Guinea worm wrap-up

Nigeria reduces cases by \ue2\u20ac\u201c57% in first quarter of 2002!The Nigerian Guinea Worm Eradication Program (NIGEP) has reported a total of only 1,202 cases of dracunculiasis during the first three months of 2002, as compared to 2,805 cases reported during the same three months of 2001 (Figure 1). This \ue2\u20ac\u201c57% reduction in cases covers the three months of highest dracunculiasis incidence in Nigeria for the entire calendar year. The monthly reductions in Nigeria\ue2\u20ac\u2122s cases were \ue2\u20ac\u201c38%, -67%, and \ue2\u20ac\u201c70% for the three months, respectively. These reductions were led by dramatic declines in cases in the Southeast Zone, especially in Ebonyi State (-85% for the quarter), which last year reported more cases of dracunculiasis than any other state in Nigeria. The Southeast Zone also achieved improved rates of case containment during the first three mo nths of this year: 78%, 86%, and 79%. As of the end of February, Nigeria reportedly had cloth filters in all households in 97% of villages that reported one or more cases since January 1, 2001; was using Abate in 46%; and 56% of those villages had at least one source of safe drinking water. Overall, Nigeria reportedly contained 58 %(693/1202) of its cases so far this year, which still leaves room for improvement