Information and news about disease category

vaccine_typhoon_haiyan
Mere weeks after the confirmation of the first ten cases of poliomyelitis in Syria, Mother Nature dealt the global health community another powerful blow in the form of Typhoon Haiyan.

Some areas of the Philippines are nearly 95 percent destroyed; Doctors Without Borders staff has described the aftermath as reminiscent of the Haitian earthquake of 2010. Hospitals have been ruined, so aid workers have set up temporary health centers to treat wounds and provide much-needed vaccines to locals and returning residents who chose to flee the oncoming storm.

The World Health Organization and the Philippine Department of Health have spearheaded a campaign to vaccinate children under five against measles or polio outbreaks and provide Vitamin A drops to boost immune system strength. All children under 15 years will then receive care if resources allow.  Hard-hit areas are the campaign’s priority. Immediate needs include the set-up of immunization stations, volunteer deployment and acquisition of all necessary vaccines.

Philippine Secretary of Health Enrique Ona guarantees that since “system is shaken but not broken,” a re-launch of widespread vaccinations should not prove impossible.

Nonetheless, in some regions such as Guiuan (to the east of Samar island,) the “cold chain” required for vaccine delivery and preservation has not yet been implemented. This mechanism involves gas and generator powered refrigerators, cold boxes, ice packs and vaccine-cases for areas without power. In the words of Dr. Johan von Schreeb of Doctors Without Borders, the devastated islands “do not have time to wait.”

This refrigeration conundrum arises with each civil conflict or natural disaster that leaves affected regions without power. Though the cold chain concept is effective and familiar to health care providers, current supply and logistics systems were designed thirty years ago, prior to the development of cold chain equipment. Project Optimize (a task force of the WHO and PATH) and UNICEF’s Cold Chain and Logistics Task Force have identified innovative funding for cold chain equipment as a key opportunity for improvement upon today’s vaccine systems.

In order to achieve the Project’s 2020 goals, cold chain equipment, efficiency and monitoring must improve. Health care managers must be able to access performance figures to make informed purchasing and allocation decisions given the limited time span and resources available in health care emergencies; in other words, the current Philippine situation. If local or national health departments allot too many or too few resources to any single immunization station, lives will be lost (due either to a vaccine shortage or to spoliation of vaccines that should have been administered in other areas). Striking this delicate balance requires widespread cooperation between the public and private sector.

Similarly, manufacturers of equipment must be kept abreast of product performance in the field. The implementation of a feedback loop between manufacturer and user would improve product packaging and design. The Project’s 2013 Action Plan suggests beginning with a redesign of cold boxes to maximize the “refrigerant-to-vaccine” ratio to hold more vaccines and insulate them more efficiently.

Improvements to vaccine logistics that reflect needs expressed explicitly by those on the front lines of vaccine campaigns will ensure that doctors such as von Schreeb have the tools to work their magic when disaster strikes.

– Casey Ernstes

Sources: Doctors Without Borders, PATH, The World Health Organization, The World Health Organization
Photo: BBC

malaria_net
What is Malaria?

Malaria is a life-threatening blood disease caused by a parasite known as plasmodium. This parasite is transmitted to human by the anopheles mosquito. An infected person of this disease shows signs of dizziness, loss of appetite, anemic, high fevers, dehydration and loss of body weight.

The History of Malaria: The word malaria comes from the 18th century Italian “mala” meaning “bad” and “aria” meaning “air”. Most likely the term was first used by Dr. Francisco Torti in Italy, where people thought the disease was caused by foul air in marshy areas. It was not until the 1880’s that scientists discovered that malaria was a parasitic disease.

The Socioeconomic Effect of Malaria: Malaria kills a child somewhere in the world every minute; it infects approximately 219 million people each year with an estimated 660,000 deaths mostly being children in Africa. Ninety percent of malaria death occurs in Africa. It is one of the most dreadful diseases reducing the populace on the large scale. The sickness also contributed greatly to anemia among children-a major cause of poor growth and development.

