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PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022 06 1;16(6):e0010447. Epub 2022 Jun 1.

Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Background: Yaws is a chronic, highly contagious skin and bone infection affecting children living in impoverished, remote communities. It is caused by Treponema pallidum subsp. pertenue. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022 05 25;16(5):e0010173. Epub 2022 May 25.

Instituto de Biomedicina, Carrera de Medicina, Universidad Central, Quito, Ecuador.

Background: The WHO roadmap for neglected tropical diseases includes yaws eradication requiring certification of elimination of transmission in all endemic and formerly endemic countries worldwide. A community-based programme for yaws control was considered to have achieved elimination of the infection in the endemic focus in Ecuador after 1993. We did a serosurvey of children in this focus to provide evidence for interruption of transmission. Read More

Lancet Microbe 2022 Apr;3(4):e250

Front Immunol 2022 29;13:862491. Epub 2022 Mar 29.

Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States.

Several recent studies have focused on the identification, functional analysis, and structural characterization of outer membrane proteins (OMPs) of (). The species encompasses the highly related , , and subspecies of this pathogen, known to be the causative agents of syphilis, yaws, and bejel, respectively. These studies highlighted the importance of identifying surface-exposed OMP regions and the identification of B-cell epitopes that could be protective and used in vaccine development efforts. Read More

BMJ Open 2022 03 29;12(3):e058605. Epub 2022 Mar 29.

Clinical Research Department, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London, UK.

Introduction: Yaws, caused by the bacterium subsp. is a neglected tropical disease targeted for eradication by 2030. Improved diagnostics will be essential to meet this goal. Read More

PeerJ 2022 17;10:e13018. Epub 2022 Mar 17.

Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States of America.

Yaws is a chronic infection that affects mainly the skin, bone and cartilage and spreads mostly between children. The new approval of a medication as treatment in 2012 has revived eradication efforts and now only few known localized foci of infection remain. The World Health Organization strategy mandates an initial round of total community treatment (TCT) with single-dose azithromycin followed either by further TCT or by total targeted treatment (TTT), an active case-finding and treatment of cases and their contacts. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022 03 21;16(3):e0010197. Epub 2022 Mar 21.

STI and Skin NTDs Unit, Department of Infectious Diseases and Fight AIDS and Infectious Diseases Foundation, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Spain.

Background: In yaws-endemic areas, children with Treponema pallidum subsp. pertenue infection may suffer recurrent episodes due to either reinfection or relapse. However, the possibility of infection with other cutaneous ulcer causative agents and difficulties in interpreting standard laboratory results challenges the estimation of yaws recurrence rates. Read More

Gates Open Res 2021 2;5:112. Epub 2022 Feb 2.

Big Data Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus, Headington, Oxford, OX3 7LF, UK.

The World Health Organization recently launched its 2021-2030 roadmap, an updated call to arms to end the suffering caused by neglected tropical diseases. Modelling and quantitative analyses played a significant role in forming these latest goals. In this collection, we discuss the insights, the resulting recommendations and identified challenges of public health modelling for 13 of the target diseases: Chagas disease, dengue, human African trypanosomiasis (gHAT), lymphatic filariasis (LF), onchocerciasis, rabies, scabies, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiases (STH), taeniasis/ cysticercosis, trachoma, visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and yaws. Read More

Lancet Reg Health West Pac 2022 Jan 2;18:100293. Epub 2021 Nov 2.

Fight AIDS and Infectious Diseases Foundation, Hospital Germans Trias Pujol, Badalona, Catalonia (Spain).

Introduction: Neglected tropical diseases control programmes run separately. For settings with more than one endemic disease, combined mass drug administration (MDA) has potential practical advantages compared with separate programmes but needs confirmation of safety. We assessed the safety of combined MDA for multiple neglected tropical diseases using ivermectin, diethylcarbamazine, albendazole (IDA) and azithromycin (AZI). Read More

N Engl J Med 2022 01;386(1):47-56

From the National Department of Health, Aopi Centre (L.N.J., W.H.), the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Papua New Guinea (L.N.J., O.M.), and the World Health Organization Representative Office in Papua New Guinea (J.K.W.), Port Moresby, the New Ireland Provincial Health Authority, Kavieng (M.S., E.J., E.M.), and Lihir Medical Center, International SOS, Lihir Island (R.K., O.M.) - all in Papua New Guinea; the Infectious Diseases Department and Fight AIDS and Infectious Diseases Foundation, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol (L.N.J., C.G.B., D.O., B.C., M.V.-M., O.M.), the Genomes for Life-Genomes of Catalonia Lab Group, Institute for Health Science Research Germans Trias i Pujol (I.G.-F.), and the IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute (B.C.), Badalona, the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona (L.N.J.), and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (I.G.-F.), Barcelona, and Universitat de Vic-Universitat Central de Catalunya, Vic (B.C., O.M.) - all in Spain; the Department of Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic (M. Medappa, P.P., D.Š.); the Parasites and Microbes Programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton (M.A.B.), and the Clinical Research Department, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, University College London Hospitals, London (M. Marks) - all in the United Kingdom; the Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle (L.G.); and the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston (E.Q.M.).

