It is hoped that Guinea worm disease, a parasitic infection caused by the nematode, Dracunculus medinensis, will be the first parasitic disease to be eradicated and the first disease in history to be eradicated through behavior change, without the use of vaccines or a cure.

Speaking at a recent press conference, the former president Jimmy Carter lauded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for pledging $40 million to carry out the final stages of the eradication campaign. He predicted that the disease would be eradicated from human populations within two years.

The Carter Center, established by the former president and his wife to help fight the disease, has announced that the infection rate has been reduced by 99%. The foundation is working with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as the UN, and Britain’s Department for International Development. Jimmy Carter said that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had contributed $40m (£27m) toward the eradication effort, and the British government had pledged a further $15m (£10m).

Only 4,410 cases were reported worldwide during the first ten months of this year, with 80% found in Sudan. Guinea worm disease is now prevalent in only 13 countries in Africa including Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Niger, Togo and Ivory Coast, according to the World Health Organization.

Guinea worm disease occurs in some of the world’s poorest areas, particularly those with limited or no access to clean water. The first symptoms are similar to those of malaria: fever, nausea, chills and fatigue. The disease is rarely fatal but it may cause debilitating pain. There is no vaccine or medicine for the parasite.