Global & Disaster Medicine

Archive for January, 2018

Each year, 1.25 million people lose their lives on the world’s roads and another 20 to 50 million are seriously injured.

Saturday, January 13th, 2018

World Bank

, The High Toll of Traffic Injuries: Unacceptable and Preventable

“….Key findings from the report include:

  • Reducing the number of RTIs leads to long-term national income growth. This correlation is easy to establish as RTIs are the single largest cause of mortality and long-term disability among young people aged 15-29 (prime working age).
  • Significant long-term income growth—7 to 22% increase in GDP per capita over 24 years—can be achieved by halving road traffic deaths and injuries, in line with the current UN targets.
  • The study goes beyond productivity or economic gains, and highlights the broader welfare benefits associated with reducing road traffic mortality and morbidity, adding years of life free of injuries and lasting disabilities. This recognizes that GDP is an imperfect measure of social welfare, as it does not factor health benefits. The study finds welfare benefits equivalent to 6 to 32% of the national GDP can be realized from reducing road deaths and injuries by 50% over 24 years.
  • By maximizing healthy years of life, free of injuries and disabilities, actions to reduce road traffic injuries can help countries increase productivity, enhance the well-being of their populations, and build human capital—a key developmental priority for the World Bank.
  • Road safety goes beyond the transport sector, with a direct impact on public health, societies, and economies. Likewise, because road safety is an inherently cross-sectoral issue, real progress can only happen if all relevant stakeholders unite their efforts.….”

 

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The Government of Zambia has launched a campaign to vaccinate residents of Lusaka against cholera

Saturday, January 13th, 2018

WHO

The Government of Zambia has launched a campaign on Wednesday (January 10) to vaccinate residents of Lusaka against cholera with support from the World Health Organization and partners.

Two million doses of the oral cholera vaccine from the Gavi-funded global stockpile were delivered to the southern African country in January, enough to immunize 1 million people.

According to Health Minister Dr Chitalu Chilufya, the campaign will bring the life-saving oral cholera vaccine to the people who need it most. He also highlighted the role that communities can play in preventing the spread of the disease. “Communities should not ignore basic preventative measures because the key drivers of this epidemic include consumption of contaminated water and food, poor waste management, and poor personal hygiene practices which have to change,” said Dr Chilufya.

Cholera Immunization

Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease that can kill within hours if left untreated. Since the start of the current outbreak on 4 October 2017, the Ministry of Health reports that there have been a total of 2,672 cases, with Lusaka alone accounting for 2,558 cases. There have been 63 deaths countrywide, 58 of which in Lusaka.

WHO is working with the Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI) to address the underlying causes of the cholera outbreak: clean water provision, sanitation and health education on personal hygiene. WHO is also helping authorities to track down cases, treat cholera patients and provide community health education.

Selected vaccination sites in central areas of Lusaka will be targeted under the campaign. WHO has provided training to medical personnel in how to administer the vaccine, as well as on other preventive measures and cholera treatment.

“Zambia is experiencing one of the worst outbreaks of cholera in years,” said Dr. Nathan Bakyaita, WHO Representative to Zambia. “With this campaign, we can stop cholera in its tracks and prevent an even more devastating epidemic.”

While sporadic cases of cholera are regular occurrences in Zambia during the five-month rainy season, the number of cases this year has exceeded the average annual caseload.

WHO recommends that vaccination against cholera be considered in emergencies and other high-risk scenarios where there are increased threats of outbreaks, when combined with standard prevention and control measures for the disease. These measures include readiness to provide adequate testing and treatment, steps to ensure access to safe water and sanitation, and community mobilization to engage the public in preventing infection.

Planning is underway to vaccinate a further 1 million people living in known cholera hotspots across the country later this year.

