World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day 2020 : innovation to elimination

January 30, 2020.Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) include parasitic, bacterial, and viral diseases that cause illness and disability in more than 1 billion people worldwide. This group of diseases includes onchocerciasis (river blindness), Guinea worm disease, lymphatic filariasis (LF, or elephantiasis, a leading cause of avoidable disability), and trachoma (the leading infectious cause of blindness), as well as more than a dozen other diseases.As the world recognizes the first annual World NTD Day, we want to share what we are doing towards meeting the ambitious goals that will be set forth in the World Health Organizationexternal icon (WHO)\u2019s NTD 2030 Roadmap and beat NTDs. For good.Collectively, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States Agency for International Developmentexternal icon (USAID), and our partners have made tremendous progress towards global NTD goals. Thanks in large part to an approach that involves periodic distribution of safe and effective antibiotics (mass drug administration, or MDA) and other low-cost interventions such as water filters and bed nets, many countries are approaching nationwide elimination. Recent accomplishments include:- Half a billion people no longer at risk for certain NTDs- Elimination of river blindness from most of the Americas- Elimination of LF from all but four countries in the Americas- Elimination of trachoma in Morocco, Cambodia, Iran, Laos, Ghana, Mexico, Nepal, and Oman- Fewer than thirty cases of Guinea worm disease in humans each year globallyBut the job is not done.2020714