Access to prompt diagnosis: The missing link in preventing mental health disorders associated with neglected tropical diseases

Abstract

Globally, there are an estimated 1 billion people suffering from at least one of the 20 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) prioritized by the World Health Organization (WHO). Prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions, this group of NTDs comprises diverse diseases, including vector-borne parasitic diseases (such as human African trypanosomiasis [HAT], Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis), skin diseases caused by environmental bacteria (such as Buruli ulcer [BU]), foodborne parasitic diseases (such as taeniasis/cysticercosis) or snake bite envenoming, which—together with scabies and other ectoparasites, mycetoma, and deep mycoses—were recently added to the list [1]. Despite their differences, NTDs are synonymous with poverty, life-long disability, stigma, and discrimination, not to mention the lack of effective control tools such as vaccines, diagnostics, and drugs.