ABSTRACT
Ialludedtoparasiticdiseasesjustnow.Therewasonesuch diseasewhichwasveryprevalentinBahrainfortyyearsago.It wentbyvariousnames-Guineaworm,Lingaworm,Zanzibar worm,andPayyukorFayyuk.Itsscientificnamewasthen DracunculusMedinensis,butitwaslaterrecognizedas belongingtotheFilariaeandisnowknownasFi/aria Medinensis.Itslifehistory,incommonwiththatofsomany parasites,isparticularlyinteresting.Thepatientpresents himselfatthehospitaldisplayingadirtydischargingulcer usuallyatthelowerpartoftheleg,orworsestillonthefoot.A closerinspectionrevealsthatprotrudingfromtheulcerisa shinywhitewormcloselyresemblingfinevermicelli.(Itwill occurtothereaderthat'vermicelli'isanItalianwordmeaning 'littleworm'.)Generallytheprotrudingpartofthewormis woundroundamatch-sticktopreventitfromdrawingitself backintothetissue.Itisusuallyimpossibletopulltheseworms out,especiallyiftheyarecoiledinandoutoftendons,asmay happenifthewormcomesoutontheinstep.Sothepopular treatmentistowindalittleofthewormintothematch-stick everydayuntilitisallout.
