Tropical diseases are infectious diseases that either occur uniquely in tropical and subtropical regions (which is rare) or, more commonly, are either more widespread in the tropics or more difficult to prevent or control. This false-colored electron micrograph shows a malaria sporozoite migrating through the midgut epithelia. ... A noontime scene from the Philippines on a day when the Sun is almost directly overhead. ... The subtropics are the zones of the Earth immediately north and south of the tropic zone, which is bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, at latitude 23. ...

Since the advent of air travel, people more frequently visit these regions and contract many of these diseases, most notably malaria and hepatitis. Any nontropical condition however should never be overlooked in those returning from the tropics. Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites. ... Hepatitis (plural hepatitides) implies injury to liver characterised by presence of inflammatory cells in the liver tissue. ...

Diseases

The Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) of the World Health Organization focuses on neglected infectious diseases that disproportionally affect poor and marginalized populations in developing regions of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. The current disease portfolio includes the following ten: “WHO” redirects here. ... The Neglected Diseases are a group of tropical infections which are especially endemic in low-income populations in developing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. ... World map showing the Americas CIA political map of the Americas The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the continents of North America[1] and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ...

• African trypanosomiasis
• Dengue fever
• Leishmaniasis
• Malaria
• Schistosomiasis
• Tuberculosis
• Chagas disease
• Leprosy
• Lymphatic filariasis
• Onchocerciasis

Although leprosy and tuberculosis are not exclusively tropical diseases (they have occurred everywhere), their highest incidence in the tropics justify its inclusion. Cholera and yellow fever also fall into this category. “Dengue Fever” redirects here. ... Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites. ... Schistosomiasis or bilharzia is a disease affecting many people in developing countries. ... Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for tubercle bacillus or Tuberculosis) is a common and deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacteria, mainly Mycobacterium tuberculosis. ... For the malady found in the Hebrew Bible, see the article Tzaraath. ... See special page for Filariasis in domestic animals Lymphatic Filariasis is a parasitic and infectious tropical disease, caused by three thread-like parasitic filarial worms, Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and Brugia timori, all transmitted by mosquitoes. ... Binomial name Onchocerca volvulus Bickel 1982 Onchocerciasis (pronounced ) or river blindness is the worlds second leading infectious cause of blindness. ... Cholera (or Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera) is a severe diarrheal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. ...

Some tropical diseases are very rare, but may occur in sudden epidemics, such as the Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Lassa fever and the Marburg virus. There are hundreds of different tropical diseases which are less known or rarer, but that, nonetheless, have importance for public health, such as: In epidemiology, an epidemic (from [[Latin language] epi- upon + demos people) is a disease that appears as new cases in a given human population, during a given period, at a rate that substantially exceeds what is expected, based on recent experience (the number of new cases in the population during... For other uses, see Ebola (disambiguation). ... Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever first described in 1969 in the Nigerian town of Lassa in the Yedseram River valley. ... The Marburg virus is the causative agent of Marburg hemorrhagic fever. ... Public health is concerned with threats to the overall health of a community based on population health analysis. ...

• Oropouche virus
• Lobomycosis
• West Nile disease
• Lábrea fever
• Rocio disease
• Mapucho hemorrhagic fever
• Trachoma
• Guinea worm
• Chikungunya
• etc.

a viral infection transmittec by biting midges from the blood of sloths in the tropics to humans. ... Histopathological changes in the skin seen in lobomycosis. ... West Nile virus is a newly emergent virus of the family Flaviviridae, found in both tropical and temperate regions. ... Lábrea fever, also known as Lábreas black fever and Lábrea hepatitis, is a lethal tropical viral infection discovered in the 1950s in the city of Lábrea, in the Brazilian Amazon basin, where it occurs mostly in the area south of the Amazon River, in the... Dracunculiasis, more commonly known as Guinea Worm Disease (GWD), is a preventable infection caused by the parasite Dracunculus medinensis. ... Chikungunya is a relatively rare form of viral fever caused by an alphavirus that is spread by mosquito bites from Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, though recent research by the Pasteur Institute in Paris claims the virus has suffered a mutation that enables it to be transmitted by Aedes albopictus (Tiger mosquito). ...

