Guinea Worm Eradication Program – In The News
Nov. 1, 2012
Yaws Eradication: Facing Old Problems, Raising New Hopes (PDF)
This article was published in the November 2012 issue of PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
One cannot help but recalling that the most advanced eradication programme, targeting Guinea worm (dracunculiasis), is basically in the hands of the Carter Center in Atlanta (United States), which recently received $40 million in donations from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to complete its job. In 2011, cases of Guinea worm disease occurred in three remaining endemic nations — South Sudan, Mali, and Ethiopia — and in Chad, where there was an isolated outbreak.
Oct. 13, 2012
'Guinea Worm' Close to Extinction
Al Jazeera English
A parasite that infects people called the Guinea worm can grow up to a metre in length and lives under the skin.
Oct. 10, 2012
Eradication: Tide May Be Turning Against Guinea Worm
Published by the Financial Times. Note: The Financial Times website requires that you register (for free) to access the full article.
With cases of guinea worm disease down from 3.5m in 21 countries in 1986 to a matter of hundreds in four African countries today, the near eradication of this painful and debilitating disease is being celebrated as a global health success story. However, unlike many disease eradication programmes, no drugs or immunisations were available. Progress in this fight has depended on aggressive advocacy efforts at every level of society.
Oct. 10, 2012
A Little Effort Can Produce Great Strides
Published by the Financial Times. Note: The Financial Times website requires that you register (for free) to access the full article.
From river blindness and buruli ulcer to elephantiasis, the country had plenty of health problems that affected its poorest residents. It harboured one of the largest number of cases of guinea worm outside Sudan, a disease energetically targeted for global eradication by former US president Jimmy Carter through his foundation.
Sept. 30, 2012
Extinction by Design: Guinea Worm
Published by Scientific American.
Though I could find little about the biology of rinderpest for the last post, guinea worm is a case of the opposite: Way Too Much Information. Guinea worm inspires horror not so much by its life history (many infectious organisms find ways to wander about your body at will), but by its size, Homo sapiens-escape method, and terrifying treatment.
Aug. 27, 2012
Guinea Worm is Poised to Become the Second Human Disease to be Eradicated
Published by The Washington Post.
Guinea worm disease is reaching the end of its days. 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.
July 24, 2012
Ein übler Geselle kurz vor dem Aus
Published in the German publication Spektrum.de.
Die Uhr für den Guineawurm tickt: Bald soll der üble Parasit ausgerottet sein - als zweite Krankheit nach den Pocken. Doch die letzten Meter werden schwierig.
July 22, 2012
The President and the Parasite
Published by ABC News.
Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki talks about the impending demise of Guinea Worm Disease, which looks set to follow smallpox and be eradicated completely, thanks in large part to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
July 19, 2012
Guinea Worm Could Be Second Disease Wiped Off the Earth
Published by the Toronto Star.
An ancient parasite known as the "fiery serpent" is on track to be the second human disease eradicated since smallpox's demise in 1979.
July 15, 2012
The World's Last Worm: A Dreaded Disease Nears Eradication
Published by Scientific American.
A parasite that has plagued the human race since antiquity is poised to become the second human disease after smallpox to be eradicated. "We are approaching the demise of the last guinea worm who will ever live on earth," says former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, whose Carter Center has spearheaded the eradication effort.
May 9, 2012
War on a Worm: Education a Key to Eradication
Published by Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
In a couple of years, guinea worm will likely join smallpox as a disease with zero sufferers, The Carter Center in Atlanta reports. Former President Carter is a leading figure in the push against the parasite, and says he hopes to outlive it.
April 26, 2012
Getting Guinea Worm Gone: Report from the AHCJ Conference (Audio Podcast)
Published by ScientificAmerican.com.
Scientific American editor Christine Gorman talks about the recent conference of the Association of Health Care Journalists, including Jimmy Carter's efforts against guinea worm and trachoma, and Rosalynn Carter's mental health initiatives.
April 23, 2012
Jimmy Carter's Successful War Against Tropical Diseases
Published by The Globe and Mail.
One of the most exclusive clubs on Earth is that of living ex-U.S. presidents. The gang of four – Jimmy Carter, George Bush Sr., Bill Clinton and George W. Bush – spend their retirement years hitting the links, building presidential libraries, giving $100,000 speeches, writing autobiographies and doing humanitarian work.
April 20, 2012
Atlantans on Verge of Eradicating Worm Disease
Published by WXIA-TV.
Soon, perhaps within a year or two, headlines around the world will flash news of historic magnitude – news that a crippling disease that afflicts children and adults has been eradicated, wiped off the face of the earth.
April 19, 2012
Local Impact: Moving Mountains to Prevent Disease (PDF)
Published in Emory Public Health by the Rollins School of Public Health, a component of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center of Emory University (emoryhealthsciences.org).
Every day, Rollins students and alumni are building public health capacity throughout the nonprofit sector in Atlanta and across the state. Moses Katabarwa and Adam Weiss are health leaders at the Carter Center, one of Rollins' public health partners in the Atlanta community.
March 21, 2012
South Sudan Inches Closer to Eradicating Guinea Worm
Published by Voice of America.
South Sudan, the world's newest country, is on the brink of its first health-care success. Cases of guinea worm have dropped dramatically in the past five years and there is hope that in 2012 transmission will be stopped completely.
Feb. 4, 2012
Neglected Tropical Diseases: The World's Nastiest Illnesses Get Some Belated Attention
Published Feb. 4, 2012, by The Economist.
GLOBAL health campaigns like grand goals. On January 30th Bill Gates joined the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO), 13 drug-company executives and others in pledging to eradicate or control by 2020 ten of the world's nastiest diseases, which afflict more than a billion people. Guinea worm, sleeping sickness, bilharzia (which doctors call schistosomiasis) and the others rot tissue and cripple the organs. Even if they do not kill, they stunt children and sap adults' energies.
