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It is far from the deadliest disease in the world, but when it comes to sending stomach-turning chills to a patient, nothing can top the Guinea worm disease of Africa.
Think of the famous scene in the classic 1979 film "Alien," when the monster burrows its way through the stomach of the unfortunate space traveler, leaving trails of blood and guts across the screen.
The Guinea worm, spread through contaminated water in Africa, takes a page from that blood-curdling book by forming near the joints of sufferers. After a year, it emerges from the body as a long ribbon-shaped worm in a painful escape through the skin that is less bloody but just as horrific as the movie malady.
But the "Alien" disease may be on its way to the history books of medicine to join smallpox as a dreaded disease doctors can claim to have conquered.
And a former U.S. president deserves a lion share of the credit.
The Carter Center, led for former president Jimmy Carter, is among the leaders who are trying to rid the world of the Guinea worm parasitic infection. With funding help from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, doctors are marching through Africa, raising awareness about the importance of using only clean water and water-purifying systems for rural dwellers.
There are now fewer that 5,000 cases of Guinea worm, also known as dracunculiasis disease, in the world, according to the Carter Center.
While the disease usually doesn't kill its victims, its is considered a "poverty-creating" disease, because sufferers are often left crippled when the worm exits through the lower limbs. It renders victims no longer able to work or attend school.
Fewer than six African countries are now believed to be affected by the "Alien" disease. In 1986, the figure was 20 nations in Africa and Asia, so the cure numbers are trending in the right direction.
Nigeria and Niger have reported what is believed to be their last cases, so the focus of the eradication campaign has turned to Sudan, Ghana and Mali.
It's funny that Jimmy Carter, who didn't exactly distinguish himself in his one term as president from 1976 to 1980, has become a superstar when it comes to helping people in his post-presidential life.
Conservatives have always enjoyed bashing Carter, especially in comparison to their own hero, Ronald Reagan, who defeated Carter in the 1980 election.
But the measure of the man isn't shown only through his years in the White House. In his time after the presidency, shown through his selfless work for others, Jimmy Carter has proven to be a true American hero for the ages.
