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Chagas Disease

Chagas disease, also called American trypanosomiasis, is a parasitic disease that through chronic infection causes damage to the nervous system, digestive tract, and the heart. Humans contract the disease when the infected feces of the insect vector enter the body, typically by scratching the insect bite.
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Cholera

Cholera is an acute bacterial intestinal infection with a short incubation period, typically one to five days. Cholera causes watery diarrhea and vomiting that can lead to severe dehydration and death in less than 24 hours if not treated promptly. In areas where cholera is endemic, the disease mainly affects children.
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Dengue Fever

Dengue fever (DF) is a viral, mosquito-borne disease that can cause severe, flu-like symptoms with high fever and extreme muscle and joint pain. Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), a more dangerous form of the disease associated with increased blood vessel permeability, can be fatal.
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Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC)

Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), a virulent strain of the bacterium Escherichia coli, is a major cause of severe diarrhea leading to hospitalization. Infection by this bacterium is a leading killer of children in the developing world.
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Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT)

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness, is caused by a single-celled parasitic protozoan called a trypanosome and is transmitted by tsetse flies. The disease progresses from fever and fatigue to severe neurological conditions. Untreated HAT results in death.
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Human Hookworm Infection

Human hookworm infection is a parasitic disease caused by soil-dwelling nematodes. Whereas light infections may be asymptomatic, heavy infections may cause anemia, diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, and loss of appetite.
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Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

HIV is a retrovirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a syndrome characterized by progressive deterioration of the immune system. HIV/AIDS patients are at risk for opportunistic infections because of their diminished immune function, which may eventually lead to their death.
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Japanese Encephalitis (JE)

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes that causes fever and flu-like symptoms.  It is the leading cause of viral encephalitis and neurological infection in
Asia.
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Leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis is a widespread parasitic disease that affects roughly 12 million people worldwide.  There is currently no vaccine, and better drugs and diagnostics are badly needed.
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Lymphatic filariasis (LF)

Lymphatic filariasis (LF), also known as elephantiasis effects more than 120 million people. It is caused by parasitic worms and leads to severe disfigurement of the extremities.
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Malaria

Malaria is a parasitic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes.  Half of the world’s population is at risk for malaria.
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Pneumococcal Disease

Pneumococcal disease is estimated to be responsible for the deaths of nearly 1 million children under the age of five, 90 percent of whom live in the developing world.
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Rotavirus Gastroenteritis

Rotavirus gastroenteritis is a viral infection predominantly affecting infants and young children that causes severe diarrhea, vomiting, and fever. Because of the rapid dehydration that results from the combination of diarrhea and vomiting, the disease can be fatal.
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Schistosomiasis

Parasitic worms that infect blood vessels cause schistosomiasis. Symptoms of early infection include blood in urine or stool, and over time the infection leads to urinary tract or liver damage. Death can result from bladder cancer or from an internal hemorrhage.
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Shigellosis

Shigellosis is an infection by bacteria of the genus Shigella that causes severe abdominal symptoms, including diarrhea, dysentery, abdominal cramps, fever, and rectal pain. Shigellosis can result in death. The disease is more dangerous than other gut pathogens because it can penetrate the lining of the intestine and cause severe inflammation of the intestine and systemic complications.
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Tuberculosis (TB)

Tuberculosis (TB) is a pandemic bacterial disease that most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB). In otherwise healthy individuals, most infections are latent and therefore asymptomatic. About 10 percent of people infected with TB will develop disease. In immunocompromised patients such as those with HIV, active TB disease is extremely common.