Synthetic-fibre filters for preventing dracunculiasis: 100 versus 200 micrometres pore size

Monitoring Use of Monofilament Nylon Water Filters for Guineaworm Control in a Rural Nigerian Community

Guineaworm, a disabling waterborne helminthic disease, has been targeted for eradication from endemic areas of Africa and South Asia. One short-term intervention consists of filtering pond water through a clean cloth. Monofilament nylon cloth has been found to be more effective in straining out the vector-various species of the small crustacean, cyclops—than local cotton cloth, though the former is more expensive. A concern with any new technique is whether the community will accept the idea and subsequently use it properly. Previous reports in this series have documented the process by which the rural community of Idere, Nigeria, through its volunteer primary health workers, was involved in production, distribution, and education concerning filters. One-third of households in monitored sections of the community bought filters, while others thought that filters could not prevent the disease, cost too much, or were inferior to other solutions (e.g., wells). This report looks at filter use and factors associated with use and durability. Monthly monitoring visits by a field assistant served to identify problems and reinforce correct and continued filtration. Mobility of the population between farm and town hampered regular use. Difficulty in understanding the nature of the nearly invisible vectors meant that users did not perceive tiny holes in their filters as dangerous. While filters were ultimately seen as useful in guineaworm eradication efforts, they should not take the place of more long-term community water supply interventions which will have a greater impact on community and women's development.

An introduction to guinea worm on the eve of its departure: dracunculiasis transmission, health effects, ecology and control

A broad ranging discussion of the basic nature of guinea worm disease, fused with personal field observations in Ghana, shows its long-overlooked serious clinical aspects, and the many environmental and social influences that explain its persistence in the face of control efforts. It is a disease of neglect par excellence in remote rural areas. The global eradication campaign (which is not reviewed here) may be expected to come to closure over the next half decade. This account offers an overview, synthesis, and interpretation of a fascinating example in disease ecology at the time of its global vanishing.

The impact of health education to promote cloth filters on dracunculiasis prevalence in the northern region, Ghana

This paper describes a health education intervention which was conducted during the 1990 dry season in 3 study villages in the Northern Region of Ghana, to reduce dracunculiasis prevalence in that area by promoting the use of cloth filters for drinking water and avoidance of water contact by sufferers. The impact of the intervention in reducing dracunculiasis prevalence was examined by comparing the period prevalence of infection in 1990 and 1991. The findings demonstrate that the intervention had a measurable but limited impact on dracunculiasis prevalence. Face-to-face health education was successful in persuading 56% of households to buy filters. Ownership of at least one filter for every 10 people in the household was associated with a reduction of at least 20% in the risk of dracunculiasis.