Posts

, , ,

The Debilitating Effects of Schistosomiasis

The Debilitating Effects of Schistosomiasis-TBP
Among neglected tropical diseases, few are harder to pronounce than Schistosomiasis, a parasitic infection spread through fresh water. Fewer still are more deadly. According to the Center for Disease Control, “In terms of impact, this disease is second only to malaria as the most devastating parasitic disease.” Currently, Schistosomiasis infects more than 200 million people worldwide.

Found mostly in Africa and parts of South America and Asia, Schistosomiasis, or bilharzia, is quite an unpleasant disease. It spreads through parasitic blood flukes, also known as schistosomes, which live in certain types of fresh water snails. These schistosomes are tricky creatures and infect their victims with their larvae simply through skin contact in contaminated fresh water.

Once inside the victim’s body, the larval schistosomes mature over the course of several weeks into adult flatworms. These worms then make their way to the victim’s blood vessels where they reach full maturity and mate, producing eggs. The eggs then exit the body through the victim’s urine and stools. From there, the cycle begins again.

Oddly enough, it is not the worms themselves that cause problems but the body’s reaction to the eggs. On their way out of the body, many of the eggs become stuck in the intestine and bladder, which leads to inflammation and scarring of vital organs.

While the short-term symptoms of bilharzia are similar to that of the flu, its long term effects cause much more damage. Chronic bilharzia can cause bladder cancer, infertility and the enlargement of the liver and abdomen. It remains unknown as to how many die annually from the disease but estimates range between 20,000 and 200,000 people.

However, most victims of this neglected tropical disease continue to live for years with it. For chronic sufferers, life becomes increasingly difficult. In fact, the economic consequences of bilharzia rival its health complications. Sufferers often are too debilitated to support themselves and essentially become disabled. It has the greatest impact on children. Youth that suffer from chronic bilharzia experience stunted growth and learning difficulties, which can lead many to drop out of school. Unsurprisingly, due to its economic burden, researchers have linked instances of Schistosomiasis with poverty.

Fortunately, an effective treatment called praziquantel can rid the body of the parasite and cure the disease. Best of all, it is cheap. One treatment of praziquantel costs about 20 to 30 cents and is often available free of charge in some heavily afflicted regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2012, 35 million people were treated for bilharzia with this drug.

With such a cheap and effective drug, the primary strategy of the World Health Organization (WHO) is that of mass treatment without even an individual diagnosis. These mass treatments focus on vulnerable communities like those that live and work near fresh water sources and also school children. In some areas with lower levels of transmission, many officials believe that they can eradicate this disease.

Other methods of prevention involve stopping bilharzia at its source: its freshwater snail hosts. Some efforts have aimed to focus on killing the host snails by using chemical treatments on fresh water sources. However, this has negative effects on surrounding animals and also must be continued to prevent snails from returning. Beyond medicine, the best form of prevention is simply adequate hygiene and sanitation.

While the victims of bilharzia have begun to receive more treatment, a large amount of work still remains. According to a recent WHO epidemiological record, about 40 million people received treatment for Schistosomiasis, which represents only 12.7% of the population requiring preventative treatment measures for Schistosomiasis globally. With medicine so effective, it is tragic that so many should go untreated.

– Andrew Logan

Sources: CDC, The End Fund, NCBI, WHO 1, WHO 2
Photo: Carter Center

, ,

What is Being Done for Human African Trypanosomiasis

Sleeping-Disease
Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as Sleeping Disease, is prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa, affecting rural, poverty-stricken populations with close to 10,000 new cases each year. There are 2 strands of the disease: East African Trypanosomiasis and West African Trypanosomiasis. Both strands are only spread in rural Africa via the bite of tsetse flies and cause similar symptoms, but the incubation periods and medications used are slightly different.

A tsetse bite infects the patient with a parasite, which then lives in the host’s lymphatic system and blood stream. There is also a chance that a pregnant woman can pass the infection on to her child. HAT can cause headaches, fever, weakness, joint pain, stiffness and irregular sleep patterns in its first stages. When the infection advances and crosses over into the host’s nervous system, psychiatric disorders, seizures, coma and death can occur.

The East African strain, named for the region that it is typically found, is the least common of the two with only a few hundred people becoming infected each year. This strain moves particularly fast, though, as patients see symptoms within 1-3 weeks and, if left untreated, death can occur within a few months. This strain is also a bit harder to control, as it is a zoological disease—several animals are able to host the parasitic strain.

