191380 Left behind in America: Our nation's neglected infections of poverty

Tuesday, October 28, 2008: 10:55 AM

Peter Hotez , President, Sabin Vaccine Institute, The George Washington University and Sabin Vaccine Institute, Washington, DC
The neglected tropical infections or 'NTDs' are a group of chronic parasitic and other infections such as hookworm, schistosomiasis, and lymphatic filariasis represent the most common infections of the world's poorest people. An estimated 1.2 billion people are infected, with approximately one-half in sub-Saharan Africa. NTDs were introduced into the Americas during the Middle Passage and today, high rates of these infections are found among people of African descent in the Caribbean, particularly Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and Brazil. In the United States, the "classic NTDs" are no longer endemic, but similar neglected infections of poverty occur in areas of poverty, such as in post Katrina Louisiana and elsewhere in the Mississippi Delta, inner cities, the Mexican borderlands, and Appalachia. Among Hispanic populations cysticercosis is a leading cause of epilepsy affecting an estimated 169,000, and Chagas disease is of increasing importance. Among African Americans toxocariasis affects an estimated 2.8 million people, and trichomoniasis and congenital CMV are important neglected infections. The neglected infections of poverty in the U.S. represent one of our nation's greatest health disparities for people of color, and a living reminder of slavery in the Americas.

Learning Objectives:
To raise awareness of the NTDs as the most common infections of the world's poor with a disease burden almost as high as HIV/AIDS To describe endemic NTDs in the Americas as well as in Africa and Asia, and to link them with the history of the Middle Passage. To raise awareness of a similar group of infections in the U.S. known as the neglected infections of poverty. To describe the major neglected infections among African Americans and Hispanic populations and to develop a policy for their control and prevention.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I AM THE CO-FOUNDER OF THE GLOBAL NETWORK FOR NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE SABIN VACCINE INSTITUTE, AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF PLoS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES AS WELL AS CHAIR OF MICROBIOLOGY AND TROPICAL MEDICINE AT GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.