Another Human Disease to Bite the Dust!
Just over two dozen people in the world are infected with Guinea worm, as per a new study that says community programs are close to eradicating the disease in which a meter-long worm slowly emerges from a blister in a person’s skin.
Adam Weiss, the director of the Carter Center in the United States, which is heading the eradication effort, says things are looking up.
“Director of the Carter Center’s Guinea Worm Eradication Program”We’re announcing a 50 percent drop in human cases, down to just 27 people in the world last year who had Guinea worm. And that’s compared to the 3.5 million people who reported Guinea worm disease annually in around 21 countries in 1986, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, but also in the Middle East and Asia.
The centre also announced that there was also a 20 percent decrease in animal infections.
Another Pest Is The Pandemic
In the health community, the decline in cases is welcome as the COVID-19 pandemic weighs on the world, affecting all industries at all levels of life.
The Carter Center said its service remained up to 95 percent operational amid cuts to several services across the globe. Weiss explains the exercise.
This is a community-based initiative, and during the entire pandemic, the volunteers have been involved. It has affected logistics and supply chains, of course. It has made it impossible to transfer foreign and expatriate workers to provide further technical assistance.
It has limited our capacity to conduct certain research operations, but during the entire pandemic, we remain more than 95 percent operational.
No More to Be Soon
According to The Carter Centre. As more people are equipped to filter and drink clean water, Guinea worm is likely to be the second human disease to be eradicated after smallpox, as it is unlike most drug or vaccine controlled diseases,
The World Health Organization warns that the remaining cases can be the most difficult to control as they usually occur in remote and often inaccessible areas.
