"Rarely fatal but searingly painful and debilitating, Guinea worm disease infects people who drink water tainted with larvae that grow inside the body into worms as long as 3 feet. The noodle-thin parasites then burrow their way out, breaking through the skin in burning blisters. To get rid of the parasite, worms have to be gently wound around a stick as they're slowly pulled through the skin. Removing an entire worm without breaking it can take weeks."
"These numbers remain provisional until they are officially confirmed by each country during the campaign's annual meeting, which is usually held in April. "President Carter always said he wanted to outlast the last Guinea worm. While he didn't quite get his wish, he and Mrs. Carter would be proud to know there were only 10 human cases reported in 2025. And they would remind us that the work continues until we reach zero," said Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander."
The Carter Center led a multi-decade campaign to eradicate Guinea worm, focusing on prevention and surveillance rather than a vaccine or medicine. Guinea worm disease causes long, painful worms that emerge through the skin, often requiring weeks of careful extraction. The campaign reduced estimated global cases from 3.5 million across 21 countries to only ten provisional human cases reported in 2025. The provisional cases were detected in South Sudan, Chad, and Ethiopia and await official confirmation at the annual campaign meeting. The effort would make Guinea worm the second human disease eradicated and the first without a medical intervention.
Read at Cbsnews
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