Schistosomiasis is widely recognized as a disease that is socially determined. An understanding of the social and behavioural factors linked to disease transmission and control should play a vital role in designing policies and strategies for schistosomiasis prevention and control. To this must be a...dded the awareness that schistosomiasis is also a disease of poverty. It still survives in poverty-stricken, remote areas where there is little or no safe water or sanitation, and health care is scarce or non-existent. For a variety of complex reasons, many of which are addressed in this book, the disease is particularly prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, and persists in certain areas of rural China. This concern for human behaviour in an environment of poverty echoes the concerns of the new research priority for “diseases of poverty” identified by the Special Programme for Research & Training in Tropical Diseases.
more
Schistosomiasis is an acute and chronic parasitic disease caused by blood flukes (trematode
worms) of the genus Schistosoma. At least 249 million people required preventive treatment in
2012. Preventive treatment, which should be repeated over a number of years, will reduce and
prevent morbidity.
Yaws, an infectious disease caused by Treponema pallidum subspecies pertenue, is endemic in many parts of the world. A community-wide treatment program in Papua New Guinea, in which a single dose of azithromycin was administered, showed substantial disease control. Watch the new Quick Take animation.... Click through to read the study.
more
Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by intracellular protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania (Trypanosomatidae family); it is endemic in more than 98 countries worldwide [1]. Visceral (VL) and cutaneous (CL) leishmaniasis are the most common forms of the disease. VL causes a systemic dis...ease characterised by fever, hepatosplenomegaly, anaemia and lymph node enlargement and may be fatal without appropriate treatment, while CL mainly causes skin ulcers and is considered a less severe form of the disease [2]. The incubation period for VL varies from 10 days up to nearly 3 years and for CL from 2 weeks to 3 years [3]. The natural route of transmission is a bite of blood-feeding phlebotomine sandflies; it may be zoonotic or anthroponotic, depending on the parasite species and the geographical location
more
More than one million people each year become infected by parasites that cause the disease cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). This disease manifests as one or more skin lesions or ulcers that are slow to heal with variable response rates to drug treatments. Thus far, little attention has been paid to how... the cultural effects of gender shape perceptions and experiences of CL. This review aims to bring together and analyse existing studies which use qualitative data to explore these differences. These studies offered insights into our specific research questions.
more
Map of Distribution of fascioliasis, worldwide, latest year available.
Foodborne trematodes are a group of diseases that include the parasites Clonorchis, Opisthorchis, Fasciola and Paragonimus. These parasitic flukes have a complex life cycle involving diverse definitive hosts and one or two inter...mediate hosts. Foodborne trematodes cause infection in humans via the consumption of contaminated food (raw fish, crustaceans or vegetables). Infection can result in severe liver and lung disease and together these diseases are estimated to cause 2 million life years lost to disability and death worldwide every year.
more
Leptospirosis is a zoonotic illness with a global disease burden impacting both
developed and developing nations. It is caused by pathogenic spirochetes of the
genus Leptospira. The pathogenic L.interrogans has more than 250 serovars
arranged in 25 serogroups. In Sri Lanka, suspected leptospirosi...s is a notifiable
disease.
more
Infections by the soil-transmitted helminths (STH), including Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Ancylostoma duodenale/Necator americanus (hookworms), and Strongyloides stercoralis, disproportionately affect children around the world. Because of their transmission associated with poor sanita...ry conditions and inadequate hygiene practices, higher burden of disease is seen in children from developing countries from sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Approximately 267 million preschool-age children (PSAC) and 568 million school-age children (SAC) worldwide are at risk of STH infection as well as impaired child growth and cognitive development from A. lumbricoides, T. trichiura, and hookworm infections, and death due to severe S. stercoralis infection. Thus, their control is a global health priority.
more
Schistosomiasis is widely recognized as a disease that is socially determined. An
understanding of the social and behavioural factors linked to disease transmission and
control should play a vital role in designing policies and strategies for schistosomiasis
prevention and control. To this must b...e added the awareness that schistosomiasis is
also a disease of poverty. It still survives in poverty-stricken, remote areas where there
is little or no safe water or sanitation, and health care is scarce or non-existent. For
a variety of complex reasons, many of which are addressed in this book, the disease
is particularly prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, and persists in certain areas of rural
China. This concern for human behaviour in an environment of poverty echoes the
concerns of the new research priority for “diseases of poverty” identified by the
Special Programme for Research & Training in Tropical Diseases.
