Latin name Dracunculus medinensis, meaning 'little dragon', is a foul parasite which is believed to be the source of the mythical "fiery serpents" that plauged the Israelites in the Old Testament.
The nasty little critters enter the body in that good old fashioned manner, through drinking water. Once inside your digestive system the guinea worm larvae you've just consumed set up home in your intestine wall and procreate to produce their own foul offspring.
The egg laden female bores a hole through the intestinal wall and begins to travel through your body, heading for the surface!
It can take up to a year until the female is ready to release her eggs into the wild, and by this time she's about a metre long and as thick as a strand of spaghetti. She makes her way to the surface, just under your skin, and spews acid out causing a painful blister which bursts to release the parasite.
The best bit is, the poor bugger suffering will often bathe in cool water to relieve the burning sensation and thus allow the cycle to begin again by contaminating the water with thousands of young guinea worm!
The repulsive worm usually emerges through the lower limbs, but have been known to burst through the genitals, tongue and eye sockets.
There's no cure or vaccination for the guinea worm, if you find you have one it has to be removed manually. It can't be pulled out easily though, if tugged sharply it can split inside you and cause an even nastier infection. The only way to get the buggers out is to wrap the protruding end around a small stick and over a period of agonising weeks or months slowly drag it out an inch or two a day.
Maggot Therapy
The tapeworm diet (with picture goodness)
The Bot Fly
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