Archive for category: Disease

Information and news about disease category

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Diarrheal Disease Has More Power Than It Should

Diarrheal disease
Clean drinking water, easy access to sanitization and access to decent healthcare are all things that most developed countries can rely on. In developing nations however, diarrheal disease has more power than it should.

Combatting Diarrhea

Globally, children under the age of five die every two minutes as a result of diarrhea, an occurrence that adds up to 500,000 child deaths a year. In Bangladesh however, a new hope has developed for any child struggling with diarrhea. Recently, the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) is the only diarrheal hospital in world, whose cure treats 220,000 patients a year.

The birthplace of cholera – one of the biggest and deadliest causes of diarrhea – Bangladesh sadly has too much experience and little success in dealing with diarrheal disease. The truth is diarrhea is the symptom of an infection not a disease itself. In fact, 20 percent of the patients who come in to the ICDDR,B clinic in Dhaka suffer from cholera.

Most deaths from diarrhea occur among children less than 2 years of age in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Thankfully, from 2000 to 2016, the total number of deaths from diarrhea of children under 5 decreased by 60 percent.

Making Treatment Accessible

Accessibility of treatments to all children, especially in poor, rural and marginalized populations, could save the lives of hundreds of thousands of children each year. The process has proved to be cost-effective, affordable and straightforward to implement.

Over 40 percent of children under the age of 5 with diarrhea receive the recommended treatment of oral rehydration therapy and continued feeding. However, coverage of this treatment package is lowest in the Middle East and North Africa (34 percent), South Asia (37 percent) and sub-Saharan Africa (39 percent). Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are the regions with the most deaths from diarrheal disease.

Disease to Mortality

Diarrheal disease is a detrimental cause of child mortality in the world that stems from contaminated food and water sources. Globally, 780 million individuals don’t have access to improved drinking water and 2.5 billion people lack proper sanitation.

In the lowest income countries, children under three experience an average of three episodes of diarrhea every year. Each time deprives them of much of the nutrition necessary for growth. Diarrheal disease has more power than it should, especially with prevention and treatment so readily available.

Steps For Diarrhea Prevention

  • Access to safe drinking-water
  • Use of improved sanitation
  • Hand-washing with soap
  • Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life
  • Good personal and food hygiene
  • Health education about how infections spread
  • Rotavirus vaccination.

Diarrhea Treatments

  • Rehydration: Oral rehydration salts (ORS) solution is a mixture of clean water, salt and sugar. It costs a few cents per treatment, and is absorbed in the small intestine to replace water and electrolytes lost in feces.
  • Zinc supplements: Zinc supplements reduce the duration of a diarrhea episode by 25 percent and are associated with a 30 percent reduction in stool volume.
  • Rehydration: Rehydration is essential, especially with intravenous fluids in case of severe dehydration or shock.
  • Nutrient-Rich foods: The vicious circle of malnutrition and diarrhea can be broken by continuing to give nutrient-rich foods – including breast milk – during an episode, and by giving a nutritious diet – including exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life – to children when they are well.
  • Consulting a health professional: In particular for management of persistent diarrhea or when there is blood in stool or  signs of dehydration.

No one should have to suffer from poverty, least of all children. Hunger, fear and disease are big parts of poverty that can fortunately change, especially when one knows tools and procedures are available to help.

– Gustavo Lomas
Photo: Flickr

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Understanding the Critical Effects of Yellow Fever

Understanding the critical effects of yellow fever
Many diseases still roam the Earth carrying deadly potential. One such disease is yellow fever. Understanding the critical effects of yellow fever is the best way to make progress in working to eradicate the disease.

Yellow fever is beginning to make a comeback in Nigeria and Brazil as both countries are seeing threats of the disease in urban areas. There was a spike in the disease in the 2000s in Africa and the Americas, which put 40 countries on the high-risk list. In 2016, yellow fever outbreaks were only contained when a mass vaccination drive reached the 30 million people most greatly affected.

What is Yellow Fever?

Yellow fever is an African mosquito-borne infection of primates. In its natural habitat, it’s transmitted between monkeys via forest-dwelling Aedes mosquitoes. The virus was introduced to the Americas through the slave trade and it is now enzootic in forest habitats.

