Follow-On to Eradication of Dracunculiasis in District Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Dracunculiasis or guinea worm disease causes severe morbidity and disability among effected populations. Pakistan was declared dracunculaisis-free in 1996. The present study is a follow-on to the declared eradication of dracunculiasis in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province, Pakistan through investigating disease recurrences and Cyclops species in drinking water sources. A cross-sectional household survey was carried out using in-person questionnaire evaluation along with microscopic assessment of water samples for Cyclops species. Based on previous clinical records of dracunculiasis, five villages of Dera Ismail Khan including Kath Garh, Wanda Dost Ali, Chah Mundar Wala, Ketch and Gara Baloch were surveyed for a total of 206 randomly selected households, where the household heads (106 males and 100 females) were interviewed for any previous dracunculiasis lesion scars or active infections among household members. No active cases of dracunculiasis were observed in the present study. However, 11 individuals, had history of affliction by the disease during 1972-1992. All the water samples from drinking water sources tested negative for the presence of Cyclops species. No recurrence of dracunculiasis to an extent corroborates the proclaimed eradication by Guinea Worm Eradication Program (GWEP) from Dera Ismail Khan District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.