Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2026
05:50
Ready-To-Use qPCR for Detection of DNA from Trypanosoma cruzi or Other Pathogenic Organisms
Published on: January 20, 2022
Recent advances in tropical medicine
Anthony W Solomon1, Shevanthi Nayagam, Geoffrey Pasvol
1Department of Infection and Tropical Medicine, Imperial College London, Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, UK.
Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
|February 24, 2009
Summary
Significant progress is being made in eradicating diseases like Guinea worm and controlling polio, lymphatic filariasis, and trachoma. However, challenges remain with drug-resistant tuberculosis, malaria, and emerging viral threats.
Area of Science:
- Tropical medicine
- Infectious disease control
- Global health
Background:
- Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and classical diseases show varied progress.
- Guinea worm eradication is imminent, following smallpox.
- Polio, lymphatic filariasis, trachoma, and onchocerciasis are declining globally.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent advances and ongoing challenges in the control of tropical diseases.
- To highlight successes in disease eradication and elimination efforts.
- To identify persistent and emerging threats in tropical medicine.
Main Methods:
- Review of global disease control initiatives.
- Analysis of trends in disease incidence and prevalence.
- Assessment of factors influencing disease control, including biological understanding, public health interventions, and funding.
Main Results:
- Guinea worm is nearing eradication.
- Polio, lymphatic filariasis, trachoma, and onchocerciasis show global decline.
- Leprosy incidence decreases, but disability prevention is a new focus.
- HIV/AIDS and malaria control show optimism due to increased funding.
- Drug-resistant tuberculosis and malaria, avian influenza A, chikungunya, and West Nile virus pose significant challenges.
Conclusions:
- While many tropical diseases are declining, drug resistance and emerging viruses present ongoing threats.
- Continued education, access to testing, and vaccine development are crucial for future control.
- Integrated control programs and enhanced biological understanding are key to tackling tropical diseases.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Malaria
Malaria pathogenesis in humans reflects a delicate interplay between parasite biology and host response. Clinical illness reflects a host’s immune response to the parasite’s asexual replication cycle, which is often asymptomatic in individuals with partial immunity. From the parasite's perspective, transmission between mosquito and human with minimal host pathology is evolutionarily advantageous. Among the six Plasmodium species infecting humans, P. falciparum and P. vivax dominate in global...
01:22American Trypanosomiasis
Chagas disease, or American trypanosomiasis, is a vector-borne parasitic infection caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, a flagellated protozoan (kinetoplastid) of the family Trypanosomatidae. The disease is endemic in Latin America, although cases are increasingly reported worldwide due to human migration. Transmission most commonly occurs when feces of infected triatomine bugs contaminate bite wounds or mucosal surfaces; additional routes include congenital, transfusional, transplant-related, and oral...
01:28Infectious Diseases and Their Occurrence
Infectious diseases appear in populations through various transmission patterns, influenced by pathogen characteristics, population immunity, environmental conditions, and social behavior. Understanding these patterns is essential for effective public health surveillance and intervention. These categories—sporadic, outbreak, epidemic, pandemic, and endemic—help frame the nature and scope of disease events.Sporadic diseases occur irregularly and infrequently, without a predictable temporal or...
01:29Microorganisms in Medicine and Therapeutics
Microorganisms play a fundamental role in vaccine development, gene therapy, and therapeutic production. Their biological properties are harnessed to advance medicine and public health. Beyond immunization, microorganisms contribute to gut health, antibiotic synthesis, and genetic disease treatment.Live Attenuated and Inactivated VaccinesLive attenuated vaccines, such as the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, utilize weakened forms of pathogens to closely resemble natural infections.
01:28Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis, a zoonotic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, poses significant public health challenges globally due to its high seroprevalence and varied clinical manifestations. As an obligate intracellular parasite, T. gondii can infect all warm-blooded vertebrates, but felids are its only definitive hosts, shedding unsporulated oocysts into the environment. Humans typically acquire the infection through ingestion of tissue cysts in undercooked meat or oocysts from...
01:15Anthelminthic Agents
Anthelmintic drugs differ significantly from antiparasitic therapies targeting protozoa, primarily due to differences in parasite biology. Whereas most protozoal treatments act on proliferating cells, anthelmintics are typically directed against mature, nonproliferative helminths. The therapeutic approach considers the helminth's reliance on neuromuscular coordination, glucose metabolism, and microtubular integrity for survival, reproduction, and localization within the host. Most anthelmintics...