#nprwormweek

Why The World Isn't Close To Eradicating Guinea Worm

For the past few years, the world has been on the edge of one of the biggest medical triumphs of modern history: Wiping out a horrific parasite from the face of the Earth.

In the early '80s, there were 3.2 million cases of Guinea worm — a 2-foot-long worm that emerges slowly — and excruciatingly — from a blister on the skin.

A massive campaign, led by former President Jimmy Carter, has eradicated the worm from all but four countries. And this year, there have been only seven cases, the Carter Center reports.

"I'd like for the last Guinea worm to die before I do," President Carter told reporters last year.

But a surprising wrinkle has cropped up: The worm has found a new way to hide and thrive.

Last week was #NPRWormWeek - and I made these worm trading cards to celebrate! Each feature’s a special worm species from the week’s stories.

Check out the full stories:

Could Worms In Your Gut Cure Your Allergies?

How Worm Warriors Are Beating An Unbeatable Worm

Should We Make Room For Worms On Our Dinner Plate?

Why The World Isn't Close To Eradicating Guinea Worm

The Power Of Worm Poop

Think you know worms? Take our wormy quiz here to test your knowledge.

Should We Make Room For Worms On Our Dinner Plate? 

In southern Venezuela, the Ye'kuana people gather them from the mud around streams or dig them up from the floor of the highland forest. They're gutted and boiled and eaten — or smoked and sold at prices three times that of other smoked meats.

What is this lucrative, forageable fare?

Earthworms.

"These edible worms are as much a part of the food supply as chicken is [in the U.S.]," says Darna Dufour, a professor of anthropology at the University of Colorado - Boulder and a colleague of Maurizio Guido Paoletti, a professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Padova in Italy. He's the co-author of a paper on the "Nutrient content of earthworms consumed by Ye'Kuana Amerindians."

Worms Are Bottled Up In The Smithsonian's Crawl Space

Anna Phillips is surrounded by worms.

Millions of worms.

They're all stored in a hodgepodge of glass bottles, lined up on rolling, floor-to-ceiling shelves similar to the stacks at a major library or the vault of a data storage company.

Some bottles hold a single worm suspended in a formaldehyde solution. Other jars are packed with clumps of fleshy roundworms or long, languid tapeworms.

There are worms that arrived a few months ago. And a few that are more than 200 years old.

Phillips is a research zoologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. I met her at a nondescript warehouse run by the museum. It's located in suburban Maryland, a few blocks from a Metro station. And it houses one of the largest worm collections in the world. It's the perfect place to begin "Worm Week" — a series of stories about worms that will run in Goats and Soda.

The word "worm" actually applies to a wide variety of animals.

" 'Worm' is a common name for an organism that is long and thin," Phillips says. Then she adds "without legs." Then she clarifies even further with a laugh " ... that's not a snake!"

How Worm Warriors Are Beating An Unbeatable Worm

How do you get rid of river blindness? It's all about the worm.

Specifically, about "breaking the life cycle" of onchocerca volvulu, the parasitic worm that causes the disease, says Dr. Frank O. Richards Jr., who directs the Carter Center's river blindness elimination and other tropical disease programs.

But that cycle of transmission and infection is so complex that until recently, many experts believed elimination as a goal was unattainable. Now the World Health Organization target date to achieve it is 2025, thanks to the widespread distribution of a game-changing medicine and what Richards calls the "vision" of accomplishing the possibility, encouraged by the successful strategies employed in the Carter Center's fight against Guinea worm.

On small farms and in gardens around the world, a legless invertebrate has been quietly helping crops grow — simply by eating and pooping.

That's vermicomposting — using the power of worms for the good of humanity. A growing number of advocates believe this technique can improve soil quality, produce more food to feed hungry mouths and even increase income for some farmers.

It sounds too good to be true. Are worms really poised to take the agricultural world by storm?

Could Worms In Your Gut Cure Your Allergies?

by Michaeleen Doucleff

The Old World hookworm is an intestinal parasite. The image above was taken by a scanning electron micrograph and was color-enhanced. The worm’s actual size ranges from 0.03 inches to 0.3 inches.

David Scharf/Science Source

When you first meet Moises Velasquez-Manoff, the first thing you notice is his hair — or the lack of it.

He’s completely bald.

“At age 11, I…

Could Worms In Your Gut Cure Your Allergies?

by Michaeleen Doucleff

The Old World hookworm is an intestinal parasite. The image above was taken by a scanning electron micrograph and was color-enhanced. The worm’s actual size ranges from 0.03 inches to 0.3 inches.

David Scharf/Science Source

When you first meet Moises Velasquez-Manoff, the first thing you notice is his hair — or the lack of it.

He’s completely bald.

“At age 11, I…