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Tuberculosis is a serious infectious disease that affects over nine million people each year. The disease is spread by airborne droplets, which arise in the infected lungs of tuberculosis patients. Despite widespread availability of treatment with effective antibiotic therapies, the disease remains common in many resource limited settings. This review ...

Filariasis affects about 120 million people in more than 80 countries and is spread by mosquitoes. Adult worms take up residence in lymph channels and when paired, produce larvae that circulate in the blood. The adult worms can live in the lymph system for five years or more. The infection can cause severe disability, due to massive enlargement of limbs, ...

Using a pilot system we have categorised this review as: Historical question - no update intended. Please see "Published notes" section of the review for more details. Since 2001, the World Health Organization has recommended that antimalarial drug combinations be used for  uncomplicated falciparum malaria and that monotherapy should no longer be used.

If people eat eggs from the pork tapeworm (Taenia solium), these eggs can move from the gut and then lodge in different tissues of the body forming cysts. When these cysts form in the brain, this is called neurocysticercosis. Some people may have no symptoms if this happens, but others may suffer from seizures, headaches, or more rarely from confusion, ...

Amoebic colitis is caused by the parasite Entamoeba histolytica. This protozoan is distributed throughout the world and is commonly acquired by ingestion of contaminated food or water. It is estimated that about 40 to 50 million people infected with E. histolytica develop amoebic colitis or extraintestinal abscesses, which result in up to 100,000 deaths ...

Shigellosis is a bacterial infection of the colon that can cause diarrhoea, dysentery (diarrhoea with blood and/or mucus) and may lead to death. It occurs mainly in low- and middle-income countries where overcrowding and poor sanitation exist, and may lead to around 1.1 million deaths per year globally, mostly in children under five years. The intention ...

Diarrhoea is a common problem for travellers, particularly travellers going from developed to less developed nations. The illness is frequently caused by a bacterial infection. Although the illness is unlikely to result in death, diarrhoea can disrupt travel plans and lead to severe or incapacitating symptoms. The review showed that antibiotic treatment ...

Plain language summary pending.

Scrub typhus is transmitted by chiggers (mites), is a bacterial infection and causes fever and a typical sore on the skin, and is common in the western Pacific region and many parts of Asia, particularly in agricultural workers and travellers in areas where the disease is common, particularly people camping, rafting, or trekking . This review summarize ...

Plain language summary pending.