The spread of Leishmaniasis , ‘Mystery disease’ in Central America: A discussion with Dr. Peter Hotez

On the Saturday, March 8 airing of the Outbreak News This Week Radio Show, Dr. Peter Hotez, president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and founding dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine came on the show to talk about two recent articles he wrote that caught my eye (Listen below).

Image/CIA

The first one was concerning the spread of the neglected tropical disease, the parasitic disease, Leishmaniasis and its spread in the Middle East and East Africa due strife, war and conflict in these regions.

He stressed on the situations in the Sudan and in Syria (Aleppo evil) where leishmaniasis is running rampant.

Hotez also spoke his idea of “vaccine diplomacy” and the precedent there is for such an idea.

The second article was about a killer disease that has recently been named Mesoamerican nephropathy and how it has affected, primarily young men in several Central American countries.

He discussed the many possible etiologies, infectious and non-infectious, that are being investigated.

Check out his articles:

Leishmaniasis: The Neglected Disease of War, Conflict, and Human Misery 

Tropical Medicine Mystery: Something is Killing Young Men in Central America

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