Guinea worm disease ‘close to being eradicated’

The US-based Carter Centre, which leads the eradication campaign, says just 30 cases were reported last year in isolated areas of Ethiopia and Chad.

Women and children in Terekeka, South Sudan (Mariah Quesada/AP)

By Associated Press Reporter

A new report says the world is moving closer to eradicating Guinea worm disease, in which a metre-long worm slowly emerges from a blister in a person’s skin.

The US-based Carter Centre, which leads the eradication campaign, says just 30 cases were reported last year in isolated areas of Ethiopia and Chad.