Archive for category: Disease

Information and news about disease category

,

Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS: The Top Diseases in Namibia

Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS: The Top Diseases in Namibia
Life expectancy in Namibia has risen over the past 10 years. However, the country still struggles with communicable diseases, which are the largest leading factors of deaths in Namibia. The top diseases in Namibia are tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

Namibia ranks fourth as one of the countries most afflicted by tuberculosis (TB). The burden of TB has significantly dropped since 2004, when it peaked at 350,000 incidents. Although the number has been steadily dropping — declining 9,950 last year — the number of incidents is up from the previous year.

Yet, this increase is not altogether a negative indication of the preventative methods being deployed to fight diseases in Namibia. In fact, the higher number is due to the new testing measures, which have been able to reach more Namibians and give them a more accurate screening for TB.

The majority of TB care and prevention is funded by the Namibian government (domestic). However, the strength of this epidemic is not one they can fully contain on their own. The Namibian government is in need of more resources than they currently have. The nature of TB, such as long-lasting dormancy and ease of contraction, makes the elimination of this disease difficult.

Unfortunately, the prevalence of HIV also fuels the high contraction rate of tuberculosis. About 41 percent of those with TB also have HIV. Due to a severely compromised immune system, HIV/AIDS and TB often mix for a lethal combination.

HIV/AIDS are currently the diseases in Namibia associated with the highest death rates, claiming over 3,500 lives each year. There are 214,956 diagnosed cases of HIV in Namibia and only 68 percent of them are receiving antiretroviral treatment (ARV). Unavailability of treatment is the leading contributor to the death rate among those with HIV. There are at least 42,500 people that are suffering from HIV in immediate need of antiretroviral medication.

The deputy health minister also pinpoints a weaken health care system as a factor in Namibia’s inability to treat a majority of HIV-positive patients. There are less than two health care workers for every 1000 citizens, fewer in remote areas. Retaining health care workers is a crisis in Namibia. Without the proper amount of healthcare providers to cater to the needs of the people, especially those with HIV, patients cannot receive care in a timely manner.

The U.S. is currently invested in aiding Namibia’s struggle with TB and HIV. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) acts with the Namibian government in a multitude of ways to help stop the epidemics of both HIV and TB.

Together they have increased care for orphans and vulnerable children, expanded testing and awareness. PEPFAR is also working to re-manage the congested healthcare centers to allow for better treatment. PEPFAR’s current aim is to help the Namibian government reach their goal to have 80 percent of those with HIV on ARVs by 2017.

The Namibian government feels that the prevention of HIV for the future begins with the youth of today. If they can explain the risks and the best ways to prevent HIV, before children or young adults get infected, the chance for new incidents will decrease.

As the past decade has shown, with the efforts of the Namibian government and foreign relief, the burden of diseases in Namibia can only continue to decline.

– Amy Whitman

Photo: Flickr

,

The Top Diseases in Germany and Poverty’s Effects on Health

he Top Diseases in Germany and Poverty's Effects on Health

Even the most prosperous countries struggle to combat epidemics, which often disproportionately affect the poor. The top diseases in Germany, where poverty is on the rise despite a growing economy, are heart and lung diseases.

Top Diseases in Germany: Facts and Figures

Although the prevalence of ischemic heart disease dropped by 8.2% from 2005-2015, it remains the leading cause of premature death in Germany, closely followed by lung cancer, which has risen by 3.6% in as many years.

Studies by the German Health Update (GEDA) support a correlation between poverty and disease, and more specifically, heart and lung disease. Women at risk of poverty statistically experience more bronchial asthma and higher blood lipid levels, which can lead to cardiac disease, than their high-income counterparts. Likewise, low-income men proved more susceptible to heart problems, among other ailments, than high-income men of the same age group.

The obvious question is why? Low-income Germans engage in more health-risk behavior than the upper-class. GEDA finds that men and women who are at-risk-of-poverty are 1.3 times more likely to smoke than those with high-incomes, and due to a lack of exercise and a higher consumption of budget foods like potatoes, white bread and sausages, the ratio of obesity for low-income to high-income women is 3.3 to 1, and for men 1.6 to 1.