 

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Saudi MOH: ‘2 New Confirmed Corona Cases Recorded’

Friday, January 12th, 2018

MOH

10-1-2018-01.jpg

Posted in MERS-CoV| Comments Off on Saudi MOH: ‘2 New Confirmed Corona Cases Recorded’

FDA: Information about E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak Likely Linked to Leafy Greens

Friday, January 12th, 2018

FDA

January 10, 2018

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local authorities in an investigation of an outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 illnesses. The FDA has also been in contact with Canadian food safety authorities on this outbreak, since cases were first identified in Canada. disclaimer icon

Whole genome sequencing showed that the U.S. and Canadian E. coli O157:H7 strains are closely related, suggesting a common source of illness. Canadian health officials identified romaine lettuce as the likely source of their outbreak. CDC has been working to determine the source of the outbreak in the U.S., and today announced it believes that this outbreak is likely linked to leafy greens. Health officials have not identified a specific type of leafy greens that sick people ate in common.

The known illnesses in the U.S. had illness onsets in late November and early December. This suggests that suspect leafy greens linked to this outbreak are likely no longer in the food supply.

The FDA’s outbreak investigation team is working with CDC and state and local officials to determine what ill people ate, where they bought it, and the distribution chain — all with the goal of reaching where these foods were produced, to see if there’s any common food or point where the food might have become contaminated. At this point, we have not identified a common or single point of origin for the food that made people ill. We want to make sure the information we provide is accurate and when we have information that consumers can use – such as any foods to avoid – we will share it immediately.

Posted in FDA, Food-borne diseases| Comments Off on FDA: Information about E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak Likely Linked to Leafy Greens

Another victim of a very old tradition in rural Nepal, in which religious Hindus believe that menstruating women are unclean and should be banished from the family home.

Friday, January 12th, 2018

NY Times

  • Ms. Bayak  was found dead on Monday, apparently having asphyxiated after building a small fire inside the hut to keep warm.
  • In Nepal, one of Asia’s poorest countries, dozens of women and girls have died in recent years from following this tradition, despite activists’ campaigns and government efforts to end the practice.
  • Menstruating women often trudge outside at night to bed down with cows or goats in tiny, rough, grass-roofed huts and sheds.
  • Many have been raped by intruders or died from exposure to the elements.
  • Last summer, the Nepalese government made it illegal for anyone to force a menstruating woman or girl to sequester herself, with violators subject to jail time or fines.
  • The law came with a grace period to give people time to absorb the new rules
  • No punishments are to be handed out until August.

Kathmandu, Nepal

Haze along the Himalaya

NASA

 

Posted in Women issues| Comments Off on Another victim of a very old tradition in rural Nepal, in which religious Hindus believe that menstruating women are unclean and should be banished from the family home.

Tons of mud, trees and boulders have swept away homes in Southern California this week and so far 17 people are dead.

Thursday, January 11th, 2018

CNN

“….In addition to the fatalities, at least 17 people are unaccounted for….”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A36NnP075vI

 

Posted in Landslides/mudslides| Comments Off on Tons of mud, trees and boulders have swept away homes in Southern California this week and so far 17 people are dead.

Infant Safe Sleep Practices Not Well-Followed

Thursday, January 11th, 2018

CDC MMWR

Bombard JM, Kortsmit K, Warner L, et al. Vital Signs: Trends and Disparities in Infant Safe Sleep Practices — United States, 2009–2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 9 January 2018. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6701e1.

Key Points

•Infant safe sleep practices recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), including placing infants to sleep on their backs, room sharing but not bed sharing, and keeping soft objects and loose bedding out of the infant’s sleep environment, can help reduce sleep-related infant deaths; however, implementation of these recommendations remains suboptimal.

•Approximately one in five mothers reported placing their infant to sleep on their side or stomach. More than one half reported bed sharing with their infant, and more than one third reported using soft bedding in the infant’s sleep environment. Unsafe sleep practices varied by state, race/ethnicity, age, education, and participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.

•Health care providers and state-based and community-based programs can identify barriers to safe sleep practices and provide culturally appropriate counseling and messaging to improve infant safe sleep practices.

•Additional information is available at https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/.