Humans can be infected with yellow fever after spending time in a forest and then infect others through human-to-human transmissions. Yellow fever can cause a spectrum of symptoms across the board ranging from mild to fatal. It’s especially important to begin understanding the critical effects of yellow fever.

In some clinical cases, a sudden onset of fever with a severe headache, arthralgia and muscle pains happen first, followed by jaundice, which may appear on the third day. Jaundice usually indicates a poor prognosis. Transaminase elevations are also prognostic, and in severe cases, there may be spontaneous hemorrhage, renal failure, delirium, coma and death. Mortality of clinical cases can be as high as 80 percent.

Disease Prevention & Treatment

For half a century, a safe, effective and inexpensive vaccine known as YF 17D was used to beat yellow fever. Unfortunately, few countries implement routine vaccination and YF 17D requires more than one dose to have lasting effects.

Vaccination comes with a certificate but a routine of shots is required for the duration of one’s life. Although the vaccine doesn’t last the lifetime, the certificate of vaccination against yellow fever is valid for the life of the person vaccinated, beginning 10 days after the date of vaccination.

Many preventative measures exist but once contracted, there is no sure cure for yellow fever. Supportive therapy is the only option but the use of antivirals is an active field of research. Those who have contracted the disease must avoid aspirin and other anticoagulants as it increases the risk of bleeding. This is an example of why it’s important to understand the critical effects of yellow fever.

Understanding the Critical Effects of Yellow Fever

The current yellow fever outbreak in Nigeria began in Ifelodun, Kwara State in Western Nigeria in September 2017. By January 2018, a total of 358 suspected cases had been reported in 16 states, with 45 deaths. In late 2017, Nigeria aimed to quickly contain an emergency outbreak by vaccinating more than three million people.

The yellow fever virus continues to circulate where people remain largely unprotected. An immunization has been put in place as part of the continued efforts to eliminate yellow fever globally by 2026.

Brazil’s Ministry of Health reported that between July 1, 2017, and Jan. 23, 2018, 130 cases of yellow fever were confirmed in the country, of which 53 resulted in death. One-year earlier in the same time frame, there were 381 confirmed cases and 127 deaths were reported. Since 2017, Brazil’s Ministry of Health has provided some 57.4 million doses of the yellow fever vaccine.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization have provided wide-ranging support to the Brazilian government in responding to yellow fever outbreaks by:

  • Supplying the yellow fever vaccine
  • Purchasing syringes through the PAHO Revolving Fund
  • Adhering to recommendations based on the best available scientific evidence
  • Acquiring special vaccination cards for fractional doses that ensure more people can have the vaccine and the doses can last longer (as used in the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
  • Working in the field alongside the national and local authorities

This year, helpers traveled to Minas Gerais to assist with the identification of yellow fever outbreaks in monkeys. These efforts of the national and state health authorities help them to better understand the circulation of the yellow fever virus while also serving as a reminder to further vaccination strategies.

Yellow fever has no limitations on the people it affects and is limitless in its reach. The first step in the fight against this disease is understanding the critical effects of yellow fever. Only then can it be abolished worldwide.

– Gustavo Lomas
Photo: Flickr

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How is Congress Fighting Neglected Tropical Diseases?

Fighting Neglected Tropical Diseases
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of diseases such as Dengue fever, rabies, hookworm and sleeping sickness that collectively affect more than one billion people around the globe. These diseases are crippling, but very often preventable and treatable. The world stands to gain a great deal from even moderate investment into fighting neglected tropical diseases.

Impact of NTDs

Neglected tropical diseases are widespread in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and South America. They disproportionately affect the world’s poor and make it even harder for these people to climb out of poverty.

These diseases collectively kill hundreds of thousands of people each year and they significantly harm hundreds of millions more. NTDs can lead to sickness, deformities and even blindness. Infected children are also at risk of malnutrition and stunted growth.

These symptoms cause more than personal suffering; they also threaten the long-term development of entire communities. Adults afflicted by these diseases are often unable to work or care for their families and may become socially isolated. Affected children are often unable to regularly attend school to learn the skills they need to help themselves and their communities.

