Jimmy Carter wanted to see Guinea worm eliminated. He came close.
Jimmy Carter hoped to outlive the Guinea worm — and he came achingly close. Carter helped lead a decades-long campaign against the parasitic infection.
Former President Jimmy Carter hoped to outlive the Guinea worm — and he came achingly close to achieving that goal.
Carter, who died Sunday at age 100, and his nonprofit, the Carter Center, led a decades-long campaign against the disease, marshalling funding, tracking cases, helping to quell outbreaks and organizing support among world leaders and health agencies.
Guinea worm infections are caused by a parasitic worm whose larvae can contaminate water. When people consume the tainted water, the larvae mature inside the body, growing to about 3 feet long. The worms then burrow out of people’s bodies, blistering the skin as they exit in an agonizingly painful process that can take weeks.
In 1986, five years after Carter’s presidency ended, 3.5 million cases of the disease were recorded globally. As of early December, preliminary data indicates that just 11 cases have been recorded this year, and in just two countries — Chad and South Sudan, according to Adam Weiss, the director of the Carter Center’s Guinea Worm Eradication Program.
“We continue to see a tightening of how widely distributed the disease is from more than 20 countries in the 1980s to just a few so far this year,” Weiss said. “A lot of good progress is being shown.”
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