In the introduction three stages are distinguished in the relation between the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and the tropics: (1) Development of a veterinary infrastructure (research and education) in the former colonies, Netherlands-Indies, Surinam and The Netherlands Antilles (1850 - ca. 1949); (2) Developing Aid Assistance (1965-2000) and (3) Cooperation on the basis of bilateral treaties that express the mutual interests of the two countries involved (1993-today). The Faculty in Utrecht entered into such alliances with sister faculties in Thailand, South-Africa and Malaysia. As a result of internal and external factors the study of tropical veterinary medicine was no longer core business of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Utrecht. Tropical veterinary medicine was incorporated in the Department of Parasitology and Tropical Veterinary Medicine. The Office for International Cooperation of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, founded in 1987, partly took over the role of the former institute. Its activities are education and information, research support of the ongoing projects and networking. The accent moved from aid to cooperation for mutual interest.
In view of the risk of introduction of yellow fever into South-East Asia, comparative studies have been made of yellow fever vaccination in Malayan volunteers with a high prevalence of antibody to related viruses and in volunteers without related antibody. In a previous paper the neutralizing antibody responses of these volunteers were reported. The present paper describes the haemagglutinin-inhibiting (HI) antibody responses of the same groups of volunteers and discusses the relationship of these responses to the neutralizing antibody responses.The HI responses to yellow fever following vaccination closely paralleled the neutralizing antibody responses whether vaccination was subcutaneous or by multiple puncture. Volunteers with a high level of YF HI antibody due to infection with other group B viruses were found to be less likely to show a significant YF HI response than those without antibody. 90% of HI responses could be detected by the 21st day after vaccination.As with neutralizing antibody responses, volunteers given vaccine doses of 50-500 mouse intracerebral LD(50) subcutaneously gave greater responses than those given higher doses.
The term 'tropical' refers to the region of the Earth lying between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Located between these equatorial parallels demarcating the Torrid Zone are several underdeveloped and developing countries: Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, southern India, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Cuba, Ethiopia, Sudan and Nigeria, to name but a few considered to be 'tropical'. The climate in most of these countries is characterized by high temperatures and high humidity. The tropical climate and general state of socio-economic underdevelopment in such countries provide an ideal environment for pathogenic organisms, their vectors and intermediate hosts to flourish. Furthermore, the cultural habits and educational background of the people living in such countries expose them to pathogens and, when these people become infected, they readily become reservoirs for, or carriers of, those organisms. Ultimately, the adverse socioeconomic conditions of underdeveloped countries impede attempts to eradicate or control tropical diseases.
Four cases of tropical myositis seen over a period of four months at the Penang General Hospital are reported here. All were young local residents in whom large amounts of pus were found deep within skeletal muscles without an obvious aetiological factor.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a rapid increase in international travel. Travel medicine is a branch of preventive medicine focusing on risk assessment pre-travel, during travel and post-travel with the aim of promoting health and preventing adverse health outcomes. Travel medicine specialists inform travelers about potential health risks and mitigate infectious disease risks such as travelers' diarrhea, yellow fever, and malaria. Travel medicine topics were popular in the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene conferences between 2016 and 2020, and now comprise approximately 2% of all presentations. Most topics related to the post-travel assessment (50%), followed by diseases contracted during travel (26%), and pre-travel assessment and consultation (24%). Our analysis of the 10 sub-domains of travel medicine issues found that malaria (26%) and immunization (12%) were represented to the greatest extent. We anticipate that both travel and tropical medicine fields will regain their popularity after recovery from the pandemic.
While the East Asia Pacific (EAP) region has experienced tremendous economic growth and development, the resulting public health gains from reductions in its neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have been less than expected due to opposing forces of urbanization, political instability, food insecurity, and climate change, together with co-morbidities with non-communicable diseases, including diabetes and hypertension. To be sure there's been progress towards the elimination of lymphatic filariasis and trachoma through mass drug administration, and there are opportunities to extend MDA to yaws and scabies, but for most of the other NTDs we'll require new biotechnologies. So far, EAP's major technology hubs in China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan have mostly failed to shift their attention towards new innovations for the NTDs, including new drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines, and vector control. Unless this situation changes the EAP could be facing a new grim reality of unhealthy megacities beset by emerging arbovirus infections, widespread antimicrobial resistance, and urban helminth infections.
This paper reviews a number of biomedical engineering approaches to help aid in the detection and treatment of tropical diseases such as dengue, malaria, cholera, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, ebola, leprosy, leishmaniasis, and American trypanosomiasis (Chagas). Many different forms of non-invasive approaches such as ultrasound, echocardiography and electrocardiography, bioelectrical impedance, optical detection, simplified and rapid serological tests such as lab-on-chip and micro-/nano-fluidic platforms and medical support systems such as artificial intelligence clinical support systems are discussed. The paper also reviewed the novel clinical diagnosis and management systems using artificial intelligence and bioelectrical impedance techniques for dengue clinical applications.