Malaria also has some serious economic impact in Africa, slowing economic growth and development and perpetuating the vicious cycle of poverty. Malaria is truly a disease of poverty afflicting primarily the poor who tend to live in malaria-prone rural areas. Nevertheless, the rich cannot be left out with the infection of this sickness.

Prevention and Control: Malaria, many say, is no respecter of person. Irrespective of one’s social status, malaria can indeed infect many people.  It is in this light that people must take precautionary measures to protect themselves, family and friends from this dreadful sickness. Those living in malaria prone regions like Ghana should make sure they follow certain precautions, some of which are as follows:

  • The use of effective mosquito repellent cream.
  • Cover legs and wear long sleeves at night.
  • Ensure windows and doors are screened to avoid mosquitos from entering rooms.
  • The use of treated mosquito bed nets whiles sleeping.
  • Spraying homes and surrounding with insecticides.
  • Clear shrubs, stagnant waters and weed surroundings of areas that help the breeding of mosquito.

Get Involved in the Fight Against Malaria: It is high time all stakeholders globally, be it governments agencies, health institutions, policy makers, developmental agencies and individuals, get involved in the fight against Malaria. Government and other developmental agencies should formulate realistic policies, carry them out, monitor the progress of these implementations and evaluate their final outcomes.

These programs, in effect, when implemented, will help the fight against malaria and help improve the living conditions of the rural poor. Just as the adage goes, “brighten the corner where you are” the individual cannot be left out in the fight as well. Gutters or drains and the environment need to be free from the breeding of mosquitoes and as such, the onus also lies on us as individuals to practice personal and community hygiene. People should not wait for government agencies and other non-governmental organizations to help clean their environments; they must take responsibility of their actions and outcomes and ensure they genuinely support the fight against poverty through the prevention and control of malaria.

William Annang

Sources: UNICEF, Medical News Today
Photo: The Guardian

Cancer cases
According to the World Health Organization, Cancer cases are soaring each year. Data indicates an upward trend from 12.7 million cases in 2008 to 14 million in 2012. Cancer related deaths have also increased from 7.6 million to 8.3 million since 2008. With these growing rates, there is a desperate need for advances in diagnosis and detection of cancer.

An IARC report has shown a connection between increased smoking, obesity and cancer rates. This report also predicts a rise in cancer cases to 19.3 million by 2025. Several types of cancer kill every year but the most common cancer affecting thousands of women worldwide and is a leading cause of deaths in developing countries is attributed to breast cancer.

Developed countries do not have the clinical advances required to stop the disease at an early stage. Several people living below the poverty level don’t even know they have breast cancer since clinics are scarce. The Word Health Organization has also claimed this urgency for treatment of breast cancer in developing countries as thousands die from late detection. In 2012, around 522,000 women from around the globe died of this disease. Lung cancer is also among the top most common cancers worldwide, about 13% of total cancer cases. The large amount of lung cancer rates has been linked to both increased smoking from adults and young adults alike. Longer lifespans also contributes to these spiking rates according to the BBC.

Several health leaders from IARC believe that these growing cancer rates can be changed through preemptive action seen before with cervical cancer and access to the HPV vaccination. They hope that national programs for screening can produce similar excellent results and by giving easy access to treatment or detection centers, several will be able to beat other forms of cancer.

Maybelline Martez

Sources: BBC, NY Daily News, Global Post
Photo: Giphy.com

It is amazing that in the year 2013, the Bubonic Plague still exists on this planet. The disease that is known as the Black Death that caused at least 25 million deaths in the 14th century has this week been linked the death of at least 20 people in Madagascar, and may still infect more in the weeks to come.

This announcement is one of the worst outbreaks of the disease in years, and there is concern that it could spread to more towns and cities in the region. The Bubonic Plague is a disease that is transmitted through animals, usually through rats that hold infected flees which then infect humans, which has a high mortality rate if not immediately treated. This disease has mainly been eradicated from most areas of the world, but has been known to appear in developing nations such as Madagascar, where there are low hygiene levels, high levels of population and low resources to prevent the disease.