The West African strain is the most common with 7,000-10,000 new cases reported each year. This strain can be hard to detect because symptoms can take up to a few months to surface and death can occur after the patient has been infected for several years. This strain, even with its prevalence, can be easier to contain, as humans are the primary hosts of infection. Effective treatment of infected humans will help stop the spread of the disease.

There are medications to help people combat the disease, but different medications are used depending on the stage of infection. Detection can be difficult and the medicine can be expensive, which makes treatment less accessible to those infected, as they reside primarily in rural areas. Spinal taps must be administered to ensure that the disease has not breached the central nervous system, which would cause the treatment plan to change. Even after a patient is considered cured, he or she must undergo routine screening, including a spinal tap, for up to two years. Even with precautions in place, relapse remains possible.

Even with few infected tsetse flies and a relatively small number of cases, the disease saw a resurgence of new cases after several years of latent activity. Nevertheless, the number of new cases are once again reducing every year; reports to the World Health Organization (WHO) have gone from 300,000 in 1995, down to just over 17,000 in 2004, below 10,000 in 2009 and only 7,139 in 2010.

Unfortunately, there is no vaccine available for HAT and recovery from a case does not result in immunity, yet progress is being made.

The WHO has taken great measures to aid African countries that are considered endemic: “technical assistance, access to diagnosis, training [and] access to treatment.” When these areas are focused on, things improve. Access to treatment has been a priority for the WHO because the medicine used for the second stage of the West African strain is an arsenic derivative. New treatments are being worked on to reduce the need for medicines that are accompanied by detrimental side effects.

Not every tsetse fly carries the disease, but the higher number of bites a person gets increases a person’s chance of becoming infected. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) tells U.S. travelers to wear protective clothing when traveling in rural African areas with lots of brush, wear neutral colors that do not attract the flies, inspect vehicles for flies, avoid bushes, and use insect repellent. Repellent does not guaranteed protection against the tsetse fly, but it will help.

This disease’s resurged because it was ignored for a time. With the CDC’s suggestions and the WHO’s work in the field, the disease could become virtually non-existent in a short time if the decline seen in recent years continues. The medication used will help people gain their lives back and once again become productive members in their society. With all the good work being done to get rid of HAT, this disease could become a thing of the past in rural sub-Saharan communities.

– Megan Ivy

Sources: CDC, WHO, PLOS
Photo: the journal.ie

, , ,

Rosenkranz Prize Winners Dedicated to Improving Healthcare in Developing Countries

Rosenkranz Prize
The Rosenkranz Prize aims to fund the work of Stanford University’s rising research stars who have the desire to improve healthcare in developing countries but who lack the necessary resources.

Most grants in the scientific field are awarded to established researchers. But because the Rosenkranz Prize is awarded to rising researchers, it is able to split funds between two young researchers.

Marcella Alsan, MD, PhD, is investigating how the division of labor among men and women begins at a young age in the developing world. Alsan theorizes that this is because young girls are responsible for taking care of younger siblings, missing endless days of school.

Alsan states, “Anecdotally, girls must sacrifice their education to help out with domestic tasks, including taking care of children, a job that becomes more onerous if their youngest siblings are ill.”

More than 100 million girls worldwide do not complete secondary school. Alsan will be analyzing whether medical interventions in children under the age of 5 show an increasing trend in schooling for their older sisters.

By analyzing this data, Alsan will be able to prove or disprove if sick siblings affect their older sister’s school participation. If this thesis proves true, implementing medical interventions in younger children will increase the number of girls in school. By completing school, girls will be able to not only take care of family and their own children but also have a strong background in education.

The second Rosenkranz Prize winner, Jason Andrews, an infectious disease specialist, is focusing his funds on the development of cheap, effective diagnostic tools for infectious diseases.

Andrews recalls working in rural Nepal as an undergraduate student and “founded a nonprofit organization that provides free medical services in one of the most remote and impoverished parts of the country . . . one of the consistent and critical challenges I encountered in this setting was routine diagnosis of infectious disease.”

Andrews realizes that the diagnoses are hindered by lack of electricity, limited laboratory resources and lack of trained personnel. To eliminate these obstacles, Andrews is developing “an electricity-free, culture-based incubation and identification for typhoid; low-cost portable microscopes to detect parasitic worm infections; and most recently an easy-to-use molecular diagnostic tool that does not require electricity.”

