By Dano Gunderson

Last week, Dr. Neeraj Mistry, Managing Director of the Global Network, testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. Neeraj was one of 18 witnesses asked to speak before the Subcommittee on the value of US global health funding, as the Congress and the White House begin the FY 2014 budget debate. The hearing was called by Subcommittee Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX) and Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-NY)—two long-time global health champions.

Dr. Mistry expertly described the growing movement to combat NTDs and the great successes of USAID’s NTD Program.  Since 2006, USAID—and its pharmaceutical partners—have provided nearly 600 million treatments to over 251 million people across 25 countries. Neeraj boldly requested that FY 2014 funding for USAID’s program remain at $89 million, at the very least.  Without this funding, USAID will be forced to scale back its program, leaving people to fend for themselves against possibly resurging diseases.

Help Neeraj keep NTDs as a budget priority.  Click here to sign ONE’s petition against foreign aid budget cuts.

Want to read more? Neeraj’s full testimony can be found here.

 

Five different species of schistosome worms can infect humans, and together they cause roughly 200 million cases of a nasty disease known as schistosomiasis or snail fever. Minus the dyes used to see them under a microscope, they all look and act about the same. Pairs of adult male and female Schistosoma haematobium, Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma japonicum (pictured respectively below) take up residence in their human host, mate (also pictured below) and produce LOTS of eggs that can get trapped in various essential organs, causing varying degrees of mayhem.

You may be surprised then, even alarmed, to learn that when it comes to scientific research, not all schistosomes are treated equally. Dr. Paul Brindley of George Washington University and Dr. Peter Hotez of the Sabin Vaccine Institute recently compared the number of human cases caused by the three most common schistosomes to the number of corresponding research papers published in the last five years. They found that even though S. haemotobium causes the majority of schistosomiasis disease worldwide, it gets relatively little scientific attention when compared to its close cousins.

In general, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) suffer from a dearth of scientific activity, a characteristic befitting their nomenclature. But what makes some parasites less popular than others to research groups?

S. haematobium infection results in a form of disease known as “urogenital schistosomiasis” due to inflammation caused by schistosome eggs that get trapped in urogenital organs of infected individuals. For some this causes painful swelling and bleeding. Women and girls infected with this particular parasite are at risk of “female genital schistosomiasis (FGS)”, sores from which are associated with pain during intercourse, diminished fertility, stigma and a 3-4 times increased risk of HIV infection. Urogenital schistosomiasis has also been shown to contribute to an increased risk of bladder cancer.

There is no lack in motivation to study S. haematobium. Brindley and Hotez propose other factors that may explain why research for this parasite is less active and fruitful. According to the authors, tools that help make parasite research possible were lacking.

Until recently… Here are a few examples of innovation described in the report that are helping make the future of S. haematobium research promising:

• A fully sequenced genome! In 2012, scientists released the sequence of ~13,000 S. haematobium genes.
• A method to study parasite infection in animals – so infection can be studied in the lab without subjecting human volunteers to the parasite and its many unsavory symptoms.
• An in vitro system (think parasites in Petri dishes), for genetic manipulation studies, aided now by the completed whole genome.

With a wormy world of research opportunities now possible, Brindley and Hotez believe that science will be able to go the “extra mile” to better understand the disease and to find new treatments, diagnostics and perhaps someday a vaccine. Collaboration will be essential, they say:

Breakthroughs in S. haematobium studies will require international cooperation and a new level of support. The community of S. haematobium researchers is not numerically large, but could easily embrace scientists working on other schistosomes as well as those involved in cancer and AIDS research.

You can read the full study here. Want to learn more about schistosomiasis and other NTDs? Visit www.globalnetwork.org.

And FYI, the Sabin Vaccine Institute Product Development Partnership is currently developing a vaccine against Schistosoma mansoni (the popular schistosome), which you can learn more about here.