But can this health disparity really be reduced to the habitual differences between Germany’s rich and the poor? The GEDA study also attributes increased disease incidence among the poor to psychosocial stress. Experiences of exclusion, social comparison and anxieties about the future, all of which are more common to the impoverished, cause health-impairing stress, which insufficient social support exacerbates.

In an interview with the Foreign Policy Group in February 2016, a low-income woman named Heike Wagner explains, “If you don’t have any money [in Berlin], it’s really hard to be part of the group. Going to a bar, to the movies, you can’t do it…If you have friends with a good job, it’s tough to keep up those friendships.” In addition to the inaccessibility of healthy foods, the absence of physical recreation, the prominence of dangerous habits and the general stress of financial insecurity, social isolation deteriorates the health of Germany’s poor.

Because of the tight entanglement of income and health, combatting poverty ought to further the cause of disease prevention. With poverty “at its highest level in Germany since reunification 25 years ago,” political efforts to protect citizens’ health are crucial.

Programs Designed to Reduce Disease and Poverty

Among several efforts to reduce the top diseases in Germany across all economic backgrounds, the Federal Center for Health Education coordinates the Health Promotion for the Socially Disadvantaged network. Meanwhile, Federal Health Reporting continuously monitors and publishes data on the link between poverty and health to educate the public and inspire political change.

The German Heart Foundation (GHF) sponsors school programs which aim to impart preventative habits early in life. Skipping Hearts teaches children rope skipping and educates them about their hearts’ reactions to exercise and diet. GHF also brings the European Non-Smoking Project’s “Be Smart — Do Not Start” program into German schools.

Every November, GHF hosts a national campaign called Heart Weeks to inform the public about heart health. Cardiologists and heart health professionals give more than 1,200 seminars in hospitals and clinics across Germany.

Additionally, the National Action Plan, IN FORM, spreads awareness about nutrition, physical activity and well-being to encourage citizens to adopt healthy lifestyles. The program began in 2008 and is set to conclude in 2020.

– Robin Lee

Photo: Flickr

Diagnostic Methods Build the Foundation of Outbreak Control

Diagnostic Methods Build the Foundation of Outbreak ControlDisease outbreaks are frequently portrayed by the news and other media as two-step occurrences: disease strikes, then people die. What’s left untold are the in-between moments that are crucial to outbreak investigation and disease outbreak control. Disease testing, the essential step of the diagnostic process, is one of the most useful tools in stabilizing disease outbreaks and preventing them from worsening.

The case of Ebola in Liberia provides an example of how breakthrough disease-testing methods can save thousands of lives. Jude Senguku, one of the leading physicians who treated Ebola patients in Liberia, told BBC that misinformation, panic and misdiagnosis kept people from seeking help at the onset of symptoms.

People knew very little about the deadly disease and feared being sent to Ebola isolation units. Public health workers needed better diagnostic methods to screen people for Ebola in order to obtain medical evidence that would support or invalidate a diagnosis.

For Monrovia’s Redemption Hospital, the solution came in the form of GeneXpert, a machine that rapidly tests for Ebola and provides results within 90 minutes.

At the beginning of the Ebola outbreak in 2014, there were 50 licensed doctors for a population of 4.3 million. To provide each symptomatic person a one-on-one doctor visit was both unfeasible and impractical. During and after the outbreak, GeneXpert allowed health care workers, including volunteers with limited medical training, to accurately test patients for the presence of the Ebola virus and direct them to care in time to receive life-saving treatment.

Senguku says that since 2014, GeneXpert was “very critical” in reducing Ebola scares and restoring Monrovia’s confidence in their doctors.

