India made major gains with many NTDs

New Delhi: India has made significant gains with many neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) like leprosy, lymphatic filariasis and visceral leishmaniasis, but challenges still remain, health experts said here on Monday.

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of conditions caused by a variety of pathogens (including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and toxins) and associated with devastating health, social and economic consequences.

The diseases are called ‘neglected’ because they are almost absent from the global health agenda; in addition, are associated with stigma and social exclusion. They are mainly prevalent among impoverished communities in tropical areas, although some have a much larger geographical distribution.

NTDs affect an estimated more than 1 billion people, but India has the highest number of cases for each of the major neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in the world. Yet, “India has done very well in eliminating many diseases,” Dr N K Ganguly, Former Director General, ICMR, told.

“In 2005, it brought leprosy below the levels of being a public health problem, it was also the first from all the tropical countries to eradicate guinea worm in the year 2000, we have also managed to bring down infective trachoma to a negligible new number, and Yaws, which was prevalent largely in tribal areas has also been eliminated.” “We have also made significant gains with many other diseases like Lymphatic Filariasis and Visceral Leishmaniasis from 2000 to now. India has not performed poorly at all, but when you look at the numbers, they will always appear high due to the large population, almost comparable to China,” Ganguly said.