5 (1 votes)

New guidance issued today by the World Wellness Organization (WHO) calls for the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines into immunization programmes in developing countries, beginning together with the currently licensed 7-valent vaccine (PCV7).

Pneumococcal illness will be the leading vaccine preventable cause of child deaths worldwide. WHO estimates that about 1.6 million folks, such as up to 1 million kids under 5 years old, die every year of pneumococcal pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis.(1) In populations with high child mortality rates, pneumonia could be the leading infectious cause of mortality and accounts for about 20-25% of all child deaths.(2)

Recognizing the heavy burden of pneumococcal illness in young young children and the safety and efficacy with the PCV7 in this age group, WHO considers its inclusion in national immunization programmes as a priority, particularly in countries with under five mortality greater than 50 per 1000 live births, or higher than 50,000 child deaths annually.

“Pneumococcal illness kills as much as a million kids a year, most of them in developing countries,” said Dr Adenike Grange, President of the International Pediatric Association. “This decision is an important step in the introduction of a safe and powerful pneumococcal vaccine for creating countries.”

Dr Orin Levine, Executive Director of PneumoADIP – a non-governmental organization that aims to shorten the time between use of a vaccine in industrialized nations and their introduction inside the developing globe – commented: “GAVI’s PneumoADIP(3) applauds WHO for providing important leadership and guidance for the use of pneumococcal vaccine to prevent pneumonia in creating countries. Together with GAVI’s financing and the Advance Market Commitment, the WHO position statement is helping bring pneumococcal vaccines towards the kids who need them most, faster than ever prior to.”

Typically new vaccines take fifteen years or much more to reach developing countries. With this recommendation there is now the prospect of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine achieving regular use in Africa only eight years soon after it was introduced within the USA.

HIV infection significantly increases the risk of pneumococcal illness in youngsters and adults. Because pneumococcal conjugate vaccines have been shown to be safe and efficacious in HIV infected young children, WHO recommends that countries with high prevalence of HIV prioritize the introduction of PCV7. Furthermore, populations with high prevalence of other underlying conditions that enhance the risk of pneumococcal illness, e.g. sickle cell disease, should also be targeted for vaccination.

“Children with HIV are as much as 40 times far more likely to get pneumococcal disease than HIV-negative youngsters along with the vaccine has been shown to assist prevent the disease in these vulnerable children” stated Dr Thomas Cherian, Coordinator of the Expanded Programme on Immunization Plus, WHO Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals.

The serotypes included within the PCV7 vaccine cover 65-80% with the serotypes associated with invasive pneumococcal illness amongst young youngsters in Western industrialized countries. Despite the absence of some serotypes that are critical causes of pneumococcal illness in developing countries, PCV7 can prevent substantial mortality and morbidity in these countries. The safety and efficacy of PCV7, as with other formulations of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, have been properly established in numerous settings each in: industrialized and creating countries; in urban and rural settings; and among infants with HIV infection.

“As a result of this recommendation, we expect pneumococcal vaccines to begin saving lives in GAVI countries in 2008. GAVI countries now have WHO’s recommendation along with the ability to obtain the vaccine via GAVI for $0.10 to $0.30 per dose”, stated Dr Orin Levine. “Recognizing that vaccines with 10-13 serotypes will become widely offered by 2010, WHO advises countries to start saving lives with all the available vaccine and then decide whether to switch to one of the other vaccines when they arrive,” stated Dr Orin Levine.

The WHO recommendation along with WHO pre-qualification of PCV 7 will set the stage for the introduction of this vaccine with GAVI support within the world’s poorest countries in 2008. Pre-qualification is a WHO procedure to guarantee the safety and efficacy of all vaccines purchased by the UN agencies.

Introduction of any new vaccine requires careful attention to surveillance and pneumococcal vaccine is no exception. WHO encourages countries to conduct appropriate surveillance for pneumococcal invasive illness to establish the baseline and monitor the impact of vaccination, such as the occurrence and magnitude of replacement illness. This is especially essential in creating countries which are amongst the first to introduce vaccine into their national programs and in countries with high prevalence of HIV infections, or other conditions recognized to increase the risk of pneumococcal illness.

Pneumococcal illness affects persons of all ages. The risk of serious illness remains high throughout the very first 24 months of life. When PCV7 is 1st introduced into routine childhood immunization programmes, maximum individual and community-level protection might be achieved by also providing a single catch-up dose with the vaccine to previously unvaccinated young children aged 12-24 months, and to high risk young children aged 2-5 years.

Other pneumococcal vaccines in development, which contain further serotypes targeting strains with the disease that commonly cause death and disability within the creating world, are in advanced stages of testing and are expected to become available to developing countries between 2009 and 2011. Introducing the 7-valent vaccine now means that lives can start off to be saved straight away. This vaccine, manufactured by Wyeth, is successful, well-tolerated and may be delivered through existing immunisation systems. Surveillance data from the USA(four) indicate that the herd immunity(x) impact from routine childhood pneumococcal vaccination prevents twice as a lot of instances as the direct effects of vaccination alone, protecting vulnerable adults as nicely as children.

