January 22nd 2009
This week in medicine
The following will appear in the Jan 24 issue of The Lancet:
Alarming data A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that around 19 million new sexually transmitted infections occur in the USA every year. In 2007, the most commonly reported infection was chlamydia, at 1·1 million cases. The rate of chlamydia infection was three times higher in women than in men-543·6 cases per 100 000 women versus 190 per 100 000 men.
Bird-flu battles A third person has died from H5N1 infection in China since the start of 2009, and there are concerns about the spread of the disease through the country’s poultry population. Vietnam has this week identified the virus in a batch of chickens it says were smuggled into the country from China. Vietnamese authorities have also raised concerns over the lackadaisical attitude of their officials and citizens to the disease.
Pain control A Healthcare Commission survey of 50 000 patients attending NHS accident and emergency departments found that pain control still remains an important issue-only 59% of people felt that staff definitely did everything they could to help control pain. This is only a slight improvement from the 56% reported in a 2004 survey.
Chemical weapons The government of Iraq has signed up to the UN’s Chemical Weapons Convention-the international treaty banning the development, production, stockpiling, and use of chemicals such as nerve agents, ricin, and mustard gas. Chemical weapons were used in the Kurdish massacre by Saddam Hussein’s army in 1988.
Human rights Gay-rights and AIDS campaigner Diadji Diouf and eight other men have been jailed for 8 years in Senegal-one of the most liberal islamic countries in Africa-after conviction for conspiracy and “unnatural acts”. According to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, the conviction is indicative of worsening attitudes to homosexuality across the continent.
Lifting the baa The US Food and Drug Administration looks set to approve the first transgenic animal product for use in human beings. On Jan 9, 2008, the Blood Products Advisory Committee voted that ATryn, recombinant antithrombin alfa produced in the milk of transgenic goats, was safe and effective in the treatment of hereditary antithrombin III deficiency.
Polio in Pakistan The number of cases of polio in Pakistan reached a record high of 118 during 2008, according to The Global Polio Eradication Initiative-a disappointing increase on the 32 cases reported in 2007. Despite a government-led campaign launched in November, 2008, the first polio case of 2009 was announced last week, suggesting that much more needs to be done to eradicate the disease.
Systems biology European institutions are being encouraged to lead research in systems biology, which combines empirical, mathematical, and computational techniques to understand complex biological and physiological pathways. Applied to medical research, an understanding of these interactions could lead to advances in treatment of disease and an alternative approach to drug discovery.
Philippines floods Nearly 200 000 people have been displaced from their homes as the result of flooding across the east coast of the Philippines. There have been nine deaths so far as a result of landslides or drowning, and nine people remain missing. A humanitarian response has been set up to provide food and shelter for the displaced.
Health-care appointment In the USA, William V Corr has been chosen to take on the role of Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services. Mr Corr is the executive director of antitobacco organisation, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and has been involved in assessing the work of the Department of Health and Human Services as part of Barack Obama’s transition team.
Ugandan AIDS increases Uganda’s reputation as one of the few African countries to reverse its AIDS epidemic is slipping, according to local experts. Results of the ongoing Modes of Transmission study indicate that the present focus on youth prevention programmes could be off-target since most new cases are now among married people in their 30s.
Peanut butter strikes again A US outbreak of salmonella that has affected around 400 people in 42 states has been linked to batches of contaminated peanut butter supplied to food-service companies. This incident is not the first time the USA has been sickened by one of its favourite spreads. In 2007, a different brand of peanut butter was linked to an outbreak of salmonella that made 300 people ill.
Bookmark on delicious | Digg