Melioidosis is a tropical infection caused by the soil bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei. Despite the substantial impact of this often overlooked pathogen on both the health-care systems and economies of numerous low-income and middle-income countries around the world, melioidosis is not officially classified as a neglected tropical disease (NTD) by WHO. Melioidosis causes a higher estimated disease burden and mortality than many other recognised NTDs, with deaths primarily occurring among rural poor populations in low-income and middle-income countries. Fortunately, the impact of melioidosis in a region can be reduced once awareness is established of its known or suspected endemicity. In this Personal View, we provide evidence in support of official recognition of melioidosis as an NTD. We urge member states to request that WHO revisit their NTD list and appeal to government and philanthropic organisations to establish programmes in endemic countries to control melioidosis in order to reduce its global health burden.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00394-7 | DOI Listing |
PLoS Negl Trop Dis
January 2025
DeWorm3 Project, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
Background: Historically, soil-transmitted helminth (STH) control and prevention strategies have relied on mass drug administration efforts targeting preschool and school-aged children. While these efforts have succeeded in reducing morbidity associated with STH infection, recent modeling efforts have suggested that expanding intervention to treatment of the entire community could achieve transmission interruption in some settings. Testing the feasibility of such an approach requires large-scale clinical trials, such as the DeWorm3 cluster randomized trial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrobiol Spectr
January 2025
Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Unlabelled: is a protozoan parasite that causes human and animal African trypanosomiases (HAT and AAT). Cardiac symptoms are commonly reported in HAT patients, and intracardiac parasites with accompanying myocarditis have been observed in both natural hosts and animal models of infection. Despite the importance of as a cause of cardiac dysfunction and the dramatic socioeconomic impact of African trypanosomiases in sub-Saharan Africa, there are currently no reproducible murine models of associated cardiomyopathy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPsychoneuroendocrinology
December 2024
Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroscience, Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia; College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Queensland, Australia. Electronic address:
Background: It has been well-established that the allostatic load (AL) index, a cumulative score of multi-system dysregulation in response to chronic stress, is significantly increased at the time of a psychiatric diagnosis. However, no studies have investigated if there is an association between the AL index in childhood and the later development of mental health symptoms in young adults.
Methods: Using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a population cohort from Bristol, United Kingdom, we investigated the AL index at age 9 years and the risks for mental health symptoms at age 24 years.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis
January 2025
The Centre for Health Informatics, Computing, and Statistics (CHICAS), Lancaster Medical School, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom.
Background: The Expanded Special Project for the Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN) was launched in 2019 by the World Health Organization and African nations to combat Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), including Soil-transmitted helminths (STH), which still affect over 1.5 billion people globally. In this study, we present a comprehensive geostatistical analysis of publicly available STH survey data from ESPEN to delineate inter-country disparities in STH prevalence and its environmental drivers while highlighting the strengths and limitations that arise from the use of the ESPEN data.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Negl Trop Dis
January 2025
NLR | until No Leprosy Remains, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Background: People with disabilities due to neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), such as leprosy and lymphatic filariasis (LF), often encounter situations of stigma and discrimination that significantly impact their mental wellbeing. Mental wellbeing services are often not available at the peripheral level in NTD-endemic countries, and there is a need for such services. Basic psychological support for persons with NTDs (BPS-N) from peers is an important potential solution for addressing mental wellbeing problems.
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