(x) Herd immunity is the resistance of a population to spread of an infectious organism due to the immunity of a high proportion with the population – the US study suggests that the herd immunity impact of pneumococcal vaccination could possibly be especially strong.

References

1. World Wellness Organization. Pneumococcal vaccines. Wkly Epidemiol Record 2003;14:110-19

2. Williams BG, Gouws E, Boschi-Pinto C et al. Estimates of worldwide distribution of child deaths from acute respiratory infections. Lancet Infect Dis 2002;2:25-32

3. Pneumococcal Vaccines Accelerated Development and Introduction Plan – funded via a $30 million grant from the GAVI Alliance

4. Centers for Illness Control and Prevention. Direct and Indirect Effects of Routine Vaccination of Youngsters with 7-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine on Incidence of Invasive Pneumococcal Disease – Unites States, 1998-2003. MMWR 2005;54:893-897.

Pneumococcal illness is an infection brought on by Streptococcus pneumoniae. When these bacteria invade the lungs, they trigger the most widespread kind of bacterial pneumonia. The bacteria can also invade the bloodstream (bacteremia) and/or the tissues and fluids surrounding the brain and spinal cord (meningitis).

According to WHO, pneumococcal pneumonia and meningitis are responsible for 800,000 to one million child deaths every year and far more than 90 percent of pneumococcal pneumonia deaths in youngsters occur in creating countries.

The Globe Well being Organization (WHO) could be the United Nations specialized agency for wellness. It was established on 7 April 1948. WHO’s objective, as set out in its Constitution, could be the attainment by all peoples of the highest feasible level of wellness. Well being is defined in WHO’s Constitution as a state of total physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of illness or infirmity.

The goal of the Pneumococcal Vaccines Accelerated Development and Introduction Plan (PneumoADIP) is to shorten the time between the use of a new vaccine in industrialized countries and its introduction in developing countries by reducing demand uncertainty and achieving an affordable, sustainable supply of vaccines. This novel approach is funded by the GAVI Alliance. PneumoADIP is located at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The mission of PneumoADIP is to boost child survival and well being by accelerating the evaluation of and access to new life saving pneumococcal vaccines for the world’s kids.

pneumoADIP
http://www.preventpneumo.org/

Scientists and volunteers from Earthwatch, the environmental charity, have developed a comprehensive new Geographic Details Systems (GIS) database that will help neighborhood communities inside the Samburu region of Kenya to manage their water supply and avert public well being crises.

Compiled over three years, the maps detail permanent and temporary water sources, such as springs, rivers, pools and dams. They also include information about water quality and seasonal variability. This important outcome is consistent with Goal 7 with the Millennium Development Goals, which includes ensuring sustainable access to improved water sources.

“In this semi-arid region exactly where men and women and wildlife compete for natural resources, the new GIS database has the prospective to greatly boost access to clean drinking water” says Nat Spring, Study and Education Manager for Earthwatch (Europe).

Fred Atieno, Earthwatch scientist from the Samburu Field Centre, continues, “We will ensure that local folks understand this information by adding the region’s roads, villages, markets, schools, as well as other familiar features. Different layers inside the database show water source locations and quality, seasonal rivers, and exactly where there is very good grazing land or scrubland.”

By providing info about water quality, the maps will also help with public well being issues, in a community exactly where 80 per cent of diagnosed diseases are waterborne.

“I hope that this details will assist people, including wildlife herders who travel with their livestock, to find and choose cleaner water sources,” says Philip Leitore, from Wamba Mission Hospital in Samburu. “Also, if we know that a patient comes from a village where the water is contaminated, we can treat them accordingly.”

In 2006, Wamba Mission Hospital detected cholera in a water sample collected by Earthwatch teams; this prevented a public epidemic that could have affected several men and women in the Samburu area. The GIS database also shows how wet and dry seasons affect water quality, helping to warn folks when and exactly where outbreaks might occur.

Earthwatch is now working closely together with the Northern Rangeland Trust, Namunyak Wildlife Conservation Trust, Kalama Community Conservancy and West Gate Conservancy to disseminate the information amongst a community exactly where most info is shared by word of mouth.

About EARTHWATCH EUROPE

Earthwatch supports scientific field study and environmental education so that you can generate the data, understanding and motivation necessary for sustainable conservation of our natural resources and cultural heritage. It does this by producing partnerships amongst scientists, the general public, educators and businesses. Earthwatch currently supports about 130 projects in 50 countries.

EARTHWATCH EUROPE
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Oxford
OX2 7HT. United Kingdom
http://www.earthwatch.org/europe

A new study by researchers at the Center for Mass Destruction Defense (CMADD) in the University of Georgia details the catastrophic impact a nuclear attack would have on American cities.

