Abstract
This year PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases (PLOS NTDs) celebrates its tenth anniversary following the publication of the first issue in 2007 [1]. When PLOS NTDs was founded, the framework of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) as an alternative to “other diseases” (as they were then referred to in the Millennium Development Goals) was just getting started—especially for Africa [2, 3]. In the decade since, PLOS NTDs has overseen enormous successes in NTD control and elimination. Here, we want to briefly review the ten year progress made towards the control or elimination of the diseases now identified by the WHO as NTDs. Many of the details are highlighted in PLOS NTDs papers cited here, but the summary information is based on the recently released Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2015 (also launched with Gates Foundation support) that summarized past-decade changes in disease prevalence, mortality, or disability rates (from the years 2005 to 2015) [4–6], as well as the GBD Study 2013 that summarizes disease prevalence changes over a longer time horizon from 1990 to 2013 [7].
Highlights
For lymphatic filariasis (LF) and trachoma, we have seen more than 50% decreases each in their global prevalence, mostly through WHO-led mass drug administration (MDA) and allied measures, such that the elimination of these two diseases is considered a realistic target [10, 11]
The last decade has seen a mixed picture when it comes to success stories in the progress to control or eliminate the world’s neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)
The last decade has seen an explosion in the genetic and genomic knowledge gained on NTD pathogens and vectors
Summary
Citation: Hotez P, Aksoy S (2017) PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: Ten years of progress in neglected tropical disease control and elimination . . . More or less. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 11(4): e0005355. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pntd.0005355 Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work. Competing interests: I have read the journal’s policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: PH is lead investigator on several vaccines against NTDs that are in development, as well as on vaccines against hookworm and schistosomiasis that are in clinical trials.
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