Feb. 1, 2012
Grace: Nigeria's Last Case of Guinea Worm
Published Feb. 1, 2012, by KPLU.
After my first visit to Nigeria in 2001, when I saw more than my fair share of guinea worm infections, I returned to Nigeria for a book project I claimed to be working on. It was 2009 and I was a freelancer.
Feb. 1, 2012
How Jimmy Carter Became a Serpent Slayer and Global Health Pioneer
Published Feb. 1, 2012, by KPLU.
Former President Jimmy Carter is in Seattle, having spoken last night at the World Affairs Council's 60th anniversary celebration and speaking today at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation about Guinea worm.
Jan. 30, 2012
Gates Initiative on "Neglected Diseases" Advances Cause, But Neglects Key Questions
Published Jan. 30, 2012, by KPLU.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced, together with more than a dozen drug makers and others, a new initiative aimed at fighting a select group of mostly developing world ailments called "neglected tropical diseases" such as river blindness, parasitic elephantiasis and others.
Jan. 30, 2012
Sheikh Khalifa Pledges US$10 Million in Support of Carter Center-led Eradication Campaign to End Guinea Worm
Published Jan. 30, 2012, by the Emirates News Agency.
President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has presented US$ 10 million in support to a Carter Center-led eradication campaign to end Guinea worm disease by 2015.
Jan. 30, 2012
Drug Companies Join Forces to Combat Deadliest Tropical Diseases
Published Jan. 30, 2012, by The Guardian.
The heads of 13 of the world's biggest drug companies, brought together by Bill Gates, have agreed to donate more medicines and, in a rare spirit of co-operation, to work together to find new ones in an attempt to end many neglected tropical diseases that kill and maim some of the poorest people on the planet.
Jan. 30, 2012
Carter Center Gets $40M to Eradicate Guinea Worm
Associated Press article appeared on Huffington Post, Boston Globe, MiamiHerald.com, and over 200 news outlets.
The Carter Center on Monday announced it received $40 million in donations to help fuel its mission to eradicate Guinea worm disease, a debilitating parasite that once plagued millions of people across the developing world.
Jan. 30, 2012
Gates Pledges Money to Guinea Worm Fight
Published Jan. 30, 2012, by CNN.com.
Less than a week after the the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced it would give $750 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the foundation has pledged $23.3 million to a lesser-known disease: Guinea worm.
Jan. 20, 2012
Web Extra: Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Tell Piers Morgan About Their Goal of Eradicating Guinea Worm
Published Jan. 20, 2012, by CNN.
Only one infectious disease has ever been eradicated: smallpox. But thanks largely to the efforts of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, the former president told Piers Morgan that guinea worm will soon be the second. "We found 3-and-a-half million cases of guinea worm still existing, and now we have less than a thousand cases, so we'll soon eliminate guinea worm from the face of the earth," said Carter.
Oct. 12, 2011
Eradicating Guinea Worm
Published Oct. 12, 2011, by Here & Now.
Only one human disease has ever been completely eradicated — smallpox — but we are now close to eliminating a second: dracunculiasis or Guinea worm disease.
Oct. 6, 2011
UK Gives £20m to Carter's War on Guinea Worm
Published Oct. 6, 2011, by The Independent.
The fight to eradicate the gruesome and debilitating "Guinea worm" disease, making it only the second in the world to be wiped out after smallpox, is on the verge of success after it secured £20m funding from the government.
Oct. 6, 2011
Battle Against Crippling Parasitic Disease Nearly Won, Says Carter (PDF)
Published Oct. 6, 2011, by The Guardian.
The world is tantalisingly close to eradicating guinea worm disease, which would make it only the second disease of humans to be wiped from the planet, according to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
Oct. 5, 2011
Efforts to End Worm Disease Get British Boost
Published Oct. 5, 2011, on CNN.com – The Chart Blog.
Britain will back a final push to wipe out a debilitating parasitic worm disease that is on the verge of worldwide eradication.
Oct. 5, 2011
Jimmy Carter Spearheads Final Drive to Eradicate Guinea Worm Disease
Published Oct. 5, 2011, by The Guardian.
The world is tantalisingly close to eradicating Guinea worm disease, which would make it only the second disease of humans to be wiped from the planet, according to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
Oct. 5, 2011
Fresh Push to Rid the World of Guinea Worm by 2015
Published Oct. 5, 2011, by the BBC.
The U.K. government is backing a new campaign to try to rid the world of Guinea worm by 2015.
Oct. 5, 2011
Britain joins Jimmy Carter to Wipe Out Worm Disease
Published Oct. 5, 2011, by Agence France Presse.
Britain pledged Wednesday to contribute £20 million to the funding of a campaign spearheaded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter that aims to eradicate a debilitating parasitic disease by 2015.
Oct. 5, 2011
Carter Centre Calls for Wider Immunisation Programme
Published Oct. 5, 2011, by the Financial Times.
The long-running and expensive campaign to eradicate polio – which costs about $1bn a year – is likely to fail unless it is combined with vaccines that combat other deadly diseases such as measles, a leading public health specialist has warned.
Oct. 5, 2011
UK Push to Wipe Out Guinea Worm Disease
Published Oct. 5, 2011, by the Department for International Development.
Britain today announced it will provide major support to a new project that will make Guinea worm the second human disease to be eradicated in human history.
Oct. 5, 2011
Oct. 5, 2011
Oct. 4, 2011
Aug. 3, 2011
Ghana Joins 14 Other African Nations in Eradicating Guinea Worm
Published by Voice of America.
Ghana has joined 14 other African countries in eradicating Guinea worm disease. The announcement from the Carter Center in Atlanta says the disease cycle has been broken after a 23-year nationwide battle.
Aug. 1, 2011
July 29, 2011
Ghana Eradicates Guinea Worm After 23-Year Fight
This article was published on July 29 by the Associated Press.
