scholarly journals Coinfections between Persistent Parasitic Neglected Tropical Diseases and Viral Infections among Prisoners from Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lilian Da Silva Santos ◽  
Hans Wolff ◽  
François Chappuis ◽  
Pedro Albajar-Viñas ◽  
Marco Vitoria ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Neglected Tropical Diseases ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Parasitic Infections ◽  
Tropical Diseases ◽  
Prevalence Rates ◽  
Chronic Hbv ◽  
Sub Saharan

In Swiss prisons, more than 70% of detained people are foreigners and over one-third originate from sub-Saharan Africa or Latin America. These two regions are endemic for various tropical diseases and viral infections, which persist after migration to nonendemic countries. Parasitic infections (schistosomiasis; strongyloidiasis) and cooccurrent viral infections (HIV, hepatitis B (HBV), and hepatitis C (HCV)) are especially of concern for clinical care but have been neglected in empirical research. These diseases often remain silent for years before causing complications, especially if they occur concomitantly. Our research aimed to study the prevalence rates and coinfections of two neglected tropical diseases, namely, Strongyloides stercoralis and Schistosoma sp. and viral infections among sub-Saharan Africans (SSA) and Latin Americans (LA) in Switzerland’s largest pretrial prison. We carried out a cross-sectional prevalence study using a standardized questionnaire and serological testing. Among the 201 participants, 85.6% were SSA and 14.4% LA. We found the following prevalence ratios: 3.5% of HIV (4.1% in SSA, 0% in LA), 12.4% of chronic HBV (14.5% in SSA, 0% in LA), 2.0% of viraemic HCV (1.7% in SSA, 3.4% in LA), and 8.0% of strongyloidiasis (8.1% in SSA, 6.9% in LA). The serological prevalence of schistosomiasis among SSA was 20.3% (not endemic in Latin America). Two infections were simultaneously detected in SSA: 4.7% were coinfected with schistosomiasis and chronic HBV. Four other coinfections were detected among SSA: schistosomiasis-HIV, HIV-chronic HBV, HIV-HCV, and schistosomiasis-strongyloidiasis. To conclude, the high prevalence rates of persistent viral and parasitic infections and their potential coinfections among SSA and LA detained migrants highlight the need to implement control strategies and programs that reach people in detention centers in nonendemic countries.

scholarly journals Whatever happened to China’s neglected tropical diseases?

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Hotez
Keyword(s):  
Disease Control ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Neglected Tropical Diseases ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Tropical Disease ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Parasitic Infections ◽  
Neglected Tropical Disease ◽  
Tropical Diseases

Abstract Before the founding of the People’s Republic of China 70 years ago, both extreme poverty and parasitic infections and other neglected tropical diseases were highly prevalent. Owing to social development, particularly economic reforms since the 1980s, poverty has since been dramatically reduced, and China became increasingly urbanized and industrialized. In parallel, China’s economic transformation translated into similar and remarkable reductions in neglected tropical diseases. Qian and colleagues report in their review published in Infectious Diseases of Poverty, the elimination or near elimination as a public health problem of lymphatic filariasis, trachoma, soil-transmitted helminth infections, schistosomiasis and other neglected tropical diseases. Of note, neglected tropical disease control and poverty reduction each appear to reinforce the other. China’s formula for success in parasitic and neglected tropical disease control might translate to other parts of the world, such as in sub-Saharan Africa through China’s new Belt and Road Initiative.

scholarly journals The impact of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) on health and wellbeing in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): A case study of Kenya

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. e0009131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Ochola ◽  
Diana M. S. Karanja ◽  
Susan J. Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Neglected Tropical Diseases ◽  
National Level ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Opportunity ◽  
Tropical Diseases ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
The Impact

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) remain endemic to many regions of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) left behind by socioeconomic progress. As such, these diseases are markers of extreme poverty and inequity that are propagated by the political, economic, social, and cultural systems that affect health and wellbeing. As countries embrace and work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the needs of such vulnerable populations need to be addressed in local and global arenas. The research uses primary qualitative data collected from five NTD endemic counties of Kenya: interviews key informants (n = 21) involved in NTD implementation programs and focus groups (n = 5) of affected individuals. Informed by theories of political ecology of health, the research focuses on post-devolution Kenya and identifies the political, economic, social, and cultural factors that propagate NTDs and their effects on health and wellbeing. Our findings indicate that structural factors such as competing political interests, health worker strikes, inadequate budgetary allocations, economic opportunity, marginalization, illiteracy, entrenched cultural norms and practices, poor access to water, sanitation and housing, all serve to propagate NTD transmission and subsequently affect the health and wellbeing of populations. As such, we recommend that post-devolution Kenya ensures local political, economic and socio-cultural structures are equitable, sensitive and responsive to the needs of all people. We also propose poverty alleviation through capacity building and empowerment as a means of tackling NTDs for sustained economic opportunity and productivity at the local and national level.

scholarly journals Economic inequality caused by feedbacks between poverty and the dynamics of a rare tropical disease: the case of Buruli ulcer in sub-Saharan Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1818) ◽  
pp. 20151426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés Garchitorena ◽  
Calistus N. Ngonghala ◽  
Jean-Francois Guegan ◽  
Gaëtan Texier ◽  
Martine Bellanger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neglected Tropical Diseases ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Buruli Ulcer ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Tropical Diseases ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Low Incidence ◽  
Heath Community

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have received increasing attention in recent years by the global heath community, as they cumulatively constitute substantial burdens of disease as well as barriers for economic development. A number of common tropical diseases such as malaria, hookworm or schistosomiasis have well-documented economic impacts. However, much less is known about the population-level impacts of diseases that are rare but associated with high disability burden, which represent a great number of tropical diseases. Using an individual-based model of Buruli ulcer (BU), we demonstrate that, through feedbacks between health and economic status, such NTDs can have a significant impact on the economic structure of human populations even at low incidence levels. While average wealth is only marginally affected by BU, the economic conditions of certain subpopulations are impacted sufficiently to create changes in measurable population-level inequality. A reduction of the disability burden caused by BU can thus maximize the economic growth of the poorest subpopulations and reduce significantly the economic inequalities introduced by the disease in endemic regions.

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