New Pope will need to consider burden of NTDs

"Almost certainly, in its deliberations [to select a new Pope,] the conclave of cardinals will consider a number of difficult and well-publicized problems now facing the Catholic Church," Peter Hotez, co-editor in chief of PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, writes in the journal's "Speaking of Medicine" blog. "However, one issue I have not seen mentioned in the press is one I first wrote about in 2011 -- namely a huge burden of disease and poverty facing some of the world's Catholic-majority countries, especially from the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)," he continues, adding, "The new Pope will need to consider a hidden burden of NTDs, especially soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, and Chagas disease now affecting the world's 1.2 billion Catholics" (3/12).