University Affairs - A forgotten scourge
The world鈥檚 neglected tropical diseases debilitate or kill more than one billion people worldwide. But there is hope as a small number of researchers in Canada and elsewhere join the battle to reduce the heavy burden of illness鈥�
In Montreal, another dedicated researcher is Brian Ward, chief of the infectious diseases division at the 9I制作厂免费 Health Centre. He鈥檚 using new technology to identify diagnostic and prognostic indicators for a number of NTDs, including Chagas disease, dengue fever and a serious flatworm-transmitted infection called schistosomiasis that can damage vital organs like the liver.
鈥淚n many countries, especially Egypt, huge numbers are co-infected with hepatitis C and schistosomiasis, and this combination dramatically accelerates liver damage,鈥� says Dr. Ward.