Guinea worm disease – a chance for successful eradication in the Volta region, Ghana

Abstract

A guinea worm eradication program in two farming communities in the Akatsi District in the Volta region of Ghana was initially threatened by failure to apply simple preventive practices. Persistent monitoring and education on the use of locally supplied, inexpensive materials for water filtration has turned the program around. In March 1996, the Volta rural water supply and sanitation (VRWSS) project commissioned a guinea worm prevalence and knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) study to collect baseline prevalence data. This study revealed some of the factors that contributed to the persistent high prevalence of guinea worm in the two communities. The community's only source of potable drinking water was irrigation dams which also served as the source of guinea worm infection. The last quarterly report stated that guinea worm cases had been reduced from 62 to 5 in the two communities. Lessons learnt from Avega and Avevi will be extended to other guinea worm endemic communities that have registered with the project in the region. The prospect of total eradication of guinea worm in the region now exists.