A new report has found that religious leaders should use the sway they have over their flocks to help stamp out Neglected Tropical Diseases. These are a group of tropical infectious diseases, such as soil-transmitted helminthiasis, rabies and dengue fever, that affect about 1.4 billion people across the world in mostly impoverished areas.In his research Peter Hotez, of Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, said that the latest information from the World Health Organisation showed that "practically everyone infected with a major NTD lives in a Christian-, Muslim-, or Hindu-majority nation".Because of this, he said, "the finding has implications for engaging religious leaders in NTD control and elimination activities" adding that "helminth infections [different types of infections caused by worms in the body] are holding back the health and economic development of... developing nations".Commenting on the findings, the Henry J Kaizer Family Foundation said "at the local level, religious leaders in churches, mosques, and temples could have important roles in raising awareness about NTDs and their health impact and could even promote indigenous control and elimination efforts"...