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A woman in Chanshegu village in Ghana strains drinking water through a cloth filter to prevent Guinea worm disease. Cases of the disease have fallen from 3.5 million in 1986 to about 110,000 in late 1995 thanks to filtering and other preventive methods. (Photo: Billy Howard)


Chanshegu village in Ghana participated in Guinea worm eradication progress. As a result, this one-room school is full of children. Children suffering from Guinea worm are unable to attend. (Photo: Billy Howard)
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Carter Center, Coalition Partners Celebrate Near-Eradication of Guinea Worm Disease
3 Dec 1996
It has been 19 years since smallpox became the first disease to be eradicated from the earth. A second disease is now close to elimination because of an interational public health effort led by The Carter Center's Global 2000 program.
 
In December 1995, 200 dignitaries and guests gathered in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the 97 percent eradication of Guinea worm (dracunculiasis), a painful parasitic disease that affects people in 16 African countries as well as India, Pakistan, and Yemen.
 
Since 1986, Global 2000 has led a worldwide campaign to abolish the disease through a cooperative effort involving villagers in endemic countries, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) like The Carter Center, international health agencies, corporate donors, and governments.
 
"Our being here today is the result of a grand coalition of people from around the world, beginning with the people in the affected villages themselves," said Donald Hopkins, M.D., senior health consultant for Global 2000, during the celebration. "With the help of our partners, we have achieved 97 percent of our goal.
 
"Our job now is to eliminate the remaining 3 percent of cases as soon as possible," he added. "We believe it will require another two to three years. Once a villager is identified as having Guinea worm, it takes a year for the cycle to be broken."

 

During the Dec. 4 celebration, participants from around the world reviewed their progress and unveiled an exhibit depicting the story of Guinea worm eradication. Speakers included Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter; Dr. Hopkins; Gen. Amadou Toumani Toure, former Mali head of state; J. Brian Atwood, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); Hiroshi Nakajima, director general of the World Health Organization (WHO); David Satcher, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and Kul Gautam, deputy executive director of UNICEF. Other guests included ambassadors and ministers of health from numerous countries and executives from the world's major health organizations.

 

"We are now, in terms of American football, on the 5-yard line," Mr. Atwood said. "We're not talking about whether Guinea worm disease will be eradicated. We're talking about when."

 

The lessons learned from Guinea worm eradication can be applied to other diseases such as polio and measles. "Proving for the second time that a disease can be eradicated provides a level of confidence to the worldwide aid community that our level of knowledge and our tools are sufficient," President Carter said. "Many people in very remote areas who fought Guinea worm are now trained and can easily transfer their knowledge to new disease prevention and control programs."

 

Breaking the Cycle of Suffering
People have suffered from Guinea worm disease for centuries. They become infected by drinking stagnant water contaminated with microscopic larvae that migrate through the body. A year later, mature, threadlike worms up to 3 feet long emerge through blisters on the skin, sometimes causing permanent scarring and crippling similar to polio. Emergence of the worm is so painful that it keeps farmers from tending their crops and children from attending school for weeks or months at a time. No cure exists, but the disease can be pre-vented through health education and water purification.

 

The most effective method is teaching villagers how to filter their drinking water through a tightly woven cloth developed and donated by E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. and manufactured by Precision Fabrics Group. The cloth traps water fleas that carry the Guinea worm larvae. People infected with Guinea worm also are taught to stay out of water sources to prevent their contamination. In highly endemic areas, water may be treated with low concentrations of Abate, a nontoxic larvicide donated by American Home Products Corp. Installing borehole wells to improve drinking water systems also can stop Guinea worm and other water-borne diseases.

 

Results from these methods are striking: Cases of the disease have fallen from more than 3.5 million in 1986 to about 110,000 as of late 1995. December 1995 was the target date for eradication.