Taken together, the effects of neglected tropical diseases add up to billions of dollars in lost productivity. Those losses are hard to absorb for these already-impoverished areas.

Effectiveness of Treatments

The good news is that fighting neglected tropical diseases is easier, cheaper and more efficient than dealing with many other widespread health issues. These diseases are preventable and some, like river blindness, are treatable with currently available drugs.

Since several of these diseases are often concentrated in a single area, effective treatment of one often helps with others as well. Several of the most effective drugs are also available for free as donations from their developers. It is likely that half a billion people suffering from these diseases could be treated for less than $400 million.

With this in mind, there is a very real chance that the impact of neglected tropical diseases could be severely reduced within a generation. The World Health Organization even has a goal to completely eradicate two or more by 2020. To achieve this goal, though, it is likely that the international community will have to make a greater commitment to cooperate in fighting neglected tropical diseases.

U.S. Response to Fighting Neglected Tropical Diseases

In recent years, U.S. efforts to support researching and treating neglected tropical diseases have amounted to little more than treading water. Congress has had to renew support for existing research centers on a yearly basis since long-term authorization ended in 2009. This may be changing soon, however.

In November, the End Neglected Tropical Diseases Act was sent out of committee to be considered by the full House of Representatives. While it is still in a relatively early stage, the bill has already been cosponsored by representatives from both parties.  

If implemented, the bill would protect current research funding and keep Congress more directly informed about neglected tropical diseases. It would also shift U.S. policy into directly supporting the international effort against them. Specifically, U.S. representatives at the U.N. and World Bank would be instructed to promote researching, monitoring and fighting neglected tropical diseases.

While the bill does not allocate a great deal of money for the problem (the CBO estimates that the bill will cost only $14 million over five years), the End Neglected Tropical Diseases Act would be the first step in years toward more directly involving the U.S. in this crucial global health issue. With continued U.S. and international efforts, these diseases may no longer be so neglected.

– Josh Henreckson
Photo: Flickr

New Methods of Preventing Disease in Ethiopia

Disease in EthiopiaAs of 2018, Ethiopia has a population of over 107 million people. The country also boasts the highest livestock population in Africa, with around 52 million cattle and 36 million sheep. With nearly 80 percent of Ethiopia’s people dependent on livestock for income and sustenance, they are in constant contact with these animals. This puts them at high risk of contracting zoonotic diseases. In order to prioritize and prevent disease in Ethiopia, the United States CDC developed a semi-quantitative tool and held a workshop to identify the biggest concerns for human and animal health.

High-Risk Diseases

Forty-three contractible zoonotic diseases were evaluated at this workshop. Criteria were based on the severity of a disease in humans and the proportion of human disease based on animal exposure. The five diseases that were identified as having the highest need for prevention were rabies, anthrax, brucellosis, leptospirosis and echinococcosis. The goal of this workshop was to focus on better prevention and control strategies and to create programs that will better prepare the population to prevent diseases in Ethiopia.

Along with facing a higher risk of contracting zoonotic diseases than other countries in Africa, Ethiopia also experiences high risks of other deadly illnesses, such as malaria and AIDS. As of 2016, diarrheal diseases and lower respiratory infections cause the most deaths in Ethiopian children. With water sometimes being hard to access, due to a massive drought starting in 2011, the citizens are forced to drink water that can carry many kinds of life-threatening bacteria.

Preventing Disease in Ethiopia

Handicap International is doing its part to lessen the spread of disease in Ethiopia by providing clean water. They currently have placed three underwater storage tanks in Ethiopia that fill up with water during the rainy seasons which provide clean drinking water when rain is less abundant. Each tank can provide water for 1,500 people for almost two months.

Handicap International also provides training to health workers and citizens in Ethiopia. When people are more educated about the causes and effects of diseases, they are more capable of doing things to prevent contraction and spread. Along with training, the organization also distributes hygiene kits to various facilities.

The United States CDC is also working closely with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health to implement a stronger HIV program in the country. With a data-driven approach, they are finding more effective ways of counseling and informing the people of Ethiopia, along with creating more appropriate testing strategies.