Jimmy Carter watched in horror as the inches- (centimeters-) long worm emerged from the breast of a woman in remote northern Ghana. That was in the 1980s. The former U.S. president dedicated himself to eradicating the sickness and estimated it would take 10 years. On Thursday, after 23 years of hard work and a major setback, Ghana finally declared victory.
July 25, 2011
Evening Focus: In Africa with The Carter Center, Part 2 – Safe Water
Published July 25, 2011, by Blogistan Polytechnic Institute.
Americans often take clean water for granted. But in Africa, as The Carter Center's Craig Withers explains, clean water can be hard to find.
July 18, 2011
Evening Focus: In Africa with The Carter Center, Part 1
Published July 18, 2011, by Blogistan Polytechnic Institute.
I had the pleasure to interview Craig Withers of The Carter Center about their work to eradicate Guinea Worm Disease in Africa.
July 14, 2011
Newest Country on Track to Kill Ancient Disease
This article was published July 14 by New Scientist.
It isn't often these days that a whole new country comes into being. But that just happened, with the official hiving off of South Sudan from the rest of Sudan on 9 July.
Aug. 3, 2011
Ghana Joins 14 Other African Nations in Eradicating Guinea Worm
Published Aug. 3, 2011, by Voice of America.
Ghana has joined 14 other African countries in eradicating Guinea worm disease. The announcement from the Carter Center in Atlanta says the disease cycle has been broken after a 23-year nationwide battle.
July 18, 2011
Epidemiology: In Losing Its Southern States to Secession, Sudan Also Sheds Its Guinea Worm Cases
Published July 18, 2011, by The New York Times.
As of July 15, one more country was declared free of the guinea worm: Sudan. But it was a hollow victory. That was the date Sudan split in two and South Sudan became the world's newest country — and all the known Sudanese cases are in the south.
June 10, 2011
Farewell to Guinea Worm
This article was published in the July 2011 issue of National Geographic Magazine.
It's not every day that a disease disappears, but Guinea worm disease may be next, after smallpox. Thanks to international efforts led by The Carter Center, just 1,797 cases were reported worldwide last year, most in what is now South Sudan.
April 26, 2011
Infectious Diseases Burden in South Sudan
Published April 26, 2011, by The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Vol. 11. Subscription required to read
the full article.
There is, however, one cause for genuine hope. Independence for South Sudan could spell the end for Guinea worm disease. It has been targeted by WHO for eradication, and thanks to the work of the Carter Centre, such an outcome looks eminently achievable. Last year, there were 1785 cases, 1690 of which were in South Sudan (the handful of other cases occurred in Ethiopia, Mali, and Ghana).
April 18, 2011
Carter Center in Final Push to Eradicate Guinea Worm Disease
Published Voice of America.
As Southern Sudan prepares to emerge on the world stage as the newest nation on the planet, health workers combating Guinea Worm disease are hoping the country's independence will energize the campaign against the parasite.
March 27, 2011
March 21, 2011
Nigeria Wins War Against Guinea Worm (PDF)
Published March 21, 2011 by TELL Magazine.
Millions of Nigerians may be spared future suffering as Carter Center announces it has stopped transmission of Guinea worm disease in the country.
March 17, 2011
How to Solve Really Big Problems
Published on March 17, 2011 in the Huffington Post.
I recently attended a press conference at The Carter Center in Atlanta where Jimmy Carter announced that after 25 years of work, they have practically eradicated Guinea Worm disease from the face of the Earth.
March 8, 2011
The President Takes a Chance on Failure
Published March 8, 2011 by Success Magazine.
Jimmy Carter was forcibly retired at 56, in debt and embarrassed. He could've played golf. Jimmy Carter is visiting a poor village in tropical Ghana when he notices a beautiful woman in her 20s standing near the edge of a crowd. She's holding her arms as though clutching a baby. He approaches her to ask the baby's name "just to be friendly," as he recalls later. But what he sees leaves the former president fighting back tears.
March 7, 2011
End Game for Guinea Worm Disease is Near
Published March 7, 2011 by Emory Report
Former U.S. President and Carter Center founder Jimmy Carter announced on Feb. 17 that only three endemic countries remain in the fight against Guinea worm disease, poised to be only the second disease in history—after smallpox—to be eradicated.
March 5, 2011
Jimmy Carter, Worm Slayer (Video)
Published March 5, 2011 by The Huffington Post.
Whenever Jimmy Carter makes a statement, opinions fly.
Yet it wasn't the former U.S. President's political views that had a crowd of students and parents gasping during his speech at an Atlanta private school February 17. It was his talk of a horrific creature known as Guinea Worm that elicited dropped jaws from the audience.
Feb. 28, 2011
Parasitic Disease: Guinea Worm Takes a Step Closer to Eradication, Jimmy Carter Says
Published Feb. 28, 2011 by the New York Times.
The guinea worm is a spaghetti-thin parasite that has proved notoriously hard to eradicate around the world. Now former President Jimmy Carter, who has led a 25-year campaign against guinea worm disease, is reporting progress in the effort to make it only the second human disease to be eradicated, after smallpox.
Feb. 23, 2011
Guinea Worm: Parasitic Infection Nears Extinction
PBS Newshour
Officials at the Atlanta-based Carter Center said this week that the effort to eradicate the Guinea Worm parasite – a scourge that dates back to Biblical times – is now 99 percent complete.
Feb. 22, 2011
Guinea Worm: Second Disease In History To Disappear?
Published February 18, 2011 by The Huffington Post
For all of the mind-boggling achievements of modern medicine, only one – one! – disease has ever been completely eradicated: smallpox. But now guinea worm -- the preventable disease that forces people to live with worms up to three-feet long inside them – is teetering on the brink of joining that very, very short list of diseases.
Feb. 18, 2011
Nigeria Halts Transmission of Guinea Worm
Published by Reuters Africa.
Nigeria has halted transmission of Guinea worm disease, bringing closer the moment when a disease is eradicated from the planet for just the second time in history, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said on Thursday.
Feb. 7, 2011
Feb. 3, 2011
Killing the 'Fiery Serpent'
Published in the Feb. 3, 2011, issue of the Harvard Gazette.
