Dante Vasquez lives in Juba, the capital of southern Sudan, in a compound constructed roughly out of imported crates and shipping containers. He travels the country as best he can — land cruiser, motorcycle and, when necessary, by foot. For some, it would appear a grueling existence. But for Vasquez it's business as usual.

A 2005 University graduate, Vasquez now works in Sudan as a deputy regional technical adviser to The Carter Center, an organization founded in 1982 that “is committed to advancing human rights and alleviating unnecessary human suffering,” according to its website.

Sudan is a country with a history marred by civil war stemming from religious and military strife. But Vasquez is not there to try to put an end to the conflict. He’s waging a different kind of war — a battle against Guinea worm.

Guinea worm is a parasite that enters the body through a water source, typically drinking water. The parasite releases its larvae in water, which, when ingested by a host, mate and produce a worm that can grow up to three feet in length. The worm can take up to a year to surface through a painful skin blister but, when present, causes an intense burning sensation as it exits the body.

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Removing Guinea worm is an excruciatingly delicate process.

Extrication methods involve wrapping the worm around a small stick and slowly turning it to pull the worm from the body. However, because the worm wraps itself tightly around the host's muscles and bones, twisting the stick must be done with extreme care so as to not break the worm. The process can take many weeks or, in extreme cases, months.

There is currently no vaccine or cure for the Guinea worm, meaning health activists and volunteers like Vasquez must focus on prevention through other means. For Vasquez and The Carter Center, this means limiting the worm’s transmission by protecting local water sources — where the parasite thrives — and educating the people of southern Sudan about the devastating impact of the Guinea worm.

And it appears the efforts have been paying off.

In 2007, The Carter Center reported 9,585 total cases of Guinea worm disease worldwide.

One year later, the center reported a full, 51-percent reduction in cases, which totaled just 4,619.

This year, only 1,930 cases have been reported from January to June 2009. And if this rate continues through the end of the year, the Center could see another drop of about 17 percent.

When the Center began fighting the spread of the worm in 1986, more than 3.5 million cases existed in 20 countries throughout Africa and Asia. Now there are less than 5,000 cases in six African countries, a 99.8-percent drop in 23 years. If this continues, Guinea worm disease should be completely eradicated in the near future, a feat that hasn’t happened since Smallpox was declared eradicated in 1979.

Of the six countries that still report cases of the disease, Sudan has by far the largest number of existing cases. The Carter Center reported in 2008 that Sudan has 78 percent of the remaining cases worldwide; the majority of these occur in the southern regions where Vasquez is working.

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Vasquez grew up in Ann Arbor and studied political science at the University. Just out of college, he worked as a researcher at University Hospital. Unsure of his future and hesitant to follow his friends to law school, Vasquez opted to travel instead.

His travels led him all over the world, and at one point he found himself in West Africa, spending time in several countries and visiting a friend who was working with the Peace Corps in Burkina Faso. It was during these travels that he met the Ghana country director for The Carter Center who led him to his job.

“It just happened by chance,” he said.

In June 2006, just two months later and with no public health experience, he was in Ghana.

That’s when he started working with The Carter Center.