The technology uses a process called DNA amplification, which tests a human specimen — cheek cells, saliva, etc. — for the disease’s specific DNA sequence. In contrast to other diagnostic methods, the technology can identify extremely low amounts of viral DNA as well as drug-resistant strains, which makes it incredibly sensitive and accurate. The machine, which is used for multiple tests, costs about $17,000. The test cartridge, which is used in every test per person, costs a mere $10.

One of the technology’s most valuable features is its usability. The health care worker administering the test does not need to be trained to identify a specific disease. Rather, they simply need to know how to operate the machine. Moreover, because of its low dependence on electricity, GeneXpert is an ideal diagnostic tool for regions with limited access to power.

The diagnostic process plays a critical role in outbreak control, stabilizing population health and providing a sense of security to an affected community. Events like the Ebola outbreak of 2014 serve as examples of how improved diagnostic methods are helping health care workers deliver faster and more efficient care under strenuous circumstances.

– Jessica Levitan

Photo: Flickr

, ,

Major Diseases in Malta: A Continuing Struggle

Major Diseases in Malta: A Continuing Struggle
Known for being a premier island for holiday travel, Malta is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea between North Africa and Europe. Since gaining its independence from Great Britain in 1964, the island of Malta has made substantial improvements to all sectors of government, including their health care system.

Diseases in Malta are generally under control in part due to the fact that the country has made extensive progress in improving its health care system. According to the WHO, “The health care system is relatively equitable and comprehensive. The health care reforms are well focused on sustainability and quality based on an integrated and holistic approach.”

However, even with these advances to their health care system, many diseases in Malta are still present and increasing within the nation. Major diseases in Malta fall under the category of non-communicable diseases. These diseases range from bronchial asthma to obesity, to heart disease and cancer.

In 2003, ischaemic heart disease was the most deadly disease in Malta, killing almost 22 percent of the population that year. Studies have shown that both Maltese women and men over the age of 30 have a higher percentage of dying from ischaemic heart disease than the average European individual.

Uterine as well as breast cancer is also a major concern in Malta. Research indicates that death rates for these particular types of cancer, in Malta, are above average than other European nations. Additionally, death rates for cervical, ovarian and pancreatic cancer have decreased within Malta, but the percentages are still above European averages.

Despite the majority of diseases in Malta being non-communicable, the CDC also recommends that for those traveling into the country to have their routine vaccines as well as vaccines for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, yellow fever and rabies current and up to date.

In 2013, both an improved Mental Health Act and a general Health Act were approved by the government of Malta. These improvements have helped to steadily decrease rates of cancer and obesity while also helping those with mental diseases. The new Mental Health Act has seen tremendous success by promoting community treatment and securing the rights of mental health patients.

The government of Malta has sequentially promoted a plethora of health strategies such as the Non-Communicable Disease strategy in 2010, the National Cancer Plan in 2011, the Sexual Health strategy in 2011, the Tuberculosis Prevention strategy in 2012 and the Healthy Weight for Life strategy in 2012. These strategies were designed in order to promote health and prevention methods on a national scale.

Moreover, efforts to reduce diseases in Malta are both ever-constant and ever-changing thanks to the participation of the Maltese people and their government. These positive changes will ensure that rates of non-communicable diseases will continue to decrease while promoting a happy, healthy and well-engaged society.

– Shannon Warren

Photo: Flickr

, ,

The Quality of Fiji’s Water is Misrepresented

The Quality of Fiji's Water is Misrepresented by its Bottled Ambassador
The quality of Fiji’s water is drastically decreasing with the relentless presence of rotting pipes, inadequate wells and improper water treatment plants becoming more frequent.

Climate change continues to cause droughts in Rakiraki, Fiji. Throughout history, half the country has needed emergency water supplies of at least four gallons a week per family. Dirty water has led to outbreaks of typhoid and parasitic infections.

Fijian hospital patients have reported fetching their own water, and children have found shells, leaves and frogs in their school’s pipes. People resorted to breaking into fire hydrants and manipulating water truck drivers just to get a regular supply, according to Mother Jones.

