Former President Jimmy Carter’s time in office is a topic of widely differing appraisals (more often than not shaped by personal politics). To that point, the Simpsons once ran a particularly funny joke about the extremely different ways Carter’s political legacy was seen in the episode “Marge in Chains”:
Part of the joke is that, regardless of whether he was a good President, few Presidents have accomplished more to better the world after leaving office. Yet partisan perspectives often lead us to make hyperbolic statements. As usual, so much depends on perspective.
Which gets to this “good news” post. When interviewed about the work of the Carter Foundation, Carter said in 2015:
“I would like to see Guinea worm completely eradicated before I die,” Carter said at a press conference in 2015. “I’d like for the last Guinea worm to die before I do. I think right now we have 11 cases. We started out with 3.6 million cases.” (Source: NPR)
For those unfamiliar with Guinea worms and Dracunculiasis, the disease they cause, here’s a summary from Wikipedia
A person becomes infected by drinking water contaminated with Guinea-worm larvae that reside inside copepods (a type of small crustacean). Stomach acid digests the copepod and releases the Guinea worm, which penetrates the digestive tract and escapes into the body. Around a year later, the adult female migrates to an exit site – usually the lower leg – and induces an intensely painful blister on the skin. Eventually, the blister bursts, creating a painful wound from which the worm gradually emerges over several weeks. The wound remains painful throughout the worm’s emergence, disabling the affected person for the three to ten weeks it takes the worm to emerge.
It is an incredibly nasty disease that affects both humans and animals. In 1989, there were 892,055 reported cases in humans. Last year, the number of human cases was down to 14. To date in 2024, there has only been a single case reported in humans.*
As most know, Carter is rapidly nearing the end of his life. He’s been in hospice for over a year and lost his wife, Rosalynn, last November. Should he pass, he will go to his rest knowing that the world almost accomplished his wish (and will most likely fully eradicate cases in humans within the next decade).
So, at least from the perspective of one African parasite, Jimmy Carter truly is, was, and will be “history’s greatest monster.” And I hope you all will join me in celebrating his “monsterous” legacy.
* – Cases in animals have dropped significantly as well. Last year there were under 900 reported cases of animal infection world wide. To ensure the total eradication of the Guinea-worm, those will need to be driven to 0 as well.
