Access to “safe” water and “adequate” sanitation are emphasized as important measures for schistosomiasis control. Indeed, the schistosomes' lifecycles suggest that their transmission may be reduced through safe water and adequate sanitation. However, the evidence has not previously been compiled in a systematic review.

Dengue virus (DENV) infection occurs throughout tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world where dengue is a major public health problem. Laboratory diagnosis of dengue with a single serum specimen obtained during the acute phase of the illness requires tests to detect IgM antibodies to DENV or the virus genome. A previous evaluation of available tests for IgM anti-DENV showed wide variability. The present study examined newly available commercial tests that detect the virus protein NS1, as well as new tests for IgM anti-DENV in microplate or rapid diagnostic test formats.

Recently published prevalence estimates of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in five Latin American countries—Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Venezuela—could suggest a new direction for United States foreign policy in the region. (Editorial)

Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL; also known as kala-azar) is an ultimately fatal disease endemic in the Indian state of Bihar, while HIV/AIDS is an emerging disease in this region. A 2011 observational cohort study conducted in Bihar involving 55 VL/HIV co-infected patients treated with 20–25 mg/kg intravenous liposomal amphotericin B (AmBisome) estimated an 85.5% probability of survival and a 26.5% probability of VL relapse within 2 years. Here we report the long-term field outcomes of a larger cohort of co-infected patients treated with this regimen between 2007 and 2012.

In 2005, Bangladesh, India, and Nepal joined forces to eliminate Visceral Leishmaniasis (or kala-azar) from the region by 2015. In Bangladesh the elimination target is set at less than one new case per 10,000 population per year at upazila (sub-district) level. As the deadline approaches, we review the status of the elimination initiative in this country.

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness, is a neglected disease that impacts 70 million people distributed over 1.55 million km2 in sub-Saharan Africa and includes at least 50% of the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Trypanosoma brucei gambiense accounts for more than 98% of the infections in central and West Africa, the remaining infections being from Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense in East Africa. The parasites are transmitted to the hosts through the bite of an infected tsetse fly.

The 52nd Directing Council of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), in response to a call for action of the Minister of Health of El Salvador, recognized chronic kidney disease from nontraditional causes (CKDnT) affecting agricultural communities in Central America as a serious public health problem that requires urgent, effective, and concerted multisectoral action.

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the current prevalence and risk factors associated with intestinal polyparasitism (the concurrent infection with multiple intestinal parasite species) among Orang Asli school children in the Lipis district of Pahang state, Malaysia.

Dengue, a vector-borne viral disease of increasing global importance, is classically associated with tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world. Urbanisation, globalisation and climate trends, however, are facilitating the geographic spread of its mosquito vectors, thereby increasing the risk of the virus establishing itself in previously unaffected areas and causing large-scale epidemics. On 3 October 2012, two autochthonous dengue infections were reported within the Autonomous Region of Madeira, Portugal.

Several outbreaks of trichinellosis associated with the consumption of raw pork have occurred in Laos since 2004. This cross-sectional study was conducted in four provinces of northern Laos to investigate the seroepidemiology of trichinellosis in the human population and determine the prevalence and species of Trichinella infec