Enfermedades Tropicales "Olvidadas"

enfermedadesViewpoint

The Role of Medical Students in the Fight to Control
Neglected Tropical Diseases: A View from Peru
Javier Villafuerte-Galvez1, Walter H. Curioso2,3,4*, J. Jaime Miranda3,5*
1 Scientific Society of Medical Students (‘‘SOCEMCH’’), ‘‘Alberto Hurtado’’ School of Medicine, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru, 2 School of Medicine,
Universidad Peruana CayetanoHeredia, Lima, Peru, 3 School of Public Health and Administration, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru, 4 Department of
Medical Education and Biomedical Informatics, School of Medicine, University of Washington Seattle, Washington, United States of America, 5 Department of
Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United KingdomIntroduction
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) is a
term that might not ring a bell among the
majority of our fellow medical students. The
World Health Organization (WHO) defines
NTDs through a list of 15 diseases, all of
them infectious, ancient, and debilitating
[1]. Despite vast consensus on which are and
which are not considered NTDs, the precise
inclusion criteria are as hard todefine as
global health [2]. Nevertheless, we believe
that three basic features that characterize
NTDs are high burden of disease in certain
specific contexts, neglected from prevention
and control—including drug development,
and long-term impairment among those
suffering from them. Neglect is the central
idea, because not only do these diseases
sicken the historically neglected populations,but they also have long been neglected from
the axis of research, innovation, and production. The objective of this essay is to
describe and promote training opportunities
on NTDs to medical students, especially in
Peru and Latin America. We will describe
two medical student organizations and how
they are organized to address NTDs.
Finally, we will suggest three methods—
curriculum,research, and information dissemination—of raising awareness of NTDs
among medical students in Peru.
Defining the NTDs through globally applicable and locally sensible criteria, instead of
a rigid pre-specified list, could eventually improve the struggle against them. In this effort,
medical students should play an important
role. The Peruvian National Institute of
Health, by establishinglong-neglected diseases specific to Peru—such as Carrion
´
disease due to Bartonella bacilliformis [3] and
hydatidosis [4]—as national public health
priorities for research, has shown the imperative of the need for a local NTD agenda [5].

How Are Medical Students
Contributing to the Fight
against NTDs?
Medical students worldwide have been
exposed to NTDs in different ways. In
www.plosntds.orgPeru, from the WHO’s list of the main 15
NTDs, some of them could be deemed
familiar to the medical students, i.e.,
trachoma, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease,
soil-transmitted helminths, and leprosy. In
addition, medical students who took part
in extracurricular clinical, research, or
community activities might be exposed to
cholera/epidemic diarrheal diseases and
dengue/denguehemorrhagic fever.
Some of the NTD-related activities
where medical students have been involved worldwide and, specifically in Peru,
include the following:
The role of medical students’ organizations. The IFMSA model. The

International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) has been
organizing projects and workshops, establishing networks, and promoting medical
students’ exchangesfor many years. Most
of these activities are related to global
health issues (including NTDs). The organization is run entirely by the students
themselves, including all the necessary
fundraising. Revealing a strong desire to
improve global health, some students have
actively sought training to understand and
participate in the international debate [6].
In Peru, the Medical Students’...