Health officials are poised to eradicate guinea worm disease, a plague that once afflicted millions and which would be just the second human disease wiped from the face of the earth, Donald Hopkins, vice president of health programs for The Carter Center, said Tuesday (Feb. 1).
Jan. 19, 2011
A Vote Against the Guinea Worm
Editorial published in New Scientist.
GOOD news from Africa. We may be in a position to eradicate the Guinea worm (previous story "Southern Sudan's votes could kill an ancient disease"). If we succeed, this will only be the second human disease to be wiped out, after smallpox in 1980.
Jan. 19, 2011
Southern Sudan's Votes Could Kill an Ancient Disease
Feature by Deborah McKenzie published in New Scientist.
Since 1986 The Carter Center, a charity headed by former US president Jimmy Carter, has helped these people filter water and keep emerging worms out of ponds. Now only four countries still have the worm – and of these, Ghana, Ethiopia and Mali are practically rid of it. Of the 1785 cases found last year, 1690 were in Southern Sudan.
Jan. 15, 2011
Looking to the Future in Sudan: Dr. Donald R. Hopkins' Letter to the Editor, The New York Times
This letter sent Jan. 11, 2011, by Carter Center Health Programs Vice President Donald R. Hopkins, M.D., M.P.H., is in response to an editorial published Jan. 8, 2011, by The New York Times.
"Southern Sudan Votes" (editorial, Jan. 8) rightly notes that the government of southern Sudan has "set up more than two dozen ministries and built schools and roads" since the signing of the comprehensive peace agreement in 2005.
Dec. 25, 2010
Jimmy Carter vs. Guinea Worm: Sudan is Last Battle
Associated Press feature by Maggie Fick, issued worldwide.
Lily pads and purple flowers dot one corner of the watering hole. Bright green algae covers another. Two women collect water in plastic jugs while a cattle herder bathes nearby.
Dec. 21, 2010
Jimmy Carter's Dream of Eradication: CNN Impact Your World
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter discusses the Carter Center's efforts to eradicate Guinea worm disease.
Dec. 13, 2010
The President and the Worm – Jimmy Carter's Fight to Eradicate the Guinea Worm
Published in the Dec. 13, 2010, issue of Der Spiegel.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jimmy Carter is leading a unique battle to eradicate the Guinea worm. His efforts have brought the painful infection, transmitted via contaminated water, to the brink of elimination. The decisive battle is being fought in Sudan.
Read "The President and the Worm – Jimmy Carter's Fight to Eradicate the Guinea Worm" (English) or "Der Präsident und der Wurm – Friedensnobelpreisträger Jimmy Carter führt einen einzigartigen Krieg gegen einen Parasiten" (Deutsch) >
Online Extras:
- Q&A With President Carter
"Jimmy Carter on Eradicating the Guinea Worm" (English) >
"Wie Jimmy Carter einen Wurm ausrotten last" (Deutsch) >- Photo Gallery
(English) >- Profile: Carter Center Health Worker Garang Buk
"Der Sanfte Offizier (The Gentle Officer)" (Deutsch) >
Nov. 8, 2010
Breaking a Vicious Cycle
Published in the Autumn 2010 issue of Emory Magazine.
Jimmy Carter is planning a send-off for the last Guinea worm on earth. Founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, The Carter Center, in partnership with Emory, has worked to advance human rights and alleviate human suffering in more than seventy countries. One of the center's core activities, the Guinea Worm Eradication Program, is nearing the finish line, with only four countries still reporting cases. President Carter spoke with Emory Magazine about the program's impressive achievements and the lessons learned along the way.
Nov. 8, 2010
Lost and Found
Published in the Autumn 2010 issue of Emory Magazine.
In 1987, as a second civil war engulfed southern Sudan, David Thon 08MPH fled his rural village in search of a safe haven, eventually emigrating to the United States in 2001. Last year, on behalf of The Carter Center, he returned home to help eradicate an ancient scourge, 'waging peace' one patient at a time.
Oct. 27, 2010
A President's Promise (PDF)
Published in the Fall 2010 issue of Emory Health magazine.
President Carter made a vow to wipe an ancient and terrible disease from the face of the earth, and two decades later, he's on the verge of making it happen.
Oct. 12, 2010
Carter's Work to Eradicate Diseases Nearly Complete
Distributed Oct. 12, 2010, by The Associated Press.
Former President Jimmy Carter says his mission to eradicate two diseases that have affected millions in some of the world's poorest nations is nearly complete.
Oct. 8, 2010
How Fight Against Guinea Worm Was Won
Published Oct. 8, 2010, by CNN.
It's a disease that has plagued Africans for decades, now medical researchers believe they are on their way to eradicating it.
Sept. 22, 2010
Carter Center Puts End to Dreaded Disease
Published Sept. 22, 2010, by Voice of America.
Carter Center says Nigeria is latest country to eradicate water-born parasite Guinea worm."Sudan is the last stand for Guinea worm disease," says former U.S. president Jimmy Carter. In the country's southern region, almost 1400 people have the disease, says the Atlanta-based Carter Center.
Sept. 18, 2010
Eradicating Guinea Worm Disease — A Prelude to NTD Elimination
Published by The Lancet, Volume 376, Issue 9745, Pages 947 - 948, doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61437-7.
The drive to eradicate Guinea worm or dracunculiasis from the planet is one of today's great but unrecognised public health successes. Narrated by Sigourney Weaver and focusing on the two-decade long programme to eradicate Guinea worm driven by the Carter Center and WHO, Foul Water Fiery Serpent tracks the progress of these efforts.
Aug. 4, 2010
Carter Center Experts and Partners Chronicle "Nigeria's Triumph" Over Ancient Guinea Worm Disease in American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Article
In the August 2010 issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, a new paper co-authored by experts from the Nigeria Ministry of Health, The Carter Center, and the World Health Organization, details Nigeria's historic triumph over many challenges to successfully eliminate the ancient waterborne plague Guinea worm disease (also known as dracunculiasis).
