Neglected Infections and Poverty

A review article on the Neglected Infections of Poverty in the United States of America was published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases recently. This article, written by GWUMC faculty member Dr. Peter Hotez, describes the hidden diseases of poverty - ascariasis in Appalachia and the South, dengue fever in the U.S.-Mexico border region, trichomoniasis in inner cities - which are "characterized by their high prevalence, chronic and disabling features, and disproportionate effect on the poor."

In this article, Dr. Hotez describes not only the specific diseases, but also how these conditions are part of a cycle of poverty with profound effects on child development, pregnancy outcomes, and worker productivity. To complement this article, Himmelfarb Library provides access to the following information resources:

• Atlas of tropical medicine and parasitology / Wallace Peters, Geoffrey Pasvol.
• Stacks RC961 .P46 2007
• Huppatz, C., & Durrheim, D. N. (2007). Control of neglected tropical diseases. New England Journal of Medicine, 357(23), 2407.
• Medical management of vulnerable and underserved patients : principles, practice, and populations / edited by Talmadge E. King, Jr., Margaret B. Wheeler.
• Stacks RA418.5 .P6 M437 2007

Image: Lange, D,. (1936). Migrant mother. [Online image]. Retrieved July 1, 2008 from http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/lange/aa_lange_power_2_e.html.