Tropical Diseases are NOT Cool

A tropical disease is a disease that occurs in developing regions of the world with hot or humid weather. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) website, it is estimated that 1 billion people worldwide are affected by one or more tropical disease(s). Millions of people living in hot and humid temperatures of developing countries are infected with tropical diseases caused by parasites, such as schistosomiasis, filariasis, and leishmaniasis. These diseases impact the lives socially and economically of people living in developing countries in Latin America, Africa, India, and even Afghanistan. Although the method of contraction, species, virus, or bacteria causing tropical diseases varies they do share one thing in common; they affect the lives of those found in the worst living conditions of the world. The effort to control them is still a topic being researched and practiced by organizations such as WHO however, tropical diseases such as the ones mentioned is not popularly discussed in economically developed countries with the funding and resources available to aid.
As in the case of schistosomiasis, general interest in eradicating these diseases occurred when the number of those infected began to affect the wellbeing of the population economically. The pathology of these diseases began to impact agriculture and to an extent the countries economically hence the need to eliminate the situation. Unfortunately when the economy of these underdeveloped countries is affected by tropical diseases little government backing is given. One of the main factors which make it difficult to eradicate such diseases is the lack of financial backing. The majority of these tropical diseases could be easily treated if diagnosed and treated on time but because they occur in deprived developing countries the diseases caused by parasites often goes untreated. Tropical diseases develop severely in poor rural countries and the individual infected may not have the sufficient funds needed to treat the problem. Even more so beyond the individual level, communities do not have the proper funding to help aid those in need. Coming from a developed well off country’s perspective it is fairly easy to assist the situation by treating the water, educating the people, eliminating the intermediate host/vector, and by seeking proper medical care for those infected. These ideas are difficult for underdeveloped countries to accomplish because of the limited resources. Underdeveloped countries lack funding, doctors and medical staff, and scientific researchers, to continue the effort to control these tropical diseases. Now due to generic drug development the chance of receiving the proper medical treatment is more attainable but is still a luxury for these people who live in poverty. The effort to control these diseases needs to be a topic discussed in all walks of life. It is often difficult to find funding for research for these tropical diseases especially since they are often shadowed by more socially conscious diseases such as HIV/AIDS. These tropical diseases have already affected the lives of so many of the world’s deprived population and much more aid is needed. As long as light is shed on this taboo diseases caused by parasites topic more and more people will be aware of an existing problem.