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December 5, 2007

Peter Hotez addresses neglected tropical diseases as part of the Global Health Leaders Forum

>> View powerpoint from Peter Hotez's presentation   
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Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, has spent his career fighting a health threat that kills over one billion people a year, but gets very little media attention or funding: neglected tropical diseases (NTD).

He discussed the challenges and opportunities existing in the field during a presentation at Hopkins on Wednesday, December 5.

The presentation was a part of the Global Health Leaders Forum, a speakers series sponsored by the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health and the Department of International Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.

As the Walter G. Ross Professor & Chair of the Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Department at The George Washington University and the President of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, Hotez spends a lot of time fighting for dollars alongside HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis researchers.

When compared against the burden of other global diseases, neglected tropical diseases rate sixth, below HIV/AIDS, but above both malaria and tuberculosis. However, all three of those more well-known diseases are funded at a higher rate per DALY than neglected tropical diseases, which are only funded at a rate of $.62 per DALY.

Hotez says one reason for this discrepancy is that neglected tropical diseases result in high morbidity, but low mortality.

“As the neglected tropical disease guy,” Hotez explained, “I have a difficult message to deliver. The HIV guys talk about millions of people dying. I don’t have those kinds of numbers, because these diseases don’t kill. So how do I get these diseases some level of attention?”

Neglected tropical diseases are chronic and disfiguring, disabling, and stigmatizing. They impact childhood development and promote poverty. According to Hotez, infection with hookworm can lead to a 40 percent reduction in future wage earnings.

Additionally, a 23 percent drop in school attendance has been demonstrated in children with hookworm. Worm infections cause 16 million cases of mental retardation in children in developing countries, and 200 million years of lost primary schooling.

“Research has shown that deworming is the most cost-effective means of improving school attendance,” Hotez explained.

Mass drug administrations have also been implemented and have proven effective. A “Rapid Impact Package” contains drugs to treat seven common tropical diseases – ascariasis, trichuriasis, hookworm, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, and trachoma.

“'The Rapid Impact Package' only costs $0.50 per person per year to deliver, and that price includes delivery, equipment, and the like. It’s a much more cost-effective treatment than HIV, TB, or malaria have,” Hotez stated.

Several new initiatives are helping neglected tropical diseases to gain more visibility and financial support.

An alliance of the major neglected tropical disease organizations formed the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases for the purposes of advocacy, convening a forum of experts, and filling the funding gap.

In addition, PLoS is launching the first peer-reviewed, open-access journal devoted to neglected tropical diseases, for which Hotez will serve as editor.