With so many possible ways of contracting a disease in Ethiopia, it’s no wonder that many organizations have made prevention and education a priority. Because the citizens of Ethiopia rely so much on livestock, they have a much higher risk of disease than many other countries. By providing them with clean water and the opportunity to learn how to prevent the spread of disease, they are on the fast track to higher mortality rates and less illness.

– Allisa Rumreich
Photo: Flickr

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Ghana Eradicated Trachoma, a Disease That Left Millions Blind

Ghana Eradicated Trachoma, a Disease That Left Millions Blind
On June 13, 2018 the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that trachoma, an infectious and painful disease of the eye that may potentially lead to blindness, is no longer a public health concern in Ghana.

Trachoma and Ghana

Ghana sits on West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea and is a home to 28 million people — 2.8 (or 15 percent) of which were at risk of trachoma in 2000. The WHO attributes the success to a collective effort between local and regional communities and international collaboration.

Trachoma is caused by Chlamydia bacterium and is spread by flies, a lack of sanitation and lack of access to clean water. When a person has the disease, the inside of the eyelids become scarred and curl inwards, causing the lashes to scrape against the lens of the eye, eventually destroying it if left untreated.

The disease was once common in the west, but has since been reduced to areas of the world where people do not have the resources to fend off the disease, usually attacking the world’s poor and leaving them unable to properly carry out their daily tasks.

Trachoma of the Past, Present and Future

Often described as a sensation of “thorns” in the eyes, trachoma is an extremely uncomfortable and serious disease. The disease is ancient, and dates as far back as the time of the pharaohs and ancient Greeks and Romans. Even prominent figures across ancient history such as St. Paul, Cicero, Horace and Galileo were believed to have suffered from the disease.

In 2000, the Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service put in place a national Trachoma Elimination Program. This program involved putting the Surgery for Trichiasis, Antibiotics to Ward Off Infection (SAFE) strategy into action.

Surgery for trichiasis, the condition in which the eyelashes grow inward, was provided free of charge for more than 6,000 patients, and the pharmaceutical company Pfizer donated 3.3 million doses of Zithromax antibiotics to help avoid infection.

Pfizer also has plans to continue to donate Zithromax globally to help other trachoma-endemic countries. The importance of hygiene and facial cleanliness was promoted throughout the community during events, school health education and radio messages — while Ghana’s Community Water and Sanitation Agency worked towards environmental improvements.

Number Seven, Ghana

Ghana is the seventh country to have officially wiped out the disease, along with Oman, Morocco, Mexico, Cambodia, Laos and Nepal — and it is the only sub-saharan African country to have done so. In spite of this brilliant success, up to 200 million people are still at risk of contracting trachoma in 41 countries, many of which are on the African continent.

Experts are hopeful for the future eradication of the disease considering the ways in which Ghana eradicated trachoma. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed his optimism saying, “Although there’s more work to do elsewhere, the validation of elimination in Ghana allows another previously heavily-endemic country to celebrate significant success.”

– Camille Wilson

Photo: Flickr

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Critical Global Issues That Require Immediate Attention

Critical Global Issues
Global issues can be defined as any social, economic, political and environmental issues that affect the world in a catastrophic way. Living in the current world certainly has its uncertainties and challenges. There are numerous critical global issues that need immediate attention. Although progress toward solving them is being made, it is rather slow.

