Jimmy Carter’s Biggest Victory Was in the Worm-Killing Business

Former US President Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100. While there are many aspects of Carter’s life that deserve the spotlight, some stand out as his efforts to eradicate one of the world’s most feared parasites, the guinea worm.Dracunculus medinensis)

carter has died Sunday at her home in Plains, Georgia, nearly two years after she first began hospice care. Although he only performed a single, often Much criticizedTerm as the 39th President of the United States, his accomplishments extended beyond those four years. Chief among these successes is the Carter Center Guinea Worm Eradication ProgrammeWhich is now inches away from total victory.

Guinea worm is a parasite that has a long history of notoriety mentioned In the Old Testament Freshwater nematodes Usually copepods—tiny crustaceans—infect humans by ingesting drinking water that is itself infested with worm larvae.

The larvae reach our intestines, where they fully mature and mate. Then the males die and the pregnant females—which can grow up to three feet (100 centimeters) long—migrate to a place under our skin, usually along our legs. About a year after infection, women develop blisters. When this blister breaks, the worms slowly ooze out of our skin, causing a painful burning sensation that drives the infected person to cool their wound in the nearest water source. The female then releases thousands of larvae into the water, restarting the entire process.

This infection is not only unpleasant to suffer from – it is often downright debilitating. It can take days or weeks for the worms to safely and painlessly extract, during which time people are unable to work or go to school. And if the worm breaks during removal, it can trigger secondary infections that eventually lead to permanent disability.

Although freshwater sanitation reduced Guinea worm disease from a global problem in the late 20th century, approximately 3.5 million people are still infected annually across Africa and Asia. In the 1980s. In 1986, Carter’s nonprofit organization, the Carter Center, began a public health campaign to eradicate guinea worm. And it happened A clear success. Last year, there were only 14 cases of guinea worm in humans; As of November, there were Only 7 cases In 2024.

Carter and his company certainly don’t deserve all the credit. The World Health Organization and other large groups have also played a significant role, while community leaders and local residents have been the driving force behind eradication efforts on the ground. Since there is no vaccine or medicine for Guinea worm, eradication efforts mainly rely on physical interventions e.g Durable straw which filters infected copepods from drinking water, as well as careful monitoring of potential cases.

All was not well for the campaign. Guinea worms were perfect candidates for eradication because the worms primarily depend on the human host to reach their full life cycle. For a long time, we thought that only humans could act as this final link in the chain, but it became clear a decade ago that species can also mature inside other animals, Especially dogs. Therefore, the annual humanitarian cases have been low in recent years thousands of Annual animal infection reports over the past decade.

This latest development has hampered the Guinea worm eradication timeline. Until infections in both humans and animals reach zero and remain at zero for several years, the worms can continue. But health officials and local communities are adapting. Annually reported animal cases recently dropped from 886 cases in 2023 to 448 so far this year, an indication that efforts on the ground are mitigating the spread of the parasite in animal hosts.

Jimmy Carter said in 2015 that he expected to see Complete eradication of guinea worm before his death. Sadly, that didn’t happen. But Carter certainly left a memorable public health legacy that will last long after his death.