Relation of climate to tropical diseases

The proliferation of so-called "exotic" diseases in the tropics has long been noted both by travellers, explorers, etc., as well as by physicians. One obvious reason is that the hot climate present during all the year and the larger volume of rains directly affect the formation of breeding grounds, the larger number and variety of natural reservoirs and animal diseases that can be transmitted to humans (zoonosis), the largest number of possible insect vectors of diseases. It is possible also that higher temperatures may favour the replication of pathogenic agents both inside and outside biological organisms. Socio-economic factors may be also in operation, since most of the poorest nations of the world are in the tropics. Tropical countries like Brazil, which have improved their socio-economic situation and invested in hygiene, public health and the combat of transmissible diseases have achieved dramatic results in relation to the elimination or decrease of many endemic tropical diseases in their territory. This article is about precipitation. ... Natural reservoir or nidus, refers to the long-term host of the pathogen of an infectious disease. ... Zoonosis (pronounced ) is any infectious disease that may be transmitted from other animals, both wild and domestic, to humans or from humans to animals (the latter is sometimes called reverse zoonosis). ... Orders Subclass Apterygota Archaeognatha (bristletails) Thysanura (silverfish) Subclass Pterygota Infraclass Paleoptera (Probably paraphyletic) Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Infraclass Neoptera Superorder Exopterygota Grylloblattodea (ice-crawlers) Mantophasmatodea (gladiators) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Embioptera (webspinners) Zoraptera (angel insects) Dermaptera (earwigs) Orthoptera (grasshoppers, etc) Phasmatodea (stick insects) Blattodea (cockroaches) Isoptera (termites) Mantodea (mantids) Psocoptera... In epidemiology, a vector is an organism that does not cause disease itself but which spreads infection by conveying pathogens from one host to another. ... Hygiene refers to practices associated with ensuring good health and cleanliness. ... Public health is concerned with threats to the overall health of a community based on population health analysis. ... In epidemiology, an infection is said to be endemic in a population when that infection is maintained in the population without the need for external inputs. ...

The greenhouse effect and the increasing global temperature of the atmosphere seem to be influencing the spread of tropical diseases and vectors to other latitudes that were previously spared them, such as the Southern United States, the Mediterran area, etc. Wikinews has related news: Scientists warn thawing Siberia may trigger global meltdown A schematic representation of the exchanges of energy between outer space, the Earths atmosphere, and the Earth surface. ... For other uses, see Temperature (disambiguation). ...

Further reading

Books

• Manson's Tropical Diseases
• Mandell's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases or this site

Journals

• American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
• Japanese Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
• Tropical Medicine and International Health
• The Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health
• Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases

Japanese Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene is a Japanese scientific journal. ...

Websites

• GIDEON-Global Infectious Disease Epidemiology Network

GIDEON (Global Infectious Diseases On Line) is a web-based program for decision support and informatics in the fields of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine. ...

See also

• Hospital for Tropical Diseases
• Tropical medicine

The Hospital for Tropical Diseases in London is part of the University College Hospitals London NHS Trust, and associated with University College London. ... Tropical medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with health problems that either occur uniquely in tropical and subtropical regions or are either more widespread in the tropics or more difficult to prevent or control. ...

External links

• WHO Neglected Tropical Diseases
• Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative
• WHO Tropical Disease Research homepage
• Tropical diseases from Maya Paradise, The Río Dulce, Guatemala Information Web Site
• American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
• Treating Tropical Diseases U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• Travelers' Health - National Center for Infectious Diseases - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Professor Andrew Speilman, Harvard School of Tropical Medicine Freeview Malaria video by the Vega Science Trust.
• Rob Hutchingson, Entomolgoist, London School of Tropical Medicine, Mosquitoes Freeview 'Snapshot' video by the Vega Science Trust.
• Links to pictures of tropical diseases (Hardin MD/Univ of Iowa)
• Tropical Diseases Web Ring
• Tropicology Library. In Portuguese.
• Institute for Tropical Medicine - Antwerp - Belgium
• Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University - Bangkok - Thailand
• 'Conquest and Disease or Colonisation and Health', lecture by Professor Frank Cox on the history of tropical disease, given at Gresham College, 17th September 2007 (available for download as video and audio files, as well as a text file).