Five Critical Global Issues

  1. Biosecurity: Biosecurity refers to the measures taken to reduce the spread or introduction of infectious diseases in animals, plants and human beings. The goal of biosecurity is to prevent various biological risk factors whether natural, accidental or man-made. These risk factors have the potential to cause mass destruction, killing millions of people and causing huge economic loss and instability.
  2. Promoting Effective Altruism: Effective altruism can be described as various ways to benefit others as much as possible using one’s own resources. It involves devoting all kinds of altruistic behavior like time, money, energy and attention to people’s well-being. The four main focus areas of effective altruism are poverty reduction, meta effective altruism, the far future and animal suffering.Charity is one of the many ways to promote effective altruism. In the United States alone, there are about one million charities receiving a total of approximately $200 billion a year. Also, it is not necessary to be a millionaire to be effectively altruistic; even the smallest donation can make a difference in the grand scheme of things.
  3. Social Hostility: Social hostility can also be referred to as conflicts or wars caused due to intolerance and discrimination against others’ beliefs. In the present world, violence and discrimination have reached new heights in almost all regions of the world. Religious conflicts are seen to be strongly prevalent in one-third of the world’s 198 countries and territories. The countries ranking high for such conflicts are Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Somalia and Israel.
  4. Destruction of Nature: Humans’ destruction of nature is taking a major toll on the world. Deforestation, done for various reasons like farming, cattle grazing, expanding cities and building dams, has caused environmental degradation and climate change. Deforestation has also led to losing 18.7 million acres of forests every year, which equals to 27 soccer fields a minute.Trees help absorb carbon dioxide which helps to cool the planet’s temperature down but the loss of trees from deforestation reverses this process. According to the World Wildlife Fund, 15 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation. Thus, destruction of nature is another critical global issue that requires immediate preventive measures.
  5. Children’s Lives: In a report from 2017, UNICEF claims that child mortality has dropped from 12.6 million in 1990 to 5.6 million in 2016. This is a positive change but the number of deaths is still extremely significant; 15,000 children die every day. One of the significant causes of child mortality is malnutrition, while pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria are also significant factors.According to a report published from Save the Children on May 31, 2018, it is estimated that around 1.2 billion children are exposed to at least one of three threats: poverty, conflict or discrimination against girls. 153 million people are at a risk of suffering from all three. For the overall progress toward healthy living and well-being to continue, there is an urgent need to address and assist these vulnerable children.

These are only a few of the world’s most critical global issues. If society is to one day come together and attain total peace and security, these problems must be attended to as soon as possible. The safety of future generations depends on the actions taken now.

– Shweta Roy
Photo: Flickr

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Important Facts to Know About HPV in the Developing World

All You Need to Know About HPV in the Developing World
Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are DNA viruses that infect skin or mucosal cells. Depending on the severity of the infection, HPV can lead to either cervical cancer and other head and neck cancers or low-grade cervical tissue changes and genital warts. Virtually all cervical cancer cases result from a sexually transmitted infection with HPV.

Cervical Cancer and HPV in the Developing World

Globally, cervical cancer is known as the second most common cancer among women, with about 500,000 new cases being diagnosed annually. Of the total deaths that occur due to cervical cancer each year, more than 80 percent are concentrated in developing countries.

Immunization coupled with regular screenings and consistent treatments are the best strategies for reducing the burden of cervical cancer and HPV in the developing world. In resource-poor countries that lack adequate access to cancer screenings and treatment services, it is even more essential that younger girls be immunized before they are sexually active and are exposed to HPV.

The HPV Vaccine

The HPV vaccine protects against the strains that cause up to 90 percent of cervical cancer cases. It is typically available in most routine immunization programs of high-income countries. Historically, the major barriers to reducing the burden of cervical cancer and HPV in the developing world are due to the high costs of the HPV vaccines and the difficulty of reaching adolescent girls.

The GAVI Alliance–formally known as the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization–is a partnership of national governments, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank Group, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the vaccine industry and many public health institutions. GAVI provides technical and financial support for vaccines in countries that have a gross national income of less than $1,000 per capita and other poverty-stricken countries including China, India and Indonesia.

Thanks to the efforts of GAVI, the HPV vaccine is at a record low price and the poorest countries are able to access it for as little as $4.50 per dose. Additionally, the WHO decided to change the recommended dosage of the HPV vaccine from three to two doses, which helped facilitate the country rollout of the vaccine as well as significantly reducing costs.

The first HPV vaccine demonstration program took place in Kenya in 2013, and since then, 1,000,000 girls have been vaccinated. By the end of 2016, GAVI had initiated HPV vaccine demonstration programs in 23 countries, which is the first step toward introducing the vaccine to national immunization programs. So far, Honduras, Rwanda and Uganda have introduced the HPV vaccine into their national immunization programs.

