The December 2025 issue of the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine (YJBM) on Neglected Tropical Diseases and Parasites has been published on PubMed Central (PMC). This issue features articles on the variety of understudied infections that primarily impact people in low-income countries.
We highlight four papers in the issue that explore the health burden of neglected diseases and parasites in marginalized communities.
First, an original contribution by Laura D. Chaparro-Ortega (Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia) et. al. examines how genetic factors may influence bacterial resistance to Heliobacter pylori.
Next, a review by Ricardo Andrade Barata (Universidade Federal dos Vales dos Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil) hypothesizes the possible involvement of Lutzomyia lenti in the leishmaniasis transmission cycle. As urban areas in Brazil are undergoing geographical and environmental shifts, the vector ecology of leishmaniasis is changing.
A perspectives piece by A Shamema and Praveen Kumar (Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India) highlights the physical, psychological, and socioeconomic suffering of those with lymphatic filariasis infection. They suggest that mass drug administration is not enough to alleviate disease burden, but governing bodies must also consider psychological support and gender-based interventions.
Last, a case report by Percy J Vásquez-Paredes (Santo Tomás, EsSalud, Cusco, Peru) presents the possible alternative of using oral ketoconazole as a salvage therapy for a leishmaniasis infection due to a supply-chain crisis in 2024 rather than a standard pentavalent antimonial.
Read the entire YJBM archive for free on PMC. The YJBM is open-access for all.
Deputy Editors of this issue: Jack Carew (PhD Candidate, Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health) and Ashleigh Smirnov (Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University); Editors-in-Chief: Charlotte Godfrey (Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, Yale University) and Aden Alemayhu (Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, Yale University); Managing Editor, Hayley Serpa (Program in the History of Science and Medicine, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Yale University).