Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 Mar 2;10(3):e0003895.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0003895. eCollection 2016 Mar.

Eliminating the Neglected Tropical Diseases: Translational Science and New Technologies

Peter J Hotez  1 , Bernard Pecoul  2 , Suman Rijal  3 , Catharina Boehme  4 , Serap Aksoy  5 , Mwelecele Malecela  6 , Roberto Tapia-Conyer  7 , John C Reeder  8
Affiliations
Review

Eliminating the Neglected Tropical Diseases: Translational Science and New Technologies

Peter J Hotez et al. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. .

Abstract

Today, the World Health Organization recognizes 17 major parasitic and related infections as the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Despite recent gains in the understanding of the nature and prevalence of NTDs, as well as successes in recent scaled-up preventive chemotherapy strategies and other health interventions, the NTDs continue to rank among the world's greatest global health problems. For virtually all of the NTDs (including those slated for elimination under the auspices of a 2012 London Declaration for NTDs and a 2013 World Health Assembly resolution [WHA 66.12]), additional control mechanisms and tools are needed, including new NTD drugs, vaccines, diagnostics, and vector control agents and strategies. Elimination will not be possible without these new tools. Here we summarize some of the key challenges in translational science to develop and introduce these new technologies in order to ensure success in global NTD elimination efforts.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

We have read the journal's policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: Peter J. Hotez is principal investigator and patent holder on vaccines against hookworm and schistosomiasis, as well as principal investigator on several other vaccines in development against Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Fractions of years lived with disability (YLD) and years of life lost (YLL) due to premature death (as components of disability adjusted life years [DALYs]) for each of the NTDs. Also included in this graph are “other NTDs.”
Figure previously published in Hotez et al., 2014 [8].
Fig 2
Fig 2. Timeline for elimination (top) and eradication (bottom) of targeted NTDs by preventive chemotherapy.
Figure previously published in Keenan et al., 2013 [16].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hotez P (2013) Forgotten People, Forgotten Diseases: The Neglected Tropical Diseases and their Impact on Global Health and Development Washington, D.C.: ASM Press.
    1. Molyneux DH, Hotez PJ, Fenwick A (2005) "Rapid-impact interventions": how a policy of integrated control for Africa's neglected tropical diseases could benefit the poor. PLoS Med 2: e336 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hotez PJ, Molyneux DH, Fenwick A, Ottesen E, Ehrlich Sachs S, et al. (2006) Incorporating a rapid-impact package for neglected tropical diseases with programs for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. PLoS Med 3: e102 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lammie PJ, Fenwick A, Utzinger J (2006) A blueprint for success: integration of neglected tropical disease control programmes. Trends Parasitol 22: 313–321. - PubMed
    1. Hotez PJ, Molyneux DH, Fenwick A, Kumaresan J, Sachs SE, et al. (2007) Control of neglected tropical diseases. N Engl J Med 357: 1018–1027. - PubMed

Publication types