Watts S J
Int J Epidemiol. 1986 Jun;15(2):252-6. doi: 10.1093/ije/15.2.252.
Dracunculiasis, infection with guinea worm, Dracunculus medinensis, is a debilitating disease causing considerable human misery and having an adverse impact on food production in affected areas. It can be entirely eradicated by the provision of protected drinking water for all members of the community. There are two phases in the transmission cycle associated with human activities, swallowing the infective guinea worm larvae in infected water and, 10-12 months later, the immersion of a limb with a guinea worm lesion on it in a drinking water source. In planning control strategies it is essential to understand the patterns of behaviour associated with these two phases of transmission. These include water consumption, water use and water treatment, patterns of water collection and population mobility. The recent increase in the levels, frequency and distance involved in population circulation is associated with increased prevalence rates. This analytical framework is used in a study of disease transmission in the area within a 50 kilometer radius of Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, Nigeria. The conclusion briefly suggests some benefits which might accrue to affected areas as the result of the consideration of behavioural factors involved in disease transmission.
麦地那龙线虫病，即感染麦地那龙线虫，是一种使人衰弱的疾病，给人类带来巨大痛苦，并对疫区的粮食生产产生不利影响。通过为社区所有成员提供安全饮用水，这种疾病可以完全根除。在传播周期中有两个阶段与人类活动相关，一是在受感染的水中吞入感染性麦地那龙线虫幼虫，二是在10至12个月后，将有麦地那龙线虫病灶的肢体浸入饮用水源中。在制定控制策略时，了解与这两个传播阶段相关的行为模式至关重要。这些行为模式包括用水、用水方式和水处理、取水模式以及人口流动情况。近期人口流动的规模、频率和距离增加，与患病率上升有关。这一分析框架用于对尼日利亚夸拉州首府伊洛林半径50公里范围内地区的疾病传播进行研究。结论简要提出了考虑疾病传播相关行为因素可能给疫区带来的一些益处。