Potential Roadblocks in the Push for the HPV Vaccine

Unfortunately, the transition from the demonstration programs to national introductions is taking longer than expected for some countries. Consequently, GAVI has developed a new approach to HPV vaccine support, which draws from the valuable lessons learned from previous demonstration programs.

Some of these lessons include:

  1. The fact that school-based delivery works very well when administering the vaccine to young girls. It is more cost effective to integrate HPV immunization efforts into routine immunizations at existing health clinics and schools.
  2. When promoting HPV vaccination programs and cervical cancer prevention, the facilitation of effective and factual communication within the community is particularly critical.
  3. GAVI has made tremendous progress in reducing the prevalence of HPV in the developing world through its vaccination initiatives. Eight GAVI-supported countries have integrated the HPV vaccine into their national vaccination programs and 30 countries have started a demonstration program.

However, despite the strong signs of interest from GAVI-eligible countries and the rapid and effective integration of the HPV vaccine, GAVI’s original goal of immunizing 40,000,000 girls by 2020 may be at risk due to supply constraints.

GAVI chief executive Dr. Seth Berkley stated, “Scaling up cervical cancer prevention and control strategies should not be delayed, as we have the tools to achieve this goal. With the right commitment from vaccine manufacturers as well as political support, strategic partnerships and investments, this particular battle to improve women’s health can be won.”

Thus far, GAVI has helped low-income countries access the HPV vaccine at affordable and sustainable prices. Dr. Berkley is confident that the organization is capable of meeting its goal. GAVI is dedicated to ensuring that its progress is maintained and that millions of girls in the poorest of countries are protected from the perils of HPV and cervical cancer.

– Lolontika Hoque
Photo: Flickr

Addressing the Barriers to Proper Health Care in Ethiopia

Health Care in Ethiopia
There are many barriers to residents obtaining proper health care in Ethiopia. It is estimated that 76 percent of Ethiopian women live in rural areas and do not have access to health care due to long traveling distances with lack of transportation.

Why Better Health Care in Ethiopia is Necessary

There are 1,949 health stations and 141 health centers in Ethiopia. Many of these facilities do not have a physician present to provide care. Therefore, many people, particularly women, do not want to travel long distances to a facility that may not have a proper physician to provide care. This is especially true for women that must travel alone because of the high rate of rapes and abductions that take place in Ethiopia.

There is a great need for proper health care in Ethiopia when disease is responsible for 74 percent of deaths. The conditions that are most responsible for deaths include malaria, acute respiratory infections, nutritional deficiencies, diarrhea and HIV/AIDS. In 2009, there were 1.7 million cases of malaria reported and 1.1 million cases of HIV/AIDS. Ethiopia is ranked third in all of Africa and eighth in the entire world for the most cases of tuberculosis.

The lack of health care in Ethiopia has resulted in a high rate of infant and maternal deaths. There are an estimated 59 deaths for every 1,000 live births and 88 deaths for every thousand children under the age of five. 34 percent of children are born underweight and 50 percent are stunted due to nutritional deficiencies by the age of five.

Understanding Issues in Ethiopia’s Current System

Ethiopia’s government has been largely focused on battling famine which is why the health care system has suffered. However, in 2012, the government built 13 new medical schools and increased the enrollment in the already established schools. The government has proposed that with the estimate of 85 percent of the rural population not having access to health care in Ethiopia, a large barrier is the lack of physicians available in the public sector.

A study in 2009 that surveyed how many physicians were working in Ethiopia showed that there were 2,152 physicians in the public sector (about one physician for every 42,000 patients). The same survey showed that 73 percent of physicians that graduated from a residency program in Ethiopia either left the public sector to work privately or immigrated overseas for more income. The government has made efforts to increase the number of residency programs to train more doctors and surgeons. However, the increase in students is not enough to support the population.

The deficit of surgeons is even greater than general physicians. Until 1980, all surgeons were trained outside the country and there were roughly three surgeons to every 1,000,000 patients. This improved when the Tikur Anbessa Hospital established the first surgical residency program in 1980 and has since continued to improve.

