Noel Danh

Case Study #3

Trachoma and Chagas are tropical diseases that have been successfully treated through health efforts by the government and different organizations. Trachoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the world but is the number one preventable blindness. Trachoma is caused by transmission of eye and nose secretions, unsanitary conditions and flies. Chagas affects sixteen to eighteen million people in Latin America. Chagas is caused by kissing bugs transferring a parasitic infection into the host. Areas of poor socioeconomic status are typically the targets of these tropical diseases. The majority affected are young children. Trachoma loses an estimate of three billion dollars’ worth of potential productivity lost while Chagas is about four hundred million. The efforts implemented to prevent these diseases are estimated to be about seventy percent successful. Trachoma uses the strategy SAFE which stands for surgery, antibiotics, facial cleanliness, and environmental safeness. Chagas uses vector control which is a pyrethroid insecticide around areas of infected. The strategy of SAFE for Trachoma is very cost-effective costing about six dollars a person for surgery. The strategy for Chagas, pyrethroid insecticide, cost about thirty seven dollars for infected zones. Both of these strategies are very cost-effective for a large range of affected population. There are current and ongoing research of cost-effective ways for both Chagas and Trachoma. The government and health organizations are finding new ways to prevent less DALYs. Unfortunately, many other tropical diseases aren’t as successful as Chagas and Trachoma.

The prevention efforts of other tropical disease like Dengue, Leishmansiasis, and African Trypanosomiasis aren’t as successful as Chagas and Trachoma due to ineffective and costly efforts. Dengue isn’t as successful in vector control as Chagas. The best effective way to control Dengue is environmental control but it cost way too much to create infrastructure. Leishmaniasis also has an ineffective vector control because it is poorly accepted by the population affected. African Trypanosomiasis known as the sleeping sickness has no vaccination developed but vector control is starting to become widely popular. By observing the outcomes of Chagas and Trachoma and their success rates, health organizations, can plan better effective ways to treat tropical diseases. By learning how the organizations for Chagas and Trachoma worked other organizations can take in perspective on how to structure their programs for the better.