Global health agencies recorded just 14 cases of Guinea worm disease in 2021. This marks a 48 percent drop from previous year (with 27 cases recorded in 2020). As well as this significant decline in human infections, animal infections also declined sharply.
The shift has led the Carter Center to declare that: “Eradication is an approaching reality,” in terms of getting rid of the neglected tropical disease. Back in 1986, there were about 3.5 million human cases each year across 21 countries in Africa and Asia.
Going back further in time, the disease has ravaged human populations for thousands of years (reference to the disease is documented in the Egyptian medical Ebers Papyrus, dating from around 1550 BC.)
As Digital Journal summarised, the disease in question is unpleasant. 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 centimeters in length; males are far smaller at only 3 centimeters in length.
The fourteen cases occurred in just four countries: Chad (seven cases); South Sudan (four cases); Mali (two cases); and Ethiopia (one case).
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who co-founded The Carter Center in 1982 with his wife, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, was pleased with the news. The statesman said: “Rosalynn and I are encouraged by the continued commitment and persistence of our partners and the citizens in the villages to eradicate Guinea worm…Because of their persistence, this dreadful disease will be eradicated. Today we are closer than ever, and I am excited at the prospect of seeing the job finished.”
In terms of the incidents in animals, Chad has reported infections in 790 domestic dogs and 65 domestic cats, Cameroon has reported 10 infected dogs along its border with an area endemic in Chad, and Mali has reported 16 infected dogs and one cat. Finally, Ethiopia reported two infected dogs and one cat. It is important to track cases in animals since the worms that infect animals are the same species (D. medinensis) as those that infect humans.
The reductions are especially notable in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and significant security challenges in the affected areas, from military coups to civil conflict. The progress made indicates how well many communities have focused on their own health remediation efforts.
This includes, through education and encouragement, people residing in countries where the disease is endemic, reporting thousands of possible Guinea worms. Once health professionals investigate such rumors, the appropriate actions can be taken if the sightings are confirmed and additional actions taken in the steps towards the eradication of the disease.