Since 2005, there have been seven more surgical residency programs added that have incorporated subspecialty training such as neurosurgery, urology, cardiothoracic surgery, plastics and reconstructive surgery. This program accepts only 25 new residents a year and each student will rotate between six different hospitals around the city of Addis Ababa.

How the Government is Battling the Issue

The local government has decided that increasing the number of students and graduates will decrease the physician shortage which is currently the worst barrier of proper health care in Ethiopia, but the increase in student enrollment has compromised the quality of physician training. One factor that contributes to lowering the quality of training is the limitation of resources; there are on average 30 students to one cadaver.

Another damaging factor to the quality of medical training due to the increase of enrollment is the lack of instructors. There are not many incentives in teaching students, therefore recent graduates with little clinical experience are asked to instruct the new students.

There is a desperate need to develop health care in Ethiopia. The lack of attention to the health care system is due to the great efforts to end famine in the country. However, the country’s government is making small efforts to improve citizens’ access to health care in Ethiopia.

– Kristen Hibbett
Photo: Flickr

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Mustard Gas Effects and the Geneva Gas Protocol

Mustard Gas Effects
Roughly one hundred years ago, one of the deadliest chemicals ever concocted was introduced to the global stage. This chemical creation was mustard gas. Known officially as sulfur mustard, mustard gas was created at the latter end of World War I. Often referred to as the chemists’ war, World War I proved to be a breeding ground for chemical weapons. 

World War I

In July 1917, British soldiers garrisoned in Ypres, Belgium reported a glimmering cloud of vapor in the air. Not too soon after, cases of blisters and sores were reported. British personnel was also reportedly coughing up blood, and according to Cancer Research UK, approximately 10,000 casualties were reported in Ypres alone.

Although British soldiers were issued gas masks per military regulation, mustard gas proved to be deadly regardless of whether an individual was wearing a gas mask or not. Mustard gas can be effective in virtually all conditions. Individuals can be exposed to the chemical through skin and eye contact; additionally, mustard gas is equally deadly if breathed through the air. 

Forms of Mustard Gas

As a chemical, mustard gas can appear in multiple forms. Mustard gas was mainly used as a vapor during World War I; however, it can also appear in the liquid form. For example, mustard gas can be mixed with water which can lead to poisoning of water supplies.

Sulfur gas has been described as having a peppery or mustard-like smell, but mustard gas can also be odorless in nature making exposure difficult to document. 

In general, exposure to sulfur mustard is not fatal. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mustard gas accounted for roughly 5 percent of deaths during the Great War. Symptoms of exposure to the chemical vary widely.

The largest factor in the severity of symptoms is the total exposure to the gas itself. Individual symptoms of a mustard gas depend on a person’s susceptibility. Symptoms may not occur until 24 hours have passed. 

Short-Term and Long-Term Effects

The severity of the effects differs greatly between the short- and long-term. Redness and itching of the skin may occur in regard to short-term mustard gas effects. Eye irritation in the form of swelling and tearing are common. Within 12 to 24 hours the respiratory tract may be damaged, leading to a runny nose, shortness of breath, and coughing. Mustard gas impacts the digestive tract in the form of abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting. 

Long-term mustard gas effects can include much graver consequences. If sulfur gas is not removed from the skin relatively quickly, second and third-degree burns may appear. Breathing-based exposure may lead to chronic respiratory disease or in some cases death. If not treated, sulfur gas has been documented to cause blindness. A person’s risk for lung and respiratory cancer also largely increases as a result. 

Geneva Gas Protocol

Sulfur gas was officially banned in 1925 at the signing of the Geneva Gas Protocol. After the trauma and horror of the First World War, the global community largely agreed that chemical weapons must be prohibited from use in all cases. 

Upon studying mustard gas effects, it becomes apparent that the Geneva Gas Protocol was essential in protecting human rights across the globe. With chemical weapons banned, the chances of continued use of the substances/liquids/gas has become much rarer. However, chemical weapons are still being used in war-torn areas across the globe today. It is the responsibility of the international community to ensure that all countries adhere to global treaties. 

