Srinagar, Jan 30 (KNO): Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) can pose severe health risks, including disability and death if left untreated, warn doctors.
Medical professionals, speaking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said it is important to implement vector control measures, such as insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor residual spraying, to reduce the transmission of vector-borne NTDs like malaria and dengue fever.
Neglected Tropical Diseases, which include ailments like dengue, lymphatic filariasis, trachoma and leishmaniasis, are termed "neglected" because they generally afflict the world's poor and historically have not received as much attention as other diseases.
The root causes of these diseases, according to doctors, include poverty, poor hygiene, vector-borne transmission and various environmental factors.
If left untreated, NTDs can lead to severe illness, disability and even death, the doctors warned. “These diseases contribute to reduced productivity, income loss due to illness and disability, and social exclusion, exacerbating the suffering of affected individuals,” they added.
According to medical experts, administering mass drugs to at-risk populations, vector control, improved sanitation and health education can help in the prevention of these diseases.
They advise the public to use insecticides in areas where disease vectors gather, breed or rest, eliminate standing water breeding grounds for mosquitoes, sleep under bed nets, and seek treatment to mitigate the risk of infection and onward transmission—(KNO)