The Tail End of Guinea Worm — Global Eradication without a Drug or a Vaccine

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Abstract
Guinea worm disease, or dracunculiasis — Latin for “affliction with little dragons” — is a plague so ancient that it has been found in Egyptian mummies and has been proposed by some to have been the “fiery serpent” described in the Old Testament as torturing the Israelites in the desert. The global Dracunculiasis Eradication Program spearheaded by former President Jimmy Carter and the Carter Center has now reached its final stages (see graph ). This accomplishment is unprecedented — the only disease previously eradicated was smallpox, not a parasitic disease — and it has been achieved through grassroots public health initiatives involving thousands of village volunteers.

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