Header

Trichuriasis

How to Cure 1 Billion People? Defeat Neglected Tropical Diseases

Sabin President Dr. Peter Hotez details how 1 billion individuals suffering from neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) can be easily treated in “How to Cure 1 Billion People?—Defeat Neglected Tropical Diseases” released today in the January 2010 issue of Scientific American.

Key Concepts discussed in the article include:

  • A group of seven tropical diseases, mostly caused by parasitic worms, afflict a billion impoverished people worldwide. They seldom kill directly but cause lifelong misery that stunts children’s growth, leaves adults unable to function to their fullest, and heightens the risk of other diseases.
  • Fortunately, they can be easily treated, often with a single pill. Various agencies and foundations are collaborating to deliver these drugs, although they have reached only about 10 percent of the population so far.
  • The U.S. has its own neglected parasitic diseases that affect millions of rural and urban poor.

Access the full article on Scientific American's website here.

A Constitutional Amendment for Deworming
Sabin resourcePoint of View

In February 2009, The Washington Post reported that three South American countries, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, have either launched or completed ambitious efforts to rewrite their constitutions in order to expand the social and economic rights guaranteed to its citizens [2]. The fact that millions of indigenous children and women in Latin America suffer from intestinal helminth infections is especially tragic because we can do something about these conditions through interventions that are astonishingly low cost [4].

Sabin at CGI

The Sabin Vaccine Institute was honored to be featured twice at this year’s Clinton Global Initiative. On Wednesday, September 23, President Clinton announced Global Network logothat the Global Network joined the Inter-American Development Bank in announcing their commitment to mobilize $30 million from the public and private sectors to raise awareness and funds in support of NTD control and elimination in the Americas, supported by technical assistance from the Pan American Health Organization.

Sabin Vaccine Institute Welcomes National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine

On Thursday, July 9th, Sabin Vaccine Institute will host a group of students from the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine. The students will experience presentations from Sabin's Vaccine Development Program, the Global Network, and the Vaccine Advocacy & Education Program. They will also tour the laboratories at George Washington University where the Vaccine Development Program is currently developing vaccines for hookworm and schistosomiasis, diseases that continue to afflict hundreds of thousands of people living in developing countries around the world.

Archived Event
Never a Greater Need: Social Investment and Philanthropy in Times of Crisis

Kari Stoever of Sabin Vaccine Institute/Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases will be a featured speaker at a breakfast sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Group of Institutes, Foundations and Enterprises (GIFE), Schwab Foundation, and Synergos Institute in conjunction with the World Economic Forum on Latin American being held from April 14th to April 16th, 2009.

Just 50 Cents: A Best Buy in Public Health
Sabin resourceVideo

Neglected tropical diseases threaten millions throughout the developing world each year, but for just 50 cents, you can help fund a rapid-impact package of medications to treat the seven most common NTDs. Watch the video to learn more and find out how you change the world – through just 50 cents. Donate now!

Neglected Disease Research & Development: How Much are We Really Spending?
External resourceResearch

Moran M, Guzman J, Ropars A:, McDonald A, Sturm T, Jameson N, Wu L, Ryan S, Umune B (2009) Neglected Disease Research & Development: How Much Are We Really Spending? The George Institute for International Health, February 2009.

Trichuriasis

Trichuriasis is an infection of the large intestine caused by the human whipworm (Trichuris trichiura).