There was warning from the International Committee of the Red Cross in October that the nation of the East Coast of Mainland Africa was at high risk of an epidemic, but the warnings went mostly unheeded by the locals in the region. It is not that the locals were negligent in preventing the spread of this disease, but there are higher systemic problems that are harder to overcome for the locals.

Madagascar harbored this plague for many reasons. Locals in the region have low literacy rates, which makes it hard to share live saving information that prevents exposure to diseases. The country of Madagascar does not support a strong democratic government with a low corruption rate. When corruption is prevalent through all levels of government, funds that can be applied towards improving the nation often end up in the pockets of the few that are in power, adding to the national poverty.

The nation is one that is often prone to civil unrest, which many violent outbreaks has increase the use of military force on the people. The frequency of civil unrest has suppressed desire for foreign tourism which has decreased revenue for the national economy.

Madagascar is just an example of how poverty in a region can encourage the spread of life threatening diseases. Nations that have low standards of living, high levels of populations, weak central governments and low levels of hygiene are danger zones for disease. It is discouraging for a disease that has largely been eradicated from the face of the world to still exist in this poor region of the world.

Travis Whinery

Sources: Time, Daily Mail, BBC, Reuters UK
Photo: Wikimedia

hookworm
A new hookworm vaccine is the hope of millions of infected people in Africa. Although it is experimental and will be the first African clinical trial for this parasite, it is already scheduled for 2014 because hookworm infestations are rampant among the African poor. Over 102 trial participants, ages 18 to 45 will be given the vaccine over a four month period and be rechecked after a year. Once the adult participants remain safe and have positive immune responses, children will be given the vaccines. These trials will begin in Gabon, Africa.

Hookworms are easily transmitted to children who walk around barefoot. Most children who also suffer from malnutrition are attacked by the parasite and become extremely weak, which leads to learning problems and stunted growth. These parasites drain the blood of any individual and eventually cause anemia. Hookworms also infest adults and cause financial strains on the family as men and women gradually weaken from loss of blood. Even pregnant women are not free from danger since their fetus is also affected from the blood loss. These worms enter the body through the feet. Once they are inside the bloodstream they travel towards the lungs. From the lungs they reach the intestines where they grip the interior walls with their two sets of teeth. Here they are able to remain attached, suck any quantity of blood and grow to half an inch long.The aim of the hookworm vaccine is to create antibodies which will slowly kill the worms. As the antibodies are formed, it will work against two enzymes present in the hookworm’s gut. One enzyme processes iron in its blood diet and the other enzyme allows for digestion of blood proteins. As the antibodies fight against these enzymes, the hookworm’s energy source weakens and will eventually die.

Clinical trials are set for a minimum of five years regardless of whether there is   success with treatments. This vaccine could potentially be the answer to hookworm elimination which is the leading cause of iron deficient anemia among millions of the world’s poor.  Dr. Hotez, the director of the Sabin Vaccine Institute has been working on this vaccine for over 30 years. His effort and commitment over this lapse of time will surely be a victory to be seen.

–  Maybelline Martez

Sources: NIH, Medical News Today, New York Times

nothing_but_nets
Although malaria prevention has long been a focus of the United Nations Foundation, it was an article in Sports Illustrated that spurred the creation of its successful Nothing but Nets program, now the world’s largest grassroots campaign to end malaria.

In 2006, Rick Reilly wrote a column that challenged readers of the popular sports magazine to donate at least ten dollars to the United Nations Foundation to cover the purchase, distribution, and education costs of a life-saving malaria bed net. The response to this simple call to action was huge, and Nothing but Nets was born.

Nothing but Nets is a program that focuses on distributing long-lasting, insecticide-treated bed nets to save lives in sub-Saharan Africa, where 90 percent of all malaria deaths occur. The number of people affected by this preventable disease is truly staggering—every second, there are ten new cases of malaria. Every 60 seconds, a child in Africa dies from the disease. The disease disproportionately affects those who cannot afford treatment and those who have limited access to health care.

