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Mar 6, 2024 · The Guinea Worm Eradication Program is wiping out this ancient disease mainly through community-based interventions to educate and change behavior, such as teaching people to filter all drinking water and preventing transmission by keeping anyone with an emerging worm from entering water sources.
In 1991, the World Health Assembly agreed that Guinea worm disease should be eradicated. At this time there were 400,000 cases reported each year. The Carter Center has continued to lead the eradication efforts, primarily through its Guinea Worm Eradication Program.
It’s now close to being eradicated worldwide. This success is thanks to an eradication program that has focused on water treatment and filtration, public education, and providing safe sources of drinking water to reduce its spread. What is guinea worm disease? The disease is caused by a parasite called guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis).
Jan 10, 2022 · Dracunculiasis is a crippling parasitic disease on the verge of eradication, with 27 human cases reported in 2020. From the time infection occurs, it takes between 10–14 months for the transmission cycle to complete. About this time, a mature female worm emerges from the body.
Unfortunately, the recent emergence and persistence of Guinea worm infections in animals in Chad, Ethiopia, and Mali have challenged eradication efforts. The Carter Center and WHO are leading robust research efforts to better understand the peculiar epidemiology of animal infections and reduce their prevalence to zero.
Feb 19, 2024 · Guinea worm disease inched closer to eradication in 2023. The Carter Center's 2023 report showed a remarkable reduction in Guinea worm cases, bringing the ancient parasitic disease closer to being eradicated. Alix Boisson-Walsh reports.
Nov 22, 2022 · Human cases of dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease) have decreased from an estimated 3.5 million in 1986 to 15 in 2021. Emergence of Guinea worm infections in dogs in 2012 has complicated eradication efforts.
