Sen. Cory Booker, Dr. Peter Hotez take on neglected diseases - Baylor College of Medicine News

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• Sen. Cory Booker, Dr. Peter Hotez take on neglected diseases - Baylor College of Medicine News
• Health warning following increase in Cryptosporidiosis notifications - Mirage News
• Five diseases you might not have heard of (but should definitely know about) - MSF UK

Sen. Cory Booker, Dr. Peter Hotez take on neglected diseases - Baylor College of Medicine News Posted: 28 Feb 2020 09:35 AM PST Booker, Hotez call for legislative action in combating poverty-related diseases in the United States Neglected tropical diseases are the most common diseases affecting those living in extreme poverty across the world, including the United States. In an editorial published this week in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Dr. Peter Hotez, professor and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and co-director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, discuss new legislation to combat these poverty-related neglected diseases through the Study, Treat, Observe and Prevent (STOP) Neglected Diseases of Poverty Act, which was introduced to the U.S. Senate by Booker in October 2019. "Many are surprised to learn about the depth and breadth of poverty in the United States, and with that poverty comes neglected tropical diseases," Hotez said. "One of our key findings is that NTDs are not rare conditions; quite the contrary, they are pervasive among the poor, especially in Texas and other Gulf Coast states."   Infections such as Chagas disease and toxocariasis, among others, disproportionally affect those who live in extreme poverty and can cause serious illnesses including heart failure, pregnancy complications, seizures and even death. While they are traditionally thought of as diseases of developing countries, Hotez and colleagues have found that about 12 million Americans live with at least one neglected parasitic infection. Not only do these conditions arise in poverty, but they also exacerbate poverty because of their long-term disabling effects. The bill includes: Authorizing language to enhance surveillance efforts to determine the true prevalence and distribution of these diseases as well as to provide appropriate diagnostic tools and clinical algorithms for federally qualified health centers. The creation of centers of excellence for research and development for new drugs, diagnostics and vaccines to combat these diseases across the country. A call to develop educational programs for healthcare providers since most are not trained to recognize, diagnose, treat and manage diseases of poverty. A call for the establishment of an interagency task force to provide recommendations to government agencies and the U.S. Congress for diagnosing, treating and preventing these diseases. "Through this legislation, we hope to begin chipping away at decades, maybe even centuries of widespread neglect of the poorest people in America," Hotez said.

Health warning following increase in Cryptosporidiosis notifications - Mirage News Posted: 27 Feb 2020 04:48 PM PST The Department of Health is urging people who have had diarrhoea not to enter any aquatic facility (including swimming pool, spa, spray park/interactive water feature) until at least two weeks after they have fully recovered. The warning follows a substantial increase in cryptosporidiosis notifications – 195 cases have been reported to the Department since 1 January 2020, compared to an average of 63 cases for the same period in the previous five years. The highest rate of infection is in children under five and most cases occurred in the Perth metropolitan area. As only a small proportion of people who contract the parasite are tested for it by a doctor, many cases are likely unreported. Cryptosporidiosis is a diarrhoeal disease caused by a parasitic infection of the intestine, which is easily spread from person-to-person via swimming pools, waterparks, interactive fountains, and spas. The most common symptoms include diarrhoea, stomach cramps and sometimes fever, nausea and vomiting. There is no specific treatment for the condition and symptoms may last a few weeks in some people. Although most illness is mild and self-limiting, certain groups are more at risk of severe illness if infected, including younger children, pregnant women and individuals with weakened immune systems. The organism lasts for long periods in water and the environment and is not destroyed by regular chlorination. After exposure it can take up to 12 days to develop symptoms. Individuals are potentially infectious from the onset of symptoms until two weeks after becoming asymptomatic. People at greatest risk of contracting the disease are those who may ingest water from contaminated swimming pools/water bodies. The organism may also be transmitted within households and childcare facilities. The Department's key priority is the prevention of further cases through hygiene measures at pools, childcare facilities and in household settings where there are cases. The Department is also working with pool managers to ensure effective measures are in place to address the issue. To keep aquatic facilities free from contamination, it is vital that people do not enter swimming pools, spas or spray parks/interactive water features until at least two weeks after they have completely recovered from a diarrhoeal illness. Basic hygiene steps can also be taken to avoid the parasite. Simply: wash your hands thoroughly for 15 seconds with soap and running water after using the toilet, changing nappies, and before preparing or handling food or drinks avoid swallowing or putting pool or spa water in your mouth. Further, to avoid pool contamination by younger children, parents are asked to: take their child on regular bathroom breaks ensure children who are not toilet-trained are wearing appropriate swimming nappies or waterproof tight-fitting pants over swimmers change nappies in a bathroom and not at the poolside – this will prevent germs being spread to surfaces or objects in and around the pool wash their child thoroughly (especially on the bottom) with soap and water before going swimming wash their hands with soap and water after changing a child's nappy. Anyone concerned about their symptoms should contact their GP. /Public Release. View in full here.