Andrews does not want to develop new diagnostic approaches. Rather, Andrews believes he can develop the diagnostic approaches already in place to function in an affordable and accessible manner.

With the Rosenkranz Prize, Andrews is also able to develop a simple, rapid, molecular diagnostic or cholera that is 10 times more sensitive than the tests currently available. Andrews plans to test this new technology in Nepal.

The Rosenkranz Prize has allowed two individuals dedicated to helping healthcare in developing countries by providing the necessary funding. With the help of Alsan, girls may be able to attend school without worrying about ill siblings, and Andrews has shed light on the problems facing many developing countries when providing medical help. But by further developing the diagnostic approaches available, healthcare will change for the better.

– Kerri Szulak

Sources: Scope, Stanford
Photo: PickPik

5 Common Manifestations of Poverty

Manifestations-of-Poverty
Global poverty is nothing new, but some of its causes might be commonly overlooked or forgotten. Though there are many reasons for the manifestation of poverty, there are five largely important causes that need more attention from those who can make a difference.

1. Inadequate education is a highly agreed upon cause of poverty, both in first world nations as well as poverty stricken developing countries. Commonly, education quality differs between urban and rural areas, as well as between wealthy neighborhoods and poorer parts of cities. According to Project Partner of China, rural children are more likely to attend deteriorating school facilities and face insufficient materials. Meanwhile, urban children typically have outstanding educational experiences that allow them to prosper throughout their lives. Without a proper education, the cycle of poverty often continues. Children born into poverty have a difficult time receiving an education that will support them throughout life and pull them out of poverty.

2. Healthcare access varies around the world, but in a majority of poverty stricken countries little to no healthcare is provided, especially to those in extreme poverty. Inverse care, where those better off have more access to healthcare but fewer needs for it, benefits the wealthy and worsens conditions for the poor. Global Issues reported that “2.2 million children died each year because they are not immunized” due to lack of healthcare.

3. Disease goes hand in hand with healthcare, or lack thereof, and that makes it all the more obvious why healthcare is critical. Diseases quickly spread through areas that lack proper health education and offer little healthcare. As these diseases spread, it becomes more difficult for families to take care of themselves, much less thrive. According to Global Issues, “40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, [resulting in] 3 million deaths in 2004,” leaving 15 million children orphaned. Though HIV/AIDS causes an extremely high number of fatalities, there are 350-500 million cases of malaria each year, with 1 million of those ending fatally. Notably, 90 percent of deaths from malaria are found in Africa alone. While prevention is desirable, a cure is needed to truly make a lasting difference.

4. Dependency is possibly the most overlooked issue on this list. Dependency is often associated with laziness or the concept that those dependent cannot support themselves, but it goes much deeper than that. First-world countries have created a system that keeps poverty riddled countries from being able to provide for themselves. That, however, does not mean the system was intended to push third-world countries further into poverty. Rather, the truck loads of secondhand items that are continuously shipped into third-world countries have crippled their industries, and thus made them dependent on aid. By investing in these countries to help them rebuild an economy that can flourish, more developed countries will no longer be handing them momentary help, but making a lasting impact on their livelihood.

5. Ignorance and apathy, though two different notions, result in similar outcomes. Lacking the knowledge to care or to make a difference is a sad reality among many people in the world. Apathy, on the other hand, is not wanting to gain the knowledge to improve the lives of others. It is often easiest to live a life of ignorance, so many do. Occasionally donating to your local food drive or clothing shelter are great ways to start improving the lives of others, but going the distance to educate yourself and learning how to permanently aid those less fortunate will make a lasting difference. All of the manifestations of poverty cannot simply be numbered to five, but these causes play a large role in the sad reality. Gaining education over what needs to be done to help the human race is the perfect place to start and improve the conditions of those in need.

– Katherine Wyant

Sources: Community Empowerment Collective, Project Partner of China Global Issues
Photo: Steve McCurry

Dengue Fever in Asia

Dengue Fever Mosquito
Dengue fever has caused mayhem in developing countries, with over 2.5 billion people in the world at risk for infection. The World Health Organization estimates that anywhere from 50-100 million people are affected yearly, showing an increase of incidence rates in the last few decades.

