Third Place
Brent Stirton
Getty Images
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"WATER IS PERSONAL"
NORTH GHANA, 28 FEBRUARY 2006: A worried father watches over his son as a guinea worm is removed in stages from the boys testicles. Guinea worm is a parasite which lives in the mud and dater around water holes in certain African countries. There is no other water source for these people and when they drink the infected water they ingest the parasite. After an 18 month gestation period the worm emerges as an infected cyst, cripplingly painful and can incapacitate its victim for months. The worm is removed slowly, often over a period of days. The body of the worm is wrapped around a stick and drawn slowly out so as not to snap the creature in half leaving the dying parasite inside the person. The people in these regions have no other water source and so are forced to go through this process many times.
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