Just 38 cases of guinea worm (dracunculiasis) were reported in Nigeria in 2008 and so far this year there have been none.

Speaking on National Guinea Worm Day, former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, said, “By the end of this year, we will have been one year free of reported cases, which leaves us with the challenges of achieving three years of active and intensive surveillance before certification by WHO [as a country that has eliminated the disease].” The progress made underscored the importance of an effective and efficient surveillance system. General Gowon said, “Unless this is given high priority, we stand the risk of re-infection and a reversal of all the gains so far made”.

Minister of Health Professor Babatunde Oshotimehin, explained that the fight against guinea worm in Nigeria began in 1988, when there were 650,623 reported cases of the disease in 5,978 villages across the country. Last year’s 38 cases were confined to one area of the country and that outbreak appears to have been contained. Read the full story in Vanguard Online.