Authors

E Thiele¹;  ¹ Guinea Worm Eradication Program Genomics Working Group, United States

Discussion

Guinea worm disease, or dracunculiasis, is a neglected tropical disease caused by the parasitic nematode Dracunculus medinensis. Until recently, it was believed that Guinea worm disease was primarily a disease of humans. However, detection of emergent worms amongst domesticated dogs in Chad in 2012 and subsequent confirmation of the worms as D. medinensis substantiated historical accounts that non-human animals can also serve as definitive hosts for Guinea worm. Laboratory-confirmed Guinea worm infections have since been detected amongst domesticated dogs and cats and wild mammals in the remaining Guinea worm-endemic countries as well. Early population genetic analyses found no evidence that transmission of Guinea worms was isolated by host species, suggesting that animals and humans both pose transmission risk to the other. The work presented here will detail emerging results from the exhaustive sampling and sequencing effort that has since been undertaken to further understand transmission dynamics at the human-animal interface in environments shared by human, domesticated animal, and wild animal hosts.