Sunday, January 29, 2012

Neglected Infections Of Poverty

Neglected Infections of Poverty are parasitic, bacterial and viral infections that disproportionately affect impoverished people in the United States. According to the CDC, the NIPs are considered neglected because relatively little attention has been devoted to surveillance, prevention, and/or treatment of these infections.

I know that this video is a little dated, but since 2009 the poor in this country aren't any better off, and it does a great job of discussing the subject. In addition, many people are unaware that Kissing Bugs, a transmitter of Chagas disease, can also be found in southern Arizona.

Watch 'Neglected Infections' Resurface Among America's Poor on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

3 comments:

  1. So while it seems as though new cases of Chagas Disease aren't "originating" in the U.S., there seems to be a rise in the people "living" in the U.S. who have the disease.

    According to a recent PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases study, Chagas Disease: “The New HIV/AIDS of the Americas” -

    "While most of the world's cases of Chagas disease occur in the LAC region, there is increasing recognition that many people with Trypanosoma cruzi infection also live in the US and Europe.

    In practical terms, the “globalization” of Chagas translates to up to 1 million cases in the US alone, with an especially high burden of disease in Texas and along the Gulf coast, although other estimates suggest that there are approximately 300,000 cases in the US.."

    "Stark similarities exist between today's global Chagas disease epidemic and the first two decades of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This translates into a humanitarian catastrophe for the poorest people in the Americas and elsewhere."

    Looks like I may have to work on increasing my knowledge about this disease and it's treatment.

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  2. Looks like treatment is going to be difficult and involved. As far as I know, the drugs used to treat it are only available form the CDC. Parasites - American Trypanosomiasis (also known as Chagas Disease)

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