Earlier this week, Sabin Vaccine Institute President Dr. Peter Hotez was interviewed by Voice of America. The interview focused on NTDs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Hotez, who is also President of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, shares shocking statistics such as an estimated 400 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa are affected by schistosomiasis and 200 million people within the same region are affected by hookworm infection; more often than not, these individuals make up the half billion people in the continent of Africa who live below the poverty line, grouping these infections into diseases of poverty.
There is hope — Dr. Hotez states that solutions such as mass drug administration, rapid impact packages, and new innovations in vaccines can reduce the prevalence of NTDs, and lead to the eradication of such diseases as lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, and guinea worm. Take a look at the video to learn more:
