Research Library

Peter Hotez, fellow in disease and poverty, testified about the continuing threat of neglected tropical diseases before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations.

The Gulf of Mexico area — including both U.S. and Mexican states — is emerging as a hot spot for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), including dengue, Chikungunya and West Nile virus infection. This article highlights the important opportunities for international cooperation between the governments of the U.S. and Mexico and both public sector and private scientific institutions located in the Gulf of Mexico region in order to control or eliminate selected NTDs.

Peter Hotez discusses his work on neglected tropical diseases and the future direction of disease elimination and science diplomacy. Published in the journal Molecular Medicine, December 2014.

A new analysis reveals substantial global health gains for AIDS, malaria and neglected tropical diseases that were first targeted by the administration of President George W. Bush in 2003 and then greatly expanded by the Obama administration. Beginning in 2016, an incoming administration will have opportunities to build on this legacy to control and eliminate poverty-related diseases — including those with pandemic potential — and to assert American leadership while being mindful of fiscal constraints.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) affects over 80 million Americans, causing more than 40,000 cases of HPV-associated cancers in the U.S. In 2006, the FDA licensed the first HPV vaccine, which could help save thousands of lives; no cure for HPV currently exists. However, the political controversy raised by the vaccine has limited its acceptance and use. Such resistance potentially jeopardizes an opportunity to reduce cancer rates in Texas and the broader United States.

This study aimed to develop a systematic approach to classifying childhood cancer-related admissions in administrative data into categories that reflected clinical practice and predicted resource use.

This review highlights new information on the major neglected parasitic infections affecting impoverished Americans, with respect to their distribution and unique clinical presentations as well as their surprising links to cardiovascular, respiratory and neuropsychiatric conditions ordinarily thought of as noncommunicable diseases.

This study is a systematic review to assess the prevalence of toxocariasis in North America and whether selected groups are at risk for infection. Further research is needed to determine the true current burden of toxocariasis in North America; however, the prevalence estimates gathered in this review suggest that the burden of disease is significant.

A deadly virus named MERS has spread from Saudi Arabia to over a dozen countries since 2012. While the chances for widespread infection are remote due to the virus's low human-to-human transmission rate, all governments should nevertheless support academic freedom and scientific collaboration to keep local outbreaks of viruses like MERS from becoming serious pandemics.

This article analyzes the "Global Burden of Disease Study 2010" and examines the study's implications for neglected tropical diseases.