Price of Blood: China and HIV/AIDS Epidemic

With a stretched red AIDS ribbon pinned to his upper body, Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang warned of the grave situation of HIV/AIDS in China, calling it "not only a medical issue but also a social challenge." On the week of World AIDS Day, the man anticipated to replace Wen Jiabao as premier next year, publicly acknowledged the nation's challenges with the epidemic.

The disease shows no symptom of abating in the world's most populous country. AIDS related-deaths have increased by 8.6 percent to 17,740 deaths, compared with the previous year, according to the country's health figures. And 68,802 new HIV/AIDS cases were reported this year up to October, according to Chinese state media. But some HIV/AIDS advocates say the number of cases is underestimated, in part because many people who have HIV/AIDS may never have been tested to know their status. China has grappled with a checkered HIV history that includes a contaminated blood scandal in a central province and, in years past, denying that AIDS was a problem in the country. But recently, China's elite has appeared to champion HIV/AIDS causes. Peng Liyuan, the wife of China's presumptive next president, Xi Jinping is the World Health Organization's Goodwill Ambassador for Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. Li, who also heads a commission on the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, met with health activists on Monday and vowed action. "Li is very friendly and decisive," said Li Hu, director of HaiHeZhiXing AIDS Volunteer Group, who met with the leader. "There are hopes that we can do a better job with leader's help." In statements published in state-run news media, the vice premier pledged greater support and tax breaks for HIV/AIDS organizations, an expansion of free drug treatment for people with the disease and protection of patients from discrimination at hospitals. HIV/AIDS is increasing deviously, and people need to be aware of what goes on in the world when pertaining to this disease. It needs to be notified by anyone and everyone in the world so that we can prevent this disease from rapidly spreading throughout the world.

New Bird Flu Virus Vaccine

By twin votes of 14-0, the panel agreed that the immunogenicity and the safety of the vaccine, made in Quebec by GlaxoSmithKline, were enough to meet licensing standards under accelerated approval regulations. Flu experts have been watching the H5N1 avian flu for years, fearing it might mutate in a way that would allow it to spread as easily among humans as it does among domestic and wild fowl. Currently, the virus only rarely infects humans but when it does, it is highly dangerous. As of Aug. 10, according to the World Health Organization, there have been 608 cases since 2003 -- 359 of which ended in death. The Q-Pan H5N1 vaccine, developed under contract with the Department of Health and Human Services, consists of a monovalent, inactivated, split A/H5N1 influenza virus antigen and Glaxo's AS03 adjuvant. In clinical trials, the most common adverse events were injection site pain and swelling, muscle aches, headache, fatigue, joint pain, shivering and sweating, according to briefing documents prepared by FDA staff reviewers. The rates of those events were increased compared with unadjuvanted H5N1 antigen or saline placebo. On the other hand, antibody responses to the vaccine were better than for unadjuvanted H5N1 antigen.

People do not realize how important it is to have a deep understanding on their health. Especially since it is flu season, we should all be very cautious about who and what we are around. It can affect the world population, especially since this particular disease is being carried by birds. And with the problem now with population, it would just be another nuisance.

 

 

Dengue Fever in India Frightens Government Officials

The outbreak of dengue fever in India is nurturing a growing sense of fright even as government officials here have publicly refused to acknowledge the scope of a quandary that experts say is intimidating hundreds of millions of people, not just in India but around the world. India has become the focal point for a mosquito-borne plague that is sweeping the globe. Reported in just a handful of countries in the 1950s, dengue is now endemic in half the world’s nations. The tropical disease, though life-threatening for a little portion of those infected, can be tremendously painful. In India’s capital, where areas of standing water supply to the epidemic’s growth, hospitals are swarming. Officials say that 30,002 people in India had been sickened with dengue fever through October, a 59 percent jump from the 18,860 recorded for all of 2011. But the real number of Indians who get dengue fever once a year is in the millions. Neighboring Sri Lanka, for instance, reported nearly three times as many dengue cases as India through August, according to the World Health Organization, even though India’s population is 60 times larger than Sri Lanka.

This opposes a major problem. It is definitely something that I think should be one of the main priorities of India to help get this virus controlled. In my opinion, Americans can go overseas and help them out. Like supplying them with tools and technology to get a final cure for this terrible disease. It needs to be acknowledged that these people are dying at a rapid pace. (If you do more research on this, you will find that out.)

Malaria drugs a finance scheme

The charity Oxfam has cast doubt on an international method that aims to enhance the provision of the most successful treatment for malaria. Oxfam says there is no evidence the program has saved the lives of the most unprotected people. The body behind the AMFm says a self-governing study shows it has improved access and reduced drug prices.  The scheme was introduced three years ago by the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria. It acts as a global subsidy to provide greater access to combination therapy for malaria, particularly through private-sector drug retailers in rising countries. The idea is to diminish the use of older treatments that carry a higher risk of confrontation, and to untap the potential of the private sector in reaching remote communities. More than 200 million people contract malaria every year and 655,000 die from the disease - most of them are young kids. The method is being piloted in seven countries including Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria. Its future will be measured at a meeting of the Global Fund's board next month. Oxfam has criticized it as "risky and dangerous". The charity's senior health policy advisor, Dr Mohga Kamal Yanni, said: "It is dangerous to put the lives of sick children in the hands of a shopkeeper with no medical training, and to pursue a scheme that doesn't help those people who need it the most.”