– Colby McCoy
Photo: Flickr

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Five Organizations Working Towards Eliminating Malaria

eliminating malaria
For 130 million years, malaria has plagued humans as one of the most dangerous diseases on earth. Malaria is transmitted to humans and mammals through mosquitos that carry the parasite. Many African, Middle Eastern and South American countries are afflicted with malaria; however, due to health and technological advances, there are many organizations now fighting against malaria.

Roll Back Malaria – Partnership to End Malaria

Roll Back Malaria (RBM) has worked for many years to combat the spread of malaria. In 2008, RBM put in action the Global Malaria Action Plan (GMAP) at the 2008 MDG Malaria Summit in New York, which was a movement endorsed by many world leaders. GMAP mapped out a strong advocacy plan in the fight towards eliminating malaria.

Eight years later, in 2016, RBM organized the Action and Investment to Defeat Malaria (AIM) 2016-2030 plan. AIM accompanies the WHO Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030 plan, and both programs demonstrate how lowering and eliminating instances of malaria creates healthier and more successful societies.

The benefits of eradicating malaria was demonstrated in a statement made by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon: “Reaching our 2030 global malaria goals will not only save millions of lives, it will reduce poverty and create healthier, more equitable societies. Ensuring the continued reduction and elimination of malaria will generate benefits for entire economies, businesses, agriculture, education, health systems and households.”

USAID

Since 2000, USAID, who has partnered with the likes of RBM, the World Health Organization Global Malaria Programme and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, has carried out The President’s Malaria Initiative. By 2015, USAID had helped reduce malaria deaths by over 60 percent, saved nearly 7 million lives and guarded against more than 1 billion malaria cases. USAID takes many precautionary measures to help prevent the spread of malaria including:

  • Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) — insecticide is sprayed on walls inside homes and other buildings and kills adult mosquitoes before malaria can be transmitted.
  • Insecticide Treated Mosquito Nets (ITNs) — nets placed over sleeping spaces to repel mosquitoes. The nets automatically kill the bugs that land on the nets, preventing them from biting a human host.
  • Intermittent Preventive Treatment for Pregnant Women (IPTp) — a method that administers the use of antimalarial drugs to pregnant women at their prenatal appointments. This administration protects against maternal anemia and reduces the likelihood of low birth weights and perinatal deaths.
  • Diagnostic Treatment with Lifesaving Drugs — a process that provides diagnostic treatment and testing to guarantee all infected patients receive treatments and therapy.

With USAIDs continuous efforts, the world is well on its way to eliminating malaria.

Together Against Malaria

Together Against Malaria (TAMTAM), a non-profit organization, fights to protect pregnant women and young children from the burden of malaria. TAMTAM works with researchers and policymakers at their offices to increase the usage of insecticide nets.

TAMTAM also distributes free bed nets to underprivileged districts via scientifically and cost-effective methods. The nets are given to health clinics to provide easy-access to everyone living in vulnerable situations, and helps protect pregnant women and children otherwise defenseless against malaria.

Against Malaria Foundation

The Against Malaria Foundation, another organization that helps to distribute insecticide nets, raises money through different organizations and events held each year to raise funds for net distribution. Their specific nets, called LLINs, are long-lasting, so as to ensure that people in these communities stay safe for longer periods of time without having to change out their nets.

The foundation’s charitable efforts include events such as the Speedo Swim Around the World, an event open to anyone, anywhere to help raise funds for the nets. There’s also the Speedo Elite Athletes 2010, which engaged the likes of celebrity swimmers such as Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin in addition to the group, Japan Swimming.

PATH

PATH is an organization working to eliminate malaria through scientific methods and advancements. The company’s preventive methods include vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, devices and system and service innovations. PATH is speeding up access to effective, affordable and more sensitive malaria diagnostic tools, while also ensuring a stable supply of antimalarial drugs.

PATH’s Center for Malaria Control and Elimination aids in vaccine distribution and diagnostics, and its main goal is to eradicate malaria altogether.

With technological and scientific advancements, eliminating malaria once and for all is a definite possibility for the future. By protecting health, these organizations are doing a world of good by fighting malaria and using the best measures possible to ensure that this debilitating disease does not spread any more.

– Rebecca Lee
Photo: Flickr