By Bertrand Byishimo & Sandiso Matshikiza (YCNTDs)
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of over 20 conditions that are mainly prevalent in tropical areas where they affect more than 1 billion people who live in impoverished communities. They are caused by a variety of pathogens including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi, and toxins. These diseases cause devastating health, social, and economic consequences to the communities they affect, especially young people.
Since 2020, NTD Champions across the globe have come together every 30th of January to observe the World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day (World NTD Day). On this day, we raise awareness about NTDs and the suffering they bring to communities, honor the individuals and organizations who work to reduce the NTD burden in their countries, and mobilize support toward their control and eventual eradication, particularly as we’re in the last mile of the WHO #2030RoadMap.
Unfortunately, because the biggest challenge that NTDs face is their neglect, most people remain unaware of the threat that these diseases present to global health systems. In fact, most people are unaware that the next global pandemic might come from NTDs. As organizations and individuals in the global health community kick off this year’s NTD advocacy efforts with World NTD Day, we have a special opportunity to spotlight this threat, raise awareness globally, and call on global leaders to #UniteActEliminate NTDs for good.
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Pandemic Preparedness, Prevention, & Response (PPPR) gained huge significance as people across the globe started to ask where the next pandemic may come from. In response, the WHO pointed to Neglected Tropical Diseases, specifically arguing that Dengue will ‘take off’ in Southern Europe, the USA, and Africa this decade with warmer temperatures creating the conditions for the mosquitoes carrying the virus to spread. But the aggravating effect of Climate Change on pathogen-based diseases is no news, so why this specific disease? – you may ask. As Uniting to Combat NTDs accurately pointed out, global health emergencies, like COVID-19, tend to stem from persistent underinvestment in global health, insufficient disease surveillance, inadequate global data sharing, and weak health systems, compounded by inadequate pandemic preparedness. Dengue, and all NTDs, by their very definition, fit this profile perfectly.
Let us take a closer look at Dengue – a mosquito-borne disease that is mostly visible in Tropical and sub-tropical areas globally. This virus is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female mosquitoes, primarily the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Its symptoms include sudden high fever with nausea, vomiting, rash, headache, eye pain, joint and muscle pain. In severe cases, dengue can cause shock, internal bleeding, and even death. As an NTD, Dengue has received very little attention and investment when compared to more prominent global health crises such as communicable diseases and climate change. Secondly, although nearly 400 million Dengue infections are recorded annually across the globe (and these cases have increased by 85% from 1990 to 2019), plenty of Dengue cases go unrecorded as the disease can also be asymptomatic. So, as large as the numbers that we are aware of are, we still do not know how many more cases go unrecorded each year. Thirdly, we know that, to date, Dengue has had the most severe effect in Asia and Latin America. But as the WHO has pointed out, as global warming makes new areas hospitable to the mosquitoes that spread Dengue, the infection rate is likely to take off and become endemic in parts of Africa, the USA, and Europe. In turn, this will put acute pressure on health systems in many countries that we have seen are inadequately prepared for a pandemic through COVID-19. Finally, the lack of knowledge about the symptoms of Dengue and the absence of a standardized case definition for reporting its cases certainly undermine national health systems in the event of a widespread breakout.
If we do not act now, Dengue poses a serious threat to global health.
Currently, there is no specific treatment for Dengue but there is a vaccine and several measures that are recommended for its management. More importantly though, as the global health community kicks off the year’s advocacy efforts with the 4th World NTD Day commemoration, we have a special opportunity to amplify the message about Dengue and all NTDs more widely to get the attention of governments, world leaders, and others in power and convince them to act now, act together, and invest in NTDs.
Bertrand Byishimo is a Global Health Corps Alumni and a Project Coordinator for Bilharzia Storytelling Lab Rwanda Chapter. He is also a YCNTDs Champion
Sandiso Matshikiza is a Stakeholder Engagement Associate and Champion at YCNTDs