Background: subspecies causes yaws. Strategies to better control, eliminate, and eradicate yaws are needed.

Methods: In an open-label, cluster-randomized, community-based trial conducted in a yaws-endemic area of Papua New Guinea, we randomly assigned 38 wards (i. Read More

Malays Fam Physician 2021 Nov 8;16(3):104-107. Epub 2021 Sep 8.

MD, MMED, Department of Dermatology, Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab II, Kelantan, Malaysia.

Yaws is a rare skin disease endemic to tropical countries caused by It is highly infectious and spreads through physical contact. In Malaysia, it was presumably eradicated during the 1960s, with the last reported case published in 1985. Due to its rarity, the disease often goes unrecognised and misdiagnosed. Read More

Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2021 12;79(12):1138-1144

Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Faculdade de Medicina, Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brazil.

Background: The famous Brazilian Baroque sculptor named Antônio Francisco Lisboa, known as "Aleijadinho" (1738-1814), suffered from a deforming disease of the lower and upper limbs. The condition was characterized by atrophy, paresis and amputation. His face was also affected, with inflammation of the eyelids, deviation of the labial commissure, drooping of the chin and lower lip, giving him a sinister expression. Read More

Mol Biol Evol 2022 01;39(1)

Unidad Mixta Infección y Salud Pública FISABIO, Universidad de Valencia-I2SysBio, Valencia, Spain.

The incidence of syphilis has risen worldwide in the last decade in spite of being an easily treated infection. The causative agent of this sexually transmitted disease is the bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum (TPA), very closely related to subsp. pertenue (TPE) and endemicum (TEN), responsible for the human treponematoses yaws and bejel, respectively. Read More

J Community Health 2021 10 25;46(5):1036-1049. Epub 2021 Aug 25.

State University of New York, Downstate Health Sciences University, 450 Clarkson Avenue, MSC 4, Brooklyn, NY, 11203, USA.

Between 1100 A.D. and 1700 A. Read More

Vaccine 2021 09 6;39(38):5442-5446. Epub 2021 Aug 6.

Virology Section, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy.

Italian born and long term resident in England, Sir Aldo Castellani (1874-1971), is usually credited with "several discoveries of great importance in tropical medicine", most notably for his role in determining the aetiology of sleeping sickness and yaws. This contribution tries to highlight his role in the history of vaccinology as a pioneer in the design and use of combined and polyvalent vaccines. In the light of existing data, while acting as Director of the Bacteriological Institute of Colombo (Ceylon) in the decade before the First World War, Castellani was the first to experiment with both different strains of "antigens belonging to the same group" like in his typhoid-paratyphoid vaccine (TAB), as well as the simultaneous use of more pathogens, or part of them, for protection against different diseases, like in his "tetravaccine" (TAB + cholera) and "pentavaccine" (TAB + cholera + Malta fever). Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021 07 6;15(7):e0009278. Epub 2021 Jul 6.

Global Health and Infection Department, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.

Background: Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) affect more than one billion people globally. A Public Library of Science (PLOS) journal dedicated to NTDs lists almost forty NTDs, while the WHO prioritises twenty NTDs. A person can be affected by more than one disease at the same time from a range of infectious and non-infectious agents. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021 05 24;15(5):e0009416. Epub 2021 May 24.

School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is the most common type of leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease caused by parasites of the genus Leishmania. In Ghana, some studies in the Volta region have detected Leishmania parasites among persons with skin ulcers.

Methodology/principal Findings: Using a cross-sectional study design, the prevalence of CL in three communities of the Oti Region of Ghana was investigated. Read More

Am J Trop Med Hyg 2021 05 3;104(6):2031-2037. Epub 2021 May 3.

1Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.

Successful achievement of global targets for elimination of trachoma as a public health problem and eradication of yaws will require control efforts to reach marginalized populations, including refugees. Testing for serologic evidence of transmission of trachoma and yaws in residents of registered camps and a Makeshift Settlement in Cox's Bazar District, Bangladesh, was added to a serosurvey for vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) conducted April-May 2018. The survey was primarily designed to estimate remaining immunity gaps for VPDs, including diphtheria, measles, rubella, and polio. Read More

Biomed Rep 2021 Jun 6;14(6):53. Epub 2021 Apr 6.

Dengue Study Group, Institute of Tropical Disease, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, East Java 60115, Indonesia.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, some countries, including Indonesia, have faced a double burden with regards to disease control. As Indonesia is a tropical country, it serves as a suitable host for disease vectors and multiple microorganisms of causative agents of disease. In total, five of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) should be a consideration in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic, including leprosy, yaws, filariasis, soil-transmitted helminths and schistosomiasis. Read More

BMJ Open 2021 04 2;11(4):e047530. Epub 2021 Apr 2.

Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Centre for Research on Filariasis and other Tropical Diseases (CRFilMT), Yaounde, Cameroon.

Introduction: The first visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis cases were reported in Cameroon since more than six decades. However, interest in the disease has decreased over time and data on its epidemiology across the country are scanty. This systematic review aims to update data on what is known and done so far on leishmaniasis in Cameroon. Read More

Emerg Infect Dis 2021 04;27(4):1123-1132

We confirmed endemicity and autochthonous transmission of yaws in Liberia after a population-based, community-led burden estimation (56,825 participants). Serologically confirmed yaws was rare and focal at population level (24 cases; 2.6 [95% CI 1. Read More

EBioMedicine 2021 Mar 12;65:103281. Epub 2021 Mar 12.

Fight Aids and Infectious Diseases Foundation, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Barcelona, Spain; Lihir Medical Centre-International SOS, Lihir Island, Papua New Guinea. Electronic address:

Background: Penicillin G, the current standard treatment for syphilis, has important drawbacks, but virtually no preclinical or clinical studies have been performed to identify viable alternatives. We tested, both in vitro and in vivo, three marketed antibiotics with adequate pharmacological properties to treat syphilis.

Methods: We used an in vitro culturing system of T. Read More

Int Health 2021 Mar 10. Epub 2021 Mar 10.

International Trachoma Initiative, The Task Force for Global Health, PO Box 10001, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

There have been various infectious disease eradication programs implemented in various parts of the world with varying degrees of success since the early 1900s. Of all those programs, the one that achieved monumental success was the Smallpox Eradication Program (SEP). Most of the global health leaders and authorities that came up with the new idea of disease eradication in the 1980s tried to design and shape the new programs based on their experience in the SEP. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021 03 3;15(3):e0009157. Epub 2021 Mar 3.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.

Buruli ulcer (BU) is a disabling and stigmatising neglected tropical disease (NTD). Its distribution and burden are unknown because of underdiagnosis and underreporting. It is caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, an environmental pathogen whose environmental niche and transmission routes are not fully understood. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021 02 16;15(2):e0009180. Epub 2021 Feb 16.

Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Yaounde, Cameroon.

Outbreaks of yaws-like ulcerative skin lesions in children are frequently reported in tropical and sub-tropical countries. The origin of these lesions might be primarily traumatic or infectious; in the latter case, Treponema pallidum subspecies pertenue, the yaws agent, and Haemophilus ducreyi, the agent of chancroid, are two of the pathogens commonly associated with the aetiology of skin ulcers. In this work, we investigated the presence of T. Read More

J Clin Microbiol 2021 04 20;59(5). Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

WHO and its partners aim to interrupt yaws transmission in countries of endemicity and to certify others as being yaws-free. Transmission can be assessed using rapid plasma reagin (RPR) tests, reflecting current or recent infection, but RPR is operationally impractical. We evaluated changes in antibody levels against two recombinant treponemal antigens, rp17 (also known as Tp17) and TmpA, after antibiotic treatment given as part of a randomized controlled trial for yaws in Ghana and Papua New Guinea. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021 01 26;15(1):e0008812. Epub 2021 Jan 26.

Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.

Background: An effective syphilis vaccine should elicit antibodies to Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum (T. p. Read More

mBio 2021 01 12;12(1). Epub 2021 Jan 12.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

Exudative cutaneous ulcers (CU) in yaws-endemic areas are associated with subsp. (TP) and (HD), but one-third of CU cases are idiopathic (IU). Using mass drug administration (MDA) of azithromycin, a yaws eradication campaign on Lihir Island in Papua New Guinea reduced but failed to eradicate yaws; IU rates remained constant throughout the campaign. Read More

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2020 12 31;8(12):e22478. Epub 2020 Dec 31.

Prevention, Treatment and Care Unit, Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, World Health Organization, Geneve, Switzerland.

Background: Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) represent a diverse group of 20 communicable diseases that occur in tropical and subtropical areas in 149 countries, affecting over 1 billion people and costing developing economies billions of dollars every year. Within these diseases, those that present lesions on the skin surface are classified as skin NTDs (sNTDs). Mobile health interventions are currently being used worldwide to manage skin diseases and can be a good strategy in the epidemiological and clinical management of sNTDs. Read More

Dermatol Clin 2021 Jan 31;39(1):83-90. Epub 2020 Oct 31.

Department of Dermatology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, 50 Staniford Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA. Electronic address:

In resource-limited settings, point-of-care diagnostic devices have the potential to reduce diagnostic delays and improve epidemiologic surveillance of dermatologic conditions. We outline novel-point-of care diagnostics that have recently been developed for dermatologic conditions that primarily affect patients living in resource-limited settings, namely, Kaposi sarcoma, cutaneous leishmaniasis, leprosy, Buruli ulcer, yaws, onchocerciasis, and lymphatic filariasis. All of the technologies described in this article are prototypes, and some have undergone field testing. Read More