the extremities. The worm emerges as a whitish filament in the center of a painful ulcer, accompanied by inflammation and frequently by secondary bacterial infection. |