Evaluation of community-based surveillance for Guinea worm, South Sudan, 2006

Abstract

Background: Guinea worm disease (dracunculiasis) is an ancient parasitic disease and is set to be the next disease eradicated from the world and the first to be overcome without a vaccine or treatment. South Sudan and Ghana account for more than 95% of global dracunculiasis.

Methods and Materials: We used the Students field guide for surveillance evaluation to assess surveillance objectives, usefulness of the system, operation procedures, costs, and attributes of the South Sudan community based surveillance system.

Results: The guinea worm surveillance system has met its objectives; it is active, simple, flexible, sensitive, stable, and moderately acceptable. The data source is slightly biased; the system costs $2,006,610 U.S. dollars a year to operate.

Conclusion: Community-based surveillance for guinea worm is a good example of a surveillance system on which an integrated disease surveillance system can be based in countries with poor surveillance capacity. This makes its potential value to public health practice very high.

Keywords: Guinea worm, endemic-villages, community-based-surveillance, village volunteers, Integrated Disease surveillance, South Sudan