July 15, 2010
Ghana to be Declared Free of Guinea Worms
Published by CEDEP.
Ghana recorded only eight cases of guinea worm from January to June this year, with the hope that the country would soon be declared a guinea worm-free country.
July 7, 2010
Out of the Darkness: Wiring a Desert Village
Published July 7, 2010, on Wired magazine's Raw File blog.
Freelance photographer Peter DiCampo, who has worked for The Carter Center numerous times, is the featured interview for this piece from WIRED magazine's blog "Raw File." Using his photographs as a starting point, DiCampo recounts how Wantugu, Ghana has changed since electricity arrived in the village.
July 9, 2010
Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter: Fighting Guinea Worm to the Death (PDF)
Published in the Fall 2010 issue of Lives – New Answers for Global Health (a new publication from Scientific American).Posted with permission.
It was more than two decades ago that former President Jimmy Carter saw his first case of Guinea Worm, the flesh-burrowing parasite that for centuries has caused agony in poor, remote parts of the world. But Mr. Carter recalls that moment— an image forever seared in his mind —as if it were yesterday.
May 21, 2010
"Anyak vs. the Guinea Worm," New York Times video.
Nicholas D. Kristof follows a young Sudanese boy with a parasite infection who is quarantined for treatment.
May 7, 2010
Dracunculiasis Eradication – Global Surveillance Summary, 2009 (PDF)
Published in Weekly Epidemiological Record, No. 19, 2010, 85, 165–176. © World Health Organization. This report summarizes the progress made in the Guinea worm eradication goal until the end of 2009.
April 28, 2010
Winning the Worm War
This New York Times op-ed by Nicholas D. Kristof was published April 28, 2010.
Former President Jimmy Carter's plan to eradicate Guinea worm worldwide is succeeding because local villagers are involved in the effort.
April 16, 2010
Eradicating a Global Scourge
Published April 16, 2010, by PBS's Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.
PBS's Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly examines religion's role and the ethical dimensions of top news headlines. Fred de Sam Lazaro traveled to Southern Sudan with the Carter Center delegation to cover President Carter's Guinea worm eradication efforts.
April 13, 2010
President Carter in Sudan: Guinea Worm's Last Frontier (PDF)
This article was published in the summer 2010 issue of Oasis Magazine.
As President Carter visits Sudan, the last frontier of Guinea Worm disease, Oasis interviews him and finds out more about how the Carter Center was able to eradicate a disease.
April 15, 2010
Jimmy Carter: Waging Peace. Fighting Disease.
This article was published April 15, 2010, by Malibu Magazine.
James Earl Carter was the first U.S. president born in a hospital. That might seem like a trivial fact, but given Carter's lifelong dedication to the advancement of human rights, one can't help but trace his benevolence back to the beginning, an era when state-of-the-art advancements in science and medicine resulted in longer, healthier lives for people affluent enough to benefit from them. Carter's unwavering devotion to the greatest humanitarian causes of our time span the majority of his 86 years, and he has been a steadfast bastion of freedom and equality since beginning his political career in the early 1960s.
April 8, 2010
PBS's "NewsHour," CNN.com, and Public Radio International's "The World" Report on Southern Sudan, Last Bastion for Historic Campaign to Eradicate Guinea Worm Disease
In early February 2010, a global health unit from PBS's "NewsHour," Public Radio International's "The World," and CNN.com visited Southern Sudan with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Center health staff to explore progress toward Guinea worm disease eradication in this last bastion for the parasitic infection.
April 7, 2010
PBS's "NewsHour" Airs Special Feature on Campaign to End Guinea Worm Disease
In early February 2010, a global health unit from PBS's "NewsHour," visited Southern Sudan with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Center health staff to explore progress toward Guinea worm disease eradication in this last bastion for the parasitic infection.
April 6, 2010
CNN.com Features Major Coverage of Guinea Worm Eradication Efforts in Southern Sudan
Join CNN.com, the world's leading news Web site, for its major coverage of Southern Sudan's final struggle to wipe out Guinea worm disease.
March 29, 2010
Eradicating Guinea Worm Disease
This program aired March 29, 2010, on PRI's The World (from the BBC, PRI, and WGBH). Accompanying Web feature includes photos, article, and full-length audio interview with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Run time: 28:14
A global campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease is tantalizingly close to success. The parasitic infection, caused by a worm that can grow three feet long before it emerges from a patient's body, now affects just a few thousand people per year. Almost all of the remaining cases are in Southern Sudan. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who has helped lead the campaign, went there in February. The World's David Baron was there too.
March 24, 2010
Mayo Clinic Alumni Association 66th Meeting, Profile of Speaker: Dr. John Hardman (PDF)
This article was published March 1, 2010, in Mayo Alumni magazine.
Carter Center President and CEO Dr. John Hardman (a Mayo Clinic alumnus) presented the prestigious Raymond D. Pruitt Lecture during the 2009 Mayo Clinic Alumni Association's biennial meeting. The lecture series honors individuals who have expertise in medical specialties or areas of research. Dr. Hardman's presentation on "Not Neglecting Neglected Diseases for 24 Years and Counting..." covered the Center's work to prevent diseases in the world's poorest countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
March 19, 2010
Sudanese guinea worm on the point of eradication. What next?
This article was published March 19, 2010, on www.telegraph.co.uk.
It's a particularly nasty individual, the Guinea worm. It grows as long as a metre inside its human host who has unwittingly drunk its larvae in contaminated water. It mates with another; then, after a year or so, it erupts through the person's skin, spewing thousands of its own larvae as it goes. And so the cycle continues.
March 17, 2010
Mali: Hoping to Eradicate Guinea Worm in Two Years
This article was published March 17, 2010, by IRIN (Integrated Regional Information Networks).