more
Rabies is a devastating and societally important zoonotic disease, which is transmitted principally to humans through the bite of infected dogs. This acute, progressive viral encephalitis has the highest case fatality of any infectious disease and kills tens of thousands of people annually, with chi...ldren and impoverished communities being affected disproportionately.
more
Rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral disease which occurs in more than 150 countries and territories. Dogs are the source of the vast majority of human rabies deaths, contributing up to 99% of all rabies transmissions to humans.
Rabies is a fatal zoonotic disease most often transmitted to people via bites from infected dogs. This course provides a general introduction to rabies, and the One Health approach currently taken to prevent it. It consists of seven video-lectures, demonstration videos, and lessons learnt from peopl...e who work at the frontline of rabies elimination programmes around the world. It targets both a general audience and those who would like to learn more about rabies and the pathway to eliminating this disease – like prospective and current public health and animal health practitioners in rabies endemic countries.
more
Leishmaniasis is an infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus, Leishmania. Protozoa are microscopic, single-celled organisms. The parasites that cause the disease are transmitted to people through the bites of certain species of infected sand flies.
Visceral leishmaniasis is an important disease in East Africa where recurrent outbreaks occur. Leishmania-HIV coinfected people have high chance of developing the full-blown clinical disease, and high relapse and mortality rates. Poverty, malnutrition and population movements in endemic areas increa...se the risk of developing VL. Early diagnosis and effective prompt treatment reduce the prevalence of the disease and prevents disabilities and death. This course aims at providing health workers with the necessary knowledge to understand the epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, surveillance and outbreak investigation of this important disease in East Africa.
more
The previous report of the WHO Expert Committee on this disease
followed a meeting in 1995. Intensive, coordinated efforts against HAT during
the intervening 18 years have resulted in a decrease in incidence to a point at
which elimination is considered feasible. This report provides informati...on about
new diagnostic approaches, new therapeutic regimens and better understanding
of the distribution of the disease with high-quality mapping. The roles of human
and animal reservoirs and the tsetse fly vectors that transmit the parasites are
emphasized. The new information has formed the basis for an integrated strategy
with which it is hoped that elimination of HAT will be achieved. The report also
contains recommendations on the approaches that will lead to elimination of the
disease.
more
Website last accessed on 09.04.2023
Human echinococcosis is a parasitic disease caused by tapeworms of the genus Echinococcus. More than one million people are affected by echinococcosis.
Website last accessed on 10.04.2023
The Chagas disease is frequently referred to as the effects that the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) has on people’s health. However, from our perspective, Chagas is much more than that: it is a complex socioenvironmental health problem in which elemen...ts of different nature converge and interact. The biomedical and epidemiological aspects, which are most frequently addressed, are only a piece of the puzzle that needs to be complete in order to understand Chagas in all its complexity. Social, environmental, economic, political, cultural, and educational elements turn out to be essential in comprehending the magnitude of the problem without prejudice or stigmatizations.
more
Website last accessed on 08.05.2023
Parts of the continent are still blighted by one of the world's deadliest diseases. An app is helping to turn the tide.
Website last accessed on 14.05.2023
Leishmaniasis A group of diseases, caused by the Leishmania parasites and transmitted by the sandfly
Although estimated to cause the ninth largest disease burden among individual infectious diseases, leishmaniasis is largely ignored in discussions of tropical disease priorities [1,2]. This consignment to critical oblivion results from its complex epidemiology and ecology, the lack of simple, easily...-applied tools for case management and the paucity of current incidence data, and often results in a failure on the part of policy-makers to recognize its importance [3,4]. Based on the World Health Assembly Resolu tion 2007/60.13, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened the Expert Committee on Leishmaniasis in March 2010, which subsequently issued the first updated technical report on leishmaniasis in more than 20 years [5,6].
more