The study, which the authors stated was the most advanced and detailed simulation published in open scientific literature, highlights the inability with the nation’s current medical system to deal with casualties from a nuclear attack. It also suggests what the authors said are a lot needed yet relatively simple interventions that could save tens of thousands of lives.

“The likelihood of a nuclear weapon attack in an American city is steadily increasing, and also the consequences will be overwhelming” stated Cham Dallas, CMADD director and professor inside the UGA College of Pharmacy. “So we need to have to substantially boost our preparation.”

Dallas and co-author William Bell, CMADD senior study scientist and faculty member with the UGA College of Public Health, examined four high-profile American cities – New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta – and modeled the effects of a 20 kiloton nuclear detonation and a 550 kiloton detonation. (For comparison, the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were in the 12 to 20 kiloton range). Bell explained that a 20 kiloton weapon could be manufactured by terrorists and fledgling nuclear countries like North Korea and Iran, while a 550 kiloton device is commonly located in the arsenal of the former Soviet Union and consequently may be the most likely to be stolen by terrorists.

The study, which took 3 years to total and appears in the current issue with the International Journal of Wellness Geographics, combines data on the impact with the devices, prevailing weather patterns and block-level population data from the U.S. Census Bureau to provide a level of detail previously unavailable.

Among the study’s findings:

* A 20-kiloton detonation would leave debris tens of feet thick in downtown areas with buildings 10-stories or higher. Roughly half with the population in downtown areas would be killed, mainly from collapsing buildings. Most of those surviving the initial blast in downtown areas would be exposed to a fatal dose of radiation.

* Even though the main effects from a 20-kiloton explosion would be from the blast along with the radiation it releases, a 550-kiloton explosion would create extra and substantial casualties from burns. Such an explosion would superheat the blast zone, causing buildings to spontaneously combust. Mass fires would consume cities, reaching out nearly four miles (6.3 km) in all directions from the detonation website.

* A 550 kiloton detonation in New York would result in a fallout plume extending the length of Lengthy Island, resulting in far more than 5 million deaths.

* A 550 kiloton detonation in Washington, D.C. would destroy hospitals in the District, but its fallout plume would also incapacitate hospitals in Baltimore, nearly 40 miles away.

The researchers note that in all four cities studied, hospitals are concentrated within the area most likely to be destroyed. Another weak link will be the inability with the nation’s hospital system to treat the burn victims a 550-kiloton detonation would create. A 550-kiloton detonation in Atlanta, the least densely populated of the 4 cities studied, would result in nearly 300,000 serious burn victims.

“The hospital system has about 1,500 burn beds inside the whole country, and of these maybe 80 or 90 percent are full at any given time,” Bell stated. “There’s no way of treating the burn victims from a nuclear attack using the existing medical system.”

Dallas acknowledges that the consequences of a nuclear attack would be grim, but stresses that there are ways that tens of thousands lives could be saved.

“If a nuclear detonation had been to occur in a downtown area, the picture would be bleak there,” Dallas stated. “But in urban areas farther from the detonation, there actually is quite a bit that we can do. In certain areas, it could be possible to turn the death rate from 90 percent in some burn populations to probably 20 or 30 percent – and those are very big differences – just by being prepared well in advance.”

One intervention is to mount a public awareness campaign to teach civilians what to do in the event of a nuclear attack. Because radioactive plumes move downwind, a person can look up in the trees to see which way the wind is blowing and then flee perpendicular towards the wind. Due to the fact the plumes are significantly longer than they’re wide, moving as little as 1 to 5 miles perpendicular towards the plume can mean the difference between life and death. Individuals in areas upwind of the detonation internet site, on the other hand, are safest staying exactly where they are.

“There are certain areas where people should flee,” Dallas said. “But in most areas, it would be considerably safer for individuals to stay put.”

Dallas stated today’s hospital burn units supply exemplary but time consuming care to burn victims, who typically arrive sporadically and in small numbers. A nuclear attack would bring a sudden surge of patients, but the medical system could dramatically minimize fatalities by training staff and equipping non-medical people to treat second-degree burn victims in much larger numbers. Dallas stated the focus must be on cleaning the wounds to avoid fatal infections, administering painkillers and then moving on towards the next patient. And all of this must occur in the field, because thousands of victims would not make it to a hospital.

“Under the current system and in these extraordinary conditions, they’re going to be able to treat a hundred individuals well and not treat 99,900 individuals,” Dallas said. “So we’ve got to change those gears.”

On April 19, Dallas will address the United Nations for the second time in as a lot of years. He will discuss options for repairing the crumbling sarcophagus surrounding the reactor that triggered the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. He also will discuss the consequences of a nuclear attack and what nations can do to prepare.

“We want to try to encourage men and women to pay attention to this, because it’s not the end with the world,” Dallas said. “There are actually steps that 1 can take to save lives. But we’re running out of time.”

