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Epidemiology Congress 2018 & Tropical Medicine Congress 2018
Archives of General Internal Medicine
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ISSN: 2591-7951
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Volume 2
&
TROPICAL MEDICINE, INFECTIOUS DISEASES & PUBLIC HEALTH
International Conference on
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PUBLIC HEALTH
World Congress on
Joint Event on
OF EXCELLENCE
IN INTERNATIONAL
MEETINGS
alliedacademies.comYEARS
Ahmed Tayeh, Arch Gen Intern Med 2018, Volume 2 | DOI: 10.4066/2591-7951-C7-019
IT IS HARD TO ERADICATE DISEASES
D
iseases are difficult to eradicate although eradication is the most effec-
tive strategy to get rid of them forever. The only two diseases that have
been eradicated so far are smallpox for humans in 1980 and rinderpest for
animals in 2011. Dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease) and polio eradication
were initiated in 1986 and 1988 respectively, and both have made remarkable
progress, yet both have lagged behind and missed several target dates for
eradication in spite of the fact that tremendous efforts and resources have
been utilized.
In 2017, only two countries were endemic with dracunculiasis, Chad and Ethi-
opia, both with 15 cases each. But the number of cases has stagnated for the
last four years, perhaps due to the surprising fact that dogs were infected and
used as paratenic or transport host. In the same year, polio was reported in
Pakistan (8 cases) and Afghanistan (14 cases). The main challenge for polio
is the continued circulation of vaccine-derived poliovirus in populations with
low immunity, which evolves into a stronger virus and causing paralytic cas-
es. Most other eradication challenges are related to a lack of infrastructure,
insecurity and civil unrest, managing human resources and other problems
specific for each country and locality. However, given the low number of cases
remaining and the tremendous resources utilized, both diseases will disap-
pear soon.
Once an eradication programme is initiated, it is absurd to abandon it when
a large investment will be lost and the number of cases will start to increase.
It is therefore important to not initiate such eradication programmes before
thoroughly studying its feasibility, time frame, and financial and other resourc-
es needed.
Biography
Ahmed Tayeh is a graduate from London School
of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine with MSc and
PhD (1992), where he was trained in public health
and epidemiology. He joined UNICEF in 1980 and
worked for more than 10 years in several countries
including Yemen, Sudan and North Korea in pri-
mary health care, rural water supply and environ-
mental Sanitation and hygiene promotion. He led
the first nutrition and MICS survey in North Korea
in 1998. He worked in collaboration with WHO and
the Syrian Ministry of Health in a cutaneous leish-
maniasis control trial using pyrethrin-impregnated
bed nets in villages near Aleppo, Syria during 1994-
1996. He led a study, in collaboration with Universi-
ty of Toronto, on the health status of Arab commu-
nity and their access to health services in Canada.
From 2000, he led the Dracunculiasis Eradication
Programme in the World Health Organization,
Geneva, in coordinating with partners including
UNICEF, The Carter Center and Ministries of health
in 20 endemic countries as well as donors like the
Gates Foundation, DIFD, and other partners. He
has published several papers about dracunculiasis
eradication and other diseases.
ahmed_tayeh@yahoo.comAhmed Tayeh
World Health Organization, Switzerland