The US-based Carter Center says that health workers are on the verge of eradicating Guinea worm, a parasitical disease that has affected millions of people in Africa and Asia. Cases have been cut by 99.7% and there are hopes that the disease will be completely wiped out by 2010. This will be the second time a disease has been eradicated: a global vaccination campaign rid the world of smallpox in 1979.

The disease is caused by Guinea worm larvae entering the body through contaminated water. The worms can grow to a metre long and emerge through the body, causing blisters and severe pain. The infection rate has been slashed since 1986, when there were 3.5 million cases and the Carter Center initiated a global effort to defeat the disease. This has been achieved largely through cheap interventions including inexpensive water filters, larvicides and hygiene education.

By 2007, the number of cases had fallen to 9,600. The Carter Center and the World Health Organization (WHO) hope there will be no new cases after 2009 and that, the following year, the Guinea worm will have been killed off completely. The center announced a new commitment of US$ 40 million (€ 29.6 million) from the Gates Foundation and US$ 15 million (€ 11.1 million) from UK's Department for International Development (DFID) to push to end the disease. The Gates Foundation grant includes an outright contribution of US$ 8 million (€ 5.9 million) and US$ 32 million (€ 23.7 million) in match funding.

Related news: Guinea worm eradication: President Laurent Gbagbo of Côte d’Ivoire receives Jimmy Carter Prize, Source, 11 Jun 2008

Web site:Guinea worm disease (Carter Center)

Source: Matthew Bigg, Reuters, 05 Dec 2008; Carter Center, 05 Dec 2008

Tags: africa, south asia, water treatment, water-related diseases