In addition to the costs to human health, malaria is responsible for about $12 billion annually in lost productivity in Africa. The disease increases school and work absenteeism, decreases tourism, inhibits foreign investment, and affects crop production. Malaria is a costly disease that accounts for up to 40% of public health expenditures, 30-50% of inpatient hospital admissions, up to 60% of outpatient health clinic visits.

Malaria, though devastating and deadly, is a highly preventable disease—the UN found that in high coverage areas, the disease can be reduced by 90 percent—with simple solutions. And, as reflected in the World Health Organization’s 2012 World Malaria report, those solutions are working. A few years ago, malaria was the number one cause of death among African refugees. Nothing but Nets worked closely with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to distribute more than a million nets to this group. Now, malaria is the fifth leading cause of death among African refugees. Since 2006, Nothing but Nets has raised $45 million and distributed more than seven million bed nets to families in need. While these statistics reflect huge progress, there is still much more to be done.

The good news is, it is easy to get involved and start saving lives. Nothing but Nets is unique in that it provides the opportunity for anyone with ten dollars—from CEOs to students—a chance to join “Team Bzzzkill” and make a huge difference. This simple, straightforward approach has won the support of many individuals and organizations, ranging from NBA Cares and The People of the United Methodist Church, to Bill and Melinda Gates, to famous athletes and rock bands. Thousands have stepped up to Reilly’s challenge to donate a net and save a life. Will you?

Visit www.nothingbutnets.net to learn more and donate a net to save a life.

Sarah Morrison
Sources: Nothing But Nets, Sports Illustrated

Nodding_Syndrome_in_Sudan_infants
Nodding Syndrome first appeared in the 1960’s in South Sudan. It attacks healthy children between the ages of 5 – 15. The disease gained its name from its most notable symptoms.  Children tend to “nod off,” or temporarily lose consciousness or fall asleep although they do not report feeling tired. The nodding is often triggered by cold temperatures or eating and is accompanied by cognitive impairment. The incidence of the disease has increased over the past 10 years in Uganda, South Sudan and Tanzania. The CDC published a report on Nodding Syndrome in September 2013.  It explains that the nodding episodes are actually atonic seizures of unknown origin, “Nodding Syndrome is an unexplained endemic epilepsy.”

The symptoms worsen over time and children begin to experience worsening seizures; they stop eating and eventually lose their physical and mental capacity. The disease is not fatal but children often die by falling into cooking fires, drowning during a seizure, or succumbing to malnutrition related illnesses. Parents also lose patience caring for their disabled children and often abandon them.

Other parents resort to extreme measures in order to keep their children from falling and hurting or killing themselves while nodding. Other bizarre symptoms include the disorientation and confusion; children often wander off and get lost in the woods. Global Health Front Line News spoke with one woman who has tied her 15-year-old son to the house for years in order to keep him safe. The boy is confused, angry and frustrated.

It is unclear why the disease only strikes children. Many experience severely stunted growth due to malnutrition and some do not survive to adulthood. Epilepsy drugs have been used to treat the syndrome and while they sometimes help with symptoms they do not cure the child completely. Recent studies have confirmed that Nodding Syndrome is a disease of the brain. Children have abnormal EEGs and their MRIs show atrophy.

A possible theory is that the disease develops from onchocerciasis, a parasitic condition that can cause blindness. Dr. Tenywa from the World Health Organization reports that all children he has studied with Nodding Syndrome also have this condition. However onchocerciasis occurs all over Africa and Nodding Syndrome is isolated to Uganda, Sudan and Tanzania.

In Pander, a rural community in Northern Uganda, more than 3,000 children have been stuck with the debilitating disease. It has devastated the community; almost every family has at least one child affected. In Pander there has been a makeshift ward created for the children. However, it is really just a place where parents dump their children when they can no longer care for them. The Ministry of Health developed five of these wards in Northern Uganda over the past few years.

The World Health Organization and the CDC are still looking for answers to what is causing this disease but they will continue conducting research until more concrete information on the cause of this peculiar disease and ultimately a treatment or cure can be found.