###

The complete study is accessible online.

About the study authors

Cham Dallas, CMADD director and professor within the UGA College of Pharmacy, has a national and international reputation in toxicology and issues regarding weapons of mass destruction stemming from much more than a decade of investigation, teaching and humanitarian efforts in Chernobyl-contaminated areas.

William Bell, CMADD senior analysis scientist and faculty member within the UGA College of Public Wellness, is an internationally recognized specialist in WMD modeling, mass casualty estimation and management and care of large numbers of internally displaced persons due to civil war or natural disasters. Bell deploys on short assignments inside the early stages of major disasters. Current deployments have included Sudan, Ivory Coast, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

About CMADD

The Center for Mass Destruction Defense is funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CMADD is 1 with the CDC’s Centers for Public Health Preparedness and is dedicated to reducing the casualties and social disruption from weapons of mass destruction events and natural disasters by way of engagement in planning, mitigation, risk analysis, professional training as well as the development of response capabilities and infrastructure. CMADD partner institutions include the University of Georgia, Medical College of Georgia, the American Medical Association as well as the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.

Contact: Sam Fahmy
University of Georgia

How much progress has the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) made in combating the global HIV/AIDS crisis considering that it first began disbursing $15 billion in funds to hard-hit countries? When Congress passed legislation making PEPFAR, members named on the Institute of Medicine to conduct a progress evaluation partway by way of the five-year initiative. PEPFAR IMPLEMENTATION: PROGRESS AND PROMISE, a new IOM report, reviews activities the program has supported and evaluates gains made against the AIDS pandemic. It outlines ways to build on those advances and to overcome obstacles that have hindered faster, smoother progress. The report will be released at a one-hour public briefing.

BRIEFING DETAILS:

11 a.m. EDT on Friday, March 30, within the auditorium with the National Academies’ building, 2100 C St., N.W., Washington, D.C. Those who cannot attend could listen to a live audio webcast and submit questions using an e-mail form at http://national-academies.org/.

PARTICIPATING FROM THE COMMITTEE THAT WROTE THE REPORT:

* JAIME SEPULVEDA AMOR (chair), Presidential Chair and visiting professor, Global Health Sciences and School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco

* AFFETTE MCCAW-BINNS, professor and reproductive health epidemiologist, Section of Community Well being, University with the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica

* CHARLES CARPENTER, professor of medicine and director, AIDS Center, Brown University, Providence, R.I.

###

Contact: Christine Stencel
The National Academies

5 (2 votes)

Article Opinions:1 posts
Following a meeting of experts along with other representatives in Switzerland earlier this month the World Well being Organization (WHO) as well as the joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) have announced that male circumcision should be portion with the technique to prevent heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men.

The meeting was held in Montreux between 6th and 8th of March and was attended by HIV/AIDS experts and representatives from a wide range of stakeholders including governments, human rights, scientists, women’s wellness, civil society, young folks, sponsoring and fundholders, and programme implementers.

HIV/AIDS experts stated the evidence supporting male circumcision was compelling and strongly recommended that it form a major part with the method to prevent HIV from spreading by heterosexual means in men.

Their recommendations had been mostly influenced by the results of 3 randomized controlled trials conducted in Kisumu in Kenya, Rakai District in Uganda and Orange Farm in South Africa where results showed male circumcision reduced the risk of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men by about 60%. The trials were stopped early because the evidence was so compelling and it was essential to let the globe know and start moving toward applying the lessons learned.

These trials echo results from observational studies on African as well as other communities that located strong links between lower HIV rates and high percentages of circumcised males.

The way ahead however just isn’t easy and there are numerous possible pitfalls.

Apart from the obvious one of money, the implementation of such a method wants careful consideration. 1 area that will need to have sensitive handling would be to steer clear of coercion and ensure that ethical procedures for example informed consent and respect for cultural values are followed.

Also, it can be crucial that education and advice form an critical component of the process, and also the suggestion is that all males considering circumcision and their partners are offered counselling that also stresses the importance of correct condom use and safe sex practice.

There is a danger that if the programme does not roll out properly, the message will become distorted into 1 that makes men think circumcision will be adequate to cease them becoming infected. It won’t. It is only part of a mix of precautions that they will have to accept and practise so that you can dramatically alter their HIV infection risk.

Catherine Hankins, Associate Director, Department of Policy, Evidence and Partnerships at UNAIDS emphasized that male circumcision was just 1 of a number of crucial things that together form a comprehensive method. “We must be clear”, she stated, “male circumcision does not offer total protection against HIV. Men and women who consider male circumcision as an HIV preventive method must continue to use other forms of protection like male and female condoms, delaying sexual debut and reducing the number of sexual partners.”

Another consideration is that health services inside the areas that most require this intervention, such as sub-Saharan Africa, are not strong.