By Ashley Schmidt

On March 20, 2013 the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases participated in the 4^th Annual World Water Day Congressional Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.  This event brought together non-governmental organizations (NGOs), faith based organizations and private sector partners who joined together to advocate for issues of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).  The Global Network’s participation in World Water Day further shed light on the interconnectedness of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and health to WASH related programs.

Congressmen Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) a champion for WASH issues, stressing the importance of the Water for the World Act.

 

The Global Network participated in a day of meetings with Congressional offices addressing, the importance of providing safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene for those in need. We noted the role water plays in NTD control and elimination and asked offices to support the re-introduction of WASH legislation, specifically the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act.  Congressional members and their staff were very receptive to the messages the WASH community shared.  The Global Network specifically highlighted that in addition to drugs to treat and control NTDs (like USAID’s successful NTD program), safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene are a key part of a comprehensive strategy to prevent re-infection and eliminate NTDs.  Furthermore, the Global Network noted that monitoring the reduction of NTDs is one way to assess the success of WASH programs.

 

The day’s activities ended in an evening reception in the Capitol Visitor’s Center to celebrate the hard work of all participants and highlight the on-going bipartisan support for the Water for the World Act.  Congressmen Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Ted Poe (R-TX) thanked the audience for all their hard work and continued dedication and support of WASH issues.  During the evening event, the Global Network shared a r, distributed a factsheet on the linkages between NTDs and WASH and provided a few brightly colored 3D View Finders displaying individual NTDs—an exhibit highlight!

World Water Day was successful in demonstrating the breadth of support for WASH issues among varying organizations, building support for WASH legislation and raising direct awareness of WASH and NTD issues.  Advocacy opportunities like these allow the Global Network to reach beyond the traditional global health audience and en sure that congressional members are aware of the importance of tackling NTDs to achieve broader US development goals.

 

At the recent “Uniting to Combat NTDs: Translating the London Declaration into Action,” we had a chance to catch up with Lance Gordon, Director of Infectious Diseases in the Global Health Division of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This department leads the effort to reduce the burden of neglected infectious diseases on the world’s poorest people through targeted and effective control, elimination and eradication efforts.

Global Network: How would you describe NTDs?

Lance Gordon: By first definition they have been the neglected infectious diseases or more properly maybe the infectious diseases of neglected populations. So these are diseases that have been with us for hundreds or thousands of years.

They have locked people into a cycle of poverty. They impact productivity, quality of life, people’s abilities to develop their economies and their standard of living.

Global Network: How does combating NTDs fit into the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s mission?

Lance Gordon: The Gates Foundation focuses on communicable diseases. We also look for opportunities to invest in the control or elimination or eradication, in some cases, of diseases that perpetuate poverty.

We look for the opportunity to be transformative… [For NTDs], it’s a fertile ground where we can really engage in a short period of time and have a major impact.

Global Network: What inspires you about the work to end NTDs?

Lance Gordon: The opportunity for real impact in the neglected infectious disease area is the result of a new set of partnerships. Private industry has really stepped up strongly to the plate and has committed to make new drugs available for global health, donating in just astounding quantities – billions of doses of drugs donated by multiple companies without a profit motive.

The medicines exist, and they exist in the quantities needed to be delivered to the very large populations in impoverished countries.

Global Network: What is missing in the advocacy response to NTDs?

Lance Gordon: I think the key issue in attracting more support … is to get a better recognition of the impact that is today available to us. For some of these diseases that have been afflicting people ­– and some are actually quite the most horrific diseases I’ve ever encountered in a 35-year career in infectious disease — some of those diseases we now have the drugs and the ability to eliminate them, to eliminate them as a public health threat, in many cases to eliminate transmission, and in some cases to go as far as eradication.

The drugs are there, we know how to use them, and I think the key thing is to get an understanding that this is an area where we can have an impact today. It’s not like so many others, and I’ve worked in the HIV field and many others. Those are important challenges but ones where it’s a long-term road and an uncertain future.