Children die from a waterborne disease every minute. There are 750 million people worldwide without access to clean water. In 2014, the Water Authority of Fiji gave its allegiance to the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals, aiming to complete 60 percent of its protocol.

However, the quality of Fiji’s water is under scrutiny by international experts across the African Continent because they are below the average sanitation levels, even though the Fiji Water company claims it helped roughly 40,000 people get clean drinking water access. Warwick Pleass, the rotary pacific water chairman, tested the quality of Fiji’s water and found it is worse than Uganda in Africa.

Fiji Water, established in 1995, brought business to the impoverished country, but also benefits from tax exemptions. While co-founder David Gilmour stated in 2003 that he wanted Fiji Water “to become the biggest taxpayer in the country,” the tax break scheduled to end in 2008 has not yet expired.

When the Fijian government tried to impose a tax on the company in 2008, Fiji Water protested by temporarily shutting down the plant, describing the taxes as draconian. While the Fiji Water company is featured at the hands of celebrities and politicians in full-page ads, the country of Fiji is riddled with faulty water supplies and plagued by typhoid outbreaks.

Among the volcanic foothills with metal shacks and wooden homes, the Fiji Water factory is located in the Yagara Valley, immersed in cow pastures and swaying palm trees. Chickens roam through these vibrant houses and at the feet of market locals. A sweet smell of burning sugar cane fills the air, according to Mother Jones Reporter Anna Lenzer.

Only half an hour from the bottling plant is the small town Rakiraki, riddled with dusty marketplace shops. A sign advertises a “Coffin Box for Sale – Cheapest in Town.”

Even though Lenzer’s destination guide claims the quality of Fiji’s water is unfit for human consumption, Fiji Water bottles line grocery store aisles for 90 cents a pint, roughly the same as U.S. market sale prices.

– Rachel Williams

Photo: Flickr

,

Unmasking the Top Diseases in Kiribati

Top Diseases in KiribatiKiribati is stricken with a hefty mix of diseases that are communicable and non-communicable. The top diseases in Kiribati resulting in death are circulatory, parasitic, nutritional and metabolic disorders. The leading causes of health complications are fungal, respiratory and diarrheal infections.

Life expectancy in Kiribati is the second lowest in the Pacific, with females at 69 years and males at 64 years. Factors contributing to Kiribati’s increased burden of disease are overcrowding, poor hygiene, inadequate sanitation, insufficient immunization coverage, as well as a lack of care and supplies for maternal/neonatal health.

Water-borne illnesses are among the top diseases in Kiribati. The primary infections being diarrhea, dysentery, conjunctivitis, rotavirus, giardia and fungal. These diseases are most threatening to children, causing 60 deaths per 1,000 live births in children under five.

The prevalence of water-borne illness plagues Kiribati mostly due to sanitation issues. Unfortunately, unsafe water is only part of the problem, improper food handling and the continued sale and consumption of expired foods only adds to the cycle of parasitic diseases.

Once a contagious disease has planted itself on the island, it becomes hard to contain because of the high density living arrangements of most communities. For example, Kiribati is one of only four countries in the world that still has leprosy, the number of contractions reaching 180 last year in 2015.

Tuberculosis (TB) is another top disease in Kiribati. TB remains rampant in Kiribati because it is easily spread and can remain dormant for long periods of time. However, disease begets disease. A burdened immune system makes it harder to prevent and treat other diseases. Not surprisingly, the magnitude of diabetes in Kiribati contributes largely to the continued occurrence of TB.

Lifestyle choices, or ignorance of health, feeds the expansion of diabetes, making it one of the top diseases in Kiribati. The majority of I-Kiribati fit into a profile at high risk for diabetes: high blood pressure, obesity, lack of exercise, poor nutrition and smoking. Already, 25% of the adult population is receiving treatment for diabetes or pre-diabetes, with numbers growing each year.

Smoking and diabetes are a deadly combination progressing towards a failing circulatory system, resulting in limb amputation and other disabilities. The rate of amputation in Kiribati is increasing at an alarming rate. In 2014, there were 136 amputations, nearly doubling that of the previous year.

