DAKAR, Senegal (AP) – According to a new report, just over two dozen people in the world are infected with the Guinea worm, according to a new report that says community programs are on the cusp of eradicating the disease involving three feet long worm slowly emerges from a blister in a person’s skin.
The US-based Carter Center, which is leading the eradication campaign, says only 27 cases were reported in six countries in sub-Saharan Africa by 2020, or half the number in 2019. The center said animal infections were also on the decline. of 20%. .
The reduction in the number of cases is welcome in the health community as the coronavirus pandemic soars worldwide. Despite cuts to many programs around the world, The Carter Center said its community-based program to eradicate the Guinea worm remained 95% operational.
“We report a 50% reduction in human cases, to just 27 people in the world last year who had Guinea worm. And that’s compared to 1986, when 3.5 million people a year reported Guinea worm disease in about 21 countries, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, but also in the Middle East and Asia, ”Adam Weiss, director of the Guinea Worm from The Carter Center Eradication Program, told The Associated Press.
According to preliminary figures, Chad had about 12 cases in 2020, followed by Ethiopia with 11 cases in Angola, Cameroon, Mali and South Sudan.
Weiss said the COVID-19 pandemic complicated logistics and supply chains, reduced opportunities for research activities, and made it difficult to relocate personnel, but he cited the long-term work and community involvement in combating the Guinea worm. keep operations going last year.
“We are fortunate that this is a community program, which is why the volunteers have remained active throughout the pandemic,” he said.
Unlike other diseases that are controlled by drugs or vaccines, the Guinea worm can be eradicated by training humans to filter and drink clean water. The challenges ahead are education, supervision and continued access to safe drinking water.
Guinean worm disease is contracted from drinking contaminated water and affects some of the world’s most vulnerable people. The 1 meter long worm is asymptomatic and incubates in humans for up to a year before it emerges painfully, often through extremely sensitive parts of the body.
Guinea worm is about to be the second human disease to be eradicated after smallpox, according to The Carter Center. The World Health Organization warns that the remaining cases are the most difficult to control, as they tend to occur in remote and often inaccessible areas.
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Sanz reported from Atlanta.