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In 2006, The Carter Center honored the Central African Republic for having halted Guinea worm disease transmission for five years. In 2000, a team of specialists determined that, although only 15 villages in the Central African Republic reported infections in 1999, Guinea worm disease probably was endemic to the country. In 2007, the World Health Organization certified the Central African Republic as free of Guinea worm disease.
Current Status: Transmission stopped, 2001 (read the announcement)
Certification of Dracunculiasis Elimination: 2007
Indigenous human cases reported in 2023: 1*
Animal infections reported in 2023: 0*
Current Guinea worm case totals >
When the national Guinea worm elimination program began in the Central African Republic, it was unclear whether the disease was endemic or imported to the country. In 2000, a team of specialists determined that, although only 15 villages reported cases in 1999, Guinea worm disease probably was endemic.
To assist the country in preventing transmission of the disease, The Carter Center provided endemic communities with cloth water filters to strain out the Guinea worm larvae and applied ABATE® larvicide, donated by BASF, to local stagnant water sources. The Carter Center also supported a Guinea worm elimination consultant for the Central African Republic from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Central African Republic stopped disease transmission in 2001, and in 2007, the World Health Organization certified the country as free of Guinea worm disease.
The Central African Republic was honored at a special ceremony at The Carter Center in Atlanta in 2006 for having stopped Guinea worm disease transmission.
*All figures for humans and animals are provisional until officially confirmed, typically in March each year.
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