– Lisa Toole

Sources: Global Health Front Line, CDC, CNN, NPR
Photo: Gizmodo

Polio is a virus that causes paralysis of the lungs and spine and in severe cases death. It is suspected that polio has been around for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptian paintings portray priests with deformed limbs reminiscent of the disease. It was not until the industrial age however that major polio epidemics occurred first in Europe and then in the United States.

The first documented outbreak of Polio in the U.S. occurred in 1884 in Rutland Country, Vermont. Eighteen deaths and 132 cases of infantile paralysis were documented. However British physician Dr. Michael Underwood had written a clinical description of the disease almost 100 years earlier, calling it “debility of the lower extremities”. In 1840 German physician Dr. Jacob von Heine conducted a systematic investigation of the disease and hypothesized that it might be contagious. In 1905 after a series of epidemics in Sweden, Dr. Ivar Wickman published that a report suggesting that polio was contagious and seemed to involve the spine. In 1907 he characterized different types of polio noting that polio could occur in milder forms, which he called “abortive”.

Throughout the 19th century known as “Infantile Paralysis” but in 1908 Austrian physicians Karl Landsteiner and Erwin Popper announced that the disease was viral and it was named poliovirus.  They made this discovery by withdrawing spinal fluid from a patient who had died from the disease and putting it through a bacterial filter. They then inserted the fluid into the spines of monkeys, who then developed the disease. As viral particles are smaller than bacterial particles they concluded that the disease was viral.

In 1916 the first major polio epidemic occurred in the U.S there were 27, 000 cases and 6000 deaths. In New York City alone there were 9000 cases and 2343 deaths. Polio was most common in children however it also affected adults; between 1949 and 1954 35% of the cases were adults. In 1921 Franklin D. Roosevelt contracted the poliovirus at the age of 39. In 1927 he formed the Warms Spring Foundation for polio rehabilitation in Georgia. He then founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis in 1938. The organization still exists today as the March of Dimes, a fundraising organization focused on polio research.

During the late 1940’s and early 1950’s Dr. Jonas Salk at the University of Pittsburg began developing a vaccine for polio and in 1955 he developed the first effective vaccine against polio, the inactive (killed) injectable vaccine. Between 1955 and 1957 the incidence of polio in the U.S. fell by almost 90%. Around the same time Dr. Albert Sabin developed and tested a “live” vaccine. He had to test the vaccine in Russia due to Salk’s monopolization of the U.S.  This became the vaccine of choice world wide due to its easier oral administration and cheaper cost. However as of 1999 the US began using Salk’s inactive virus because of the risk that the active virus could be too strong and lead to the development of polio. Both of these doctors were instrumental to the eradication of polio in North America and Europe.

By 1988 the virus had been completely eradicated in North America, Australia and Western Europe, however it still remained endemic in 125 countries. In 1988 the World Health Organization announced a plan to vaccinate all children in underdeveloped countries. As of 2012, polio is officially endemic in only four countries – Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan and India.

– Lisa Toole

Sources: History of Vaccines, Global Polio Eradication, NMAH, BBC, Polio Today
Photo: Terrierman’s Daily Dose

Global Health Accomplishments WHO
Global health has a huge impact with poverty. In many poverty-stricken areas, a lack of proper health equipment and the spread of diseases is a major function in the poverty trap. These countries rarely have the bare minimum to handle widespread disease and other health complications, making it hard truly to combat a global health issue. Despite these bleak conditions, there have been impressive global health accomplishments. The work and time put in by programs such as United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have made these ten necessary improvements for impoverished areas.

Global health has improved by leaps and bounds over the past decade. Many different factors have caused this great revolution of health, but ten specific reasons can be credited with carrying the weight. Without improvement in these specific areas by programs like USAID and the CDC, many of the great advancements seen today in global health would have never had the funds to be reached.

 

Factors Contributing to Global Health Accomplishments

 

In many areas with great health risks; immunizations and vaccines are not made readily available. Without these treatments, many people are often infected by disease that could otherwise be avoided or contained with the assistance of vaccination and immunization. First, USAID immunization programs have provided the funds to treat up to three million impoverished people per year.

