IT鈥橲 almost time to crack open the champagne. Guinea worm, one of humanity鈥檚 most painful and gruesome parasites, is on track to be eradicated 鈥� the first human infection to be wiped out since smallpox in 1980 (see 鈥淧arasite lost: Exterminating Africa鈥檚 horror worms鈥�). Rinderpest could be the next disease to go, with the UN鈥檚 Food and Agriculture Organization predicting that this devastating viral infection in cattle could be gone a year from now.
Yet dreams of eradicating most infectious diseases, including measles and malaria, remain as far away as ever. Now only polio is still targeted, and even this has been called too optimistic by some. Viruses and bacteria lurk in too many hard-to-reach places to kill them all. The answer is to find ways to stop them killing us, so we can coexist in peace.