Mali is hoping to eradicate guinea-worm in the next two years, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
March 16, 2010
Parasite Lost: Exterminating Africa's Horror Worms
Published March 16, 2010, by New Scientist magazine, Issue #2751. Subscription required to read the full article.
It Starts with a painful blister - a very painful blister. It feels, people say, like being stabbed with a red-hot needle. When the blister bursts, the head of a worm pops out, thin, white and very much alive. The rest of the worm, about a metre long, remains inside your body. It can take up to two months to pull it out, inch by agonising inch, during which time it may be impossible to walk. In extreme cases, you may host up to sixty of them, anywhere on your body. The worms can cause paralysis or lethal bacterial infections, and even if you survive mostly unscathed, next year it can happen all over again. The guinea worm (Dracunculus, or little dragon) is probably the closest living equivalent to the monsters in the Alien movies - except we're beating this enemy. Guinea worm ...
Feb. 19, 2010
Carter: Eradication of Guinea worm disease near in Sudan
This article was published Feb. 19, 2010, by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Former President Jimmy Carter said Friday that Sudan has made significant progress in its fight against Guinea worm disease.
Feb. 19, 2010
Carter: Parasitic Guinea Worm Cases Hit Record Low
This article was distributed by the Associated Press.
Global cases of Guinea worm disease have dropped to a new all-time low, former President Jimmy Carter said Friday, and health officials hope the infection that culminates in worms emerging from a victim's skin can be eliminated within two years.
Feb. 18, 2010
Miraya 101 FM Audio Feature: Jimmy Carter Discusses Guinea Worm Eradication During His Five Day Visit to Sudan
Miraya 101 FM is a United Nations Mission in the Sudan-run radio station in Southern Sudan. They work to provide independent and impartial news to national, regional, and international audiences in an effort to support democratic governance. Note: This is an .mp3 audio file.
Feb. 17, 2010
"Sudan in Pictures" Features Visit of Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter
The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) regularly produces a series of pictorials called "Sudan in Pictures" to keep its staff and the public informed about activities in Sudan. The February 2010 edition of "Sudan in Pictures" features the visit of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to the region.
Feb. 17, 2010
Stamping Out the Guinea Worm 'Dragons' of Sudan
This article was published Feb. 17, 2010, by AFP (Agence France-Presse).
Scars on Severion Wayet's arms reveal where the flesh-burrowing Guinea worms burst through her skin. It was an agonising process that lasted days as the worms, measuring around one metre (three feet) in length, fought their way out of her body.
Feb. 17, 2010
Sudan: Final Push to Eradicate Guinea Worm
This article was published Feb. 17, 2010, by IRIN (Integrated Regional Information Networks).
Guinea worm, the agonizing water-borne parasite, could be eradicated within "two to three years" from Southern Sudan, health officials say.
Jan. 26, 2010
And Then There Were Four: More Countries Beat Guinea Worm Disease
Reproduced from [Michelle Lodge, British Medical Journal 2010;340:c496] with permission from BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.
The number of countries remaining affected by guinea worm disease, or dracunculiasis, fell by two last year, leaving just four countries in Africa that continue to harbour the waterborne parasitic disease.
Dec. 31, 2009
Uganda Stamps Out Guinea Worm Disease
This article was published Dec. 31, 2009, by Daily Monitor/Monitor Publications Ltd.
Since 1991, Uganda has been campaigning to eradicate the Guinea worm. 18 years later, the ancient parasitic disease has been completely eliminated from the country, according to the World Health Organisation, making it the second major disease after smallpox to be wiped out.
Dec. 22, 2009
Carter Center Nears Goal Against Guinea Worm
This article was published Dec. 22, 2009, by Voice of America.
In the last 12 months, no case of Guinea worm disease has been found in Nigeria. It's a major step in former President Jimmy Carter's effort to eradicate the parasitic disease worldwide. The Carter Center has been leading the battle against Guinea worm - in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization. Watch video >>
Dec. 9, 2009
Carter Center Landmark in Disease Eradication
This article was published Dec. 9, 2009, by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Carter Center declared another major step in ridding the world of guinea worm disease. Nigeria, once the worst-afflicted country in the world with 653,000 cases, has not reported a case in 12 months, said Dr. Donald R. Hopkins, chairman of the International Task Force for Disease Eradication, which is based at the Carter Center. Only four countries – Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali and Sudan – still report guinea worm disease. About 3,000 were found as of last month, down from three million when former President Jimmy Carter began his efforts.
Dec. 7, 2009
Campaign to Eradicate Guinea Worm in Hard-Hit Nigeria May Have Worked
This article was published Dec. 7, 2009, by The New York Times.
After 20 years, the Carter Center is ready to declare a major victory in its war on guinea worm: Nigeria, once the worst-afflicted country in the world, appears to be free of the worms.
Nov. 17, 2009
A Killer Blow to Guinea Worm (PDF)
This article was published in the Nov. 9, 2009 ,edition of The News magazine.
At last, Nigeria is on its way to being free from the deadly and economically debilitating Guinea worm infection. This was the good news that came out of the recent three-day stock-taking stakeholders meeting in Abuja organized by the Carter Center. The Center and its partners have been involved in efforts to eradicate Guinea worm disease across the globe.
Oct. 5, 2009
Sudan Wages War on Guinea Worms
World Focus video report on Sudan's Guinea worm elimination campaign, in association with the Global Health Frontline News Project. Distributed to PBS stations nationwide. (Run time: 3:11)
Oct. 4, 2009
It's Bye to Guinea Worm
This editorial was published October 4, 2009, on www.newswatchngr.com.
Latest statistics on Guinea Worm cases in Nigeria show that the country has won the battle to eradicate the disease.
Sept. 22, 2009
Chasing the Worm
This article was published Sept. 22, 2009, by the British Medical Journal 2009;339:b3892.
New cases of guinea worm disease in southern Sudan have recently fallen from 20 000 a year to an estimated 1500, and doctors are hoping that the disease will become the second in history to be eliminated.
