Neglected tropical diseases: scientists bridge the gap between innovation and practice

Clinical innovation is essential in order to tackle neglected tropical diseases, which threaten one billion people worldwide. A group of international scientists has published a guide for clinical studies in difficult field circumstances in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. NIDIAG is an EU-funded consortium of scientists from 13 institutes including Swiss TPH and universities in Europe, Africa and Asia. Over the past six years, NIDIAG has tried to bridge the gap between innovation and practice in the diagnosis of neglected tropical diseases. The scientists have now published a set of seven articles in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases , which describe the specific challenges, propose solutions and provide working documents for implementing quality assured clinical research into neglected tropical diseases. One billion people are threatened by neglected tropical diseases Neglected tropical diseases still cause suffering and death, often in vulnerable population groups or in remote areas. In total, more than one billion people are affected globally.