Tobacco consumption is a risk factor for diabetes, but smoking also carries its own army of diseases such as respiratory infections, stroke, cancers and circulatory problems. Kiribati’s tobacco consumption is the highest in the South Pacific as 61.5% of its population smoke.

Like with combating most diseases, the key to success in ending the cycle of disease in Kiribati is awareness and prevention. The government of Kiribati, along with support from the World Health Organization have implemented plans to heighten the awareness of communicable and non-communicable diseases.

The goals for these programs are to reinforce good hygiene, improve water sanitation services, increase standard immunizations, educate citizens on the harmful effects of smoking, as well as informing them on the benefits of exercise and good nutrition. As awareness spreads and prevention occurs, there will be a decline in top diseases in Kiribati.

– Amy Whitman

Photo: Flickr

,

Three Connections Between Poverty and Chronic Disease

Three Connections between Poverty and Chronic Disease
Chronic or long-term diseases are most common in low- and middle-income countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that poverty and chronic disease are “interconnected in a vicious cycle” in which the poorest are the most at-risk for dying. Here are three chronic diseases that affect the world’s poor in addition to suggestions from experts about how global communities can begin to address them.

High Blood Pressure

According to a recent study from Circulation journal, high blood pressure is more prevalent in low- and middle-class countries than in high-income countries. The study reports that 30% of the global population suffered from high blood pressure, or hypertension, in 2010. Health officials call high blood pressure the leading preventable cause of premature death worldwide, with 1.4 billion people at risk.

Some researchers believe that high blood pressure in low- and middle-income countries might be due to unhealthy urban diets and high-stress environments. Researchers suggest that prevention is the key to addressing high blood pressure, such as encouraging those in urban areas to intake less sodium and fewer calories. Although opinions about high blood pressure vary, these steps might help low- and middle-income countries cut down on the risks associated with high blood pressure.

Cardiovascular Diseases

Another connection between poverty and chronic disease is a group of diseases that are the number one global cause of death. About three-quarters of global deaths come from cardiovascular diseases in low- and middle-income nations. Often the poorest do not have access to health services that will detect problems with their health early on as those in high-income countries do. WHO reports the disease can even put pressure on low- or middle-income economies since they are expensive to treat.

WHO has identified that a few ways to reduce cardiovascular disease are to control tobacco use, tax foods that are high in unhealthy ingredients and provide healthy meals for school children. Other methods exist, including identifying and treating at-risk individuals as well as performing surgeries.

Bronchial Asthma

The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) reports those in poverty are at higher risk of bronchial asthma due to air pollution, modernization and construction work. Expensive and inaccessible health services and medications make the problem worse. Other factors like increases in poor diets and decreases in exercise add to the rates of asthma in developing nations.

The NCBI reports that many people are uneducated about asthma and misunderstand how to use medications and inhalers. It recommends that health authorities improve health education programs in order to teach patients how to properly use medicines to treat their asthma.

Although these diseases are only a few among many, experts believe poverty and chronic disease are complexly bound together and harm many of the world’s poor. Hopefully, with increases in global education and better health services, developing communities can begin to attack the everyday diseases that make life in poverty even more difficult.

– Addie Pazzynski

Photo: Flickr

, ,

Top Diseases in Ethiopia to Know About

Top Diseases in Ethiopia to Know About
Ethiopia is known as a historically prolific country that is endowed with abundant natural and agricultural resources. Yet, a list released by the U.N. detailing the least developed countries in the world declares Ethiopia as one of the poorest countries in the world.

Life expectancy in Ethiopia is estimated at 57 years for males and 60 years for females. These statistics indicate rudimentary health care infrastructure, but also lack of access to sanitation facilities, clean water and nutritious food. The list below explores the top diseases in Ethiopia that are a consequence of its geographical location, living standards and level of development.

