[Editorial] Neglected tropical diseases: no longer someone else`s problem (Lancet Infectious Diseases)

Neglected tropical diseases were once thought to be restricted to developing countries, largely because climate and inadequate health infrastructures allow the organisms and their vectors to thrive. However, at the beginning of September, Japan reported its first outbreak of dengue since 1945. And over the past year, autochthonous chikungunya has been spreading through the Caribbean reaching mainland USA in July. These worrying developments show that it might be time to reassess the old ideas about the distribution of these diseases.