Although neglected tropical diseases don’t often make headline news, they infect an estimated one in seven individuals on Earth, spreading crippling, painful, and often deadly results wherever they go. In a recent YouTube video, the team at In A Nutshell explored the world of NTDs, explaining both their impact on humanity, and our efforts to wipe them off the map.

According to In A Nutshell, NTDs can be caused by worms, amoebas, bacteria, or viruses, and their list of symptoms are as diverse as their methods of transmission. One thing that these ailments all have in common is their tendency to attack humans in the most isolated communities, and most are as horrific as they sound.

For example, Dracunculiasis is a worm individuals can contract through drinking contaminated water. The worm will only become visible once it emerges from the leg in a painful sore. Once this occurs, the only way to treat the infestation is to remove the worm, something that can take several months and is agonizing.

Read :Hookworm Infections vs Dengue: What You Should Know

Along with their gruesome symptoms and preference for isolated communities, most NTDs are completely preventable and/or curable. For example, recent efforts to wipe Dracunculiasis off the globe has resulted in the elimination of 99.9 percent of these worms. For example, according to In A Nutshell, in 1986 there were about 3.5 million cases of Dracunculiasis infections, and in 2015, there were only 22.

Dracunculiasis is not the only NTD we are working to eliminate. In fact, there is currently an international effort to completely wipe out 10 of these horrible NTDs. The efforts involve producing, transporting, and distributing medication to every single at-risk individual to ensure that in the near-future, no one will have to suffer from their horrible wrath ever again.

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