Five diseases you might not have heard of (but should definitely know about) - MSF UK Posted: 30 Jan 2020 12:00 AM PST Today, 30 January 2020, marks the first-ever World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day.  Neglected tropical diseases affect more than a billion people and kill tens of thousands each year. Despite this, the attention of drug developers, policymakers and the mass media has often been pointed elsewhere. Our teams have been treating tropical diseases for decades, focussing on the most neglected and life-threatening. As coronavirus dominates the headlines, we take a look at five diseases that haven't always had the attention they needed, and the amazing progress that can happen when they do... 1. Kala azar Kala azar is the second-largest parasitic killer in the world. Only malaria causes more deaths.  Also known as "visceral leishmaniasis", kala azar is found in 76 countries, with hundreds of millions at risk of infection.  MSF first encountered the disease while working in camps for internally displaced people in Sudan. "Our teams saw many very weak and severely malnourished patients who came from Western Upper Nile region," says Dr Koert Ritmeijer, who leads our work in this area. "They suffered from a persistent fever, a suppressed immune system and an enlarged spleen. Most died, usually due to opportunistic infections." Over time, access to treatment has improved and new tools to better manage the disease have become available. "Today, when patients with kala azar arrive at MSF's facilities, they are often in a very bad way indeed," says Dr Ritmeijer. "But with the right treatment and care, they make an almost miraculous recovery." With more opportunities for effective disease control, kala azar is expected to be eliminated in India, Bangladesh and Nepal by 2020. MSF will provide advice during the post-elimination phase while continuing to treat kala azar patients in Africa. 2. Cutaneous leishmaniasis Cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the most widespread and neglected tropical diseases in the world. Over one million cases have been reported in the past five years (2014-2018), but it's likely that this represents only a fraction of the true number. As cutaneous leishmaniasis is not a fatal disease, it is often not prioritised by policymakers. However, the consequences can be severe and lifelong, as patients with disfiguring lesions often face social stigma and discrimination.  Between 2009-2019, MSF treated around 25,000 patients suffering from cutaneous leishmaniasis. 3. Sleeping sickness Sleeping sickness or "human African trypanosomiasis" is a parasitic infection that kills. The infection attacks the central nervous system, causing severe neurological disorders and death if left untreated. Sleeping sickness is transmitted by the tsetse fly, which is found in 36 African countries. Between 1986 and 2018, MSF screened almost 3.5 million people and treated over 50,000 patients with sleeping sickness in seven different countries.  Sleeping sickness used to be one of the most neglected tropical diseases but after highly successful interventions, including new treatments and increased surveillance, the number of reported cases has steadily fallen. The disease is now on track for worldwide elimination, with fewer than 1,000 cases reported in 2018. 4. Chagas disease Chagas disease is Latin America's most common parasitic disease. In the countries where it's endemic, it's a leading cause of heart failure. Since MSF first started treating Chagas disease in the 1990s, efforts to tackle it have increased. Institutions, patient groups, NGOs and others are taking the lead at both the local and international levels to make awareness, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of Chagas possible. However, it's estimated that 99 percent of people with Chagas disease don't have a diagnosis, and fewer than 0.2 percent receive the treatment they need. 5. Snakebite Each year, an estimated 2.7 million people are bitten by venomous snakes, and 100,000 die as a result.  MSF is campaigning to improve access to more effective and affordable antivenom – a major barrier to improving survival rates among snakebite victims.  The good news is that more conditions that commonly affect poor rural communities, such as venomous snakebite, are now being addressed by the Neglected Tropical Disease department at the World Health Organisation. "In MSF's hospitals, almost all snakebite victims survive, which demonstrates the crucial importance of well-trained staff, immediate access to quality care, plus the availability of quality antivenoms," says Dr Ritmeijer. The fight isn't over While MSF teams remain committed to providing the best possible care to patients with neglected tropical diseases, there's still a long way to go before these overlooked conditions become a thing of the past. There's an urgent need for better access to existing diagnostic tests and the development of new and improved tests, as well as more funding for controlling these diseases. But there is hope. Since MSF first started treating these diseases 20-30 years ago, there have been real advances in terms of innovative treatments and improvements in terms of how many patients have access to them. Now, says Dr Ritmeijer, it's time for policy-makers, funders, and researchers to focus their attention and prioritise the needs of "the poorest of the poor". 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