Funeral services begin today for former President Jimmy Carter. He died Sunday, at 100-years-old. Carter brought attention to global health challenges, particularly "neglected" tropical diseases like Guinea worm. With reporter Jason Beaubien, we look at that decades-long effort and how science was central to Carter's drive for a better world. Questions or comments for us at Short Wave? Let us know by emailing [email protected] — we'd love to hear from you! Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What was Jimmy Carter's impact on global health?
Hey, Emily Kwong here. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter passed away Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia. He was 100 years old. And during his lifetime, he did a lot for science and for treating one disease in particular. Here to talk about it with me is science reporter Jason Bovian. Hey, Jason. Hey, Emily. Hi. So how are you doing with the Carter news?
Look, he had an amazing life, both in politics and out of politics. So I think it's great to be able to celebrate Carter. And he's probably going to be remembered more for the work that he did after he left the White House rather than those chaotic four years that he spent in Washington in the late 1970s.
Yeah. I mean, I wasn't alive, but it does appear that way for
It was. It was a very chaotic time. And so I was thrilled when I got word you wanted to chat about two of my favorite subjects, Jimmy Carter and guinea worms.
Oh, yeah. We at Shortwave, we will seize any opportunity to discuss worms. So.
Absolutely. No brainer. As you should. Right here at the beginning, let's be clear. Jimmy Carter, he did a lot of things in his post-presidential time. His legacy goes well beyond his battle with guinea worms. You know, he became an advocate for Habitat for Humanity. He was out there actually swinging a hammer with them, building houses in the U.S. and in other places.
He was a major champion for human rights. He continued to work on peace in the Middle East. You know, he was working on elections. He helped negotiate some really sticky political stalemates in Central America. And for all of that work, he was recognized not just in the U.S., but globally.
The Nobel—
The Committee in Norway has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2002 to Jimmy Carter for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.
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Chapter 2: How did Jimmy Carter become involved in fighting guinea worm?
Yeah. And that was in 2002. And he had two more decades ahead of him. And one of the things that he worked on was trying to eradicate this really horrible disease called guinea worm.
We're going to talk about that today on the show and how science was central to former President Carter's drive for a better world. I'm Emily Kwong. You're listening to Shorewave, the science podcast from NPR.
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Okay, so Jason, former President Jimmy Carter was known for many things, including fighting disease around the world.
Right.
But how did he end up waging a war on guinea worms?
So the World Health Organization has a list of so-called neglected tropical diseases. You know, these are diseases in need of more research, more treatment. He, however, had a former employee from the White House who got involved with working on clean water. And this guy came. gave this pitch to Carter, and Carter was like, this is doable.
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Chapter 3: What are the current statistics on guinea worm disease?
All we've got behind us is smallpox. That's the only human disease that's ever been eradicated. And if, you know, Guinea worm is right behind, that's going to be thanks to Carter. I mean, there were millions of cases when he got involved in the, you know, after his presidency in the mid 80s. And now, you know, we're down to fewer than 100 last year.
That was Farmer back in 2019. So, you know, even from 2019, we've gone from a fewer than 100 down to just 13. It really is on the verge of being wiped out as we speak.
Let's back up a step to focus on the guinea worm itself and this disease it causes. What are these worms and how does their disease affect people?
So I know we all like to respect all forms of life, but guinea worms, they're really gross. You know what?
Tell it like it is, Jason.
I almost think of them as like evil. You know, that's sort of my scientific assessment. These are evil worms.
From our resident worm scientist. Okay.
That's right. I am a journalist with a degree in English, so I'm making that as a definitive statement.
Strong word choice. Chosen clearly for a reason. Why do you say that?
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Chapter 4: What role did science play in eradicating guinea worm?
Chapter 5: What is the significance of Carter's legacy beyond guinea worms?
The Committee in Norway has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2002 to Jimmy Carter for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.
Jason, I remember when this happened. I was like, wow, this guy is like still out there, still doing things.
Yeah. And that was in 2002. And he had two more decades ahead of him. And one of the things that he worked on was trying to eradicate this really horrible disease called guinea worm.
We're going to talk about that today on the show and how science was central to former President Carter's drive for a better world. I'm Emily Kwong. You're listening to Shorewave, the science podcast from NPR.
Look, we get it. When it comes to new music, there is a lot of it, and it all comes really fast. But on All Songs Considered, NPR's music recommendation podcast, we'll handpick what we think is the greatest music happening right now and give you your next great listen. So kick back, settle in, get those eardrums wide open, and get your dose of new music from All Songs Considered, only from NPR.
On Fridays, the 1A podcast is all about helping you cut through the info fog and get to what's important in the news. Close out the week with us on our Friday News Roundup. Hear from reporters who've been embedded with the biggest news of the week. Join us every week for the Friday News Roundup. Listen to the 1A podcast from NPR and WAMU.
We've all been there, running around the city, looking for a bathroom, but unable to find one. Yeah, a restroom we could use. A very simple free market solution is that we could just pay to use a bathroom. But we can't. On the Planet Money podcast, the story of how we once had thousands of paid toilets and why they got banned. From Planet Money on NPR, wherever you get your podcasts.
Okay, so Jason, former President Jimmy Carter was known for many things, including fighting disease around the world.
Right.
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Chapter 6: Who is Paul Farmer and how does he relate to Carter's work?
Strong word choice. Chosen clearly for a reason. Why do you say that?
OK, so guinea worms, they're parasites. They spread through contaminated drinking water, but they've come up with this little evolutionary trick. And their life cycle goes like this. The guinea worms larvae, they are born in stagnant pools of water. They live in there. They're tiny. You can't see them. People come along who don't have access to clean drinking water.
They end up drinking the water with these larvae. Then inside the human, they reproduce. The male worms die off inside the people. The females migrate to the person's legs. And then over the course of a year – They cause these massive lesions. And it takes months before they start to emerge. And it's incredibly painful. These open wounds at times.
If it's on someone's foot, they might not be able to walk. And here's their evil little trick. The worms cause this intense burning sensation under the skin right when they're about to release their eggs. And in an effort to extinguish that burning sensation... they plunge their leg into water, oftentimes a stream or a pond. And at that point,
All the worms, all their little eggs go out into the water and the whole cycle starts over again, infecting more people.
That is menacing. That is horrible. It is. And admittedly, the science person in me wants to say very clever from an evolutionary point of view. Yeah.
So the key from an eradication point of view is to break that reproductive cycle.
Right. Also, is it only inside humans that you get that reproductive cycle? Yeah.
So this is one of the tragedies of this epic battle against guinea worm. You know, for decades, it was believed that humans were the only reservoir, basically the only hosts for this worm. And that the parasite needed that year-long period inside the human body to grow and reproduce. Unfortunately, as the numbers of cases dropped dramatically...
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