Worms infect more poor Americans than thought

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Reuters

Roundworms may infect close to a quarter of inner city black children, tapeworms are the leading cause of seizures among U.S. Hispanics and other parasitic diseases associated with poor countries are also affecting Americans, a U.S. expert said on Tuesday.

Recent studies show many of the poorest Americans living in the United States carry some of the same parasitic infections that affect the poor in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, said Dr. Peter Hotez, a tropical disease expert at George Washington University and editor-in-chief of the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Writing in the journal, Hotez said these parasitic infections had been ignored by most health experts in the United States.

"I feel strongly that this is such an important health issue and yet because it only affects the poor it has been ignored," Hotez said via e-mail.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN2526656920071226?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&rpc=22&sp=true

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IMHO we have definitely become third-world and have not been moving forward as we should! Another reason we need good single-payer health care. Plus better education, urban funding, and more!