People often think of leprosy as a bygone disease, relevant primarily in biblical times. But in fact, it is still present in more than 120 countries, and the US is seeing an uptick in cases.
Feet of a person with lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis.
WHO
In rural Ghana, only 18% of patients believe elephantiasis is a disease. Some others think it is caused by curses or even rain. Only by understanding local beliefs can it be treated effectively.
Scabies and other skin diseases are still common in Togo.
Wikimedia Commons/Flickr
Every year, 1.7 billion people, most in the world’s poorest areas, are affected by NTDs. The diseases cause suffering, stigma, disability and sometimes death.
Ivermectin is vital for controlling a number of neglected tropical diseases, but mixed messaging and reported side-effects from its misuse against COVID could turn patients off it.
Although there is no evidence yet that it affects COVID-19 vaccines, schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease, has been associated with lower vaccine immunity for several vaccines.
Leishmaniasis is caused by a parasite that is carried by a female sandfly.
CDC/ Frank Collins
Each year 50 000 people from 89 countries, in every continent except Antarctica, die from leishmaniasis, an ancient neglected disease.
Indonesian schoolchildren show off the mark indicating they’ve just taken anti-filariasis medication, a drug that prevents just one of the world’s ‘neglected’ diseases.
CDC Global
The 2015 Nobel Prize in medicine went to research on remedies derived from natural compounds. Academia is continuing the fight against ‘neglected’ diseases by similarly hunting for new drugs in nature.