Kain Matthew J W, Reece Nicola L, Parry Christopher M, Rajahram Giri Shan, Paterson David L, Woolley Stephen D
Institute of Naval Medicine, Alverstoke, Hampshire PO12 2DL, UK.
Headquarters Army Medical Services, Camberley GU15 4NP, UK.
Trop Med Infect Dis. 2024 Apr 8;9(4):80. doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed9040080.
The World Health Organization (WHO)'s list of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) highlights conditions that are responsible for devastating health, social and economic consequences, and yet, they are overlooked and poorly resourced. The NTD list does not include conditions caused by Gram-negative bacilli (GNB). Infections due to GNB cause significant morbidity and mortality and are prevalent worldwide. Southeast Asia is a WHO region of low- and middle-income countries carrying the largest burden of NTDs. Two significant health threats in Southeast Asia are (causing melioidosis) and hypervirulent (HvKp). Both diseases have high mortality and increasing prevalence, yet both suffer from a lack of awareness, significant under-resourcing, incomplete epidemiological data, limited diagnostics, and a lack of evidence-based treatment. Emerging evidence shows that both melioidosis and HvKp are spreading globally, including in high-income countries, highlighting the potential future global threat they pose. In this article, we review both conditions, identifying current trends and challenges in Southeast Asia and areas for future research. We also argue that melioidosis and HvKp merit inclusion as NTDs, and that mandatory global surveillance and reporting systems should be established, and we make an urgent call for research to better understand, detect, and treat these neglected diseases.
世界卫生组织（WHO）的被忽视热带病（NTD）清单突出了那些会导致毁灭性健康、社会和经济后果但却被忽视且资源匮乏的疾病。NTD清单中不包括革兰氏阴性杆菌（GNB）引起的疾病。由GNB引起的感染会导致严重的发病率和死亡率，且在全球范围内普遍存在。东南亚是一个中低收入国家的WHO区域，承担着最大的NTD负担。东南亚的两个重大健康威胁是（引起类鼻疽）和高毒力（HvKp）。这两种疾病都具有高死亡率且发病率不断上升，但两者都存在缺乏认知、资源严重不足、流行病学数据不完整、诊断有限以及缺乏循证治疗的问题。新出现的证据表明，类鼻疽和HvKp正在全球范围内传播，包括在高收入国家，这凸显了它们未来可能对全球构成的威胁。在本文中，我们回顾了这两种疾病，确定了东南亚当前的趋势和挑战以及未来的研究领域。我们还认为类鼻疽和HvKp应被纳入NTD，并且应建立强制性的全球监测和报告系统，我们紧急呼吁开展研究以更好地了解、检测和治疗这些被忽视的疾病。
