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GRAND CHALLENGES IN MAJOR TROPICAL DISEASES
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Approximately 15 million people die each year due to tropical diseases, which are caused by a variety of infectious agents, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, or protozoa. Such diseases usually are a result of an intricate relationship between poverty, poor living conditions, malnutrition, and poor healthcare system infrastructure, affecting a large proportion of developing and underdeveloped countries (1–3). Therefore, these diseases are not restricted to infections that are uniquely reported in tropical regions, but also include illnesses that exhibit a very high burden in such zones of the globe. Despite the great progress in governmental and private initiatives to improve measures to prevent and treat these infections, they remain the world’s leading cause of premature death, highlighting the magnitude of this public health problem (4–6). Herein, we summarize top priorities that pose grand challenges to dampen the burden of major tropical diseases worldwide. We will especially focus on the big three pathogens, which are the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), and Plasmodium sp. although other important conditions are highlighted. Aspects of disease burden, diagnosis, treatment, and prophylaxis are discussed to define the scope of interest of the Section Major Tropical Diseases of the Frontiers in Tropical Diseases journal.
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