Neglected Infections of Poverty in the United States and Their Effects on the Brain

A group of neglected infections are emerging as important causes of psychiatric and mental illness among vulnerable populations living in extreme poverty in the United States. These chronic infections may partially account for the achievement gap noted among socioeconomically disadvantaged students. The neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of chronic parasitic and related infections that can last decades or even the lifetime of an individual. During this time, they produce long-lasting and debilitating effects that impair productive capacity and child development. Indeed, the NTDs have actually been shown to trap people in poverty through these adverse effects. The NTDs are not rare diseases. Quite the opposite— the NTDs are now recognized as the most common afflictions of impoverished people living in low- and middle-income countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The NTDs are also considered a major reason why the “bottom billion” (ie, the 1.3 billion) people living below the poverty level cannot escape poverty. In 2008, I identified a group of neglected parasitic