Dengue fever is a mosquito-born viral infection often found in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Today, the disease is endemic in more than 100 countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Western Pacific. In 2010, cases in Southeast Asia, the Americas and Western Pacific accumulated to 2.3 million, and this number is only rising.

Incidence rates are not only going up, but there have been recent outbreaks in Europe, including Croatia, France and Portugal, that are concerning to neighboring countries.

However, there is no region that has been quite affected by dengue fever than Asia. Southern China is experiencing one of the worst outbreaks of dengue fever in the last 20 years, with more than 1,000 reported cases emerging daily. In October, it was reported that there had been six deaths and over 21,000 infections in Guangdong province.

Malaysia and Taiwan have also experienced more deaths in 2014 than previous years, while Japan suffered its first outbreak of dengue since 1945. Twenty-two cases had been confirmed in Japan, with the health ministry believing visitors to Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park were the first to contract the disease.

Another study illustrated that dengue fever rates in India may actually be 300 times more than what has been officially reported, costing the country around $548 million annually.

With no approved vaccine, dengue fever is difficult to treat. The disease causes severe joint and muscle pain, but does not usually result in fatalities. According to WHO, the only way to prevent the transmission of dengue fever is to fight vector mosquitos. Some ways to do so include disposing waste properly, using personal household protection such as window screens and cleaning water storage containers.

The Government of Japan is taking all necessary precautions to combat the disease, especially in Yoyogi Park, by putting up warning signs, spraying insecticide and draining ponds. Japan has also set up a hotline specifically for dengue fever cases. These precautionary methods will hopefully decrease the transmission of dengue fever in Asia.

– Leeda Jewayni

Sources: World Health Organization, CNN BBC
Photo: North Jersey

,

What is Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever?

Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever
The National Institute of Health defines dengue hemorrhagic fever as “a severe, potentially deadly infection spread by mosquitoes, mainly the species Aedes aegypti.” After being bitten by Aedes aegypti, the fever can originate from any one of four dengue viruses. Recovery is possible if the patient’s body has remaining dengue antibodies.

The onset of dengue hemorrhagic fever feels very similar to that of typical dengue, and the symptoms are largely the same. The experience diverges with the appearance of tiny spots of blood on the skin and can ultimately culminate in seizures and lasting brain and liver damage.

What makes dengue hemorrhagic fever so problematic is the lack of a vaccine or cure. The symptoms, however, can be treated. These treatments include blood and platelet transfusions, IV fluids that combat electrolyte imbalances and dehydration and oxygen therapy. If a patient has access to a hospital ICU, they can typically receive treatment.

But what is so important about dengue hemorrhagic fever?

In recent years, the incidence of dengue hemorrhagic fever has grown sharply. The World Health Organization (WHO) now estimates there to be between 50 million and 100 million cases of the disease every year worldwide. Yet prior to 1970, there had been only nine countries which had experienced large outbreaks of the disease. Now, it can be found in over 100 African countries, in Southeast Asia and on the Western Pacific coast.

This means 40 percent of the word is at risk of getting the disease. Women and people of European ancestry are at a higher risk. After contracting the disease, 2.5 percent of infected people die, many of them children.

With this in mind, the prognosis looks bleak, but the disease is not without dedicated researchers working to defeat it. Currently, the WHO supports countries as they attempt to confirm outbreaks of the disease, providing valuable data on the subject. They also provide guidance and technical support in the management of an outbreak, and they train professionals in clinical management, vector control and diagnosis of the disease.

Dengue hemorrhagic fever may be strong, but with treatments already available and research turning up crucial information, the risk it poses is certain to halt in the foreseeable future.

– Rachel Davis

Sources: MedlinePlus, World Health Organization
Photo: Examiner

, , ,

Plague Forces Chinese City into Quarantine

plague
In the 14th century, the bubonic plague that had quietly lived in China’s Gobi Desert lifted from the ground and attacked Europe. Carried by fleas who found refuge on rat fur, the bacteria wreaked havoc on the filthy cities of the Middle Ages. By the end of the 16th century, more than a third of Europe was claimed by the plague now known as the Black Death.

In the centuries that followed, hygiene and sanitation improved, and the plague has mostly become a disease of history. But it has yet to be fully eradicated.

