Infectious and neglected tropical diseases are devastating human plagues ravaging the world’s poorest communities. Some of these diseases are among the deadliest in the world, while others cause blindness, elephantitis, protein malnutrition, anemia and cancer. They stunt growth and brain development and contribute to mental retardation in children, and put pregnant women at high risk of illness and death. Together, these diseases threaten more than one billion of the poorest people around the world. They cause billions of dollars in lost productivity and wages, and contribute to poor school attendance and performance.

The Sabin Vaccine Institute and our partners are committed to fighting infectious and neglected tropical diseases to end this needless suffering. Our current efforts are focused on treating and preventing:

• Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) – Chronic parasitic infections, such as hookworm and other intestinal worm infections, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, and onchocerciasis, as well as the blinding bacterial infection, trachoma, are seven of the most common NTDs in the world. These devastating, debilitating and deadly diseases affect more than 1.4 billion people living on less than $1.25 a day.
• Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) – Human Papillomavirus is the primary cause of cervical cancer. Each year, 280,000 women die from cervical cancer, and another 470,000 are newly diagnosed with the disease, mainly in the developing world.
• Pneumoccocal Disease – The leading killer of both children and adults worldwide, this infectious bacterial infection can cause pneumonia, blood disorders and meningitis.
• Rotavirus – Rotavirus is the most common cause of diarrheal deaths among young children, killing over 500,00 children under the age of 5 each year and responsible for nearly two million yearly hospitalizations.
• Rubella – This infection, also known as German measles, is a major cause of severe birth defects and stillbirths in the developing world.
• Pertussis – Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, causes children to suffer from severe coughing spells that can last up to eight weeks and are particularly dangerous to infants.

Sabin fights these diseases by:

• Developing vaccines
• Delivering treatments
• Advocating to get affordable and effective treatments to those in need