Sept. 2, 2009
Countdown to Wipe Out Guinea Worm in Ghana (PDF)
Published September 2009 in the World Health Organization Bulletin. Volume 87, Number 9, September 2009, 645-732. Ghana could be one of the next African countries to say goodbye to Guinea worm. Amamata Sumani is on the front line in the war against Guinea worm disease (dracunculiasis) in Ghana – a front line that shrinks every year as the parasitic nematode retreats into its last remaining strongholds in the north of the country. Dracunculiasis transmission can be interrupted at two places in the parasites' life-cycle – by preventing people with open sores from contaminating water sources, and by filtering drinking water.
July 12, 2009
Ghana Fights Guinea Worm
This editorial was published by Voice of America on July 12, 2009.
Guinea worm disease, a painful and crippling parasite affliction, has been almost entirely eradicated in Ghana, thanks to the tireless efforts of village-based volunteers and ministry of health staff, with assistance from The Carter Center, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and other partner organizations.
July 4, 2009
Guinea Worm Nears Demise
Carter Center has 2010 goal for Africa, Asia. Since 1986, program focused on eradicating parasite in 20 countries. Philip Downs of Atlanta will know he is successful when he no longer has a job. Downs, 34, is the assistant director of the Guinea Worm Eradication Program at the Carter Center. After 23 years, the partners in the fight believe they are 18 months from success.
June 25, 2009
Ghana: Guinea Worm Eradication Program Gets Results in Country
This article, from AllAfrica.com, was originally published June 25, 2009, on America.gov.
Guinea worm disease, which has crippled millions in Africa and Asia, is nearly vanquished in Ghana, thanks to the efforts of the Carter Center, which has been working with health workers in that country over the last 20 years.
April 4, 2009
The Lancet: "Africa Sees Obstacles to Guinea Worm Disease Eradication"
This article was published in the April 4, 2009, edition of The Lancet and is reprinted with permission.
Experts are stepping up their efforts to eradicate guinea worm disease from the world. But the final push will not be easy in the six African countries with remaining cases, Wairagala Wakabi reports.
March 1, 2009
Al Jazeera: "Guinea Worm Disease Afflicting Hundreds in Ghana"
Al Jazeera's Dan Nolan visited a village in northern Ghana where health officials are working to help people affected by the guinea worm, which can grow up to one-meter long inside the bodies of its victims.
March 1, 2009
The Lancet Infectious Diseases: "The End is Nigh for Guinea Worm Disease"
Eradication of Guinea worm disease, caused by the nematode parasite Dracunculus medinensis, is now close at hand. Cases fell to from 3.5 million cases in 1986 to a provisional 4643 cases in 2008, a reduction of 99.5 percent. "Only 1972 of last year's cases were uncontained," reported Ernesto Ruiz-Tiben, Director of the Guinea Worm Eradication Program at the Carter Center (Atlanta, GA, USA). Reprinted with permission from The Lancet.
Feb. 18, 2009
CNN's "Impact Your World" on "Eradicating a Parasite"
This news segment features former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Dr. Donald Hopkins, vice president of the Carter Center's health programs, discussing the international campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease.
Feb. 3, 2009
CNN's "Inside Africa" "Guinea Worm Nearly Eradicated" Features Kelly Callahan
Carter Center expert Kelly Callahan was featured on CNNI's "Inside Africa" to discuss Guinea worm and Sudan. "Inside Africa" is a half-hour current affairs weekly program that provides global viewers with an inside look at political, economic, social and cultural affairs and trends in Africa.
Jan. 20, 2009
Grants Push Guinea Worm to All-time Low
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced last month that cases of Guinea worm disease have reached an all-time low with fewer than 5,000 estimated cases remaining worldwide. To help eliminate the remaining cases, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) announced new commitments totaling $55 million to support the historic Carter Center-led eradication campaign.
Dec. 10, 2008
Good Riddance, Guinea Worm
GOOD News is a video news program produced by GOOD magazine's Web site. Host Roger Numbers, an animated character, conducts interviews on a wide range of issues including science, history, and economics. In this video, Roger interviews Carter Center expert Kelly Callahan on the Dec. 2008 Guinea worm announcement of fewer than 5,000 cases remaining worldwide.
Sept. 1, 2008
Killing the Worm
Published in GOOD Magazine, Issue 012, pages 106-115.
Disease eradication hasn't had a success since smallpox in 1979. Now, Guinea worm disease—in which a three-foot long worm burrows through its victim's body—is holding out in just a few African countries. The quest to wipe it out is slow and controversial, but the finish line is in sight.
Aug. 23, 2008
Financial Times Feature: The Worm That Turned Back
Published in the Financial Times, Aug. 23, 2008, Weekend Edition, pages 15-18.
When Makoy Samuel Yibi Logora was growing up in a village in southern Sudan, no one there knew what caused Guinea worm. But they certainly understood its effects. The skin swells and becomes infected as a thin white parasitic worm takes several weeks to emerge slowly, agonisingly, through a huge blister.
May 10, 2008
Donald R Hopkins: Eradicating Guinea Worm Disease
This article was published in the May 10, 2008, edition of The Lancet. Online signup is required to read the full article.
Disease eradication has proven to be a rare and maddeningly elusive goal for global-health experts over the years. Despite Herculean attempts to abolish malaria, yellow fever, polio, and other scourges, only the smallpox campaign has been completely successful. But now efforts to eliminate Guinea worm disease (dracunculiasis) look likely to succeed. One man has been on the front lines of both successful eff orts: Carter Center Vice President for Health Programs Donald R Hopkins.
March 31, 2008
A Village Woman's Legacy (PDF)
This article was published in the Mar. 31, 2008, edition of TIME magazine.
An encounter with the victim of an old scourge gave a former President a new worldview—and a mission.
Jan. 25, 2008
Fighting the Scourge of the Guinea Worm
This photo slideshow was published on Jan. 25, 2008 in TIME Magazine.