It is crucial that the introduction of new strategies doesn’t disrupt systems that are already in place. If male circumcision is to provide lengthy term, sustainable benefits to a community already struggling to implement healthcare, then it should be integrated with existing services, said the WHO and UNAIDS spokespeople.

Male circumcision is a procedure that is relatively safe however it does carry risks. Wellness professionals want to be trained and certified in appropriate safety and hygiene, the right equipment has to be provided, and operations monitored to ensure standards are met.

The maximum public health benefit will be felt if male circumcision is offered in areas with a high prevalence of heterosexually acquired HIV infection and low numbers of circumcised males.

Studies using computer models suggest that in sub-Saharan Africa male circumcision could prevent 5.7 million new infections of HIV and three million deaths from AIDS more than 20 years.

Estimates suggest that 665 million men worldwide are circumcised; this is 30 per cent with the world’s male population.

There is no evidence that male circumcision reduces HIV infection rates in women, nor in men who have sex with men.

Reports on the Kenyan and Ugandan trials had been published in the 23rd February 2007 edition with the Lancet .

Click here for far more information WHO and HIV/AIDS.

Written by: Catharine Paddock
Writer: Medical News Today
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

3.33 (three votes)

Healthcare Prof:

5 (1 votes)

Article Opinions:1 posts
A new study suggests that babies born to HIV infected mothers have lower HIV infection risk when fed exclusively on breast milk for at least six months than those who are raised on alternatives such as baby formula, animal milk or mixed breastfeeding.

This study concords with other reports that exclusive breastfeeding confers a significantly lower risk of HIV transmission compared with mixed breastfeeding.The study is published in the current issue of The Lancet.

The study authors, Hoosen Coovadia and Nigel Rollins from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, and colleagues from the UK, are calling on UNICEF, WHO, and UNAIDS and other agencies to change their policy on breastfeeding versus alternative baby feeding inside the creating globe.

The current policy is that exactly where it’s safe to do so (for example facilities for water and bottle sterilizing exist), HIV-infected mothers should bottle feed their babies. Exactly where it really is not safe to bottle feed, then exclusive breastfeeding is recommended.

The study authors are suggesting this policy is changed in favour of exclusive breastfeeding.

The non-randomized study was conducted in 9 antenatal clinics in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa: seven rural, 1 semiurban, and one urban and included 2722 HIV-infected and uninfected pregnant women who had been followed until the babies were no less than 6 months old.

Every week the mothers were asked questions about what their babies were getting fed on, and every month blood samples were taken from mothers and babies.

The researchers analyzed the HIV tranmission risk at various infant ages as much as 6 months, and assessed the influence of other mother and child variables on the risk, including mothers’ immune system well being and babies’ birth weights.

The findings revealed that the HIV infection risk of an exclusively breastfed baby in the age of 6 months who was uninfected at 6 weeks was 4 per cent.

This figure is roughly in line together with the findings from other studies in South Africa and Zimbabwe, although direct comparisons are hard since they employed different methods.

However, babies who had formula milk as properly getting breastfed, before or following 14 weeks old, had been practically twice as likely to be infected as exclusively breastfed babies.

Moreover, breastfed babies who were also fed with solids had been nearly 11 times a lot more likely to become infected compared with exclusively breastfed babies.

While the study did not look into the causes with the increased risk, the authors speculated on what they might be.

One suggestion was that babies who are fed exclusively on breast milk develop a stronger lining within the mucosa of their intestines developing an successful barrier to HIV. Another suggestion was that women who exclusively breastfeed their babies tend to have fewer breast wellness problems for example mastitis and abscesses which are linked to higher levels of HIV inside the breast milk.

Speculating on why the risk was so high for breastfed babies who had been also fed on solids, the authors suggested that the large protein molecules in the solid food may weaken the cells inside the gut, or change the way cell receptors perform within the gut, allowing the HIV to breach its integrity.

The survival rate of breastfed babies was also influenced by the status of the mother’s immune system.

Exclusively breastfed babies of mothers with CD4-cell counts below 200 per microlitre had been twice as likely to become infected and nearly four times a lot more likely to die prior to reaching the age of 6 months than babies whose mothers’ CD4-cell count was above 500 per microlitre.

The authors argue that this makes a case for giving breastfeeding mothers with low CD4-cell counts priority for receiving retrovirals as early as feasible to enhance survival rates for themselves and their babies.

The study concludes with a important message for policy makers,”Early introduction of solid foods and animal milks increases HIV transmission risks compared with exclusive breastfeeding from birth. These data, together with evidence that exclusive breastfeeding might be supported in HIV-infected women, warrant revision of the present UNICEF, WHO, and UNAIDS infant feeding-guidelines that had been last revised in 2000.”

“Mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 infection for the duration of exclusive breastfeeding in the very first 6 months of life: an intervention cohort study.”
Hoosen M Coovadia, Nigel C Rollins, Ruth M Bland, Kirsty Little, Anna Coutsoudis, Michael L Bennish and Marie-Louise Newell.
The Lancet 2007; 369:1107-1116
DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60283-9

Click here for full text of Article (free subscription required).

