Ancient disease poised to become second ever to be eradicated: The Carter Center

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Patients with guinea worms emerging soak their feet in cold water to hasten the painful emergence, at the Savelugu Case Containment Center (Photo by Louise Gubb/Corbis via Getty Images)

ATLANTA - 2025 saw the lowest number of human Guinea worm cases ever recorded, a year after the passing of former President Jimmy Carter, who often spoke of his desire to see the disease eradicated. 

What we know:

Only 10 human cases of the neglected tropical disease (NTD) were reported worldwide in 2025, the Atlanta-based Carter Center says, bringing the disease "closer than ever" to eradication.

If eradicated, the disease, recognized as one of the oldest parasites in the world, would be the second human disease to be eradicated after smallpox.

Guinea worm disease, or dracunculiasis, mostly occurs in parts of Africa and Asia and is contracted by consuming water contaminated with larvae.

About a year after infection, the worm grows to about a meter long, resembling spaghetti, and exits the body through a painful skin blister, typically on the legs and feet.

Many people who suffer from the disease will seek relief from the burning pain by soaking their limbs in water, but this continues the infection cycle.

There is no medicine or treatment available to prevent contraction.

Former President Carter made eradication a top priority for the nonprofit center he founded in 1982 alongside his wife, Rosalynn Carter.

Despite a brain cancer diagnosis, Carter still expressed his desire to see the parasite disappear.

"I’d like the last Guinea worm to die before I do," Carter said in 2015, according to the Associated Press. 

By the numbers:

Two of the 10 cases in 2025 were detected in South Sudan. Four were reported in Chad and Ethiopia. No cases were reported in Angola, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and Mali for the second year in a row.

2025 numbers mark a 33% decline from the 15 cases that were reported in 2024, according to The Carter Center.

The worms also infect animals, and to completely eradicate the disease, animal infections must also be prevented.

In 2025, Chad reported 125 animal infections, Mali reported 17, Cameroon reported 445, Angola reported 70, Ethiopia reported 1 and South Sudan reported 3.

Although four countries saw a reduction in cases, the overall total of animal infections rose slightly due to increases in Cameroon and Angola. 

Dig deeper:

To be completely eradicated, every country in the world must report zero cases of human and animal infections, even if transmission has never occurred there.

The Carter Center first took over the global Guinea worm eradication campaign in 1986, when more than 3.5 million human cases occurred annually in 21 countries.

The center works with national health ministries and global institutions, including the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and others, to fight the disease.

As of Jan. 30, 200 countries have been declared free of Guinea worm, while six remain uncertified.