Neglected Tropical Diseases among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): Overview and Update
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.1371/journal.pntd.0003575
- PMID
- 25880767
- PMCID
- PMC4400050
- OpenAlex
- W2110866136
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The article identifies urgent needs to expand surveillance activities and ensure mass drug administration for populations at risk for intestinal helminth infections, fluke infections, lymphatic filariasis, trachoma, and yaws, while referencing the ASEAN Network for Drugs, Diagnostics, Vaccines, and Traditional Medicines Innovation as a policy framework for developing new control tools.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
This article provides an overview and update on the burden and distribution of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) across the ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states.
Study design
This is a descriptive overview and update article synthesizing available data on NTDs in the ASEAN region, not a primary research study reporting original empirical findings.
Population and setting
The ten ASEAN member states were covered, with emphasis on low and lower middle-income countries (Indonesia, Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia) where approximately 200 million people live in extreme poverty, as well as upper middle-income countries (Malaysia, Thailand) where NTDs persist among indigenous populations.
Main findings
The three major intestinal helminth infections are reported as the most common NTDs, each with approximately 100 million infections in the region; more than 10 million people suffer from liver or intestinal fluke infections, schistosomiasis, and lymphatic filariasis combined; dengue fever accounts for nearly 70 million annual cases; and additional NTDs including leishmaniasis, zoonotic malaria (Plasmodium knowlesi), melioidosis, leprosy, yaws, trachoma, and various arboviral infections are documented.
Public-health relevance
The article identifies urgent needs to expand surveillance activities and ensure mass drug administration for populations at risk for intestinal helminth infections, fluke infections, lymphatic filariasis, trachoma, and yaws, while referencing the ASEAN Network for Drugs, Diagnostics, Vaccines, and Traditional Medicines Innovation as a policy framework for developing new control tools.
Important limitations
This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract/metadata and requires access to the original paper for decision-grade interpretation; the abstract does not specify methodological limitations or data quality constraints of the overview.
GIDS interpretation
This article could serve as contextual background for NTD surveillance in the ASEAN region; it highlights geographic areas and disease categories (dengue, leptospirosis, melioidosis, arboviral infections) where enhanced surveillance may be warranted, but does not itself constitute surveillance data or confirm active signals.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 11 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.