DAKAR: Just over two dozen people in the world are infected with Guinea worm, according to a new report that says community programmes are close to eradicating the disease in which a meter-long worm slowly emerges from a blister in a persons skin.

The US-based Carter Centre, which leads the eradication campaign, says just 27 cases were reported in 2020 in six countries in sub-Saharan Africa, or half the number of cases in 2019. The centre said animal infections also showed a 20 percent decline.

Unlike other diseases that are controlled by medicines or vaccines, Guinea worm can be eradicated by training people to filter and drink clean water. The challenges ahead will be education, surveillance and continued access to safe drinking water.

Contracted by drinking infected water, Guinea worm disease affects some of the worlds most vulnerable people. The 3-foot-long worm is asymptomatic and incubates in people for up to a year before painfully emerging, often through extremely sensitive parts of the body.Guinea worm is poised to be the second human disease to be eradicated after smallpox, according to The Carter Center. The World Health Organisation warns that the remaining cases can be the most difficult to control as they usually occur in remote and often inaccessible areas.

The reduction in cases is welcome in the health community as the coronavirus pandemic surges globally. Despite cuts to many programmes worldwide, The Carter Center said its community-based programme to eradicate Guinea worm remained up to 95pc operational.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2021