Populations living in poverty within the U.S. are carrying much of the disease burden of neglected tropical diseases, a group of disabling infections that primarily occur among the poor. Sabin Vaccine President Dr. Peter Hotez sheds light on this issue in his latest opinion editorials published in the Austin-Statesman and The Huffington Post. Read the excerpts below:
Hotez: Neglected tropical diseases deserve attention
Austin Statesman
“The U.S. Census Bureau has announced that the number of Americans living in poverty is at an all-time high. The nation’s official poverty rate in 2010 climbed to 15.1 percent, with close to 50 million people living below the poverty line. Poverty among the “bottom 50 million” has emerged as the key factor in promoting the emergence of a group of chronic parasitic and related infections — the neglected tropical diseases — in the U.S. Our information reveals the existence of a hidden underbelly of neglected tropical diseases among the poorest people of color living in the American South.” Click here to continue reading.
A New Tropical Medicine Clinic for ‘Third World America’
The Huffington Post
“Poor economic conditions have long been known to increase the risk of disease. But only recently have diseases of poverty, mostly associated with countries outside the United States, been recognized as a growing problem here at home. Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) might sound foreign, but they can actually be found in pockets of poverty across the U.S., most prominently in what Arianna Huffington recently called “Third World America.” Click here to continue reading.
