Skin-Related Neglected Tropical Diseases (Skin-NTDs)—A New Challenge

Abstract

"The skin of the patient is the first and most visible structure of the body that any health care worker encounters in the course of an examination. To the patient and relatives, it is also highly visible and any disease that affects the skin is both noticeable and will have an impact on personal and social wellbeing. It is therefore an important entry point for diagnosis, surveillance, disease mapping and integrated management. Many of the major neglected tropical diseases produce changes in the skin, often the first indicator of illness that patients will notice. Changes to the skin often reinforce the feelings of isolation and stigma experienced by patients with Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), but they also provide opportunities for simplifying diagnosis and developing an integrated and strategic approach to control and care

A key challenge in taking the common feature of skin involvement in NTDs to this higher level is that skin disease in general is very common, particularly in resource-poor settings and seeking solutions to the identification and management of skin NTDs without addressing the commonality of skin disease is not an option."