Humans close to wiping out another species

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A parasite that has plagued the human race since antiquity is poised to become the second human disease after smallpox to be eradicated. “We are approaching the demise of the last guinea worm who will ever live on earth,” says former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, whose Carter Center has spearheaded the eradication effort.
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- Scientific America

This is a nasty parasite. It causes a burning sensation, and the only treatment is to wrap the worm around a stick and slowly pull it out, a process that can take days or months.

This will be the second human disease eradicated after smallpox. Polio will probably be the third.

While a small part of me bemoans the loss of another species, I recognize that this is a step ahead.
 
Sounds... overspecialised.

Is it normal to call parasites a 'disease'?
 
I guess people won't be as sad and angered about this as they were over the western black rhino.
 
cornsail said:
I guess people won't be as sad and angered about this as they were over the western black rhino.
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black_rhino_and_mom1.jpg



WARNING : graphic image, may be distressing



shearwater-helps-zimbabwe-national-parks-fight-back-but-the-rhino-slaughter-continues-21635567.jpg

You "guess" right. Cause it even compares... :brood:







0_61_Guinea_worm_320.jpg


How is the disease treated and infection prevented?
There is no known curative medicine or vaccine to prevent Guinea worm disease.

Traditional removal of a Guinea worm consists of winding the worm - up to 3 feet (1 meter) long - around a small stick and manually extracting it—a slow, painful process that often takes weeks. The skin lesions often develop secondary bacterial infections, which exacerbate the suffering and prolong the period of disability.
The best way to stop Guinea worm disease is to prevent people from entering sources of drinking water with an active infection and to educate households to always use cloth filters to sieve out tiny water fleas carrying infective larvae.

Educating communities about Guinea worm prevention is vital to stopping the spread of the disease.

Guinea worm disease is set to become the second human disease in history, after smallpox, to be eradicated. It will be the first parasitic disease to be eradicated and the first disease to be eradicated without the use of a vaccine or medical treatment.
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Read more facts about the Guinea Worm here:
http://www.cartercenter.org/health/guinea_worm/mini_site/facts.html
 
Yes, like 'Caution: do not attempt to eat food directly from blender.'

Still, it looks like he's learned his lesson.
 
What lesson is that? Don't click on spoilers? I don't like seeing gory imagery of animals very much...
 
I'm not sorry to see it go, especially as the people it affects already seem to have enough to deal with. :(

I am sorry that I just saw a horrific picture of a murdered and mutilated black rhino and what appeared to me to be a overreaction to a vague statement.
 
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:fp: I don't care what it appears to be honestly. The rhino statement was just inflammatory, over the top and down right insulting so I felt the need to bring us back down to reality a bit because that is what people like me, who "overreact" to such a statement picture.

Overreaction and people who like each other sticking together when one feels wronged seems to be a theme around these boards. I put a spoiler around the thing you were using sarcastic witt about (the bloody extinction of black rhinos), if you are not grown up each to understand a spoiler contains NSFW material/things that people might be sensitive to, I don't know how to teach you internet in the limited time I have to check this site. I just don't.
 
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AspireToExpire said:
:fp: I don't care what it appears to be honestly. The rhino statement was just inflammatory, over the top and down right insulting so I felt the need to bring us back down to reality a bit because that is what people like me, who "overreact" to such a statement picture.

Overreaction and people who like each other sticking together when one feels wronged seems to be a theme around these boards. I put a spoiler around the thing you were using sarcastic witt about (the bloody extinction of black rhinos), if you are not grown up each to understand a spoiler contains NSFW material/things that people might be sensitive to, I don't know how to teach you internet in the limited time I have to check this site. I just don't.
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you don't?
 
I'm sorry my flippant comment offended people. It was not my intention.

AspireToExpire said:
if you are not grown up each to understand a spoiler contains NSFW material/things that people might be sensitive to, I don't know how to teach you internet in the limited time I have to check this site. I just don't.
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The vast majority of the time I've clicked on a spoiler on an internet forum it has not contained a disturbing image. I don't think asking for a warning in the future is unreasonable. That you and several other people seem to think otherwise upsets me a bit to be honest.
 
Shrug. I'm more disturbed by flippancy about the slaughter of rhinos for their horns than I am disturbed at seeing a photo of a rhino killed for his horn.

I had a pretty good idea of what I would be seeing when I clicked on the spoiler tag - it seemed obvious to me, from the context of the post.
 
I've never heard of the guinea worm before. I think parasites do what comes natural to them, so I can't help but feel sadness for this.
 
AspireToExpire said:
:fp: I don't care what it appears to be honestly. The rhino statement was just inflammatory, over the top and down right insulting so I felt the need to bring us back down to reality a bit because that is what people like me, who "overreact" to such a statement picture.

Overreaction and people who like each other sticking together when one feels wronged seems to be a theme around these boards. I put a spoiler around the thing you were using sarcastic witt about (the bloody extinction of black rhinos), if you are not grown up each to understand a spoiler contains NSFW material/things that people might be sensitive to, I don't know how to teach you internet in the limited time I have to check this site. I just don't.
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I get that it upset you, I understand. I can't apologize for the comment because I didn't make it (you didn't quote me but it's clear you were talking to me, except the part about 'sarcastic wit', because I didn't use any sarcasm in this thread, surprisingly enough), but I'm sorry that my comment seems to have upset you further. :( I like you, and I wouldn't like you to dislike me as a result of a fairly minor difference of opinion (cause really, I think we can agree that the killing of black rhinos was ******* awful).

Do you mean overreaction is a theme or that accusing someone of overreacting is a theme? I wasn't sticking up for anyone, just like MLP wasn't 'sticking up' for you. If there are several posters some of them are bound to have similar opinions. I've agreed with MLP plenty of times, and I like her also, but I wouldn't say that I am sticking up for her when I agree. I'm sure no one here needs my advocacy. :)
 
mlp said:
Shrug. I'm more disturbed by flippancy about the slaughter of rhinos for their horns than I am disturbed at seeing a photo of a rhino killed for his horn.

I had a pretty good idea of what I would be seeing when I clicked on the spoiler tag - it seemed obvious to me, from the context of the post.
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All I can do is let people that I'd appreciate a simple "warning: graphic" or something in the future. If people want to choose to disregard that then that is up to them. The context was not obvious to me, because I was not aware my post would be taken as flippancy toward the slaughter of rhinos for their horns. I can be dense at times. I don't demand that everyone caters to my stupidity regarding context and internet savvy--it is just a request.
 
AspireToExpire said:
:fp: I don't care what it appears to be honestly. The rhino statement was just inflammatory, over the top and down right insulting so I felt the need to bring us back down to reality a bit because that is what people like me, who "overreact" to such a statement picture.

Overreaction and people who like each other sticking together when one feels wronged seems to be a theme around these boards. I put a spoiler around the thing you were using sarcastic witt about (the bloody extinction of black rhinos), if you are not grown up each to understand a spoiler contains NSFW material/things that people might be sensitive to, I don't know how to teach you internet in the limited time I have to check this site. I just don't.
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That isn't what spoilers are.
 
Nobody has complained so far about the gory picture of removing one of these worms from someone's foot, huh?
 
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