Product Code Database
Tropical diseases are infection that are prevalent in or unique to tropics and subtropics regions.
Human exploration of tropical rainforests, deforestation, rising immigration and increased international air travel and other tourism to tropical regions has led to an increased incidence of such diseases to non-tropical countries. UK 'faces tropical disease threat' , BBC News Of particular concern is the habitat loss of reservoir host species.
TDR's vision is to foster an effective global research effort on infectious diseases of poverty in which disease endemic countries play a pivotal role. It has a dual mission of developing new tools and strategies against these diseases, and to develop the research and leadership capacity in the countries where the diseases occur. The TDR secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland, but the work is conducted throughout the world through many partners and funded grants.
Some examples of work include helping to develop new treatments for diseases, such as ivermectin for onchocerciasis (river blindness); showing how packaging can improve use of artemesinin-combination treatment (ACT) for malaria; demonstrating the effectiveness of bednets to prevent mosquito bites and malaria; and documenting how community-based and community-led programmes increases distribution of multiple treatments. TDR history
The current TDR disease portfolio includes the following entries:
| +Historical TDR disease portfolio !Disease !When added !Pathogen !Primary vector !Primary Endemism areas !Frequency !Annual deaths ! !Complications | ||||||||
| Malaria | 1975 | Plasmodium falciparum and four other Plasmodium species of protozoa | Anopheles mosquitoes | throughout the tropics | 241 million (2024) | 627,000 (2024) | fever, tiredness, vomiting, headache | Jaundice, seizures, coma, death |
| Schistosomiasis (snail fever, bilharzia, "schisto") | 1975 | Schistosoma (blood flukes) | throughout the tropics | 252 million (2021) | 11,792 (2021) | abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody stool, Hematuria. In children, it may cause poor growth and learning difficulty. | Liver damage, kidney failure, infertility, bladder cancer | |
| Lymphatic filariasis | 1975 | Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and Brugia timori Filarioidea | mosquitoes | throughout the tropics | 38.5 million (2015) | few | Lymphedema, elephantiasis, hydrocele | |
| Onchocerciasis (river blindness) | 1975 | Onchocerca volvulus Filarioidea The World Bank >Global Partnership to Eliminate Riverblindness. Retrieved 2007-11-04. | Black fly black flies | sub-Saharan Africa | 15.5 million (2015) | 0 | , | edema, lymphadenopathy, visual impairment, blindness |
| Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis) | 1975 | Trypanosoma cruzi protozoa | Triatominae kissing bugs | South America | 6.2 million (2017) | 7,900 (2017) | fever, swollen , headache | heart failure, Megaesophagus, Megacolon |
| African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) | 1975 | Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and T. b. rhodesiense protozoa | Tsetse fly tsetse flies | sub-Saharan Africa | 11,000 (2015) | 3,500 (2015) | first stage: fever, headache, itchiness, Arthralgia
second stage: insomnia, confusion, ataxia, hemiparesis, paralysis | anemia, endocrine disfunction, Heart failure, Kidney failure, coma, death |
| Leishmaniasis | 1975 | Leishmania protozoa | Phlebotominae sandflies | throughout the tropics | 4–12 million | 24,200 (2015) | skin ulcers | fever, anemia, Hepatomegaly, Splenomegaly, death |
| Leprosy† (Hansen's disease) | 1975 | Mycobacterium leprae and M. lepromatosis mycobacteria | extensive contact (probably airborne disease) | throughout the tropics | 209,000 (2018) | few | Lesion,Kenneth J. Ryan and C. George Ray, Sherris Medical Microbiology Fourth Edition McGraw Hill 2004. Hypoesthesia | permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs, and eyes |
| Dengue fever | 1999 | dengue virus | Aedes aegypti and other Aedes | tropical Asia | 390 million (2020) | 40,000 | fever, headache, Myalgia and Arthralgia, rash, vomiting, diarrhea | Thrombocytopenia, hypotension, Bleeding, shock |
| Tuberculosis† (TB, consumption) | 1999 | Mycobacterium tuberculosis mycobacteria | airborne disease | worldwide | 10 million (active, 2018),
2 billion (latent, 2018) | 1.5 million (2018) | chronic cough, fever, Hemoptysis, Cachexia | death |
| TB-HIV coinfection‡ | 1999 | HIV + Mycobacterium tuberculosis | sexual contact + airborne disease | Africa | 1.2 million (2015) | 251,000 (2018) | ||
| Sexually transmitted infections (notably syphilis, Gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomoniasis, hepatitis B, HSV, HIV, and HPV) | 2000 | bacteria, parasite, viruses | sexual contact | worldwide | various | various |
| Hookworm | Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus | |
| Trichuriasis | Trichuris trichiura | |
| Treponematoses | Treponema pallidum pertenue, Treponema pallidum endemicum, Treponema pallidum carateum, Treponema pallidum pallidum | |
| Buruli ulcer | Mycobacterium ulcerans | |
| Dracunculiasis | Dracunculus medinensis | |
| Leptospirosis | Leptospira | |
| Strongyloidiasis | Strongyloides stercoralis | |
| Foodborne trematodiases | Trematoda | |
| Neurocysticercosis | Taenia solium | |
| Scabies | Sarcoptes scabiei | |
| Flavivirus | Yellow fever virus, West Nile virus, dengue virus, Tick-borne encephalitis virus, Zika virus |
Some tropical diseases are very rare, but may occur in sudden epidemics, such as the Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Lassa fever and the Marburg virus. There are hundreds of different tropical diseases which are less known or rarer, but that, nonetheless, have importance for public health.
Climate change, global warming caused by the greenhouse effect, and the resulting increase in global temperatures, are possibly causing tropical diseases and vectors to spread to higher altitudes in mountainous regions, and to higher latitudes that were previously spared, such as the Southern United States, the Mediterranean area, etc. Climate change brings malaria back to Italy The Guardian 6 January 2007BBC Climate link to African malaria 20 March 2006. For example, in the Monteverde cloud forest of Costa Rica, global warming enabled Chytridiomycosis, a tropical disease, to flourish and thus force into decline amphibian populations of the Monteverde Harlequin frog.Pounds, J. Alan et al. "Widespread Amphibian Extinctions from Epidemic Deisease Driven by Global Warming." Nature 439.12 (2006) 161-67 Here, global warming raised the heights of orographic cloud formation, and thus produced cloud cover that would facilitate optimum growth conditions for the implicated pathogen, B. dendrobatidis.
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Other prevention methods include:
Educational campaigns can aid in the prevention of various diseases. Educating children about how diseases spread and how they can be prevented has proven to be effective in practicing preventative measures. Educational campaigns can yield significant benefits at low costs.
Another promising approach is the use of Wolbachia bacteria, which renders mosquitoes resistant to the dengue virus. A trial in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, showed a 77% reduction in symptomatic dengue cases in areas with Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes.
Additionally, integrated vector management (IVM), which combines biological controls, insecticides, and public education, has proven successful in reducing the transmission of arboviruses. These strategies offer more sustainable and eco-friendly solutions for controlling mosquito populations and preventing disease spread.
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