title: Socio-economic aspects of neglected diseases: sleeping sickness and visceral leishmaniasis.
abstract: Several tropical diseases that are essentially poverty-related have recently gained more attention under the label of 'neglected tropical diseases' or NTD. It is estimated that over 1000 million people currently suffer from one or more NTD. Here, the socio-economic aspects of two NTD - human African trypanosomiasis and human visceral leishmaniasis - are reviewed. Both of these diseases affect the poorest of the poor in endemic countries, cause considerable direct and indirect costs (even though the national control programmes tend to provide free care) and push affected households deeper into poverty.
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology and Disease Control Unit, Department of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium. mboelaert@itg.be
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boelaert
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Meheus
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Robays
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lutumba
mesh_terms: D003906:Developing Countries; D006801:Humans; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000191:economics*; D058069:Neglected Diseases / Q000191:economics*; D011203:Poverty; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014353:Trypanosomiasis, African / Q000191:economics*