Jimmy Carter took great pride in pointing out that the United States didn't start any new wars during his term as president. But after he left office he did launch a war against "neglected" diseases — diseases in far-off lands that most Americans will never suffer from and may not have even heard of. Diseases like lymphatic filariasis, trachoma, river blindness, schistosomiasis ... and a nasty little bug called Guinea worm.
Guinea worms are spread through contaminated drinking water and eating undercooked fish. The female worms, which can be up to 3 feet long once they mature, cause incredibly painful, open blisters usually on the infected person's lower legs and feet — through which the worms emerge.
"He really put Guinea worm and other neglected diseases on the map," says Adam Weiss, director of the Guinea Worm Eradication Program at the Carter Center. And because of his work, the world is incredibly close to wiping it out. When Carter got involved in 1986 there were 3.6 million cases. Between January and the end of September 2024, there were just four human cases of Guinea worm reported worldwide.
Read more about Carter's legacy of taking on the Guinea worm when no one else would.
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