Not much to read today, but there’s still some important stuff out there. Today we’re reading about an anti-lymphatic filariasis effort in Nepal and an update on the fight against Guinea worm.
Free drugs of Filariasis distributed in Kaski, The Rising Nepal
Carter: Eradication of Guinea Worm Disease Near in Sudan, Sheila Poole, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here is some worthwhile weekend reading! Perfect for lounging out and sipping a cup of tea at a local coffee shop!
The Population Research Bureau (PRB) put out a policy brief called “Ending the Neglect of Neglected Tropical Diseases.” The paper gives a good introduction and breakdown of NTDs, its global impact and the cost-effective and efficient solutions available now to help tackle them.
Check it out here
© UNICEF/ HQ96-1400/ Pirozzi
This week marks the 5th annual World Orphan Week sponsored by SOS Children’s Villages, the world’s largest charity dedicated to the long-term care and prevention of orphaned and abandoned children.
According to UNICEF, an estimated 143 million children worldwide are orphans due to natural disaster, conflict, disease and poverty and another 100 million abandoned children live on the streets. SOS Children’s Villages works in 132 countries worldwide providing shelter, emotional support, education and medical care to orphans to ensure that they have a brighter future.
We are especially mindful of the plight of orphaned and abandoned children in Haiti which were already at about 380,000 prior to the January 12th earthquake, and the long-term consequences this vulnerable population faces. Poverty and lack of a support system only exacerbate the challenges orphaned and abandoned children face, increasing their susceptibility to prevalent neglected tropical diseases in Haiti. Now, more than ever, children around the world need our support.
World Orphan Week sheds light on the issues faced by orphaned and abandoned children worldwide and provides the opportunity to help make a difference in the lives of the world’s most vulnerable population.
As we dig ourselves out and are settling back into the office after unprecedented amount of snow hit Washington DC this past week, here is what we’ve been reading.
Surprisingly, modern science has thus far only successfully eradicated one disease—smallpox—but recent developments hint that the world is close to eradicating another devastating infection—Guinea worm. This parasite, which has plagued communities for centuries, causes painful wounds and has the potential to cause disability, infection, and death, but thanks to recent concentrated global efforts, Guinea worm may soon become the first parasitic disease to be eradicated.
One very encouraging sign came last December when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that Uganda had successfully eradicated Guinea worm within its borders. Uganda—which saw its last case of Guinea worm in 2003—joins seven other nations formally certified by the WHO as having eradicated the disease. Even more encouraging is the claim that in 2009 Nigeria experienced zero cases of Guinea worm. This makes Nigeria the 14th of 19 nations previously identified as endemic with the parasite to have recently eliminated the disease within its borders. Should Nigeria continue to be free of Guinea worm for the next several years, it will be WHO certified as having successfully eradicated the disease. Considering that Niger had only 3 cases of Guinea worm in 2009, it’s clear that the campaign to eradicate Guinea worm has been a great success thus far.
And this success was the result of the combined work of the Carter Center, the United States Center for Disease Control, WHO, and UNICEF, as well as other organizations and individuals. With similar efforts, other parasitic worms, including those in the destructive soil-transmitted helminths family, could be controlled, and perhaps one day eradicated altogether.
Listen to Dr. Hotez’s interview on WNYC radio’s Leonard Lopate show to discuss hookworm, national security, and why investing in NTDs is a “best buy” in public health!
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/2010/01/28/segments/149041
Throughout the past two weeks there has been an enormous outpouring of international support and relief to Haiti. Though the efforts are continuing to make a significant difference and impact, it still doesn’t seem to be enough.
Many of us have seen the striking images coming out of Haiti—trucks full of bodies literally pouring corpses into mass graves. Workers in one graveyard claimed to be burying about 10,000 bodies in mass graves everyday. The urgency to quickly bury the bodies is understandable-the stench of the decaying corpses is unbearable and many fear the health risks associated with being exposed to them. However, while these graves may appear to be the solution, many health experts claim that those who are still alive are at little or no disease risk from the exposed corpses.
The WHO released a report saying, “After most natural disasters, there is fear that dead bodies will cause epidemics. This belief is wrongly promoted by the media, as well as some medical and disaster professionals.” Although bodies should not be left exposed for indefinite periods, in case of diarrhea associated with water contamination, the largest health risks do not come from the dead, but instead from the living. We will surely see epidemic levels of many infectious and tropical diseases in Haiti due to a lack of clean water, sanitation or hygiene. Many Haitians have been displaced, there is crowding, and in many places local infrastructure has been completely destroyed. Many Haitians don’t have access to clean water or sanitary places to use the bathroom and the consequences of this problem will become all too evident in the near future.
