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Maybe you have used LiveStraw To safely drink water from a stream while camping, or maybe you have one in your home to filter drinking water. But did you know that the company behind this popular water purification technology is on the verge of completely eradicating an ancient disease from the planet?
For thousands of years, the Guinea worm or Dracunculiasis It has afflicted the continents of Africa and Asia, debilitating its victims and causing incredible pain and suffering. The disease arises from poor drinking water containing Guinea worm larvae, which humans have inadvertently ingested for generations. Once the guinea worm reaches maturity inside its host, the tapeworm makes its way out of the body, usually through the lower extremities. It is a process that causes incredible pain and discomfort.
President Jimmy Carter demonstrates how to use a guinea worm filter to drink water.
The documentary The President and the Dragon is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Hoopla, and Verizon Fios.
The battle against Guinea worm is the focus of a new documentary Carter Center and Buffalo 8. Boss and Dragon – Play continues now Amazon Prime video, Pandemonium and Verizon Views – Illustrates the struggles faced by President Jimmy Carter and the Carter Center in their fight to eradicate the Guinea worm. Carter ran a traveling campaign that used education, technology, surveillance, and a coalition of scientists and volunteers. The goal was to reduce the number of Guinea worm cases from 3.5 million victims a year in the 1990s to just 15 cases in 2024.
If the Guinea worm eradication program is successful, Guinea worm will be the second disease ever eradicated from the planet. Smallpox, the first, was declared eradicated by the World Health Organization in 1980. What is most amazing about this achievement is that the disease will be eradicated without the use of a vaccine or medicine.
She traveled to the Carter Center in Atlanta to screen the new Carter documentary. I also interviewed Alison Hill, CEO of LifeStraw, and Adam Weiss, Director of LifeStraw Guinea worm eradication programmefor their work to eradicate the disease. You can watch the video to learn more about the documentary and the fight against Guinea worm. Watch the trailer for The President and the Dragon below.