Dracunculus		Contents		Rev 04/04/2023
Guinea Worm		Classification		Hosts
		Morphology and Anatomy		Life Cycle
Return to Dracunculus Menu		Economic Importance		Damage
		Distribution		Management
Return to Dracunculidae Menu		Feeding		References
		Nemaplex Home Page		Go to Dictionary of Terminology

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Classification:

              

Chromadorea
Chromadoria

           Rhabditida 

                       Spirurina

             Dracunculoidea

                         

                   Dracunculidae

 

            Dracunculus

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Morphology and Anatomy:

• Adult dracunculoid nematodes are parasites occurring in tissues and body cavities of mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians and birds.

• The biology and host-parasite relationships of the Guinea Worm (Dracunculus medinensis) are quite well known but there is a lack of general life history knowledge of many other species.

• In many cases, species descriptions are based on characteristics of males, which are often difficult to find because of their smaller size and lower abundance than females.

• Recently, host-switching has been reported in dracunculids and that will require further study of the biology of the genus.

Body size range for the species of this genus in the database - Click:

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Distribution:

 Varies with species, but worldwide, especially subtropical and tropical areas.

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Economic Importance:

 

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Feeding:

 

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Hosts:

Host Group	Dracunculus species	Definitive Hosts	Intermediate Hosts	Paratenic Hosts
Mammals	D. medinensis	humans, dogs, ferrets	copepods	amphibians
	D. insignis	raccoons, mink, opossum, dogs, cats	copepods	amphibians
	D. lutrae	river otter	unknown	unknown
	D. fuelleborni	opossum	unknown	unknown
Reptiles	D. ophidensis	garter smake	copepods	tadpoles
	D. brasiliensis	anaconda and water snake	unknown	unknown
	D. coluberensis	trinket snake	unknown	unknown
	D. alii	keelback snake	unknown	unknown
	D. houdemeri	keelback snake	unknown	unknown
	D. doi	Madagascar boa	unknown	unknown
	D. dahomensis	African rock python	unknown	unknown
	D. oesophagus	colubrid snakes	copepod	unknown
	D. mulbus	pythons	unknown	unknown
Turtles	D. globocephalus	snapping turtle	copepod	unckown

 

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Life Cycle:

For Ecophysiological Parameters for this genus, click

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Damage:

 

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Management:

There is a worldwide effort to eradicate the Guinea worm. Organizations such as the Task Force for Child Survival and Global 2000 list this as one of their primary objectives.

Spread of the Guinea worm can be prevented by filtering drinking water through a cotton cloth or by treating drinking water with the chemical Abate (which has been tested to be safe for human consumption, and it is not known to harm birds or fish). 

The best method for defeating dracunculiasis seems to be supplying villages with safe drinking water.

 

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References:

Cleveland, C.A., Garrett, K.B., Cozad, R.A., Williams, B.M.. Murray, M.H., Yabsley, M.J. 2018. The wild world of Guinea Worms: A review of the genus Dracunculus in wildlife. Int. J. Parasitology: Parasites and wildlife 7:289-300.

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For more information about nematodes, Go to Nemaplex Main Menu.

Copyright  1999 by Howard Ferris.
Revised: April 04, 2023.

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