Tropical Diseases Reemerge in the U.S.

According to an article at MedicalXpress, tropical diseases which were once found mainly outside the United States, are showing up right here at home.

Dr Laila Woc-Colburn of The Smith Clinic in Houston, Texas says that she is seeing a large amount of cases involving diseases such as Chagas Disease, Dengue Fever, and Chikungunya Virus, River Blindness and Cutaneous Leishmaniasis, all of which have been, in the past, relegated primarily to tropical climate locations.

Now, for half a day each week, one wing of the clinic's third floor is being used as a tropical medicine clinic, treating people who have not left the United States for years. Many diseases that were once thought to be eradicated in the U.S. with the advent of modern medicine, are continuing to see a resurgence.

"While we were calling them neglected tropical diseases, the 'tropical' part is probably a misnomer," said Peter Hotez, an infectious disease physician. "Most of the world's neglected tropical diseases are in wealthy countries."

Read more details in the Medical Xpress article here.

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