Surprisingly, modern science has thus far only successfully eradicated one disease—smallpox—but recent developments hint that the world is close to eradicating another devastating infection—Guinea worm. This parasite, which has plagued communities for centuries, causes painful wounds and has the potential to cause disability, infection, and death, but thanks to recent concentrated global efforts, Guinea worm may soon become the first parasitic disease to be eradicated.
One very encouraging sign came last December when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that Uganda had successfully eradicated Guinea worm within its borders. Uganda—which saw its last case of Guinea worm in 2003—joins seven other nations formally certified by the WHO as having eradicated the disease. Even more encouraging is the claim that in 2009 Nigeria experienced zero cases of Guinea worm. This makes Nigeria the 14th of 19 nations previously identified as endemic with the parasite to have recently eliminated the disease within its borders. Should Nigeria continue to be free of Guinea worm for the next several years, it will be WHO certified as having successfully eradicated the disease. Considering that Niger had only 3 cases of Guinea worm in 2009, it’s clear that the campaign to eradicate Guinea worm has been a great success thus far.
And this success was the result of the combined work of the Carter Center, the United States Center for Disease Control, WHO, and UNICEF, as well as other organizations and individuals. With similar efforts, other parasitic worms, including those in the destructive soil-transmitted helminths family, could be controlled, and perhaps one day eradicated altogether.