  1. Neglected tropical diseases
    Neglected tropical diseases can be defined as a class of transmissible diseases that exist predominantly in tropical regions. These diseases are associated with delayed physical and mental development and blindness. Due to the incapacitating effects of these diseases, the true economic potential of underdeveloped countries is not realized.
    As a result of its proximity to the equator, Ethiopia bears the burden of neglected tropical diseases that include conditions such as trachoma and schistosomiasis. Trachoma is caused by a bacterial infection that primarily targets the eyes, causing irritation and in advanced stages, blindness. Schistosomiasis is a disease transmitted by parasites residing in freshwater snails. Its acute effects include itchiness of the skin or visible rashes.
    A 2012 study published in Parasites and Vectors estimated that approximately 5 million individuals out of 94 million individuals in Ethiopia are afflicted by schistosomiasis. Ethiopia’s widespread prevalence of neglected tropical diseases has important implications as these conditions often cause disability and can, therefore, reduce the potential to work.
    These diseases can be addressed by establishing local campaigns to distribute medicines, subsidies and donations by pharmaceutical companies and increasing awareness about the mechanisms of transmission.
  2. Malaria
    Although malaria is a worldwide phenomenon, its effects are particularly felt in countries that are not equipped with appropriate health care and education services. An article published in the Malaria Journal stated that countries such as Ethiopia are particularly predisposed to malaria as a consequence of poor living conditions and remote sources of clean water.
    It is estimated by the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health that each year, four to five million people in Ethiopia suffer from malaria, and even greater numbers are at risk. In order to address the vast numbers of malaria cases in Ethiopia, campaigns should be set up locally that provide clean water.
    The local population should also be educated on ways to keep their households clean, and in particular, avoid stagnant water, which is a potent breeding ground for parasites and mosquitoes. A humanitarian organization called Nothing but Nets has initiated the anti-malaria revolution by distributing millions of mosquito nets to families all across Sub-Saharan Africa.
  3. HIV/AIDS
    Statistics published by the World Health Organization postulate that 1.2 million people suffer from HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia. In addition, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that HIV infection is the third most common cause of death in Ethiopia, contributing to 7% of total deaths in the country. AIDS is an important cause of concern due to its manifold mechanisms of transmission. Children may risk contracting the viral infection if their mothers had the virus at the time of childbirth.
    AIDS prevention strategies should focus on raising awareness about the methods of transmission. Provisions should be made to subsidize preventive measures such as contraception and sterile needles.
  4. Rotaviral Diarrhea
    To provide context to the devastating effects of this variant of diarrhea, Dr. Adamasu Kesetebirhan, Minister of Health in Ethiopia states that, “Diarrhea takes the lives of more than 38,500 Ethiopian children under five each year, rotavirus being responsible for close to two-thirds of the deaths.” The virus spreads rapidly among children and is especially pernicious because of its ease of transmission.
    The rotavirus responsible for this type of diarrhea causes severe dehydration and fever. Currently, measures are being implemented throughout Ethiopia to distribute rotavirus vaccines in an attempt to reduce the prevalence of this condition.
  5. Hepatitis
    Hepatitis, another viral infection, is especially common in Ethiopia. Its methods of transmission include consuming contaminated water, living in unclean environments and eating poorly cooked meat. A recent statistic concerning viral hepatitis suggests that approximately 10 million individuals in Ethiopia are affected by the disease. Considering that transmission is greatly contingent upon hygiene and safety, clean practices such as washing hands regularly and chemical purification of water should be encouraged.

The above list outlining the top diseases in Ethiopia emphasizes the need to transform healthcare infrastructure and services in the country. Financial and food aid may be required from foreign countries to support the country during its initial stages of trying to reduce the prevalence of top diseases in Ethiopia.

– Tanvi Ambulkar

Photo: Flickr

, ,

Malaria Box May Hold the Key to Defeating Malaria

Malaria Box May Hold the Key to Defeating Malaria
In order to jump-start research on drug treatments, the Gates Foundation, the Medicines for Malaria Venture and GlaxoSmithKline put together a “Malaria Box” in 2012. The Malaria Box is a collection of 400 different compounds that are known to combat malaria in some way.

