New Pope Should Consider ‘Hidden Burden’ Of NTDs

“Almost certainly, in its deliberations [to select a new Pope,] the conclave of cardinals will consider a number of difficult and well-publicized problems now facing the Catholic Church,” Peter Hotez, co-editor in chief of PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, writes in the journal’s “Speaking of Medicine” blog. “However, one issue I have not seen mentioned in the press is one I first wrote about in 2011 — namely a huge burden of disease and poverty facing some of the world’s Catholic-majority countries, especially from the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs),” he continues, adding, “The new Pope will need to consider a hidden burden of NTDs, especially soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, and Chagas disease now affecting the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics” (3/12)

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

KFF Headquarters: 185 Berry St., Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94107 | Phone 650-854-9400
Washington Offices and Barbara Jordan Conference Center: 1330 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 | Phone 202-347-5270

www.kff.org | Email Alerts: kff.org/email | facebook.com/KFF | twitter.com/kff

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news, KFF is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.