Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Acta Parasitologica https://doi.org/10.1007/s11686-021-00510-4 ORIGINAL PAPER Neglected Tropical Diseases in Lebanon Walid Alam 1,2  · Tala Mobayed 2  · Nour Younis 3  · Rana Zarif 3  · Nazih Bizri 4  · Hani Tamim 5  · Umayya Musharrafeh 6  · Abdul Rahman Bizri 7 Received: 13 April 2021 / Accepted: 9 December 2021 © The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Witold Stefański Institute of Parasitology, Polish Academy of Sciences 2022 Abstract Introduction Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are highly endemic and distributed within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, afecting an estimated 65 million people. Lebanon sufers from several NTDs as they are either endemic in the country or imported via expats residing in endemic regions, refugees, and foreign labor force. The Syrian crisis and the displacement of refugees to Lebanon have made the country the largest host of refugees per capita right after the Syrian crisis in 2011, peaking in the year of 2013. Additionally, foreign labor in Lebanon come from diferent countries in Africa and Asia that are endemic with certain NTDs. The Lebanese diaspora is approximately twice the number of those residing in the country and is distributed throughout the continents carrying the risk of importing new NTDs. Materials and Methods A descriptive study about the prevalence of NTDs in Lebanon, their distribution, and factors contrib- uting to spread was performed. The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health (LMPH) database regarding reportable transmissible diseases was reviewed for reportable NTDs between 2002 and 2020 in relation to age, gender, prevalence, and geographical distribution. The medical literature was searched using several engines looking for all reports about NTDs in Lebanon, those relevant to regions hosting Lebanese diaspora, and countries where the refugees and migrant workers came from. Results Only leishmaniasis, leprosy, echinococcosis, schistosomiasis, and rabies are mandatorily reportable NTDs by the LMPH. Additionally, case reports about fasciolosis, ascaridiosis, and Dengue were reported from Lebanon. The presence of the Syrian refugees in the country afected the prevalence of leishmaniasis and rabies. The most prevalent NTD in Lebanon is cutaneous leishmaniasis. The Lebanese diaspora reside mainly in South America, Africa, and in some Arab states known to be endemic with certain NTDs. Conclusion Little information is known about NTDs in Lebanon. The country is at an increased risk of experiencing sev- eral new NTDs due to refugee infux, foreign labor, economic crisis, and ever-growing number of Lebanese seeking work opportunities abroad. More information is needed to assess the true burden of NTDs in Lebanon and the future steps to contain and mitigate their efects. Keywords Neglected tropical diseases · Lebanon · Middle East · Lebanese Ministry of Public Health Introduction Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) represent a group of infections that are rampant among the world’s poorest popu- lations who sufer from limited resources, lack of appropri- ate medical infrastructure, and sub-standard sanitation [1]. The momentum to address NTDs has increased in the past 2 decades due to several factors including advocacy for new approaches to control and eliminate these diseases, increased commitment from pharmaceutical donors to provide drugs, renewed governments’ commitment, and the recognition that these diseases should be addressed as part of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) agenda where they are consid- ered as “other diseases” of MDG [2]. Lebanon is a small country (10,452 km 2 ) with a temper- ate climate located in the Eastern Mediterranean, bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, with a population density of 667 per km [2, 3]. Lebanon has experienced several NTDs with diferent epidemiological characteristics. Some are endemic and mandatorily report- able to the LMPH [4–8], while others are mainly imported from other countries. Though it is a small country, Lebanon * Walid Alam alamwalid94@gmail.com Extended author information available on the last page of the article