Every night and every morn
Some to misery are born,
Every morn and every night
Some are born to sweet delight.
Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.
William Blake, Auguries of Innocence
Introduction
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are a group of infectious diseases, mainly caused by parasitic eukaryotes, which disproportionately affect the world’s poorest people (1, 2). At least 1.2 billion people are infected with one or more NTD, mainly living in tropical regions of Africa, South Asia and Latin America (2). The impact of NTDs on global health and development is substantial: they reduce agricultural productivity, impede socioeconomic development, promote societal destabilisation, civil unrest and conflict, have serious adverse effects on childhood education and cognition, and aggravate cycles of poverty. Despite this, many NTDs are easily treated. Efficacious drugs, particularly for helminth infections, are already available that could eliminate much of the global NTD burden at relatively low cost. Large-scale NTD eradication programmes would improve the quality and quantity of life for over a billion people, contributing to socio-political stability and socioeconomic growth. Such efforts must be a major focus for international development and diplomatic relations at the start of the twenty-first century, and will rely on international collaborations between the public and private sectors. This review examines four key areas of global NTD medicine: causal organisms, epidemiology, public health impact and intervention strategies.
