ABSTRACT
The development of novel, more potent, and broad-spectrum antibiotics has opened promising horizons in the treatm ent of infection. However, over the years this issue has become increasingly challenging owing to the emergence ofresistant strains that withstand the current therapy and to a sharp decrease in the pace of new drug research and development. The situation is more concerning in the
so-called poverty-related diseases (PRDs), defined as infectious maladies of bacterial, viral, and parasitic origin that affect more than 1 billion people, mainly in low-income countries [1]. These diseases have a tremendous socioeconomic impact in the development of nations, especially those in the sub-Saharan region, that face a crisis of unprecedented consequences. Table 17.1 summarizes the most relevant PRDs classified by pathogen and describing the state-ofthe-art therapy and the morbidity and mortality rates according to statistics of the World Health Organization (WHO).
