Information and news about disease category

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How to Help Fight Ebola

fight ebola
With the current Ebola outbreak, it is no wonder people are in a rush to help fight the treacherous disease. Although no known cure has been found, there are preventive measures one can take to halt its transmission.

Ebola is often transferred to humans from wild animals and can spread in the population through human-to-human contact with bodily fluids. Fruit bats are common vectors that transfer Ebola to humans through contact with blood, sweat and secretions.

Further, health workers are at great risk of contracting the disease when they treat patients with Ebola without proper protective gear. The average case fatality rate is at about 50 percent, but past outbreaks have had an average fatality rate of 90 percent. In 1976, the first outbreaks of the disease were recorded in the outskirts of Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ebola has since moved on to urban and rural areas of West Africa, as we are witnessing currently.

But how can we help fight Ebola? The World Health Organization claims that community participation is key in controlling outbreaks. There needs to be clear interventions set in case of rapid progression throughout the country, such as case management and surveillance, an adequate laboratory and effective burial methods.

Health care providers that are in close contact with the virus should wear gloves, masks and goggles, in turn diminishing chances of infection. In addition, people should stay clear of highly infected areas or restrict travel to countries with high prevalence of Ebola.

Since symptoms can take up to three weeks to manifest, it is crucial that people are aware of the risk factors for infection. Interaction with wildlife increases one’s chance of infection, and so to help fight Ebola, limit contact and always wear gloves and masks if working with animals. Also, if living in high-risk areas in Africa, make sure meat is cooked properly and thoroughly before consumption. Furthermore, when coming in contact with patients with Ebola, wash hands regularly. This includes contact with the living and the deceased. Thus proper and safe burial is essential for affected persons.

As the recent cases of health care workers in Dallas demonstrate, strict infection control measures and following protocols from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must be followed to help fight Ebola. Community engagement and education is also key in successfully controlling the outbreak. While an approved vaccine does not yet exist, the virus can be contained through protective measures that can effectively reduce human transmission.

– Leeda Jewayni

Sources: WHO, NLM
Photo: Flickr

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Global Vaccination Programs

When it comes to diseases, it is always preferred to prevent rather than treat. Over the years, vaccinations and immunizations have saved millions of lives and eliminated one of the deadliest diseases in the world: smallpox.

All children are born with an immune system that produces antibodies when a foreign substance, or antigen, is detected. In other words, when the child gets sick, these proteins will not be able to halt the disease from occurring, but the immune system will remember the antigen and give the child immunity when it invades the body a second time.

Vaccines contain those antigens, but in a weaker form. The body will sense an “invader” and still produce antibodies to fight the harmless antigen. Thus, without ever exposing a child to a disease, a vaccination is a safer way to gain protection and produce immunity.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention understands the importance of global vaccination programs and has created the Global Immunization Division, which is dedicated to creating a “world without the diseases and deaths that could be prevented with vaccines.”

Worldwide, one in five children do not have access to the most basic vaccines. Consequently, around 1.5 million children die each year from diseases that could be prevented with proper immunizations. By working with a variety of global partners, the CDC has implemented a multitude of routine immunization services and campaigns, in addition to providing bed nets, de-worming medication and safe water systems.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation also invests in global vaccination programs and contributes to the goals of the Decade of Vaccines, an action plan that aims to deliver universal access to immunization. In collaboration with the World Health Organization and other civil society organizations, the foundation is introducing vaccinations into the countries that need it most. They focus on strengthening immunizations systems by supporting the collection and analysis of vaccine-related data, as well as developing new technology to help medical staff “assess population immunity to disease.”

Universal access to vaccinations remains a priority goal for both groups in the next year. Effective vaccination programs saves lives, is inexpensive and easy to administer. Universal availability of vaccines also reduces health inequities, if everyone can have access to life-saving discoveries. Access to vaccines will give all our global citizens a fighting chance to survive.

– Leeda Jewayni

Sources: CDC, CDC 2, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Photo: Council on Foreign Relations

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The Pentavalent Vaccine

Pentavalent is a vaccine that is being used to protect against five diseases: tetanus, hepatitis B, Pertussis, haemophilus influenza type b and diptheria. The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) introduced the vaccine in 2001 in Kenya, and in July of 2014 South Sudan became the 73rd country to be introduced to the vaccine through the GAVI Alliance.

In order for the vaccine to be effective, it needs to be administered over a three-dose schedule. Increasing the availability of the pentavalent vaccine is an attempt to reduce the mortality rate of children under the age of five by two-thirds for the coming year (2015), which is goal number four on the Millennium Development Goals list.

