Neglected Tropical Disease

• Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of communicable diseases that prevail in tropical and subtropical conditions in more than 140 countries.
• NTDs are caused by a variety of pathogens including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and toxins. 
• NTDs often thrive in regions with poor sanitation, scarce healthcare access, and challenging environmental conditions, making them difficult to control. 
• NTDs are most prevalent in rural areas, conflict zones, and regions with limited access to clean water and sanitation.
• They are called “neglected” because they generally afflict the world’s poor and historically have not received as much attention and resources from global health initiatives as other diseases.
• NTD includes Dengue, Chikungunya, Trachoma, Human dog-mediated rabies, Leprosy (Hansen disease), Endemic treponematoses (yaws), Human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), Leishmaniasis, Lymphatic filariasis, etc.

Control of NTDs

• Most can be controlled or even eliminated through mass administration of safe and effective medicines or other effective interventions.
• Controlling the vectors (e.g., mosquitoes, black flies) that transmit these diseases and improving basic water, sanitation, and hygiene are highly effective strategies against these NTDs.
• The World Health Organization has recommended five interventions to overcome Neglected Tropical Diseases. These are: preventive chemotherapy; innovative and intensified disease management; vector ecology and management; veterinary public health services; and provision of safe water, sanitation and hygiene.
• These efforts contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3.3, which aims to end epidemics of NTDs.

Why in News?

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that India joins 19 other countries globally in being validated for eliminating Trachoma, a neglected tropical disease, as a public health problem. 

About Trachoma

• • Trachoma is a bacterial eye infection caused by Chlamydia Trachomatis.
  • Trachoma is a contagious infection that spreads through contact with the eyes, eyelids, nose, or throat secretions of infected individuals. 
  • It can be transmitted via contaminated fingers, fomites, and flies that come into contact with discharge from the eyes or nose of an infected person. If left untreated, Trachoma can lead to irreversible blindness.

• Fomites refer to objects or materials which are likely to carry infection, such as clothes, utensils, and furniture.

• Environmental risk factors for trachoma transmission include poor hygiene, overcrowded households, and inadequate access to water, and sanitation facilities.
• The WHO classifies it as a neglected tropical disease, with 150 million people affected globally. 
• In India, Trachoma was a major cause of blindness in the 1950s-60s. The government launched the National Trachoma Control Program in 1963, later integrating it into the National Program for Control of Blindness (NPCB). 
• Blindness due to Trachoma dropped from 5% in 1971 to less than 1% due to interventions like WHO’s SAFE strategy (Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial hygiene, and Environmental cleanliness).
• In 2017, India was declared free from infective Trachoma. However, surveillance continued for trachoma cases in all the districts of India from 2019 onwards till 2024.