Therefore, the WHO urges health workers in Haiti to focus on treating the living first, and organizations like the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders are protesting the mass graves, saying that families should have an opportunity to first identify the bodies.
The majority of the bodies that are being hauled into the mass graves remain unidentified. In a country where most people are Catholic and over half the population practices Voodoo, funeral rites are extremely sacred, and survivors fear that the spirits of the dead are trapped without a proper burial. The rushed disposal of these bodies is extremely traumatic for families who have lost loved ones. One reporter writes, “In a country where proper burials are sacred and often festive, the mass disposal is an added horror.”
While we cannot forget that the burden of disease will continue to be exacerbated by the effects of the earthquake and we must continue to bring vital supplies and aid to the living, we also cannot forget that the earthquake has also taken a toll on the religious and cultural rituals of the Haitian people. It’s taken away their ability to grieve and honor those who they loved.
“The Haitian people are wounded,” said Max Beauvoir, Haiti’s chief Voodoo priest. “They are not just wounded in their body alone, they are wounded in their spirit.”
Haiti
NTDs/Global Health
Ever had an eyelash in your eye? It’s a common–and really painful–experience that almost everyone can relate to. Now think of the pain experienced in the few minutes until you can remove the eyelash, but multiply it by thousands, and you’ll come close to understanding the pain caused by trachoma long before it even reaches its most well-known manifestation: blindness.
A single exposure to trachoma bacterium does not in itself cause blindness. Repeated exposure to the disease — through person-to-person contact or infected flies — over time eventually causes the inside of the eyelid to turn inward — a condition called trichiasis — and the eyelashes to scrape and scar the cornea, leading to the formation of corneal opacities and painful and irreversible blindness. Trachoma is particularly common in children under five and the adults – mainly women – who care for them. In some rural communities, 60 – 90 percent of children are infected. Adult women are three times more likely to develop the blindness associated with trachoma, attributed in part to their caretaking of very young children.
Trachoma is the world’s leading cause of preventable blindness. More than 84 million people in 56 countries worldwide have active trachoma, and an estimated eight million have lost their sight due to complications from the disease.
Treatment for trachoma focuses on active symptom elimination and future prevention efforts. A major comprehensive public health strategy approved by the World Health Organization, called SAFE, is underway to treat trachoma epidemics in rural Africa and other parts of the developing world. The combination of surgery (S), antibiotics–typically azyithromycin/Zithromax (A), facial cleanliness (F) and environmental educational efforts (E) is a multi-pronged approach to the disease and has shown promising results.
Between 1999 and 2006, nearly 41 million antibiotic treatments for blinding
trachoma were administered worldwide. For more information, visit organizations like the International Trachoma Initiative and Helen Keller International.
NTDs get major news attention in the January 2010 issue of Scientific American Magazine. The issue features an article titled “How to Cure 1 Billion People—Defeat Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)” by our very own Peter Hotez, detailing the disease burden of NTDs around the world, and the simple, cost effective solutions available for their prevention and control. The article is an informative teaching tool for those unfamiliar with NTDs and also presents a clear call to action: now is the time to act to end the neglect of NTDs. Now, more than ever, the global health community is positioned to tackle NTDs. However, Hotez argues that despite enormous successes with mass drug administration programs and increased awareness and funding, we still have a long way to go to provide complete drug coverage for the billion or more people with NTDs.
Here is an excerpt of the article:
“In the north of Burkina Faso, not far to the east of one of the best-known backpacker destinations in West Africa, the Bandiagara Escarpment in Mali, lies the town of Koumbri. It was one of the places where the Burkina Ministry of Health began a mass campaign five years ago to treat parasitic worms. One of the beneficiaries, Aboubacar, then an eight-year-old boy, told health workers he felt perpetually tired and ill and had noticed blood in his urine. After taking a few pills, he felt better, started to play soccer again, and began focusing on his schoolwork and doing better academically.”
“The Burkina Faso program, which treated more than two million children, was both a success story and an emblem of the tragedy of disease in the developing world. For want of very simple treatments, a billion people in the world wake up every day of their lives feeling sick. As a result they cannot learn in school or work effectively.”
Visit our website to read the full article or pick up your own copy when it hits newsstands in January.
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