Dengue costs $29 m annually:
WHO
India Loses Another $15 M
Over Neglected Disease Caused By Pork Tapeworm
 New
Delhi: Two “neglected diseases”— dengue and cysticercosis— are
costing India nearly $45 million between them every year.
According to WHO, around 1 billion of the world’s poorest people
suffer from such neglected tropical diseases, mostly in urban
slums. The global health watchdog said in its latest report the
societal monetary cost of cysticercosis--an infectious disease
caused by the pork tapeworm Taenia solium --is estimated to be
$15.27 million while the economic burden of vector-borne dengue
is estimated at $29.3 million.
According to WHO’s first-ever report on neglected diseases,
these diseases kill an estimated 534,000 people each year.
India also has a huge disease burden of rabies, caused by
dog bites. In India, 20,000 rabies deaths (that is about
2/100,000 population) are estimated to occur annually. Asia and
Africa account for the vast majority of rabies fatalities. In
Asia, 31,000 deaths are estimated to occur annually (1.2/100,000
population).
WHO identified 17 such diseases present in 149 countries and
found that more than one-third of the 2.7 billion people living
on less than $2 a day were affected. WHO said the number of
cases of dengue, which recently caused havoc in India, saw a
jump of 18% in 2007 compared with 2006 in southeast Asia.
Dr Margaret Chan, director general of WHO, said, “Though
medically diverse, neglected tropical diseases form a group
because all are strongly associated with poverty, all flourish
in impoverished environments.”
She added, “Most are ancient diseases that have plagued
humanity for centuries. Today, though neglected tropical
diseases impair the lives of an estimated 1 billion people, they
are largely hidden, concentrated in remote rural areas or urban
slums. They are also largely silent, as the people affected or
at risk have little political voice.” Chan said neglected
tropical diseases have traditionally ranked low on national and
international health agendas.According to WHO, close companions
of poverty, these diseases also anchor large populations in
poverty. Onchocerciasis and trachoma cause blindness. Leprosy
and lymphatic filariasis deform in ways that hinder economic
productivity. Without post-exposure prophylaxis, rabies causes
acute encephalitis and is always fatal. Dengue has emerged as a
fast spreading vector-borne disease affecting mostly poor, urban
populations. It is also the leading cause of hospital admissions
in several countries. “The consequences are costly for societies
and for healthcare,” Chan said.
STING OPERATION
• Around 1 billion of the world’s poorest people suffer from
dengue and cysticercosis
• These diseases kill an estimated 534,000 people annually
• Number of dengue cases saw a jump of 18% in 2007 compared with
2006 in southeast Asia 8
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