Click here for UNAIDS pages on Mother to Child HIV transmission.

Written by: Catharine Paddock
Writer: Medical News Today
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

The United Nations Globe Food Programme (WFP) graduated thefirst class of emergency telecommunications team leaders right now soon after anintensive two-week training course – the inaugural session of a newprogramme for details and communications technology (ICT) managers whoare now set for deployment to difficult and dangerous disaster zones.

“The capacity to communicate inside hours of a crisis – no matter whether it is anearthquake, a tsunami or a war – is crucial towards the coordination of reliefefforts. In line with the huge demand for extensive telecoms technology,ICT workers are often amongst the very first to arrive in a disaster zone,” saidErnesto Baca, Director of WFP’s Information & Communications TechnologiesDivision. “Through this programme, we have developed a specialisedtraining that specifically addresses the unique wants of ICT ‘firstresponders’,” he said.

WFP has the largest ICT emergency response capacity amongst United Nationshumanitarian agencies, and may be the UN’s lead agency for communications insupport of humanitarian workers’ safety and security.

WFP’s ICT Emergency Preparedness and Response programme – funded by apartnership between the Vodafone Group Foundation and also the United NationsFoundation – is producing 3 core outcomes: an emergency communicationsdeployment guide, a software application and a cadre of ICT leaders trainedto operate in grave security conditions. It aims to double the number ofICT managers trained and on standby for deployment to the next disaster..These incorporate staff from UN agencies, non-governmental organisations andgovernment stand-by partners.

“Effective communication is crucial in enabling humanitarian assistancewhen disaster strikes. Our aim would be to present training and technologies toensure aid workers can deliver successful humanitarian relief as quickly andefficiently as possible irrespective with the environment they’ve to workin,” said Andrew Dunnett, Director of the Vodafone Group Foundation.

“We learned from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that a dollar spent inpreparation for disaster goes considerably further than a dollar donated following thedisaster,” said Paul Margie, Senior Director of Technology Partnerships atthe UN Foundation. “The goal of this unique public-private partnership isto strengthen emergency response missions by developing greater technologycoordination, faster response times and much more lives saved,” he said.

Twenty-one ICT experts participated inside the programme, bringing combinedemergency response experience that includes dozens of current crises such asthe 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 South Asian earthquake, the 2006war in Lebanon, and also the ongoing crisis in Sudan. The two-week course washeld from 19-30 March at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, among the mostprestigious universities in Italy, which specializes in humanitariantraining programmes.

WFP may be the world’s largest humanitarian agency: each year, we give food toan typical of 90 million poor folks to meet their nutritional desires,which includes 58 million hungry youngsters, in at the least 80 with the world’s poorestcountries. WFP — We Feed Men and women.

WFP Global School Feeding Campaign – For just 19 US cents each day, you canhelp WFP give children in poor countries a healthy meal at school – a giftof hope for a brighter future.
www.wfp.org

About the United Nations Foundation

The UN Foundation was created in 1998 with entrepreneur and philanthropistTed Turner’s historic $1 billion gift to support UN causes and activities.The UN Foundation builds and implements public-private partnerships toaddress the world’s most pressing problems and also works to broadensupport for the UN by means of advocacy and public outreach. The UN Foundationis a public charity.
www.unfoundation.org

About the Vodafone Group Foundation

The Vodafone Group Foundation (VGF) was created by Vodafone Group Plc tosupport charitable and community work by all Vodafone companies and their21 Foundations around the world, and to fund selected charitable globalinitiatives directly.

Vodafone Group Foundation (VGF) aims to make social investments that helppeople across the globe to have fuller lives by: Sharing the benefits ofdevelopments in mobile communications technology as widely as feasible;Supporting nearby communities in which Vodafone’s clients, staff,investors and suppliers live; Protecting the environment.

The Vodafone Group Foundation is extremely proud to have helped far more than1000 charitable partners in less than three years, with donations of over????37.8 million funding.
www.vodafonefoundation.org

The United Nations Globe Food Programme warned today thatthousands of Chadians are running out of food in the eastern border regionwith Sudan and face a desperate struggle to survive unless new donationsmeet the wants of a rising tide of men and women driven from their houses.

WFP had planned to feed 50,000 displaced Chadians, however it now estimatesthat an further 80,000 displaced individuals are in urgent require of assistancein the East. The further requirement for the next six months is 7,500metric tons of food at a cost of US$7.five million.

“These folks were forced to leave their houses with absolutely nothing but the clotheson their backs,” stated WFP Chad Country Director Felix Bamezon. “They arecompletely dependent on host communities who can barely feed themselves,and their living conditions are going from bad to worse.”

