[Correspondence] WHO delays guinea-worm disease eradication to 2020: are dogs the sole culprits?

WHO's 2007 global plan1 targeted the eradication of guinea-worm disease by 2015. This objective was not met and the culprits have, apparently, been identified. In addition to the political instability that prevails in many areas of Africa, which prevents the applicability of control strategies for disease control, dogs have been considered the most serious obstacle to the eradication because of the number of infected dogs that reside in Chad, Ethiopia, and Mali.2 As a result, WHO has reconsidered the objectives set out in the 2007 global plan, delaying the eradication of guinea-worm disease to 2018 for Mali and South Sudan, to 2019 for Ethiopia, and to 2020 for Chad.
Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research