 

Malaria is rapidly becoming a problem throughout the entire world. And the fact that there is a method occurring that the tests may be a “scam” is outrageous. This could affect the entire world population. It makes me wonder if this is a type of genocide, and that people want rid of others for some reason not known to me. But that is just my opinion. We discussed in class the other day that the world is being overpopulated and that there are more retired than there are working. This could oppose a problem if in fact the scheme is true. If the people in the work force are dying, then who will be able to support the retired citizens? It makes me think about what this world is coming to, and whether or not we should trust this occurrence.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20046199

West Nile Virus Cases Exceeding

I apologize for this being so late. I have been extremely sick, and unable to have internet access at home.


The number of West Nile Virus cases in the United States has already exceeded the second-highest annual total. As of Tuesday, 4,531 cases of West Nile have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including 183 deaths. This means the case count up has surpassed the totals for 2006, when there were 4,269 cases including 177 victims. But at this point in the year, it's implausible that another 5,000 cases will develop, so the 2012 WNV season probably won't be the worst on documentation. That was in 2003, when there were 9,862 sicknesses and 264 deaths reported. Texas continues to be hardest-hit state, where more than a third of the total quantity of illnesses and nearly a third of the deaths have occurred. About a month ago, Dr. Lyle Petersen, director of the CDC's Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, said he believes "the worst part of the epidemic is behind us." Given that the Indian summer in some parts of the country is waning and cold temperatures have already moved into other regions, the atmosphere for an increasing mosquito resident is becoming more aggressive.

Obviously this is a huge problem in the world today. The virus has been killing off people for a very long time, and there has yet to have been a complete vaccine for it. I find this very disturbing because I have had a friend visit Africa last summer, and she had to get the vaccine in order to be able to go. She got the medicine for free, while where the virus actually is no one is getting any attention and the vaccine is very hard to get a hold of.

Using Cell Phones to Track Malaria in Kenya

Harvard researchers found they could track the spread of malaria in Kenya using phone calls and text messages from 15 million cell phones. “Before mobile phones, we had proxies for human travel, like road networks, census data and small-scale GPS studies,” said study author Caroline Buckee. Buckee and colleagues used cell phone records from June 2008 and June 2009 to track the timing and origin of calls and texts among 15 million Kenyan cell phone subscribers. They then compared the volume of subscribers in a particular region to that region’s known malaria prevalence. By studying networks of human and parasite movement, the team could then determine primary sources of malaria and who was most likely to become infected. The results, published Thursday in the journal Science, suggest that malaria transmission within Kenya is dominated by travel from Lake Victoria on the country’s western edge to the more central capital city of Nairobi. And human carriers of the malaria parasite, who may not show symptoms, far outpace the flying limits of mosquitoes in endemic regions.

This is a big issue because malaria is killing off hundreds of people. The fact that they can now use cell phones to track the virus and figure out where it is going is just phenomenal to me. This way, travelers are more unlikely to get the virus when the go to visit Kenya, and they can focus on more of what they planned to do out there. Technology is increasing rapidly, and it is for the better in this case!

SOURCE
abcnews.com

Morocco using warships to block abortion vessel

Moroccan government has closed the port of Smir and is blocking the harbor with warships to prevent the entry of a Dutch "abortion ship" to the Islamic country. In Morocco, abortion is illegal and the country's Health Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that it had not authorized the vessel's visit or any procedures by nonresident doctors in the area. The abortion ship is ran by Women on Waves, which was founded in 1999 by a Dutch doctor to provide abortions to women in countries where aborting babies is illegal. The main entrance has been blocked by police. A female Moroccan lawyer representing the group is trying to negotiate with officers to let the group enter, Schellekens says. Dutch lawmaker Liesbeth van Tongeren is also in the group, she says. The ship has previously taken the campaign to Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Spain, but this is its first attempt to offer abortions in an Islamic country. Women on Waves said on its website that it is looking into alternatives to get the ship into port in Morocco after the Smir harbor was blocked.

I am against abortion strongly, I think it is wrong. On the other hand, if it a good reason such as, the baby’s health will suffer, or the mother would have to undergo a terrible death, then I think it is the better thing to do. I could argue about this topic all day long. I am very passionate about it, and I am very happy I found this article. I think it is important for the world to realize the importance of this issue, and the fact that women have to travel to other countries just to have an abortion. If something goes wrong with the pregnancy, they have to spend all that time transporting them to another place. Quite frankly, I think this is outrageous and should be taken care of soon. There are enough problems in the world already.

Study Reshaping Ways of Treating Breast Cancer

In findings that are fundamentally reshaping scientific understanding of breast cancer, researchers have found four genetically distinct types of this particular cancer. Within those types, they found hallmark genetic changes that are driving many cancers. These studies are expected to lead to new treatments with drugs already approved for cancers in other parts of the body and new ideas for more precise treatments aimed at genetic aberrations that now have no known treatment. Breast cancer kills more than 35,000 women A YEAR, just in the United States alone. Dr. Matthew Ellis explains, “This is the road map for how we might cure breast cancer on the future.” With this information, so many lives will be saved, and so many lives will be changed. Doctors and other researchers still caution that it will take years to achieve this goal.

I believe that this is a global issue. Many people are struggling with breast cancer around the world, and it is amazing to know that they are on the road to finally finding a cure to this terrible disease. When I was younger, my great aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer. It runs in our family. She had a difficult time, and really struggled with everyday tasks. And this really impacted my grandmother’s life, it was her sister. She had a hard time dealing with the fact that it was a battle that she ended up losing. It touches me, because I never wanted to see someone go through that, especially someone I knew. To know that they are on the right track to finding a cure for this cancer, absolutely thrills me.

The New York Times Newspaper

Monday, September 24, 2012

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