More specifically, 200 of the compounds are supposed to act like drugs and would directly be used in developing more effective oral drug treatment. The other 200 act more like biological probes that, if applied correctly in malaria research, could allow researchers to make important observations about the behavior of malaria.

Malaria is a widespread disease to which nearly half the world population is at risk. There were about 214 million cases in 2015, resulting in 438,000 deaths. Of this group, young children were particularly susceptible.

More effective drug treatments for malaria are imperative. Current treatments involve prescribing many drugs to be taken over a number of days. Sometimes patients are not able to receive the full treatment of drugs. Not only does this lead to continuing infection, but an incomplete treatment also contributes to the rise of multi-drug resistant malaria. The fact that malaria parasites continue to evolve poses an obstacle to developing drugs that will consistently work in the future.

The Malaria Box was given as part of a grant to 17 research projects in order to accelerate malaria research. After a few years, these research teams yielded positive results in the battle against malaria. Some researchers have tried to identify weak points to attack in the malaria parasite. For example, Dr. Jacquin Niles of MIT is trying to isolate genes particularly susceptible to attack by conducting tests on genetically modified parasites.

Dr. Jake Baum of the Imperial College of London is studying compounds that could block malaria transmission. He is researching whether molecular compounds that do not remain in the bloodstream for as long as other anti-malaria drugs can still effectively combat malaria.

After the success of the Malaria Box, other projects to distribute sets of compounds have been started. The ReFRAME library at the California Institute for Biomedical Research contains more than 10,000 compounds that are known to combat various diseases. Giving researchers access to these sets of compounds provides them with a strong and focused starting point from which to conduct their studies.

– Edmond Kim

Photo: Flickr

, , ,

Is xRapid a Breakthrough in Malaria Detection?

xRapid
As technology continues to become more accessible in poverty-stricken countries, one app hopes to improve the cost and accuracy of malaria detection. Recently developed by the London-based startup xRapid, the application is the world’s first commercially available mobile health solution that provides an automatic diagnosis of malaria. However, identifying malaria requires more than just an iPhone and the app.

In addition to the iPhone and free app, a special iPhone case with an attachable eyepiece and a microscope are also required to begin detecting malaria in blood samples. The user simply attaches the eyepiece onto the iPhone case and inserts it into the microscope’s eye tube, where it runs the test. A clinical laboratory report is then produced detailing the data collected during the examination.

Currently, there are three different methods used to diagnose malaria, each attempting to be the fastest, most accurate and cost-effective technique available. However, each process pales in comparison to xRapid in one aspect or another.

Rapid diagnostic testing (RDT), which detects specific malaria antigens in human blood, is significantly less accurate than xRapid, while polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is considerably slower and more technical and expensive to utilize.

Microscopy testing often referred to as the “gold standard” for laboratory malaria detection, is just as accurate as xRapid, but is much slower at conducting tests. This method requires an average of 30 minutes per assessment while xRapid can conduct an examination in under two minutes.

The availability and potential of this new, convenient technique and advanced technology for diagnosing malaria is vastly important as 3.2 billion people — 43 percent of the world’s population — continue to live in areas at risk of malaria transmission.

XRapid has already begun dispersing its product to impoverished countries such as Benin, where malaria is the cause of nine percent of total deaths. Additionally, in the near future, xRapid, with the assistance of Digicape, will expand the product to countries in Southern Africa that crucially need it, and presently rely on microscopy and RDT for malaria detection.

Recently, xRapid announced it is working on adapting the product to detect and diagnose tuberculosis, an equally life-threatening disease commonly found in poverty-stricken countries.

The malaria mortality rate has dropped 60 percent since 2000, and with the assistance of this mobile health solution, the numbers could continue to drop. Although the complexity and harshness of these lethal diseases cannot truly be grasped, the solution to them may be in the palm of our hands.

– Jordan J. Phelan

Photo: Flickr