* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)
Survey
Document related concepts
Hepatitis B wikipedia , lookup
Sarcocystis wikipedia , lookup
Hepatitis C wikipedia , lookup
Trichinosis wikipedia , lookup
Hospital-acquired infection wikipedia , lookup
Rocky Mountain spotted fever wikipedia , lookup
Oesophagostomum wikipedia , lookup
Marburg virus disease wikipedia , lookup
Onchocerciasis wikipedia , lookup
Eradication of infectious diseases wikipedia , lookup
Coccidioidomycosis wikipedia , lookup
Leptospirosis wikipedia , lookup
Chagas disease wikipedia , lookup
Sexually transmitted infection wikipedia , lookup
Leishmaniasis wikipedia , lookup
Schistosomiasis wikipedia , lookup
Visceral leishmaniasis wikipedia , lookup
Transcript
Factsheet Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) What are Neglected Tropical Diseases? • NTDs comprise several diseases and the symptoms vary dramatically from disease to disease, ranging from extreme pain to permanent disability to death. 1 • Specific NTDs: o Leishmaniasis: A parasitic disease transmitted by infected sand flies, it can cause skin ulcers or lesions and swelling of the spleen and liver o Human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness): Caused by a parasite transmitted from tsetse flies, it can lead to fever, weakness, stiffness, and death o Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis): Caused by a parasite transmitted by blood-sucking “assassin bugs,” it can lead to swollen lymph nodes and organ damage. • Infections are often caused by unsafe water, poor living conditions and poor sanitation. Children are the most vulnerable to NTDs; people affected by these tropical diseases are poor, lack a strong political voice and therefore have a low status in public health priorities. That’s why these diseases are labeled “neglected.” Symptoms • Some NTDs, such as sleeping sickness, leprosy, and guinea-worm disease, may not present symptoms for several years. Some immediately show symptoms such as fever, aches, rash, sores, or swelling of the lymph nodes or at the site of infection. Prevalence • Neglected tropical diseases affect more than 1 billion people worldwide, mostly in poor populations living in tropical and subtropical climates. 2 1 US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/tropicaldiseases/understanding/Pages/quickFacts.aspx 2 WHO, http://www.who.int/features/qa/58/en/index.html • There is a lack of reliable statistics to establish the prevalence of each of the NTDs, and the number of NTDs in total. The major ones include dengue, rabies, Buruli ulcer, endemic treponematoses (yaws), leprosy (Hansen disease), Chagas disease, human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), and leishmaniasis. • They are frequently clustered together geographically and individuals are often afflicted with more than one parasite or infection. More than 70% of countries and territories that report the presence of neglected tropical diseases are low-income or lower middle-income economies. 3 Treatment and prevention • If treated, most NTDs are not fatal. But if left untreated, NTDs can lead to serious and chronic conditions and can even cause death. Because NTDs generally occur in regions with poor access to healthcare, many infected people likely die from their infections, which often go unreported • Most NTDs are relatively easy to treat and can be prevented by better access to existing safe and cost-effective solutions • Educating the at-risk population is also an important aspect of NTD prevention. By controlling environmental factors that invite NTDs, people can reduce their risk. For instance, eliminating areas of standing water where mosquitoes breed will reduce the risk of mosquito-borne diseases, or sleeping under a treated bed net will reduce the risk of diseases carried by flies that circulate at night. Challenges • The simple tools and treatments which are required to manage and prevent NTDs are not yet available to the populations which are mostly affected by NTDs 3 WHO, http://www.who.int/features/qa/58/en/index.html 2