GAVI has also partnered with organizations such as World Bank, WHO and UNICEF, as well as other donor countries, in order to increase the availability of the pentavalent vaccine in poor countries where child mortality is an extremely pressing concern.

Most recently, the Minister of Health in India, Harsh Vardhan, stated that the pentavalent vaccine would be introduced in eight of India’s states: Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, Puducherry, Kerala, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana. The plan is for the vaccine to be distributed among twelve additional states in the near future.

The success rate of disease prevention once the pentavalent vaccine has been administered is extremely high; the next part of the plan regarding the vaccine is to make sure that coverage is provided in remote areas and in regions facing deep levels of poverty. GAVI plans to begin an initiative, to be implemented from 2016 to 2020, to increase the amount of coverage for the pentavalent vaccine worldwide.

The CEO of the GAVI Alliance, Dr. Seth Berkley, stated on the GAVI website that his “next challenge is to support some of the world’s largest countries to expand and strengthen their programmes to ensure they are reaching every child.”

– Jordyn Horowitz

Sources: GAVI Alliance, UNICEF, Business Standard
Photo: GAVI Alliance

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What is the MMR Vaccine?

mmr vaccine
Measles, mumps and rubella are all viral diseases that can interrupt the development of children and adolescents. Accessing reliable information about the MMR vaccine is the most cost-effective method to increasing its uptake.

The MMR vaccine is recommended in childhood. The three-in-one vaccine is necessary for most children to enter school and can be given as early as 11-15 months, and children should get two doses. In addition, adults born after 1956 or 18 years or older should also receive one dose of the vaccination unless they have already had all three diseases.

The MMR vaccine can be given at the same time as other vaccines. Young children (under 12 years) can get a combination of vaccines known as the MMRV (measles, mumps, rubella and chicken pox).

Upon receiving the vaccination, there are some risks involved, but most people who receive the vaccine do not develop any problems.

Mild issues can occur 6-14 days after receiving the vaccine and can include any of the following: fevers, mild rashes, and swelling of cheek/neck glands. Moderate issues can range from: seizures, stiffness/ pain in joints, temporary low platelet count that leads to a bleeding disorder (1 in every 30,000 doses). Some severe and very rare problems are: serious allergic reaction (1 in every million doses), deafness, permanent brain damage, and long-term seizures/comas. There is no evidence that the vaccine causes childhood autism.

All of these listed risks are small however, in comparison with the risks of contracting measles: severe illness, hospitalization and death. The vaccine itself has brought huge leaps in early childhood disease prevention, providing vaccination to over 500 million people worldwide in over 100 countries. Before the vaccine, mumps was the most common cause of viral meningitis in children and rubella caused terrible damage to unborn babies.

Now, both mumps and rubella are virtually non-existent in children.

The Measles Outbreak

With concern to the current measles outbreak of 2014, two doses are recommended because 2-5 percent of vaccinated people do not respond to their first dose. More than 99 percent of people develop immunity after
the second dose.

Out of the 593 confirmed cases of measles, very few were from people who had been vaccinated twice.

The virus itself can stay in the air for two hours after a person with measles symptoms have left the area and is spread by respiratory droplets. The people infected are contagious four days before and after receiving the rash.

International Outbreak

In the third world countries of the world, measles outbreaks have been spreading more freely, with thousands of cases. In the Philippines, there were 50,000 registered cases and 77 deaths. In Vietnam, there are at least
8,700 cases with 112 deaths in children. In Pakistan, over 30,000 people have caught measles and 290 people have died, with the number increasing daily for children alone. The effect of measles has been spreading due to a lack of proper vaccination, more vulnerable immune systems and misinformation (MMR vaccine may produce autism).

In Africa, the number of measles-related deaths have decreased by 91 percent due to a surge in immunization. However, cases have still been growing, a number well into the thousands.

The potential benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks. Parents should understand that the MMR vaccine is the best way to protect their children from these diseases, especially if traveling to an affected area, or the family resides in an affected area.

– Ashley Riley

Sources: About, About 2, CDC, CDC 2
Photo: Medimoon

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What a Global Health Emergency Implies

On Friday, August 8 the World Health Organization declared Ebola a global health emergency as more than 1,000 lives have already been claimed by the pandemic that is being characterized as an “unusually tragic outbreak.” But what does this really mean, and how prepared should we be?

