PRESS RELEASE

 
Annals of Tropical Medicine & Parasitology publish a second special issue to mark their centennial year

Leeds, UK, 14 September 2006

In December, as a finale to the celebrations to mark the journal's centennial year, a second special issue of the Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology will be published. This collection of reviews, entitled 'Players, Pathogens and Perspectives', begins with a short overview by Herbert Gilles (Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine). Karl Rieckmann (University of Queensland) then discusses malaria control since the turn of the 20th Century and the benefits and problems associated with the newer, apparently better interventions against this disease. The second article, by Álvaro Moncayo and Mario Ortiz Yanine (Universidad de los Andes, Bogata), provides a general review of Chagas disease, including the remarkable success of several of the regional initiatives to control this disease and its vectors. The related African trypanosomiases are subsequently discussed by Ian Maudlin (Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine), who, in a thought-provoking contribution, delves into the history of the national, ideological and colonial differences that affected research, vector control and treatment across sub-Saharan Africa. 

        Echinococcosis has been the subject of thousands of articles over the last century, many of which have appeared in the Annals. In their excellent contribution, Pedro Moro and Peter Schantz (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) list the historical landmarks, and discuss the progress made, in research on, and the treatment and control of, this cestode infection. Filarial nematodes are the subject of two articles. With the problems it causes in the drug-based control of onchocerciasis, a much-neglected filarial disease, loiasis, has suddenly become a major research topic. In his review, Michel Boussinesq (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement) talks of the encouraging progress made in the epidemiology of 'occult' loiasis and in the detection of Loa loa infection. Finally, Björn Thylefors and Mary Alleman (Mectizan Donation Program) explore the progress made towards the absolute control of onchocerciasis. Although the global elimination of this disease, at least as a public-health problem, now appears within reach, the gains made so far need to be secured and expanded.

       Like Global Health Concerns (the special issue published in July), Players, Pathogens and Perspectives, with its updates, historical reviews and forecasts for the future, is more book than journal. It is a highly readable and informative collection of articles that are enlivened by the personal views of their authors. 

To view the table of contents please click here

For further information about Annals of Tropical Medicine & Parasitology, including details of the international editorial board, subscriptions information, and submission instructions, please visit: www.maney.co.uk/journals/atmp