Neglected Diseases

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Neglected Diseases are a group of 13 tropical infections that afflict the poor and powerless in the developing regions of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Together, they cause an estimated 500,000 to 1 million deaths annually and cause a global disease burden equivalent to that of HIV-AIDS. These diseases are contrasted with the big three diseases (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria) which receive much more media attention and research funding.

[edit] The diseases

A child from Panama suffering from Chagas disease. It has manifested as an acute infection with swelling of the right eye (chagoma).

[edit] Parasitic Diseases (Protozoan)

• Kala-azar (Leishmaniasis)
• African Sleeping Sickness (African trypanosomiasis)
• Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis)

[edit] Parasitic Diseases (Helminth)

• Schistosomiasis
• Lymphatic Filariasis (elephantiasis)
• Onchocerciasis (river blindness)
• Drancunculiasis (guinea worm)

Soil-transmitted helminthiases:

• Ascariasis (roundworm)
• Trichuriasis (whipworm)
• Hookworm

[edit] Bacterial Diseases

• Leprosy
• Buruli ulcer
• Trachoma

[edit] See also

• Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative
• orphan diseases, illnesses on which pharmaceutical companies tend to do little research.
• Tropical Disease Initiative [1]

[edit] External links

• Taking on The Neglected Diseases, WorldChanging