The Guinea worm is the cause of much pain and misery in the world. It is a true parasite as it reproduces in a human host and emerges from the body leaving pain and death in its wake.
The disease is also known as dracunculiasis, or "affliction with little dragons," because the worm feels like hot coals as it exits from the skin. Health aid and intervention was making gains to irradiate this monster just a few years ago, but a new vector has allowed a resurgence: wild dogs.
Don Lyman produced this latest story on the topic for Living on Earth which you can check out here: A Parasite Setback