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Guinea Worm Disease to be Eradicated Soon

by Savitha C Muppala on Jul 12 2012 6:56 PM

 Guinea Worm Disease to be Eradicated Soon
Scientists are really close to eradicating the Guinea worm disease really soon.
According to The Daily Mail, cases of Guinea worm disease have fallen by 99 percent from 3.5 million cases in 1986 to 1,060 in 2011.

The disease has affected poor communities in Africa and is now found in just South Sudan, Mali, Ethiopia and Chad.

Former U.S President Jimmy Carter, whose Carter Center has led the campaign to eradicate the infection, said: "We are approaching the demise of the last guinea worm who will ever live on earth".

If the campaign is successful, it will only be the second time in history that humans have managed to wipe out a human disease. The first disease to be eradicated was the smallpox virus.

Carter has campaigned for years to bring global attention to the guinea worm epidemic in Africa.

The infection causes fever, nausea and vomiting and disables patients for months.

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According to Scientific American, the Carter Center has managed to slash cases by distributing cloth water filters and educating villagers on how to stop the infection spreading.

Source-ANI


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