1. The term “Global Health Emergency” has only been used twice before this.

Once with the outbreak of H1N1 swine flu in 2009 and once this past May after the deadly re-emergence of polio, this most recent global health emergency notice is only the third of its kind. While many are criticizing lack of action on the ground, others have nonetheless supported WHO’s decision to label the outbreak as such, hoping it will trigger a psychological response.

2. Just like the title implies, the label of “Global Health Emergency” has no border restrictions and applies internationally.

Defined as “an extraordinary event which is determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of the disease,” global health emergencies should be taken as an international precaution, and as a chance for the world to come together to combat the disease.

3. Some critics say the declaration doesn’t actually save lives.

While declaring the disease an emergency could bring in more foreign aid, some health experts, such as Dr. David Heymann, are less optimistic the label actually saves lives. While statements themselves certainly won’t eradicate an entire disease, others hope the classification of the disease will alert the public — and governments — to act more quickly.

4. We have been planning to respond to public health emergencies for years.

The Centers for Disease Control and The Bioterrorism and Public Health Preparedness Program have been preparing for years how to properly respond to public health emergencies. While these and many other programs are still testing these measures, we have made significant headway in responding to pandemics and other incidents.

5. Global Health Emergencies are bad for our economy.

Since the past quarter century, more than $9.5 billion has been spent on polio eradication — just one emergency over the past few years. In fact, the WHO stated that failure to eliminate polio could result in “the most expensive public health failure in history.”

6. We’ve only fully wiped out a disease once.

While modern technology has done wonders to help limit the spread of certain diseases, we have actually only completely wiped out a disease once: smallpox, in 1979. By taking serum from a cow affected with the disease and injecting it into humans, Edward Jenner started by vaccinating people from poorer countries with fewer health resources and working his way to richer nations — and it worked.

Ebola has hit African countries especially hard, with at least 931 deaths and 1,702 cases in Africa’s Western countries as of August 4. At least two Americans have been affected by the disease, who are being treated with an early vaccination in their home country.

– Nick Magnanti

Sources: Yahoo, WHO, USA Today, City of Philadelphia, The Atlantic, PBS, The Washington Post
Photo: Yahoo,

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Climate Change and Pathogen Ranges

The effects of climate change are numerous: ocean levels are rising, meteorological events are becoming stronger and increasingly unpredictable and the incidence of heat-related illness is increasing across the world. Yet experts are just beginning to understand one effect of a changing climate: the capacity for pathogens to migrate around the globe and infect populations that have previously never been in contact with these microorganisms.

Combined, these effects have the potential to cause extreme poverty. Loss of property and life resulting from rising sea levels and strong storms deprive people of both wealth and other resources.

However, the global health conundrum that is changing pathogen ranges is also a poverty issue in its own right. Poor human health places burdens on individuals and their family members that may cause them to lose employment opportunities and large sums of money. Being ill is no easy fortune, but the impoverishment that often accompanies illness can be worse yet.

As warming weather drives animals toward more hospitable environments, pathogens too are expanding their ranges and at the same time, are finding hosts they’ve never met. While it’s working out well for these pathogens, humans, other animals and plants aren’t faring too well.

A species of sea otters in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Alaska has become ill from a virus that originated in the northern Atlantic Ocean; science writer Chris Solomon suggests that due to declining sea ice levels, “disease is finding new lanes of travel.”

It makes sense – pathogens are highly dependent on temperature for survival, and many bacteria and viruses thrive in the type of warm, wet environments that are becoming more and more prevalent as the climate changes. Not only do rising sea levels give pathogens access to a wider range of space (and accordingly, hosts) but also as animals move around seeking cooler climates, they take pathogens and parasites along with them, allowing them to infect entirely new populations.

What does this mean for humans? Well, the effects of expanding pathogen ranges are manifold. First, like Alaska’s sea otters, humans may soon fall prey to microorganisms not previously seen in their parts of the world. Prevention and treatment of illnesses caused by unfamiliar pathogens will be difficult and costly.

Inevitably, some humans – though it is impossible now to estimate just how many – will die.

Since human health is directly related to poverty outcomes, the expanding pathogen ranges means expanded poverty “ranges;” if more people fall ill due to pathogens, more people will experience poverty.

Secondly, and this is an effect that agricultural communities are already beginning to observe, new pathogens will infect crops and jeopardize the livelihood of the peoples who depend on the harvest for either food or for employment.

According to a study from the Universities of Exeter and Oxford, crop threats include pests and pathogens spreading toward the poles at a rate of 3.2 kilometers per year. A fungus that infects yeast harvests has already wreaked havoc in Brazil, threatening farmers there with impoverishment.

