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Japan is not a country immediately associated with the word ‘tropical’. Yet this highly developed nation is focusing its world class scientific knowledge and technological capabilities on the research and development of treatments for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Neglected tropical diseases are a group of 20 illnesses, including rabies, Chagas disease, dengue fever, and leishmaniasis, that are most prevalent in the world’s tropical regions, and disproportionately impact impoverished communities, women, and children.
Researchers from Gunma University in Japan are working with colleagues in El Salvador to tackle the parasitic agent behind a neglected tropical disease.