Of Flies & Bearded Ladies

I recently finished a microbiology course. In one of the lectures, we were learning about diseases caused by Protozoans. The professor made a passing statement that may have seemed altogether trivial and insignificant to the other 120 students trying to stay awake at 8:30 on a Thursday morning. The tsetse fly causes a very serious disease called African trypanosomiasis, aka "sleeping sickness". Ever had it? I doubt it, unless you grew up in Africa. It is estimated that up to 500 million people are affected by this disease. Their prognosis? Poor. But there is good news! There is a drug nicknamed the "resurrection drug". It is extremely effective. Then the professor's passing comment burst my happy bubble. "The drug companies don't make this drug anymore because the people who need it can't afford to buy it." I don't remember anything else from that lecture. I have been angry ever since.

I took some time to research this, hoping he was wrong. Aventa is the drug company responsible for this drug. They discontinued it in 1995 because "it was not profitable". Apparently, the 500 million people with the disease is irrelevant. Oh yeah, it's Africa. They don't count. In this moment I am ashamed to call myself a member of the human race. I am incensed. I am angry. And I feel helpless.

But the story becomes even more ridiculous. In recent times, the drug has made it back into production. Apparently the drug lords discovered a profit. This same drug inhibits growth of facial hair in women. You can purchase it in a topical cream. Warning: The contents of this tube will not help you if you have sleeping sickness.