March 5, 2008

You Better Watch Your Ass Dracunculiasis

As far as I can determine this is the list of diseases slotted for eradication/elimination by the International Task Force for Disease Eradication and the WHO.

International Task Force for Disease Eradication - Sanctioned by The World Health Organization

Eradication and Elimination Programs Currently Sanctioned by The World Health Organization

Eradication
Dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease): 1988 AFRO, 1991 WHA44.5, 2004 WHA 57.9. Target: 1995; revised to 2009

Poliomyelitis: 1988 WHA41.28. Target: 2000

Elimination
Neonatal tetanus: Original target: 1995.1989 WHA42.32 (environmental)

Leprosy: 1991 WHA44.9. Target: reduce cases to <1>Onchocerciasis (West Africa OCP): 1973 Agreement. Target: eliminate onchocerciasis "as a public health
 problem" in OCP area by 2002 (qualitative)

Onchocerciasis (Americas): 1991 PAHO:XIV. Target: eliminate "as a public health problem in the Americas" (morbidity) by 2007 (qualitative geographic)

Trachoma: 1998 WHA51.11. Target: "global elimination of blinding trachoma" (informally: by 2020; "GET 2020") (symptomatic)

Lymphatic filariasis: 1997 WHA50.29. Target: eliminate globally "as a public health problem" (informally: by 2020) [cites International Task Force for Disease Eradication]


Note:
WHO Press Release in March 1997 reports that leprosy, river blindness (onchocerciasis), Chagas' disease, and lymphatic filariasis "can be eliminated as public health problems within ten years"; cites a new report by the Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases.

Article in The New York Times, dated May 6, 2001 ("Ten Diseases on the Way Out"), names polio, Guinea worm, measles, lymphatic filariasis, river blindness, blinding trachoma, leprosy, hepatitis B, maternal/neonatal tetanus, and iodine deficiency disorders.

And while you might think that such a list would contain, well, you know, EVERY disease there are apparently good reasons why it doesn't.  
Prompted by this article in yesterday's NYT and in light of this previous post.
Also worth a look:  For those interested the Malaria Atlas Project makes available some great maps and data on global malaria stats.


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