Health Wanted: Neglected Tropical Diseases
HEALTH WANTED, a weekly radio show and podcast produced in partnership with WABE, brings need-to-know public health headlines and breaks down the science behind trending topics.
The Episode
The topic: Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of conditions that disproportionately impact low-income countries and receive insufficient attention and resources from around the world. This week on Health Wanted, host Laurel Bristow and guest Jessica Fairley, MD, explore some of the most common NTDs and how the U.S. benefits from contributing to their research and prevention.
The takeaway: NTDs are a diverse group of illnesses caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, and toxins. While these diseases have long been challenging to control, public health efforts such as mass antibiotic distribution, sanitation improvements, and educational campaigns have significantly reduced their impact.
- Trachoma is a bacterial eye infection that causes blindness and vision impairment in millions of people worldwide. Repeated infections are common and cause scarring inside the eyelid, which damages the cornea over time. Prevention methods include improved sanitation and mass antibiotic distribution, as trachoma is often spread by flies and contact with infected surfaces.
- American trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease) and Human African trypanosomiasis are both vector-borne NTDs, meaning they are transmitted to humans by insects. American trypanosomiasis is transmitted by insects called kissing bugs, while Human African trypanosomiasis is spread by tsetse flies. Both diseases are especially common in rural areas and difficult to control due to their ties to insect dynamics.
- Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by blood flukes (a type of flatworm) that infect humans through contaminated water. The flukes' larvae enter through the skin and cause immune reactions and organ damage. Schistosomiasis primarily affects the bladder and liver and also impacts children's growth and development.
- Guinea worm is spread through drinking unsafe water containing near-microscopic crustaceans called copepods, which carry Guinea worm larvae. The larvae multiply and mature in the body until they emerge from painful blisters on the skin. Eradication efforts have been highly effective, and cases of Guinea worm have declined from 3.5 million worldwide in the mid-1980s to just 13 in 2024.
The Interview
The guest: Jessica Fairley, MD
The key takeaways:
- Leprosy, a bacterial NTD, has existed since ancient times and continues to cause around 200,000 new cases annually. Clinical providers are increasingly adopting the term “Hansen’s disease,” named after the scientist who discovered the bacteria responsible for the illness, to reduce the stigma associated with the disease, as the term “leprosy” has long been linked to negative connotations and social stigmas.
- In the U.S., the chances of acquiring an NTD are very low due to effective sanitation systems and access to safe drinking water. However, climate change increases the risk of these diseases spreading to new areas, as many are vector-borne and closely linked to changes in environmental factors. With rising temperatures and shifting ecosystems, regions of the U.S., particularly the Gulf areas, are becoming more favorable locations for these diseases.
- Supporting global health improvements, such as addressing NTDs, is critical for both the health of other countries and for the U.S. Addressing NTDs leads to improved economic stability and better health outcomes in other nations, which contributes positively to overall global security, reduced conflict, and prosperity.
- A key area of improvement in NTD treatment and research is the lack of accessible and accurate diagnostics, particularly for people living in regions where NTDs are endemic. Enhanced diagnostic tools are essential for earlier detection and more effective treatment, yet progress in this area has been slow.
The Listener Questions
Should I be taking probiotics?
Probiotics are foods or supplements that contain living microorganisms to improve your gut bacteria, and prebiotics are foods or supplements that feed your existing gut bacteria and keep it happy. Probiotic supplements are not bad, but their benefits have been greatly overstated throughout the years to get people to buy them.
The benefits of probiotics are really hard to research because our guts are full of so many microbes. There are an incredible variety of good (and sometimes bad) bacteria that serve essential functions that impact things like food allergies and digestive health.
But because there are so many kinds of microbes with so many different functions, it’s hard to tease out which microbes are responsible for what, which is what you need to be able to recommend targeted probiotic supplements.
If you really want to improve your gut health, it’s all about eating a varied diet of primarily whole foods. And if you want to do one thing that research has repeatedly shown improves gut health, you should make sure you’re getting enough fiber, which has been shown to improve the quantity and diversity of your gut microbiome.
Is it safe to use a deodorant that contains aluminum?
The fear of aluminum causing things like breast cancer or Alzheimer’s is one of those things where the rumor probably got started from some experiments in labs on cells or in animals who were directly injected with aluminum, and the results were extrapolated to deodorants.
Antiperspirant deodorants use multiple forms of aluminum because they mix with protein in your sweat and cause a temporary “plug” in your sweat gland. When your glands get plugged, they send a signal back to the body to stop producing more sweat.
There is no strong evidence to suggest that the use of antiperspirants increases the risk of breast cancer. And when it comes to aluminum in particular, studies have found that uptake of aluminum through your pit skin is minimal. It is significantly smaller than what you ingest from eating food.
As far as “natural” or aluminum-free deodorants, it’s important to remember that everything, whether natural or synthetic, is made of chemicals. Natural deodorants try to tackle odor by masking it or inhibiting the bacteria that cause it. Things like baking soda can change your pH, which can cause a rash, and essential oils can irritate the skin.
Catch all the listener questions and Laurel’s answers on the full episode of Health Wanted by:
- Streaming at wabe.org or the WABE app
- Subscribing on Apple or Spotify
- Watching on WABE's YouTube channel
