Only 10 human cases of Guinea worm were reported worldwide in 2025. This represents the lowest number ever recorded, bringing the ancient disease closer than ever to eradication.
The Carter Center announced the historic figure on 30th January 2026, following the one-year anniversary of the passing of the Center’s founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
Poised to be only the second human disease eradicated after smallpox, the 10 Guinea worm cases mark a 33% decline from the 15 cases reported in 2024. When The Carter Center assumed leadership of the global Guinea worm eradication campaign in 1986, an estimated 3.5 million human cases occurred annually in 21 countries in Africa and Asia.
Two of the 10 provisional human Guinea worm cases were detected in South Sudan and four each in Chad and Ethiopia. Angola, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and Mali reported zero human cases for the second consecutive year.
“President Carter always said he wanted to outlast the last Guinea worm. While he didn’t quite get his wish, he and Mrs. Carter would be proud to know there were only 10 human cases reported in 2025. And they would remind us that the work continues until we reach zero,” states Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander.
Digital Journal has been following the decline in Guinea worm cases since 2015, and this article is our fifth feature.
What is Guinea worm disease?
Guinea Worm Disease is also called Dracunculiasis. The condition is an infection by the guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis.) The guinea worm is a nematode and it is among the longest nematodes infecting humans. Females are up to 60 centimetres in length; males are far smaller at only 3 centimetres in length.
Targeting reduction
Together with partners, including the countries themselves, the campaign has reduced the waterborne, parasitic disease by more than 99.99% since 1986 and averted more than 100 million cases of this devastating disease among the world’s most marginalized and neglected populations.
Guinea worm is one of 21 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), a group of preventable and treatable diseases that affect more than 1.7 billion people around the world. The Carter Center announcement comes on the seventh anniversary of World NTD Day, which is celebrated each year on January 30th.
Social consequences
“Guinea worm causes immense suffering— not just for the individual but for their family and community as well. Every case is a real person we know by name. They are enduring a disease we know how to prevent, and we’ve been given this rare opportunity to wipe it out completely. We’re energized by this year’s progress, but zero is the only acceptable number, and that’s why our commitment to finishing this job is unwavering,” Adam Weiss, director of the Carter Center Guinea Worm Eradication Program explains to CBS News.
People typically contract the debilitating disease when Guinea worm-contaminated water is consumed. Approximately one year later, a meter-long, spaghetti-sized worm exits the body through a painful blister in the skin — often on the legs and feet. Guinea worm sufferers often seek relief from the burning sensation by immersing their limbs in water, which then releases larvae from the worm, contaminating the water and continuing the cycle of infection.
Eradication is now very close
Guinea worm is slated to be the first parasitic disease eradicated in history and the first without a medicine or vaccine. Eradication efforts are driven by strong partnerships, community-based interventions, and behaviour change, with a network of hundreds of thousands of community-based volunteers trained to provide health education.
Two of the 10 provisional human Guinea worm cases were detected in South Sudan and four each in Chad and Ethiopia. Angola, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and Mali reported zero human cases for the second consecutive year.
The worms that infect animals are the same species (D. medinensis) as those that infect humans; therefore, eradication requires stopping infections in both. Once the global epicentre for Guinea worm animal infections, Chad reduced Guinea worm infections in domestic animals by 47%, its sixth consecutive year of progress. In 2025, Chad reported infections in 147 animals, Mali reported 17, Cameroon 445, Angola 70, Ethiopia one, and South Sudan three. Despite reductions in four countries, the global provisional total for animal infections rose slightly, driven by increases in Cameroon and Angola.
All human and animal Guinea worm figures remain provisional until officially confirmed by each country at the eradication campaign’s global annual meeting, typically held in April.