Introduction: There have been dramatic improvements in reducing infant sleep-related deaths since the 1990s, when recommendations were introduced to place infants on their backs for sleep. However, there are still approximately 3,500 sleep-related deaths among infants each year in the United States, including those from sudden infant death syndrome, accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed, and unknown causes. Unsafe sleep practices, including placing infants in a nonsupine (on side or on stomach) sleep position, bed sharing, and using soft bedding in the sleep environment (e.g., blankets, pillows, and soft objects) are modifiable risk factors for sleep-related infant deaths.

Methods: CDC analyzed 2009–2015 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data to describe infant sleep practices. PRAMS, a state-specific and population-based surveillance system, monitors self-reported behaviors and experiences before, during, and shortly after pregnancy among women with a recent live birth. CDC examined 2015 data on nonsupine sleep positioning, bed sharing, and soft bedding use by state and selected maternal characteristics, as well as linear trends in nonsupine sleep positioning from 2009 to 2015.

Results: In 2015, 21.6% of respondents from 32 states and New York City reported placing their infant in a nonsupine sleep position; this proportion ranged from 12.2% in Wisconsin to 33.8% in Louisiana. Infant nonsupine sleep positioning was highest among respondents who were non-Hispanic blacks. Nonsupine sleep positioning prevalence was higher among respondents aged <25 years compared with ≥25 years, those who had completed ≤12 years compared with >12 years of education, and those who participated in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children during pregnancy. Based on trend data from 15 states, placement of infants in a nonsupine sleep position decreased significantly from 27.2% in 2009 to 19.4% in 2015. In 2015, over half of respondents (61.4%) from 14 states reported bed sharing with their infant, and 38.5% from 13 states and New York City reported using any soft bedding, most commonly bumper pads and thick blankets.

Conclusions and Implications for Public Health Practice: Improved implementation of the safe sleep practices recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics could help reduce sleep-related infant mortality. Evidence-based interventions could increase use of safe sleep practices, particularly within populations whose infants might be at higher risk for sleep-related deaths.

 

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South Sudan’s extreme food crisis

Thursday, January 11th, 2018

IRIN

“…..Almost half of the population – 4.8 million people – are currently severely food insecure. That’s 1.4 million more than the same time a year ago.

It’s projected to get even worse in 2018, with an estimated 5.1 million people expected to go hungry…..”

 

Posted in Global Health, Humanitarian| Comments Off on South Sudan’s extreme food crisis

UN Environment and WHO agree to major collaboration on environmental health risks

Thursday, January 11th, 2018

UN/WHO

10 Jan 2018
UN Environment and World Health Organization agree to major collaboration on environmental health risks

10 January 2018 / Nairobi–UN Environment and the World Health Organization have agreed a new, wide-ranging collaboration to accelerate action to curb environmental health risks that cause an estimated 12.6 million deaths a year.

Today in Nairobi, Mr. Erik Solheim, head of UN Environment, and Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, signed an agreement to step up joint actions to combat air pollution, climate change and antimicrobial resistance, as well as improve coordination on waste and chemicals management, water quality, and food and nutrition issues. The collaboration also includes joint management of the BreatheLife advocacy campaign to reduce air pollution for multiple climate, environment and health benefits.

Although the two agencies cooperate in a range of areas, this represents the most significant formal agreement on joint action across the spectrum of environment and health issues in over 15 years.

“There is an urgent need for our two agencies to work more closely together to address the critical threats to environmental sustainability and climate – which are the foundations for life on this planet.  This new agreement recognizes that sober reality,” said UN Environment’s Solheim.

“Our health is directly related to the health of the environment we live in. Together, air, water and chemical hazards kill some 12.6 million people a year. This cannot and must not continue,” said WHO’s Tedros.

He added: “Most of these deaths occur in developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America where environmental pollution takes its biggest health toll.”

The new collaboration creates a more systematic framework for joint research, development of tools and guidance, capacity building, monitoring of Sustainable Development Goals, global and regional partnerships, and support to regional health and environment fora.

