Guinea worm infections dropped to just over a dozen worldwide last year, getting closer to fulfilling former President Jimmy Carter’s dream of completely eradicating the disease during his lifetime.
The Carter Center reported Wednesday that only 14 human cases of Guinea worm disease were reported in all of 2021, the result of years of public health campaigns to improve access to safe drinking water in Africa. People who drink unclean water can ingest parasites that can grow as long as three feet (a meter) before painfully emerging from the skin.
The Atlanta-based center founded by Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, said the remaining infections occurred in just four countries in sub-Saharan Africa: Chad, Sudan, Angola and Cameroon.
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