Jimmy Carter and Eradication of Guinea Worm Disease

Guinea worm disease (dracunculiasis) is caused by the parasite Dracunculus medinensis and is transmitted by drinking water contaminated with infected copepods. Humans become infected when parasite larvae penetrate the digestive tract and develop in the body for approximately one year. Subsequently, the adult worm reaches the skin and causes a painful blister, prompting infected people to immerse the affected body part in water, which releases larvae and recontaminates the water. The disease causes intense pain, ulcer formation, allergic reactions, and potentially long-term complications including chronic inflammation and joint damage. Jimmy Carter and the Carter Center, founded in 1982, committed to eradicating this disease of poverty. Thanks to President Carter's work and his center, Guinea worm could soon become only the third disease in public health history to be globally eradicated, following smallpox (1980) and rinderpest (2011).