Important Tropical Diseases with Relevance for Women’s Health and Obstetrics

Three tropical diseases of particular relevance to global women’s health are malaria, schistosomiasis, and Zika. Malaria is the most important parasitic infection in humans. During pregnancy, it can have numerous negative effects on the health of the mother and child. Schistosomiasis is a tropical helminth infection. It is caused by flukes that lodge in pairs of males and females in the venous blood vessels of humans. Urogenital schistosomiasis can lead to chronic lower abdominal pain, ectopic pregnancies, and infertility, among other things. Zika is a febrile viral infection that is predominantly transmitted by mosquitoes. Zika during pregnancy can lead to severe developmental disorders of the nervous system in the child.