Guinea Worm Disease News and Research

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Guinea worm cases near eradication, but animal infections pose new challenge

The CDC's latest report in the MMWR reveals significant progress in the global fight against guinea worm disease, with human cases dropping to 13 in 2022 and only three in the first half of 2023. However, challenges remain due to rising animal infections and civil unrest in affected regions.

16 Nov 2023

Final push needed to achieve full eradication of Guinea worm disease

The number of human cases of Guinea worm disease halved in 2021 to a record low of 14, putting the goal of global eradication in sight, the US-based Carter Center has announced.

1 Feb 2022

WHO marching toward extraordinary progress against neglected tropical diseases, report reveals

Since 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been reporting outstanding success in dealing with neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) with 1 billion people estimated to have received treatments in 2015.

19 Apr 2017

WHO urges affected countries to increase investment in tackling neglected tropical diseases

WHO urges affected countries to scale up their investment in tackling 17 neglected tropical diseases in order to improve the health and well-being of more than 1.5 billion people. This investment would represent as little as 0.1% of current domestic expenditure on health in affected low and middle income countries for the period 2015-2030.

19 Feb 2015

New York Times profiles Carter center's leader for guinea worm eradication

The New York Times on Monday profiled Donald Hopkins, who is leading the fight to eradicate Guinea worm in his role as "vice president for health programs at the Carter Center, the group founded by former President Jimmy Carter to advance human rights and fight disease."

25 Apr 2013

Carter Center Guinea worm eradication program in 'final stages'

"Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced today that the international Guinea worm eradication campaign spearheaded by the Carter Center has reached its final stages with only 542 cases reported worldwide in 2012," a Carter Center press release reports.

19 Jan 2013

WHO warns of dengue's spread, says progress made against NTDs in new report

"Dengue is the world's fastest-spreading tropical disease and represents a 'pandemic threat,' infecting an estimated 50 million people across all continents, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday," Reuters reports.

17 Jan 2013

WHO reports unprecedented progress against 17 neglected tropical diseases

WHO reports unprecedented progress against 17 neglected tropical diseases, thanks to a new global strategy, a regular supply of quality assured, cost-effective medicines and support from global partners.

17 Jan 2013

Guinea worm disease on verge of eradication, WHO reports

"The World Health Organization reports Guinea worm disease, which has plagued people for thousands of years, is on the verge of eradication," VOA News reports. "The U.N. agency says fewer than 400 cases of the infectious parasitic disease exist in four African countries, and that it will soon become only the second, after smallpox, to be wiped off the face of the earth," the news service writes.

30 Aug 2012

Washington Post examines Guinea worm eradication efforts

The Washington Post examines global efforts to eradicate Guinea worm disease, writing, "The parasitic infection which has sickened millions, mostly in Asia and Africa, is on the verge of being done in not by sophisticated medicine but by aggressive public health efforts in some of the poorest and most remote parts of the world."

29 Aug 2012

Globe and Mail profiles former President Jimmy Carter, Carter Center's efforts to eradiacate guinea worm

The Globe and Mail profiles former President Jimmy Carter and the Carter Center's decades-long efforts to eradicate guinea worm disease, also known as dracunculiasis. According to the newspaper, "In 2011, there were 1,060 cases of guinea worm disease identified in the world, in four countries," and "staff and volunteers from the Carter Center have visited every one of the 26,500 villages where guinea worm was identified" to provide education on prevention, as well as treatment.

25 Apr 2012

South Sudan hoping NTD initiative will bring relief from high levels of disease, IRIN reports

"Decades of war, neglect, and lack of development have left South Sudan with nine out of 10 of th[e] key neglected tropical diseases [NTDs] -- all but Chagas disease, which is endemic to South America," and health workers in the new nation are hoping that the recent formation of a large public-private partnership to combat the diseases "will finally help to have an impact on South Sudan's appalling health indicators," IRIN reports.

24 Feb 2012

Jimmy Carter calls upon donors to help eradicate Guinea worm disease

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is appealing to countries and donors to eradicate guinea worm disease from the world once and for all. The U.K. pledged $31 million over four years for the effort and has called upon other countries to match them.

6 Oct 2011

Ghana declares eradication of Guinea worm

Ghana on Thursday declared the eradication of Guinea worm in the country, after a 23-year fight against the disease, the Associated Press/Seattle Times reports.

30 Jul 2011

Sanitation pioneer earns Roll of Honour Award for lifetime service in Kigali, Rwanda

Professor Sandy Cairncross has received a unique honour from the governments of Africa in recognition of his major contribution to improving the health and well-being of Africans through his three decades of work to improve sanitation and hygiene across the continent.

22 Jul 2011

Former President Carter highlights gains in reducing spread of Guinea worm disease

"The global cases of Guinea worm disease have plunged to another new all-time low, former President Jimmy Carter said Thursday, bringing health workers closer to their goal of eradicating the disease," the Canadian Press reports.

19 Feb 2011

Issuing first report on NTDS, WHO aims for 'complete control' by 2015

The WHO said on Thursday that it was aiming for 'complete control' by 2015 of tropical diseases that affect one billion impoverished people and kill an estimated 534,000 people each year, Agence France-Presse reports.

15 Oct 2010

HDI announces results of Rapid Maternal Mortality and Obstetric Fistula Prevention Project

In honor of the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, Health & Development International (HDI) announced the results of its Rapid Maternal Mortality and Obstetric Fistula Prevention Project today, in advance of its second hosted global meeting on this topic to be held at The Carter Center in Atlanta on March 9 and 10.

8 Mar 2010

WHO Director-General highlights global health gains, challenges at executive board meeting

During the WHO's recent executive board meeting, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan reflected on public health gains over the past decade and the challenges that lie ahead, Nigeria's Guardian reports. Chan commended the international community's response to H1N1 and global efforts to reduce child mortality, fight malaria and tuberculosis.

27 Jan 2010

World moves closer to eradicating ancient worm disease

A neglected tropical disease that has afflicted people since ancient times has moved a step closer towards eradication. In early March, twelve more countries were declared Guinea Worm Free by the International Commission for the Certification of Dracunculiasis (Guinea Worm Disease) Eradication.

27 Mar 2007