Many nations struggle with health issues because of water deprivation. Second, USAID introduced oral hydration therapy to these areas, in hopes it would counteract dehydration problems. As of today, the oral hydration therapy has been successful in areas all around the globe, with tens of millions of people being properly nourished through the low-cost program yearly.

Thirdly,  not only is the oral hydration therapy combatting worldwide dehydration, USAID has partnered with The United Nations Drinking Water Supply to help some 1.3 billion people receive proper water nourishment sources.

Sanitary water is a vital piece to figuring out the poverty puzzle, but the eradication of poverty begins with the young people. Fourth, the average number of children per family in impoverished nations has dropped from 6.1 in the mid-1960s to 4.2 today. In addition, infant and child deaths have decreased by 50 percent in these impoverished areas.

Fifth, USAID child survival programs have made a 10 percent child mortality rate reduction in just the past eight years. Not only has the number of children’s lives saved risen, but life expectancy has improved by 33 percent in these nations.

The decrease of major diseases worldwide is a major improvement made possible by USAID, CDC, and similar programs worldwide. Sixth, Smallpox has been eradicated, and now only exists in laboratories. Seventh, USAID has accounted for thirty-two HIV/AIDS prevention programs throughout the world.

Eighth, over 850,000 people have been reached by the HIV program, and (ninth) another 40,000 people have been trained to treat the virus. Lastly, programs like the CDC have been responsible for the diminishing malaria cases, from 2004 (2.1 million cases) to 2009 (1.8 million cases).

By combatting major poverty causing issues such as disease epidemics, unsanitary water, and child mortality rates, programs such as USAID and the CDC have been instrumental in causing the turnaround of world poverty. With the continued support from these programs, the world’s impoverished people can be assured of better conditions outside of these ten beneficial starts.

 

10 Key Global Health Accomplishments

 

1. USAID immunizations and vaccines have provided funds to treat up to three million impoverished people per year.

2. Introduction of oral hydration therapy in impoverished areas.

3. Supplied roughly 1.3 billion people proper nourishment sources.

4. Average number of children per impoverished family has dropped from 6.1 to 4.2.

5. 10 percent child mortality rate reduction.

6. Smallpox only exists in laboratories.

7. USAID has 32 HIV/AIDS programs throughout the world.

8. 850,000+ people have been reached by the HIV program.

9. 40,000 have been trained to treat HIV.

10. Diminishing malaria cases, from 2.1 million to 1.8 million over a five year period.

– Zachary Wright

Sources:  USAIDCDC

Photo: USAID

MRSA
On October 11th, a third player on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team was diagnosed with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a deadly bacterial infection known as MRSA or staph. According to Buddy Creech, Assistant Professor of Pediatric Medicine at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, many people carry MRSA on their skin. It is easier for football players to contract it because of the skin to skin contact and open wounds endured by tackles and hits. It is also common to contract it in crowded environments, such as hospitals.

Two out of every one hundred people carry MRSA.  The bacteria lives on people’s skin and the inside of their noses.  People who have healthy immune systems can fight off the infection with the use of specific antibiotics given out at hospitals. However, for those with weak immune systems, this infection could lead to boils, toxic shock syndrome, septic problems, heart valve problems and even death.

The most important thing when dealing with this bacteria is to sterilize everything during the treatment process. It is not unusual for people staying in hospitals to contract MRSA if the equipment they are surrounded by were not properly sanitized.

The MRSA outbreak in the NFL is a problem for global health. If it is a problem in the U.S., there is no telling how much a concern it could become in developing countries.  If this outbreak were to occur in a developing country, it is unlikely that they would have the sterilization equipment necessary to prevent it from spreading. The treatment also requires very specific antibiotics that not many countries have quick access to.

MRSA has already begun to grow as a global epidemic. In Asia, the prevalence of MRSA has grown from 17 percent in 1986 to 40 percent in 2000. In Africa, the presence of MRSA has ranged from 5 percent to 45 percent. MRSA has also been found in Europe, Australia and South America.

– Olivia Hadreas

Sources: UT Southwestern, CDC, Medical News Today, ABC News
Photo: ESPN