"Guinea worm disease is caused when the worm itself is spread through contaminated water and undercooked fish. Once in the stomach, the larvae penetrate the intestinal wall and migrate to the skin. The adult female worm which can grow up to 3 feet in length commonly goes to the lower limbs, where it causes painful blisters. That pain can cause temporary or permanent impairment, disrupting daily life."
"When Carter first decided to come face-to-face with the ancient parasite in 1986, the World Health Organization estimated 3.5 million cases of the parasitic infection in Asia and Africa. Thirty-eight years later at the time of his death in 2024 the late president's Guinea worm eradication program counted a mere 14 cases. The World Health Organization uses this data in its Guinea worm reporting."
The President and the Dragon premiered on Amazon Prime Video on Oct. 1, coinciding with what would have been Jimmy Carter's 101st birthday. Guinea worm disease spreads through contaminated water and undercooked fish; larvae migrate from the stomach through the intestinal wall to the skin, and adult female worms up to three feet often emerge from lower limbs, causing painful blisters. Suffering drives people to plunge limbs into water, releasing larvae and perpetuating transmission. When Carter launched eradication efforts in 1986, WHO estimated 3.5 million cases; by his death in 2024 the Carter Center reported 14 cases, with provisional counts listing four.
Read at www.npr.org
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