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Not every worm wrapped around a stick is a guinea worm: a case of Onchocerca volvulus mimicking Dracunculus medinensis

Overview of attention for article published in Parasites & Vectors, July 2015
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About this Attention Score

  • In the top 25% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (83rd percentile)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (90th percentile)

Mentioned by

blogs
1 blog
twitter
3 X users

Citations

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10 Dimensions

Readers on

mendeley
41 Mendeley
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Title
Not every worm wrapped around a stick is a guinea worm: a case of Onchocerca volvulus mimicking Dracunculus medinensis
Published in
Parasites & Vectors, July 2015
DOI 10.1186/s13071-015-1004-1
Pubmed ID
Authors

Eta Ngole Mbong, Gerald Etapelong Sume, Flaubert Danbe, Walter Kang Kum, Valeri Oben Mbi, André Arsène Bita Fouda, Peter Atem

Abstract

Despite being certified guinea worm free in 2007, Cameroon continues surveillance efforts to ensure rapid verification of any suspected reoccurrence. This includes the investigation of every rumor and confirmation of each suspicious expulsed worm. This paper presents fieldwork carried out to investigate a guinea worm rumor in Cameroon which turned out to be an Onchocerca volvulus mimicking Dracunculus medinensis. The investigation included a field visit to the subsistence farming community where the rumor was reported. During the visit, interviews were conducted with health staff who managed the case and the elderly farmer from whom the worm was retrieved. An investigation of any potential missed guinea worm cases was also conducted through interviews with community residents and reviews of the health facility's medical records. This was combined with laboratory analyses of water samples from the community's water sources and the retrieved worm which was removed from the patient via wrapping it around a stick. Microscopy and molecular analyses of the retrieved worm revealed a female Onchocerca volvulus whose expulsion strongly mimicked guinea worm. In addition to presenting findings of our investigation, this paper discusses distinguishing elements between the two parasites and gives an overview of guinea worm eradication efforts in Cameroon as well as current challenges to the worm's eradication globally. The investigation findings suggest the evolving Onchocerca volvulus worm tropisms' adaptive survival behavior worth further investigation. Strategies used to successfully control guinea worm in Cameroon could be adapted for Onchocerca volvulus control.

X Demographics

X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 3 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 41 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 41 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Master 7 17%
Student > Bachelor 6 15%
Researcher 5 12%
Student > Ph. D. Student 3 7%
Student > Doctoral Student 2 5%
Other 6 15%
Unknown 12 29%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 10 24%
Nursing and Health Professions 6 15%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 5 12%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 2 5%
Immunology and Microbiology 2 5%
Other 6 15%
Unknown 10 24%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 10. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 24 July 2022.
All research outputs
#3,219,697
of 22,950,943 outputs
Outputs from Parasites & Vectors
#690
of 5,483 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#43,307
of 262,779 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Parasites & Vectors
#11
of 115 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,950,943 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 85th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 5,483 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.7. This one has done well, scoring higher than 87% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 262,779 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done well, scoring higher than 83% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 115 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 90% of its contemporaries.