A Ghanaian village bands together to eradicate a debilitating parasite. Photographs by Peter DiCampo.
Nov. 28, 2007
Carter Center Expert Donald Hopkins Receives Prestigious Fries Prize for Guinea Worm Eradication Leadership
Poised to be the first parasitic disease eradicated in human history, Guinea worm disease now teeters on the verge of extinction. The 2007 Fries Prize for Improving Health was bestowed on Donald R. Hopkins, M.D., M.P.H., Carter Center vice president for health programs, for his sustained leadership in the global campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease (dracunculiasis), a debilitating parasitic infection contracted from drinking contaminated water.
Nov. 12, 2007
Al Jazeera's The Pulse Investigates the Planned Extinction of Guinea Worm From the Planet
Al Jazeera's The Pulse is a weekly series that showcases topical stories from around the world, and from laboratories working on new cures, vaccines, and treatments.
Scientists are on the verge of eradicating one of the oldest parasites that has been infecting humans for thousands of years – Guinea worm. The Pulse investigates how this is possible.
Oct. 24, 2007
Persistence Pays Off in Guinea Worm Fight (PDF)
©2007 American Medical Association. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission of J.A.M.A.
Last February, when Ernesto Ruiz-Tiben, Ph.D., accompanied former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his staff to Savelugu, Ghana, they were greeted with a heart-wrenching sight. More than 300 people, mostly children, flocked to a makeshift dracunculiasis clinic, hoping to obtain relief for pain so intense that the ancient Egyptians had called it a fiery serpent.
June 22, 2007
New England Journal of Medicine Feature: The Tail End of Guinea Worm — Global Eradication without a Drug or a Vaccine
The New England Journal of Medicine's June 21 issue features, " The Tail End of Guinea Worm — Global Eradication without a Drug or a Vaccine," by Michele Barry, M.D., and includes four PowerPoint photo and data presentations.
June 22, 2007
New England Journal of Medicine: Interview with Jimmy Carter and Donald Hopkins on the Near-Eradication of Guinea Worm Disease
Supplement to: Barry M. The Tail End of Guinea Worm — Global Eradication without a Drug or a Vaccine. N Engl J Med 2007;356(25):2561-4.
May 12, 2007
Chicago Tribune Feature: Doctor Without Borders
In a dusty, open-air treatment center in Savelugu, Ghana, where patients are crying in pain, Dr. Donald R. Hopkins once again meets his enemy: Guinea worm disease.
May 10, 2007
Chicago Tribune Three-Part Video Feature: Lifting the Guinea Worm Curse
This feature contains three separate videos, "Still Inflicting Pain," "The Worm Killer," and "Front Line of Care."
April 4, 2007
Case Studies in Global Health: Millions Saved
Written by Ruth Levine, Ph.D, Case Studies in Global Health: Millions Saved highlights 20 original public health large-scale success cases. The Guinea worm disease eradication campaign and river blindness control campaign are featured chapters in the book.
March 16, 2007
Associated Press: Tough Fight in Final Struggle to Eradicate 'Fiery Serpents' That Plagued Israelites
Savelugu, Ghana – The little girl screams in pain and convulsively reaches for the hand inflicting the torture -- the hand slowly drawing a thin, white worm from her blistered foot.
March 3, 2007
National Public Radio: Stamping Out Guinea Worm (PDF)
Guinea worm disease, long gone from the developed world, continues to persist in poorer nations. Now, a relentless effort to eradicate it in Nigeria is close to success. Soon, with help from U.S. donors, the Nigerian government and local health workers, guinea worm may be a problem of the past.
Feb. 18, 2007
New York Times Feature: Torture By Worms
Presidents are supposed to be strong, and on his latest visit to Africa Jimmy Carter proved himself strong enough to weep. Click here for official reprint (PDF).
July 1, 2006
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Editorial: Slaying Little Dragons: Lessons From The Dracunculiasis Eradication Program [PDF]
The word dracunculiasis comes from the Latin phrase "afflicted with little dragons." The global Dracunculiasis Eradication Program (DEP) spearheaded by President Jimmy Carter and The Carter Center has quietly "inched" towards world eradication with stunning success.
March 26, 2006
New York Times Feature on Guinea Worm Disease: Dose of Tenacity Wears Down A Horrific Disease
"Dose of Tenacity Wears Down a Horrific Disease" by Donald G. McNeil Jr. is the second in The New York Times "On the Brink" series of articles about five diseases — polio, Guinea worm, measles, blinding trachoma and lymphatic filariasis — that are extinct in the developed world but stubbornly persistent in some poor nations. As the diseases hover on the brink of eradication, doctors and scientists face daunting obstacles as they struggle to finish the job.
Dec. 14, 2005
Health Magazine Profiles Center Staffer's Efforts in War-Torn Sudan
The stories of five women--including Kelly Callahan--who traveled to the epicenter of human suffering in an effort to lend their support.
Nov. 1, 2005
National Geographic Guinea Worm Feature: The End of a Scourge?
Feature article from November 2005 issue of National Geographic.
July 27, 2004
To The Source: Guinea Worm Eradication in Africa
Feature article from Emory Magazine, Summer 2004, by Paige Parvin. Photos by Annemarie Poyo.
March 1, 2004
Africa Today Feature: Guinea Worm Eradication in Ghana
All hands to the plough, the dream of former US President Jimmy Carter to bury the last Ghanaian Guinea worm in one of the fanciful Accra caskets may well be realised very soon.
February 19, 2004
Africa Today Magazine Features Special Report on The Carter Center
The Nov. 2003 issue of Africa Today features former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, The Carter Center, and the Guinea Worm Eradication Program.
April 1, 2003
Guinea Worm Feature: Humanitarian Affairs Review
The Guinea worm parasite causes devastating disease, with far reaching consequences for development. But eradication, even in many remote regions, is within reach. Roger Phillips, Nigeria Program Consultant at The Carter Center, describes how basic hygiene and larvicide are putting end to suffering.
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