Neglected tropical disease coNtrol program - RTI International

1. BackgroundOf the world’s poorest 2.7 billion people, more than one billion are affected by one or moreneglected tropical diseases (NTD) 1 . These diseases not only survive and spread in conditionsof poverty, they also exacerbate and perpetuate the poverty of affected communities 2 . NTDsdisproportionately impact poor and rural populations who lack access to safe water, sanitation,and essential medicines. They cause sickness and disability, compromise maternal health andfetal growth, inhibit children’s mental and physical development, and can result in blindness andsevere disfigurement.1.1 Tool-ready NTDsAmong the seventeen most prominent NTDs, seven use a similar strategy to address their control. This strategy employs singledoses of effective treatment—termed preventive chemotherapy (PC)—given once or twice yearly to broad segments of thepopulation in endemic areas through ‘mass drug administration’ (MDA). The diseases are: lymphatic filariasis (LF), onchocerciasis,schistosomiasis, trachoma and three soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections (ascariasis, hookworm, and trichuriasis).These NTDs are considered “tool-ready”. “Tool-ready” indicates that available treatment and diagnostic tools are sufficientlyeffective to target these diseases either for elimination or reduction to such low levels that they no longer constitute a significantpublic health problem.1. WHO classification includes 17 NTDs: dengue, rabies, trachoma, Buruli ulcer (Mycobacterium ulcerans infection), endemic treponematoses, leprosy (Hansen disease),Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis), human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), leishmaniasis, cysticercosis, dracunculiasis (guinea-worm disease),echinococcosis, foodborne trematode infections, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis (river blindness), schistosomiasis (bilharziasis) and soil-transmitted helminthiases.2. 2010. Working to Overcome the Global Impact of Neglected Diseases: First Report on Neglected Tropical Diseases. World Health Organization.6Neglected Tropical Disease Control Program Final Report