Guinea Worm (Reader discretion advised)

"Of all the nasty tropical diseases, none strikes fear into the hearts and minds of those who heard about it as the Guinea Worm, Dracunculis medinensis (drack-UN- cue-liss med-ee-NEN-siss). Guinea worm is found throughout Africa the Mediterranean and the subcontinent, and is currently the focus of the World Health Organisation's eradication program, after their success with smallpox. The adults females of Dracunculis grow to a whopping 1m in length, although they are quite thin. Humans contract the infection by eating water contaminated with minute crustaceans (water fleas) infected by the larval worms. The larvae penetrate through the wall of the gut and wander out into the abdominal cavity, where they start to grow. Usually, they will grow down and extremity (commonly a leg). When the female reaches full size, she produces an ulcer on the end of the extremity (eg. foot or ankle) and sticks here head out through it, laying her larvae directly into the next body of water the sufferer walks through. In fact, the life-cycle of this worm is perfectly timed so that worms contracted in one rainy season will be mature and producing larvae by the next rainy season. The name Dracunculis literally means 'fiery serpent' or 'dragon' - the inflammation caused by the presence of the worm is excruciating. The most effective way of treating the infection is the ancient method of removal - start winding the worm onto a stick nice and slowly (about half a turn per day). Any faster raises the risk of the worm breaking and causing a massive inflammatory reaction. If the does manage to kill the worm, it will lay down insoluble calcium salts in its place, leaving a body not unlike an umbrella spine made of chalk in the soft tissues of the limb."