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. Trypanosoma brucei gambiense accounts for almost 90% of the infections in central and western Africa, the remaining infections being from T. b. rhodesiense in eastern Africa. Furthermore, the animal diseases caused by related parasites inflict major economic losses to countries already strained. The parasites are transmitted to the mammalian hosts through the bite of an infected tsetse fly. Know More: http://www.ploscollections.org/article/browse/issue/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371...

Despite World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification of two safe and effective oral cholera vaccines (OCV), concerns about the acceptability, potential diversion of resources, cost and feasibility of implementing timely campaigns has discouraged their use. In 2012, the Ministry of Health of Guinea, with the support of Médecins Sans Frontières organized the first mass vaccination campaign using a two-dose OCV (Shanchol) as an additional control measure to respond to the on-going nationwide epidemic. Overall, 316,250 vaccines were delivered.

Falciparum malaria increases the risk for bacteraemia, whereas the relationship between vivax malaria and bacteraemia is not clear. Data from a prospective fever surveillance study in Kolkata, India were reanalysed for the potential association between Plasmodium vivax malaria and bacteraemia.

Dengue poses a substantial economic and disease burden in Southeast Asia (SEA). Quantifying this burden is critical to set policy priorities and disease-control strategies.

Kyasanur forest disease (KFD), a tick-borne viral disease with hemorrhagic manifestations, is localised in five districts of Karnataka state, India. Annual rounds of vaccination using formalin inactivated tissue-culture vaccine have been conducted in the region since 1990. Two doses of vaccine are administered to individuals aged 7–65 years at an interval of one month followed by periodic boosters after 6–9 months. In spite of high effectiveness of the vaccine reported in earlier studies, KFD cases among vaccinated individuals have been recently reported.

With over a hundred million annual infections and rising morbidity and mortality, Plasmodium vivax malaria remains largely a neglected disease. In particular, the dependence of this malaria species on relapses and the potential significance of the dormant stage as a therapeutic target, are poorly understood.