Six of the world’s most neglected diseases
Posted by vineetgupta on June 23, 2008
These diseases are not highly visible. They do not cause explosive outbreaks that attract public and media attention. They do not travel internationally. They cause great and permanent misery, but do not kill large numbers of people or affect wealthy nations.
The misery caused by these diseases is largely hidden. Affected people live almost exclusively in remote rural areas and sprawling shantytowns, where health conditions are poorly documented and access to health care may be virtually non-existent.
These diseases are often neglected when health agendas and budgets are set. Endemic countries have limited resources to invest in health. These diseases must compete with more visible diseases – like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria – that cause much higher mortality and attract much more attention, nationally and internationally.
Drug development is an expensive, difficult and time consuming process.
When the only reason you are doing it is for money, you don’t really want to spend decades and billions of dollars to develop drugs for people who cannot afford them. As most patients with such diseases live in developing countries and are too poor to pay for drugs, the pharmaceutical industry has traditionally ignored these diseases.
Governments and international donor agencies help and do their bit, but it is not enough, by a long shot.
Money for drug development usually comes in only when the disease spreads to rich western countries and it is profitable to develop treatments for the same. The great thrusts which have gone into developing treatments for HIV and tuberculosis (after ignoring the latter for decades) demonstrate this point amply.
The WHO estimates a disease burden of over 1 billion people with neglected tropical diseases. Take a good look at that number. That’s one-sixth of humanity. How does it make you feel?
Lets take a look at some of the most neglected diseases in the world, in no particular order.
1. Onchocerciasis
What is it: A worm that is the second leading infectious cause of blindness in the world.
Disease burden: 18 million people infected.
Treatment: A single dose of Ivermectin taken per year.
2. Schistosomiasis
What is it: A fluke which lives in blood vessels of the gut and urinary bladder. Causes chronic weakness, severe organ-system diseases and has a special link with bladder cancer.
Disease burden: 207 million people infected.
Treatment: A single dose of Praziquantel.
3. Leishmaniasis
What is it: A parasite that can cause severe cutaneous and systemic disease. The systemic form is difficult to cure and results in immunosuppression. The patient dies of other intercurrent infections.
Disease burden: 12 million people infected.
Treatment: Drugs available, but increasing resistance in the face of insufficient efforts to develop new drugs is a serious problem.
4. Trachoma
What is it: A microbe which is the leading cause of infectious blindness worldwide.
Disease Burden: 84 million people suffer from active infection.
Treatment: SAFE strategy – Surgery, Face Washing, Antibiotics and Environment Improvement.
5. Dengue
What is it: A virus which causes fever, rash, severe pains and a severe, potentially fatal disease called DHF (Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever).
Disease Burden: 50 million infections every year, 2.5 billion people constitute the population at risk.
Treatment: None currently available. Supportive and palliative care is the mainstay.
6. African Sleeping Sickness
What is it: A parasitic disease which eventually attacks the brain and sends the patient in a coma. Mortality is 100% if untreated.
Disease Burden: 300,000 new cases each year.
Treatment: Drugs available, but drug companies do not find them profitable enough to produce. Most of the treatment currently available is given as charity. The drugs themselves are dangerous and fatal in a significant fraction of patients.
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There are several more negected diseases, the WHO department of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) covers thirteen of them. If you’re interested, more information is available here.
Main sources for this article – WHO website and The Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) website
Health News » Six of the world’s most neglected diseases said
[...] admin wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptThese diseases are not highly visible. They do not cause explosive outbreaks that attract public and media attention. They do not travel internationally. They cause great and permanent misery, but do not kill large numbers of people or … [...]
Erin Hohlfelder said
Thank you so much for bringing much-needed attention to the issue of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)! I work for a non-profit organization called the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, and we work to promote awareness and to mobilize resources for NTDs. At the Global Network, we coordinate a grassroots campaign called Loose Change, which empowers individuals to raise money and awareness at the local level for NTD control; students like yourself have started successful campaigns that are underway in the US, the Netherlands, and Japan. I would encourage you to check out our website and learn more about easy steps you or your peers can take to make a big difference in the lives of those living in poverty around the world. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions. We look forward to working together with you in the future!
RAUI SREENIVASAN said
No hostel, no net yet! Aah! The agony of using slow and expensive GPRS.
vineetgupta said
Lol dude, I’ve been missing your blog…
icejobjob said
大変ですよね、就職活動
就職氷河期、それも超就職氷河期{と言われる時代に突入しようとしています。
この、就職氷河期は並大抵の努力では乗り切ることが困難と言われています。
{米国、アメリカのサブプライムを皮切りに引き起こされた|世界同時不況とも言われている}今回の不況、それこそ数年間にわたって、世界経済に{影響を与えます。|インパクトを与え続けるでしょう。}
この時期の、今のあなたが直面している就職活動というイベントは、あなたの人生、就職人生の大きなウエイトを占めることとなります。
{昨年までの就職活動状況とは180度転換した|就職活動は、技術と知識で乗り切ることが出来ます。}就職氷河期、絶対に後悔しないように全力で戦いましょう。