NY Times

“…..In the study — known as the Mordor trial and published in the New England Journal of Medicine — 190,238 children under age 5 in 1,500 villages in Malawi, Niger and Tanzania were given one dose of azithromycin or a placebo every six months for two years.

Overall, there were 14 percent fewer deaths among children getting the antibiotic; the reduction was strongest in Niger, where infant mortality is highest.

The protection appeared to be greatest for infants aged 1 month to 5 months; the antibiotic prevented one in four deaths in this group…..”

Yahoo

History Channel

“…..The Consolidated School of New London, Texas, sat in the middle of a large oil and natural gas field. The area was dominated by 10,000 oil derricks, 11 of which stood right on school grounds. The school was newly built in the 1930s for close to $1 million and, from its inception, bought natural gas from Union Gas to supply its energy needs. The school’s natural gas bill averaged about $300 a month. Eventually, officials at Consolidated School were persuaded to save money by tapping into the wet-gas lines operated by Parade Oil Company that ran near the school. Wet gas is a type of waste gas that is less stable and has more impurities than typical natural gas…..”

UCSF

“…..When the study began in 2008, one in seven children in the Bamako region died before the age of five. By 2015, that had fallen to one in 142, which is comparable to the rate in the United States. This level would meet the UN’s goal of reducing deaths among children under five to no more than 25 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030…..

The intervention sent health workers to people’s homes to ask about children’s well-being, provided care at the doorstep and triaged the sickest patients to health care facilities. The community health care workers provided counseling, diagnosed malaria for people of all ages, as well as pneumonia, diarrheal disease and malnutrition for children under five. They treated the uncomplicated cases, and referred patients with danger signs or conditions that were outside their scope of practice to primary health centers.

Over the course of the study, the percentage of young children who had fevers was cut in half and the number of patient visits in the home and the clinic increased by ten times.

The workers offered antimalarial treatment, and the number of children with fevers who received antimalarial treatment within 24 hours of the onset of their symptoms more than doubled, from about 15 percent to just over 35 percent.

The intervention also strengthened government primary care facilities with more infrastructure, training, and staff. And workers were on call, in case someone needed their services. They also made follow-up visits to help patients adhere to their therapy, particularly in the case of diarrheal disease, and searched for sick newborns, pregnant women and those who had just given birth and needed care, to evacuate them to primary care facilities for treatment.

The approach, which the researchers called Proactive Community Case Management, cost between $6 and $13 dollars per person, per year, over what the government was already spending on health care.

During the seven years of the study, the childhood mortality rate in Mali was falling, although not by much, and in 2015, it was still among the highest in the world at 114 deaths per 1,000 live births. By contrast, that same year, the area of the intervention had a child mortality rate of 7 deaths per 1,000 live births. The researchers are currently at work on a large-scale randomized trial that will follow 100,000 people at 137 different sites to see if door-to-door home visits by community health workers lowers childhood mortality……”

NY Times

• The biggest outbreak last year was in Romania, where there were 5,562 cases and which accounted for most of the deaths. The country’s large rural Roma population — also known as Gypsies — often do not vaccinate their children and may not take them to hospitals promptly when they fall ill.
• The second biggest outbreak was in Italy, with 5,006 cases and three deaths; 88 percent of those cases were in people never vaccinated
• Ukraine had 4,767 cases of measles in 2017.
• Other countries reporting outbreaks of up to 1,000 cases were Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Greece, Russia and Tajikistan.

NY Times

“…..Venezuela is steeped in economic and political turmoil. Inflation last year surpassed 2,600 percent, according to opposition lawmakers, which has exacerbated severe shortages of food and medicine.……”

USA TODAY

“…..Wed., Feb. 14

2:19 p.m.

Police say Cruz is dropped off at the school by an Uber driver. The school is preparing for dismissal as he arrives so the gates are unlocked to allow cars and buses to enter.

Wearing a school shirt, he carries a black duffle bag and a black backpack inside.

Reports say a school staffer recognizes Cruz and warns a co-worker by radio.

2:20 p.m.

A 15-year-old student says he encounters Cruz loading a rifle inside a second-floor bathroom, according to news sources. “You’d better get out of here,” Cruz tells the student. “Things are going to start getting messy.” The student flees and alerts a staffer.

2:21 p.m.

Police say Cruz activates a fire alarm inside the school. Students begin to evacuate. Cruz opens fire with a .223 caliber AK-15 semiautomatic rifle in a first-floor hallway. Hearing the shots, a staffer broadcasts a  “Code Red” alert over the intercom, signaling a campus lockdown.

Students and teachers take cover in classrooms. Some students flee the school and take cover at a nearby Walmart. Cruz fires into four classrooms and goes to the second floor, continuing to shoot. Police later calculate that more than 100 rounds are fired.

2:23 p.m.

Police receive multiple 911 calls of shooting taking place.

2:25 p.m.

The shooting stops……..”

ABC

“……

• 50 – The number of mass murders or attempted mass murders at a school since Columbine.
• 141 – People killed in a mass murder or attempted mass murder at a school since Columbine.
• 73 – The percentage of school shooters with no prior criminal record
• 96 – The percentage of school shooters = male.
• 17 – The number of kids aged 15 or younger who have committed or attempted a mass school shooting since Columbine.
• 81 – The percentage of school shootings where someone had information that the attacker was thinking about or planning the shooting.
• 68 – The percentage of school shooters who got their guns from relatives or at home.
• 65 – The number of school shooters and thwarted school shooters who have referenced Columbine as a motivation.
• 270 – The number of shootings of any kind at a school since Columbine.
• 1 – The number of shootings per week, on average, on a school or college campus in 2015.
•                                                                                                                                                                            …..”

NY Times

CDC MMWR