EDUCATING THE WORLD ABOUT INFECTIOUS DISEASES: LET’S START LOCALLY
James Kazura, MD, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
"We are a global world, and there are no U.S. ‘customs and border checkpoints' for infectious diseases."
James Kazura, MD, editor of The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, studies the top health issues and infectious diseases affecting people in developing countries. At the top of his list is malaria, one of the most common infectious diseases, which is responsible for the deaths of at least one million people each year, the majority of whom are children.
Although the disease is widespread in tropical and subtropical areas, and is most prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa, Kazura says Americans should be more aware of the enormous public health problem malaria presents. He explains, "The reality is that the disease still afflicts Americans; malaria is occasionally reintroduced in the United States, particularly in the South as well as border-states. Every business traveler, soldier or vacationer who travels to an area where the disease is common is at risk of getting and transmitting the disease. We are a global world, and there are no U.S. ‘customs and border checkpoints' for infectious diseases."
Yet Kazura sees a considerable lack of public awareness of the severity of malaria. "I was riding in a taxi, and the taxi driver asked about the work I do. I told him I worked on malaria, and his response echoed the response of many others in the developed world. ‘Why are you working on malaria? Nobody has malaria anymore.' This common mistake about malaria has become part of my work. Everyday I'm faced with this, yet everyday people are suffering and dying from this terrible disease."
In developing countries, malaria more often affects poor populations, and results in the inability to work or care for and provide for the family. To help reverse this, Kazura has been studying malaria in children, and those that acquire immunity to the disease. About half of the children born in malaria-stricken areas die, but those that survive form an immunity to severe malaria. Kazura is curious to know more about the relationship between their responses to the disease and their immunity, which could help lead to the development of a long-term malaria vaccine.
Kazura also discusses the importance of his research on American's health. "We are learning a great deal about pre- and early- birth immune system development, and the differences between individuals in the developing world and those in wealthier nations like the U.S. This is enhancing our understanding of childbirth, and health issues like allergy and asthma, which although are increasing health concerns here - especially among children, they are not problems found in the developing world."