A rare tropical disease called Guinea worm is closer to being
eradicated, according to former President Jimmy Carter and other
experts. There are now only 542 known cases of Guinea worm left
worldwide, as of 2012, representing a 48% decrease from 2011,
officials said Thursday at a news conference. "We cannot rest
until we get and contain the very last case," said Dr. Donald R.
Hopkins, affiliated with the Carter Center in Atlanta, which has
been instrumental in the effort to wipe out Guinea worm. The
World Health Organization this week said in a report that Guinea
worm, also called dracunculiasis, has a global eradication
target for the year 2015. So far, only one disease has reached
the status of worldwide eradication since 1980: smallpox. In
1986, when the Carter Center began leading its international
campaign against Guinea worm disease, there were 3.5 million
cases in 21 countries. South Sudan has the most known cases
today, at 521, followed by Chad (10), Mali (7), and Ethiopia
(4), according to the Carte