On July 16, a 38-year-old Chinese herdsman died from the bubonic plague. He had been exposed to a dead marmot, a rodent-like creature related to the squirrel, that was carrying the dangerous bacteria. The man was admitted to the hospital with a high fever and was coughing blood. Immediately, the hospital quarantined him and Chinese health officials flooded into the city of Yumen.

Of the city’s approximate 100,000 residents, 151 have been placed into quarantine, as they were believed to have been near the infected man after his exposure to bacteria. Furthermore, parts of the city — which allocated 1 million yuan in the way of emergency vaccinations — have been sealed off.

Chinese Central Television (CCTV) reports that Yumen has enough food supplies to last them a month if need be. The same report also indicates that all residents in quarantine look to be uninfected.

The plague, when it infects a person’s lungs, can be fatal if left untreated for even 24 hours, a misfortune that struck the Yumen community with the herdsman’s death.

According to the World Health Organization, between 1,000 and 3,000 people die from the bubonic plague every year. But most victims of this ruthless disease hail from developing countries that still struggle with sanitation.

Between 2000 and 2009, close to 20,000 people were infected by the plague. Of these cases, 10,581 cases were reported in Congo, 7,182 in Madagascar and 1,309 in Zambia.

Meanwhile, only 56 people from the U.S. have been affected by the disease, of whom seven died.

But plague cases remain especially rare in China. There was only a single diagnosed case in the province of Sichuan in 2012 and 12 cases — including three deaths — in 2009 in the remote and rural areas of China’s western provinces.

– Shehrose Mian

Sources: LiveScience 1, LiveScience 2, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Enca, Austrian Times, Washington Post
Photo: Flickr

,

Cholera Outbreak in Haiti: The UN Responds

cholera in HaitiUnited Nations Secretary, General Ban Ki-moon, arrived in Hispaniola this past week, with renewed promises to the Haitian people burdened with an ongoing cholera epidemic. During his stay, the Secretary-General called for increased commitment to the $2.2 billion plan he first proposed at the end of 2012 — to help fight the cholera outbreak in Haiti, a plan for which donors have been scarce.

He also introduced the “Total Sanitation Campaign” that will attempt to lessen the impact of future cholera outbreaks in Haiti by addressing the absence of proper sanitation in rural areas. “As secretary-general of the United Nations, I want to assure you that the United Nations and its partners are strongly committed to ending the epidemic as quickly as possible,” said the Secretary-General.

Before the current epidemic, which has killed over 8,500 and infected 700,000 since 2010, Haitians had not seen a recorded case of bacterial infection within their borders for a century. Evidence suggests that U.N. peacekeepers from Nepal first brought the disease to Haiti in response to the 2010 earthquake that affected 3 million in the area.

Despite its claim of legal immunity, the UN must now defend itself against three lawsuits brought forth on behalf of the victims. Critics denounced the Secretary-General’s visit, stating that the UN must accept legal responsibility for the outbreak and compensate the Haitian people.

Cholera quickly spread throughout Haiti due to inadequate sewage systems and polluted water sources. While extreme poverty fell by seven percent from 2000 to 2012 nationally, poverty rates remained largely the same in rural areas where half of all households lack adequate sanitation and where more than half of the total population resides.

Of the rural population, 40 percent uses unprotected water sources, which lead to increased risk of contracting cholera. The economic gap between rural and urban populations in Haiti has grown, with 70 percent of rural households classified as chronically poor compared to those of urban areas at 20 percent.

The World Health Organization defines cholera as “an acute intestinal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.” Symptoms include watery diarrhea that if untreated, can dehydrate and kill a patient. Yet the 75 percent of those infected who do not develop symptoms, can still infect others. Those with low immunity to disease, such as malnourished children and people with HIV, have an increased likelihood of infection.

Almost all families displaced by the earthquake four and a half years ago have since left temporary camps — a sign of increased progress in a burdened nation. As families continue to reestablish normalcy, the UN’s campaign plans to initially aid three million citizens over the next five years. According to the Secretary-General, “Cholera rates are declining and the battle is slowly being won. We must, however, intensify these efforts. And we must focus on the wider quest to ensure access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.” For now, anxious Haitians await both new donors and and initiative from the U.N. to take legal responsibility.

