被忽视的热带疾病（NTD）are a group of 17 infectious diseases caused by pathogenic viruses, protozoa, helminths and bacteria. As a group, the socio-economic impact of NTDs on countries where they are endemic is comparable to malaria, AIDS or tuberculosis but, as you might guess from the term ‘neglected’, research into them doesn’t receive as much funding or attention.

We tend to consider NTDs as a problem for tropical areas of Asia, Africa and the Americas, but just because they are traditionally a burden to these regions, doesn’t mean that they can’t be a real issue for people from outside the tropics.

With climate change we are seeing (and will continue to see) the migration of parasite vectors from tropical regions to more temperate locales. In addition to this, population displacement due to war or environmental causes (e.g. drought) exposes people who would not otherwise have been at risk to NTDs.

Finally, as people are now much more mobile than in past generations, and international travel – either for leisure or work – is on the rise, more and more people are experiencing tropical infections first hand. This was the case for Marcus Brent Smith from the UK.

一个很好的例子…

Marcus travelled to the Manu region of South East Peru to work as a videographer and photographer for a conservation NGO. He spent ten months there and during this time he developedleishmaniasis.

利什曼病是被忽视的热带疾病之一，是由原生动物的寄生虫引起的利什曼尼亚属，并在进食过程中通过感染的沙蝇从哺乳动物传播到哺乳动物。

The most deadly form of the disease is visceral leishmaniasis – or Kala-azar – and if left untreated will lead to death. TheWorld Health Organisationreport that approximately 1.3 million people contract leishmaniasis each year and 20 to 30, 000 people die as a result.

马库斯（Marcus）在前往秘鲁之前咨询了一名旅行护士，但利什曼病（Leishmaniasis）并未被标记为风险，他发现没有多少人知道英国这种疾病。但是，他警告了他在旅行时染上这种疾病的朋友以及该地区工作的同事的潜在风险。

“I couldn’t tell you when the actual bite happened,” says Marcus, “but I first noticed a small cut with a small scab on my upper left tricep in August. It was only a few millimetres across and it looked like a small, round scratch.

“When it had healed and the scab lifted off, the skin underneath was raw and bleeding instead of pink and healthy. Once this happened for a second time my suspicions were aroused. By the end of September the lesion had not healed and had grown to perhaps 5mm across so I knew that it was Leishmaniasis.”

Treatment was available in Peru for leishmaniasis, but to obtain it he would have had to make a three hour round trip to the local medical centre (by boat and on foot) each day. On top of this, a side effect of the treatment is that it made you weak, and so would make walking difficult.

这突出了医护人员在确保Leishmanisis的当地人实际上可以得到所需的治疗方面遇到的困难。马库斯（Marcus）在英国获得了利什曼病的治疗 - 最初向伦敦的热带疾病医院咨询，他们确认是利什曼病，然后从牛津的一家当地医院接受治疗。

Six months later, all that is left to remind him of the disease is scar the size of a fifty pence piece.

自从他感染了利什曼病和他对参观利什曼病风险的地区的人们以来，马库斯（Marcus）读了一篇关于利什曼病的伟大，他的建议是：“规则与疟疾相同：避免被咬伤。因此，用裤子和长袖遮盖，避免在黎明时曝光和黄昏，并穿一些驱虫剂。”

With global warming, population displacement and increased travel and trade, NTDs are becoming a real risk to people who would not normally otherwise come into direct contact with them. Meanwhile, challenges in healthcare delivery continue to make them a deadly risk to local populations. There’s clearly a need to increase funding and research into these diseases, ideally enough that we can drop the word ‘neglected’ from their collective name.