Continuing conflict and instability in the region bordering on Darfur inwestern Sudan has brought on tens of thousands of rural Chadians to flee theirhomes over the past numerous months. A recent WFP-led assessment foundnearly 130,000 displaced men and women living in makeshift shelters on theoutskirts of villages – virtually three times the number expected. Nearlyhalf of these households were identified to be severely food insecure and inimmediate need of assistance.

WFP is racing against time to pre-position as significantly food as achievable beforethe rainy season, which is expected to start in late June, creating mostroads in eastern Chad impassable.

The vast majority of displaced live in flimsy shelters patched togetherfrom straw or millet stalks, which won’t survive the seasonal rains. Onein 5 households does not even have a roof. Few have access to potablewater or latrines, and neighborhood health services are unable to handle theunexpected flood of new patients.

Nor are the new arrivals the only ones suffering. With so many new mouthsto feed, neighborhood host communities are becoming forced to kill off theirlivestock, and WFP fears that soon seed shops will begin to be consumed ashunger and rising cereal costs take their toll.

“This is just not a sustainable situation,” stated Bamezon. “Life in eastern Chadhas usually been precarious, but now tens of thousands of Chadians are beingpushed to the breaking point. There is merely not sufficient food to goaround.”

More than 2,000 Chadian refugees and Sudanese returnees crossed theSudanese border from Chad into West Darfur in December 2006 and January2007, highlighting how the crisis in Darfur since 2003 is now displacingpeople from Chad — as well as in the northwest with the Central AfricanRepublic.

WFP in Chad responds towards the immediate desires of several displaced Chadians andhost communities by means of common food distributions and supplyingagricultural tools. Seed protection and food-for-work projects are alsoplanned to assist bolster the livelihoods of the poorest towns and villagesin the region.

WFP feeds 225,000 Sudanese refugees in 12 camps in eastern Chad, and morethan 45,000 Central African refugees in 4 camps inside the south. This mostrecent displacement is portion of a cycle of violence that has grown toencompass Darfur, Chad as well as the Central African Republic.

Before the latest boost within the numbers of displaced needing food, WFP’sUS$85 million Emergency Operation to assist Sudanese refugees, internallydisplaced people, host communities and refugee-affected neighborhood folks ineastern Chad from January 2007 until June 2008 had received US$39 million,leaving a shortfall of US$46 million or 54 percent.

Contributions consist of the United States (US$26.8 million); Canada (US$3.4million); Netherlands (US$2.7 million); UN Central Emergency Response Fund(US$1 million — CERF see: ochaonline.un.org); Finland (US$922,000);Switzerland (US$820,000); Turkey (US$400,000); France (US$256,000); private(US$100,000) and multilateral (US$40,000).

WFP may be the world’s largest humanitarian agency: every year, we give food toan average of 90 million poor individuals to meet their nutritional desires,including 58 million hungry children, in a minimum of 80 of the world’s poorestcountries. WFP — We Feed Men and women.

WFP Global School Feeding Campaign – For just 19 US cents each day, you canhelp WFP give children in poor countries a wholesome meal at school – a giftof hope for a brighter future. www.wfp.org

4.29 (7 votes)

Dey, L.P., a U.S. Affiliate of Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, today announced that Cyanokit(R) 5g (hydroxocobalamin for injection) ANTIDOTE is now commercially obtainable in the United States. Cyanokit was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration in December 2006 for the remedy of known or suspected cyanide poisoning.

“The availability of Cyanokit marks an essential step forward for emergency medicine,” stated Christy Taylor, Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and advertising and Organization Development, Dey, L.P. “Dey, L.P. and Merck KGaA think that Cyanokit will have a noticeable and substantial effect on survival of people affected by cyanide poisoning from smoke inhalation as well as other sources, specially since Cyanokit might be utilized in each pre-hospital and hospital settings. Cyanokit also offers a brand new remedy resource for intentional release of cyanide, an identified prospective chemical agent of chance for terrorism. We are glad to be a portion with the evolving field of emergency medical care.”

Cyanokit’s mechanism of action makes possible the rapid initiation of therapy of cyanide poisoning in each pre-hospital and hospital settings. A common cause of cyanide exposure happens by means of smoke inhalation, and quick response is vital. The favorable safety and efficacy profile of Cyanokit permits emergency wellness care professionals to administer the product to patients exhibiting signs and symptoms of cyanide poisoning at the scene of the exposure.

In addition to fire smoke, other causes of cyanide poisoning may include accidental or intentional ingestion or exposure throughout industrial accidents or perhaps a terrorist attack involving cyanide.

Dey, L.P. will manage sales to hospitals along with other emergency medical facilities via their own distribution network. Dey, L.P. has contracted with BoundTree Medical, (http://www.boundtree.com), the nation’s leading emergency medical merchandise distributor, to present Cyanokit to emergency medical service units, fire and police departments, along with other pre-hospital service providers.