– Erica Lignell

Sources: UN, World Bank, BBC, ABC News, WHO, CBS News
Photo: Unsplash

Report Seeks End to AIDS Epidemic

aids epidemic
Recent statistics released in a new report by UNAIDS show that the number of new HIV/AIDS cases have been decreasing steadily. This new data shows that for every 10 percent increase in treatment coverage, there is a one percent decline in new infections among those living with HIV. However, the report also noted that far more international effort was needed because this current pace is insufficient to completely end the AIDS epidemic.

In 2013, 2.1 million new HIV/AIDS cases were recorded, down from 3.4 million new cases in 2001. 2013 also saw an additional 2.3 million people gain access to the life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ART), which is a drug that substantially suppresses many of the symptoms of AIDS and increases life spans. This means that a grand total of 13 million people have previously had or currently have access to ART. AIDS-related deaths have fallen by one-fifth in the past three years.

The most headline-grabbing piece from the report came from Michael Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS, who said, “If we accelerate all HIV scale-up by 2020, we will be on track to end the epidemic by 2030.”

However it is important to know that while there has been significant improvement, considerable work still needs to be done. Sidibé went on to say that if we don’t continue to scale up efforts, then we would “[add] a decade, if not more” to the 2030 goal.

Only 15 countries account for more than 75 percent of the 2.1 million new HIV infections in 2013. In Sub-Saharan Africa the countries of Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda account for 48 percent of all new HIV infections in the region. Fewer than four in 10 people currently with HIV lack the ART necessary to survive. HIV prevalence is estimated to be 12 times higher in sex workers, 19 times higher among gay men, 28 times higher in drug injectors and up to 49 times higher among transgender women. Sub-Saharan adolescent girls and young women account for one in four new HIV infections.

While there are a tremendous amount of fascinating statistics on the matter, it’s important to not get lost in them. This new report from UNAIDS shows that progress is being made, but an even stronger effort is needed in order to end the AIDS epidemic in a timely fashion and save millions more lives.

– Andre Gobbo

Sources: BBC, UNAIDS 1, UNAIDS 2
Photo: New America Media

Tropical Diseases are Killing Millions

tropical diseases
Neglected tropical diseases are diseases that are either bacterial or parasitic and infect around one in six people around the world. Over half of a billion children are infected with these diseases.

These diseases are considered “neglected” because they do not receive very much attention or funding from governments or medical communities around the world.

These diseases tend to be especially widespread in areas with high levels of poverty, bad sanitation and poor access to health care. These diseases tend to especially affect women and children.

While they are grouped together, neglected tropical diseases can be very different from one another. Some kill quickly while others will infect for years or simply harm, but not kill, their victims. Some are parasitic, caused by parasites, and spread through mosquitoes, snails or flies. Others are bacterial and are spread through water or soil.

Treatments for these diseases also vary. Some have cheap treatments available (although this could potentially lead to drug resistance), others have no treatment or a very expensive or difficult treatment.

According to the World Health Organization there are 17 neglected tropical diseases. Here is a brief description of the seven most common neglected tropical diseases. These seven diseases account for 90 percent of global cases of neglected tropical diseases.

1. Ascariasis (roundworm) is the infection of the small intestine that is caused by a roundworm. The eggs of the roundworm are often ingested and the eggs then hatch in the person’s intestine. They then reach the lungs through the bloodstream. The worms can grow to be longer than 30 centimeters. Roundworm causes about 60,000 deaths each year.

2. Trichuriasis (whipworm) is spread and moves through the body like roundworm. Around the world about 700 million people are infected with whipworm.

3. Schistosomiasis (snail fever) is caused by parasitic worms. A person can become infected by coming in direct contact with contaminated fresh water. Over 200 million are infected with snail fever around the world.

4. Lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) is transmitted through mosquitoes and damages the lymphatic system causing painful, visible disfigurations. More than 120 million are infected around the world.

5. Trachoma is an infection of bacteria in the eye, causing the yield to turn inwards, eventually resulting in blindness. Six million people are blind due to trachoma.

6. Onchocerciasis (river blindness) is a parasitic disease caused by flies that carry larval worms that grow to cause blindness, lesions and loss of pigmentation in the skin.

7. Hookworm is spread and moves through the body like whipworm and roundworm. Around 600 million people throughout the world are infected with hookworm.

Although neglected tropical diseases affect millions, they are relatively inexpensive to treat: for around 50 cents a year, one person could be treated and protected for all of the seven most common neglected diseases.

– Lily Tyson

Sources: Reuters, Global Network, CDC, WHO
Photo: EndTheNeglect