Tag Archives: Hotez

“The most important cause of HIV you’ve never heard of”

Interviews, , , Science Speaks

Science Speaks is a project of the Center for Global Health Policy. It is resource containing the latest developments in tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. ScienceSpeaks recently featured Sabin Vaccine President Dr. Peter Hotez, and picked his brain about the link between NTDs and HIV:

“At a recent briefing on Capitol Hill entitled, “Making the Case for Cost-Effectiveness of Vaccines for Global Health,” Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, President of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, talked about a little-known infection called schistosomiasis. A disease caused by parasitic worms, Hotez called it “the most important cause of HIV you’ve never heard of.”

Moving from George Washington University to Baylor College of Medicine at the beginning of August, Hotez is a professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor and is also chief of a new Section of Pediatric Tropical Medicine and founding Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine. He is the current president of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and is the Texas Children’s Hospital Endowed Chair of Tropical Pediatrics.   Science Speaks spoke with Hotez to find out more about the parasitic infection, who is most susceptible and how it increases HIV transmission.”

Read the full blog entry here.

“Human Time Bomb for Mosquitoes”

Africa, de-worming, Global Health, malaria, Tropical Medicine, Water and Sanitation, , , , , , ,

Echoing several articles published last week, Donald McNeil Jr. of the New York Times also shed light on the recent study conducted in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene by scientists from Senegal and Colorado State University.

As mentioned previously, the study demonstrated that ivermectin, a drug used to treat onchocerciasis, can also kill mosquitoes.

Scientists such as Dr. Peter Hotez, President of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, are enthusiastic about this study’s effects on combating malaria and other mosquito borne illnesses, however, the article also provided some cautious perspectives from others. For the drug to effectively kill mosquitoes, nearly everyone in an infested area would need to take the pill simultaneously. In addition, the mosquito killing effects fade after a month so ivermectin, which is typically only distributed once or twice a year to a community, would need to be distributed more frequently.

The article goes on to say, “Also, when people with lots of worms are treated, they suffer fever and intense itching as the worms die. Though that might be bearable once a year, it discourages people from seeking treatment more frequently. And ivermectin is dangerous for a few people — those infested with large numbers of a relatively rare West African worm, the loa loa. These worms circulate in the blood and lungs and may jam capillaries when they die, potentially causing coma or death. Detecting them means drawing blood and viewing it under a microscope.”

Read the full article here

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Eliminate the Neglect: U.S. Support Needed to Expand Assault on Neglected Diseases

NTDs, International Society for Infectious Diseases, plos medicine,

Sabin Vaccine Institute President Peter Hotez co-authors a guest post with Bernard Pecoul on the PLoS Medicine blog today. The piece highlights the first-ever NTD meeting of the International Society for Infectious Diseases:

“If you asked the average American if they’ve ever heard of sleeping sickness, river blindness, or elephantiasis, you’d likely get a puzzled look. But ask a Congolese, Sudanese, or Bangladeshi about these parasitic diseases, and you might get a nod of the head or perhaps even a point in the direction of someone behaving erratically and slipping into a coma due to sleeping sickness, being led by stick by a child because of river blindness, or barely able to walk due to grossly swollen legs or genitalia caused by elephantiasis.

This weekend in Boston, health workers, researchers, donors, and social innovators from around the world will convene to discuss current efforts to treat patients and develop new drugs and vaccines for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) such as these. Most of us have never heard of these diseases, although they are the most common infections of the world’s poor, debilitating or killing more than 1 billion people in the developing world.”

Read the full blog entry here.

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Drug Used to Treat River Blindness Could Reduce Malaria Transmission

malaria, pharmaceuticalsAmerican Journal of Tropical Medicine, , , , , ,

A new study published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine revealed that ivermectin, which is used to treat onchocerciasis (also known as river blindness) can also interrupt the transmission of malaria.

From an article on the study:

“The study by scientists from Senegal and Colorado State University found that transmission of malaria parasites by mosquitoes fell substantially among people living in several Senegalese villages over two weeks after they took the drug ivermectin, which was administered as part of a campaign to fight the parasitic roundworm that causes onchocerciasis, or river blindness. The drug appeared to kill malaria-carrying mosquitoes that fed on the blood of the villagers.”

Dr. Peter Hotez, President of the Sabin Vaccine Institute was also quoted in the article saying, “This study offers good news on several fronts, not the least of which is the potential to disrupt the transmission of malaria and save needless suffering and death. We need more creative science like this that has simple yet powerful results in our battle against neglected diseases of poverty. In terms of river blindness, this drug has transformed lives, said Hotez. “To add malaria to its already impressive return on investment would be an incredible development.”

Treating both NTDs and malaria simultaneously is cost-effective and will save many more lives in the long run. To find out how you can help the distribution of ivermectin and other drugs to treat NTDs for just 50 cents, please visit our Get Involved page.

Science magazine also had a write up on the study mentioning the work of the Global Network. The article quotes Dr. Hotez saying, “We’re only beginning to understand the enormous potential impact of MDAs on diseases for which they weren’t intended.”