Neglected Tropical Diseases in the Catholic World 英文参考文献.docVIP

Editorial NeglectedTropicalDiseasesintheCatholicWorld PeterJ.Hotez1,2 * 1SabinVaccineInstitute,Washington,D.C.,UnitedStatesofAmerica,2DepartmentofMicrobiology,Immunology,andTropicalMedicine,GeorgeWashingtonUniversity MedicalCenter,Washington,D.C.,UnitedStatesofAmerica Roughly one-quarter of the world’s most common neglected tropical diseases and almost all of the cases of Chagas disease occur in the Catholic majority countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This finding highlights new opportunities to lift the poorest Catholics in developingcountriesoutofpoverty. Caribbean region, led by Brazil and Mexico(themostpopulousCatholiccoun- tries with 146 million and 123 million Catholics each, respectively), followed by the Philippines,as the onlyAsiancountry onthe list (70million),andthe European nations of Italy and France. Four sub- Saharan African countries are listed in Table1,includingtheDemocraticRepub- lic of Congo (DRC) with 30 million Catholics, Angola and Uganda (10–11 millioneach),andBurundi(5million). While none of the eight European countries (or Canada) in Table 1 suffer from widespread NTDs, all of the Latin American nations listed, as well as the AfricanCatholiccountriesandthePhilip- pines,arehighlyendemicforsuchcondi- tions.Together,these22nationscomprise a significant percentage of the world’s NTDs(Table1),includingalmost100%of the Chagas cases, which are found over- whelmingly in Latin America [5], and 21%–27% of the world’s intestinal hel- minth infections, led by Brazil in Latin America, the Philippines in Asia, and DRC in sub-Saharan Africa [6,7]. The 22mostpopulousNTD-endemicCatholic countries also account for 14%–16% of theworld’s207millioncasesofschistoso- miasis [8,9], and lymphatic filariasis (LF), onchocerciasis,orbothoftheseinfections are transmitted in 13 of the 22 nations [10,11]. day,severalCatholiccharitiesaremaking significant contributions to global public health, including efforts to promote ‘‘de- worming’’, i.e., mass