About Cyanokit

The active ingredient in Cyanokit, hydroxocobalamin, can be a precursor of vitamin B12. Hydroxocobalamin works by binding directly to the cyanide ions, making cyanocobalamin, a natural form of vitamin B12, that is excreted inside the urine.

Advantages of this approach are that methemoglobin isn’t produced and the oxygen-carrying capacity of the victim’s blood just isn’t lowered. Consequently, Cyanokit is appropriate for use in smoke inhalation victims. Probably the most frequent adverse reactions seen in clinical trials of hydroxocobalamin with wholesome human subjects are transient and incorporate: reddish discoloration of the skin and urine, rash, increased blood pressure, nausea, headache, decreased white blood cell count and injection website reactions. Allergic reactions have been observed. Usage might interfere with some clinical laboratory evaluations.

The initial dose of Cyanokit for adults is five g, administered by intravenous infusion. Depending upon the severity with the poisoning as well as the clinical response, a second dose of five g could possibly be administered up to a total dose of 10 g.

Cyanokit(R) five g (hydroxocobalamin for injection) ANTIDOTE is indicated for the therapy of recognized or suspected cyanide poisoning.

Most common adverse reactions (>5%) are transient and incorporate chromaturia (red-colored urine), erythema (skin redness), rash, elevated blood pressure, nausea, headache, decreased lymphocyte percent, and injection website reactions. Allergic reactions have been observed. Usage may possibly interfere with some clinical laboratory evaluations.

About Dey, L.P.

A U.S. Affiliate of Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, Dey, L.P. develops, manufactures, and markets innovative airway, allergy and emergency medicines that save and enhance lives. The Company puts “patients first” by way of integrated healthcare delivery solutions, and facilitates effective, cost- successful partnerships with its customers. DEY(R) is committed to investing in its employees and also the communities in which they live. Extra details about Dey, L.P. is accessible at http://www.dey.com.

Dey, L.P.
http://www.dey.com

The current outbreak of a lethal mixture of HIV and TB in southern Africa has prompted Britain to pledge an additional US$ three.15 million (????1.6 million) to the Globe Wellness Organization’s Quit TB partnership. The reality that all G8 countries admit the presence of TB strains which are extremely resistant to drugs (so-called Extensively Drug-Resistant TB or XDR-TB) brings residence the WHO’s unsettling message for World TB Day – ‘TB anywhere is TB everywhere’.

The slogan is backed by sobering statistics. Much more than 365 000 cases of TB were reported in the Europe in 2005, 10,000 a lot more than for 2004. The figures for Europe are worrying adequate, but XDR-TB in southern Africa is especially threatening given the prevalence there of HIV infection. Though TB can infect anyone, folks with HIV are at greater risk due to the fact they’re much less able to fight off infection. If, as is so often the case, they have undiagnosed TB, they’ll offer excellent conditions for the development of XDR-TB.

“Supporting patients to total a full course of TB drugs is the important to stopping drug resistance developing”. says John Walley, Professor in International Public Well being and co-director of the DFID funded Communicable Illness Study Programme (COMDIS) based in Leeds.

XDR-TB develops when individuals infected with TB already resistant to first-line treatments fail to complete courses of second-line drug remedy. The WHO wants US$ 650 million per year for the subsequent eight years to diagnose and treat more than 1.five million folks with drug-resistant TB but the achievement of its TB method relies on high levels of compliance of TB patients in taking day-to-day medication over 6-8 months. A tall order when you consider how tough it can be to complete even a one-week course of antibiotics.

In this light Britain’s response towards the call for a lot more funds could seem like a drop in the ocean however it is further to long-term support of research for example COMDIS, which focuses on delivering greater TB care in poorer countries. Such study has already helped the WHO to refine its TB strategy.

Professors John Walley and James Newell and their colleagues in Pakistan and Nepal have been researching approaches of enhancing TB remedy within national TB programmes for many years. Their function, and study by other scientists in other countries, helped the WHO to move away from rigid directly observed remedy to stressing patient-friendly support.

Rather than requiring people to make high-priced visits to clinics to be able to be supervised whilst they take their TB medication, the emphasis is now on supporting the patients’ families and communities in helping folks with TB by means of their illness and long-term treatment.

The COMDIS model embeds study inside national TB programmes and hasproved hugely profitable in Pakistan exactly where new guidelines for TB health workers have been taken up nationwide. ‘We have contributed to a rise in recorded productive treatment rates from about 30 percent before the national scale-up of coaching to an average of 84 percent since’, says Professor Walley.

COMDIS has taken the patient-friendly approach to TB care to Swaziland and has begun to apply this to anti-retroviral treatment for people with HIV. Community-based care is part with the package to enhance adherence to treatment and avoid the development of resistance to TB and anti-retroviral drugs. ‘TB doesn’t respect international borders’, Professor Walley points out. ‘Controlling TB in these countries reduces the risk to us in the UK’.

Department for International Development (DFDI)
http://www.dfid.gov.uk