The two agencies will develop a joint work programme and hold an annual high-level meeting to evaluate progress and make recommendations for continued collaboration.

The WHO-UN Environment collaboration follows a Ministerial Declaration on Health, Environment and Climate Change calling for the creation of a global “Health, Environment and Climate Change” Coalition, at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP 22 in Marrakesh, Morocco in 2016.

Just last month, under the overarching topic “Towards a Pollution-Free Planet”, the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), which convenes environment ministers worldwide, adopted a resolution on Environment and Health, called for expanded partnerships with relevant UN agencies and partners, and for an implementation plan to tackle pollution.

Note to Editors 

Priority areas of cooperation between WHO and UN Environment include:

  • Air Quality – More effective air quality monitoring including guidance to countries on standard operating procedures; more accurate environment and health assessments, including economic assessment; and advocacy, including the BreatheLife campaign promoting air pollution reductions for climate and health benefits.
  • Climate – Tackling vector-borne disease and other climate-related health risks, including through improved assessment of health benefits from climate mitigation and adaptation strategies.
  • Water – Ensuring effective monitoring of data on water quality, including through data sharing and collaborative analysis of pollution risks to health.
  • Waste and chemicals – Promotion of more sustainable waste and chemicals management, particularly in the area of pesticides, fertilizers, use of antimicrobials. The collaboration aims to advance the goal of sound lifecycle chemicals management by 2020, a target set out at the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.

Ongoing WHO/UN Environment collaboration includes:

  • Ministerial Declaration on Health, Environment and Climate Change –WHO/UN Environment announcement at COP22  – http://www.who.int/globalchange/mediacentre/events/Ministerial-declaration-EN.pdf
  • BreatheLife campaign has engaged countries, regions and cities in commitments to reduce air pollution for climate and health benefits, covering more than 120 million people across the planet, including Santiago, Chile; London, England; Washington DC, USA, and Oslo, Norway, with major cities in Asia and Africa set to join. www.breathelife2030.org
  • Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) – which has included effective past actions to phase out lead paint, mercury emissions and persistent organic pollutants. http://www.saicm.org/

Media contacts

UN Environment News & Media, unepnewsdesk@unep.org, +254 715 618 081

Sarah Cumberland, Communications officer, WHO, cumberlands@who.int, +41 79 206 1403

Related Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 3

Good Health and Well-Being
+

Goal 7

Affordable and Clean Energy
+

Goal 11

Sustainable Cities and Communities
+

Goal 12

Sustainable Consumption and Production
+

Goal 13

Climate Action
+
Posted in Environment, United Nations, WHO| Comments Off on UN Environment and WHO agree to major collaboration on environmental health risks

Study some ferrets inoculated intranasally with 1918 H1N1 virus and see what happens…..

Thursday, January 11th, 2018

1918 Pandemic research article

1918 H1N1 influenza virus replicates and induces pro-inflammatory cytokine responses in extra-respiratory tissues of ferrets

Emmie de Wit
Laboratory of Virology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT, United States of America
Emmie de Wit: 903 South 4th Street, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA; phone: +1-406-375-7490; fax: +1-406-375-9620; Emmie.deWit@nih.gov
“…..Evidence for active virus replication, as indicated by the detection of nucleoprotein by immunohistochemistry, was observed in the respiratory tract, peripheral and central nervous system, and liver. Pro-inflammatory cytokines were upregulated in respiratory tissues, olfactory bulb, spinal cord, liver, heart and pancreas…..”
Corresponding authors: Debby van Riel: P.O. Box 2040, Ee1716, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands; phone +31 10 704 4069; fax: +31 10 704 4760; d.vanriel@erasmusmc.nl
The Journal of Infectious Diseases, jiy003, https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiy003
Posted in Documents, Pandemic| Comments Off on Study some ferrets inoculated intranasally with 1918 H1N1 virus and see what happens…..
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