[Tropmed-l] tropical vs neglected

[Carlos Costa]

Dear all,

The first guys to use the term neglected diseases were the Dutch Veeken H,
Pécoul B, from MSF, in the year 2000.

The abstract of their paper follows:

Neglected diseases are diseases restricted to poor areas; diseases for which
there exist no commercial incentives to invest in the development of new
treatments. Patients suffering from these diseases often have no access to
essential drugs; this can be a matter of life and death. Lack of research
and
patent protection play a crucial role. Both are cost driven; greed in the
West
curtails the availability of life-saving drugs for all. Treatment options
for
trypanosomiasis and visceral leishmaniasis are lacking. It is recommended
that
drugs for the treatment of 'neglected diseases' be developed via a
centralised,
public approach that is not based on profit, rather than leaving it to free
enterprise.

They did a good shot. Afterwards, many others also started to repeat,
including WHO and even the Brazilian Ministry of Health. However, I
wonder if tropical peoples neglect their own diseases. If not, the
term may better used by "developed" peoples while the term "tropical"
should be

preferred by "developing/tropical" peoples.

Good topic for sharing ideas, for a relaxed discussion.

Carlos.


-- 
Carlos H. N. Costa, MD, DSc.
Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
(Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine)
President

Universidade Federal do Piauí
Instituto de Doenças Tropicais Natan Portella
Rua Artur de Vasconcelos 151-Sul
64001-450 Teresina-PI
Brazil
Telephones: +55 86 3222-4377 (W),
+55 86 3221-3062 (W),
+55 86 3237-1075 (R).


Aviso: As informações contidas nesta mensagem são CONFIDENCIAIS, protegidas
pelo sigilo legal, por direitos autorais e destinadas exclusivamente à
pessoa ou organização para a qual a mensagem foi destinada.
Warning: This message is meant only for the intended recipient of the
transmission.  It is forbidden any unauthorized use, alteration,
reproduction and distribution. If you are not the correct recipient, please
notify us immediately by return e-mail and delete this message from your
system.
-------------- Pr?xima Parte ----------
Um anexo em HTML foi limpo...
URL: <http://lineu.icb.usp.br/pipermail/tropmed-l/attachments/20121003/f0441859/attachment.htm>