It’s difficult to fathom that such tiny organisms could have such large effects, but pathogens have the potential to cause a lot of harm, in terms of both illness and poverty. Despite that their migration is one of the least publicized effects of climate change; however,  it is one of which humans should be wary.

– Elise L. Riley

Sources: NPR, NASA
Photo: Phys.org

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Malaria Vaccine Underway

On Thursday July 24, GlaxoSmithKline asked European Medicine’s Authority to approve RTS,S, its malaria resistant vaccine, for global use. According to scientists, it is the first vaccine to show promising signs of protecting children from malaria.

Malaria plagues 3.4 billion people – in other words – half of the world’s population. It is responsible for 800,000 deaths per year – the majority in children under 5 who live in sub-Saharan Africa.

Until now, no vaccine has been effective enough to quell the endemic. In past trials, the effects of the vaccine are ultimately weakened over time to the point where they are virtually futile. RTS,S, however, is showing promising longevity. It is the first malaria vaccine to reach the regulatory approval.

In the most advanced trial to date, 1,500 infants and children from several African countries were given the RTS,S vaccine. Eighteen months after the last injections, researchers re-examined the young vaccinated children. They found that the vaccine nearly halved the number of cases of malaria. For infants, the drug reduced incidences of malaria by a quarter.

In Kenya, for example, malaria is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Out of a population of 34 million, 25 million are at risk for the disease. For every 1000 children who received the RTS,S clinical drug, 2000 clinical cases were prevented.

Researchers predict that the vaccine has the ability to provide up to 46 percent protection against malaria when given to children between 5-17 months old. The vaccine, coupled with other preventative measures, including insecticide-treated bed nets and anti-malarial drugs, could have a considerable impact on malaria-plagued populations.

GSK is now developing RTS,S in conjunction with the nonprofit PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative with funding support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The goal of PATH MVI is to accelerate the development of malaria vaccines and catalyze timely access in afflicted countries.

Scientists and researchers are hopeful that the vaccine will be approved as early as 2015. Although the drug is still not 100-proof, a licensed malaria vaccine would have profound results. It could dramatically halt the prevalence of this persistent and stubborn disease. For years scientists have experienced a vicious cycle of trial and error when it comes to the malaria vaccine; time and time, they have been forced to come back to the drawing board. This time they are optimistic, and eager to see the billions of lives that will be saved.

– Samantha Scheetz

Sources: WHO, BBC, Gavi Alliance, Kemri.org
Photo: BBC

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Yellow Fever in the Developing World

Despite increased understanding of the mosquito-transmitted disease since it presented in the 15th century, yellow fever in the developing world continues to have a widespread effect. The World Health Organize  estimates that there are 200,000 cases of yellow fever every year, with 30,000 deaths, 90 percent of which occur in Africa. In Africa and Latin America, 900 million people are at risk of infection as the disease spreads without a cure.

When a mosquito bites a person and transmits yellow fever, there are two paths the disease can take. It will either present as flu like symptoms with fever, aching and nausea, before going away in three to four days. However, 15 percent of patients take the second path. Symptoms worsen rapidly, as the patient develops jaundice, bleeding and increased vomiting. Half of these patients die within 14 days, and those who survive suffer from severe organ damage.

The fight against yellow fever is challenging for a few reasons. For starters, in the early stages, it is difficult to diagnose the disease, as its symptoms are similar to diseases like malaria, viral hepatitis and poisoning. Once the disease can be identified, it is often too far along to effectively control.

Additionally, yellow fever has no treatment. Though it can be prevented, there is no vaccine to cure it. Patients are often treated for secondary conditions that result from yellow fever, which can be effective in helping the patient survive the disease.

Despite the lack of treatment, there are myriad methods to prevent yellow fever. The GAVI Alliance, which has brought together the efforts of the WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and various other governmental agencies, has been successful in administering preventative vaccines worldwide. Since GAVI got involved, an estimated 64 million children have had the vaccine, and 17 of the 33 countries at risk have received routine vaccinations.

In addition to vaccination, protection from mosquitoes can be effective in preventing yellow fever, whether it be insecticide treated nets, clothing that covers as much skin as possible or remaining indoors at night when the mosquitoes are in abundance.

The WHO has been involved beyond its participation in the GAVI Alliance, acting as Secretariat for the International Coordinating Group for Yellow Fever Vaccine Provision. The ICG is adamant about maintaining a stockpile of yellow fever vaccinations in case of a sudden outbreak. Additionally, the WHO along with UNICEF and national governments has led the Yellow Fever Initiative which focuses its vaccination efforts in Africa, targets infants younger than nine months and works to monitor outbreaks to minimize damage.

