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What is Guinea Worm Disease?
Guinea Worm disease occurs when the worm develops within a human body and while leaving the body, creates a painful lesion. It is spread by the consumption of water that has been contaminated by the Guinea Worm larvae. This larva will develop within the body and grow to become about a meter long. A year after first contact, the worm will emerge from the body, usually from an arm or leg, creating an extremely painful lesion. Often enough, to mitigate the pain of the wound, patients will attempt to put the afflicted limb into water. However, doing so simply causes the worm to release its larvae into the water and this therefore increases the chance of contaminating nearby drinking water. The cycle effectively continues.
How Can You Help?
The only “solution” is to physically pull the guinea worm out of the infected limb, however this can take weeks and it is extremely painful. Doing so is barely any more helpful than letting the disease run its course. As there is no apparent cure, the only way to tame Guinea Worm is to spread awareness on its causes and to increase the circulation of clean drinking water in the affected communities.
Jimmy Carter’s Impact
The Carter foundation partnered up with the World Health Organization, U.S. Center for Disease Control, as well as national programs within the afflicted countries. The foundation educates people on safe drinking water measures as well as how to detect the disease and how to quarantine if need be. They work to identify whether worms are truly guinea worms, certify a country as being guinea worm-free, and provide safe sources of drinking water. Teams will go to commonly affected areas and teach workshops on being able to identify a guinea worm as well as symptoms of the disease. The best way to raise awareness in these classes is simply to show images of the worm and have survivors share their personal experiences. The Carter foundation’s campaign against Guinea Worm Disease has reduced its cases by 99.99%. While Guinea worm disease is rarely fatal, it can leave deformities or even disabilities. The painful symptoms make it difficult to function in everyday life. While the disease has not been completely eradicated, millions of lives have been saved by the implemented preventions. In 1986, approximately 3.5 million people across Africa and Asia were afflicted by Guinea Worm Disease. With the help of the Carter Foundation, this number is now 15.
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