Fighting Disease:  India

Eradicating Guinea Worm

Current Status: Transmission stopped, 1996
Certification of Dracunculiasis Eradication: 2000

For the most current Guinea worm case reports, read the Guinea Worm Wrap-Up newsletter >

Dracunculiasis, or Guinea worm disease, is a preventable parasitic infection contracted when a person ingests drinking water from stagnant sources containing copepods (commonly referred to as water fleas) that harbor infective Guinea worm larvae. Inside a person's body, the larvae grow for a year, becoming thin threadlike worms up to 1 meter long. These worms create agonizingly painful blisters in the skin through which they slowly exit the body, preventing the victim from attending school, caring for children, or harvesting crops. Learn more about the historic Carter Center-led campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease >

When India launched its program in 1983, there were a total of 44,818 reported cases of Guinea worm disease from seven western states. The last known indigenous case of Guinea worm disease was reported in July 1996 from the state of Rajasthan. In 2000, the World Health Organization certified India as free of Guinea worm disease.

The Carter Center held a special ceremony in Atlanta in 2000 to honor India, Senegal, Chad, Yemen, Pakistan, Cameroon, and Kenya for having stopped transmission of Guinea worm disease. Read more about the ceremony (PDF) >

Learn more about the Carter Center's Guinea Worm Eradication Program in India (in search result format) >