Preventing yellow fever is very much dependent on efficient healthcare and sanitation, things that are difficult to achieve in impoverished areas. The efforts of GAVI, as well as the individual organizations, are crucial to control the number of yellow fever cases every year.

– Maggie Wagner

Sources: Gavi Alliance, NCBI, WHO
Photo: Gavi Alliance

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What is Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever?

Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever
The National Institute of Health defines dengue hemorrhagic fever as “a severe, potentially deadly infection spread by mosquitoes, mainly the species Aedes aegypti.” After being bitten by Aedes aegypti, the fever can originate from any one of four dengue viruses. Recovery is possible if the patient’s body has remaining dengue antibodies.

The onset of dengue hemorrhagic fever feels very similar to that of typical dengue, and the symptoms are largely the same. The experience diverges with the appearance of tiny spots of blood on the skin and can ultimately culminate in seizures and lasting brain and liver damage.

What makes dengue hemorrhagic fever so problematic is the lack of a vaccine or cure. The symptoms, however, can be treated. These treatments include blood and platelet transfusions, IV fluids that combat electrolyte imbalances and dehydration and oxygen therapy. If a patient has access to a hospital ICU, they can typically receive treatment.

But what is so important about dengue hemorrhagic fever?

In recent years, the incidence of dengue hemorrhagic fever has grown sharply. The World Health Organization (WHO) now estimates there to be between 50 million and 100 million cases of the disease every year worldwide. Yet prior to 1970, there had been only nine countries which had experienced large outbreaks of the disease. Now, it can be found in over 100 African countries, in Southeast Asia and on the Western Pacific coast.

This means 40 percent of the word is at risk of getting the disease. Women and people of European ancestry are at a higher risk. After contracting the disease, 2.5 percent of infected people die, many of them children.

With this in mind, the prognosis looks bleak, but the disease is not without dedicated researchers working to defeat it. Currently, the WHO supports countries as they attempt to confirm outbreaks of the disease, providing valuable data on the subject. They also provide guidance and technical support in the management of an outbreak, and they train professionals in clinical management, vector control and diagnosis of the disease.

Dengue hemorrhagic fever may be strong, but with treatments already available and research turning up crucial information, the risk it poses is certain to halt in the foreseeable future.

– Rachel Davis

Sources: MedlinePlus, World Health Organization
Photo: Examiner

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Plague Forces Chinese City into Quarantine

plague
In the 14th century, the bubonic plague that had quietly lived in China’s Gobi Desert lifted from the ground and attacked Europe. Carried by fleas who found refuge on rat fur, the bacteria wreaked havoc on the filthy cities of the Middle Ages. By the end of the 16th century, more than a third of Europe was claimed by the plague now known as the Black Death.

In the centuries that followed, hygiene and sanitation improved, and the plague has mostly become a disease of history. But it has yet to be fully eradicated.

On July 16, a 38-year-old Chinese herdsman died from the bubonic plague. He had been exposed to a dead marmot, a rodent-like creature related to the squirrel, that was carrying the dangerous bacteria. The man was admitted to the hospital with a high fever and was coughing blood. Immediately, the hospital quarantined him and Chinese health officials flooded into the city of Yumen.

Of the city’s approximate 100,000 residents, 151 have been placed into quarantine, as they were believed to have been near the infected man after his exposure to bacteria. Furthermore, parts of the city — which allocated 1 million yuan in the way of emergency vaccinations — have been sealed off.

Chinese Central Television (CCTV) reports that Yumen has enough food supplies to last them a month if need be. The same report also indicates that all residents in quarantine look to be uninfected.

The plague, when it infects a person’s lungs, can be fatal if left untreated for even 24 hours, a misfortune that struck the Yumen community with the herdsman’s death.

According to the World Health Organization, between 1,000 and 3,000 people die from the bubonic plague every year. But most victims of this ruthless disease hail from developing countries that still struggle with sanitation.

Between 2000 and 2009, close to 20,000 people were infected by the plague. Of these cases, 10,581 cases were reported in Congo, 7,182 in Madagascar and 1,309 in Zambia.

Meanwhile, only 56 people from the U.S. have been affected by the disease, of whom seven died.

But plague cases remain especially rare in China. There was only a single diagnosed case in the province of Sichuan in 2012 and 12 cases — including three deaths — in 2009 in the remote and rural areas of China’s western provinces.

– Shehrose Mian

Sources: LiveScience 1, LiveScience 2, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Enca, Austrian Times, Washington Post
Photo: Flickr