June 17th 2009
This week in medicine
The following will appear in the June 20 issue of The Lancet:
Obama addresses AMA US President Barack Obama spoke to sceptical physicians about his proposals for health-care reform at the annual meeting of the American Medical Association (AMA) on Monday. Although still clearly unconvinced by the public insurance option, AMA President Nancy Nielsen said she was pleased Obama had recognised doctors’ litigation worries.
Rotavirus vaccine WHO has issued a recommendation that the vaccine for rotavirus—the main cause of severe and fatal diarrhoea and dehydration in children younger than 5 years—be established in national immunisation programmes globally, particularly in Africa and Asia. 1600 children younger than 5 years die from severe gastroenteritis every day in the developing world.
Kidney care According to the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death, half the 564 hospitalised patients who died from acute kidney injury in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland during the first 3 months of 2007, received substandard care. Among the report’s recommendations is that all patients should have electrolytes measured on admission.
Prison feeding programme The International Committee of the Red Cross is providing more than 6000 prison inmates in Zimbabwe with food after a television documentary aired in South Africa showed shocking images of emaciated prisoners. According to a report by the Zimbabwean Association for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of the Offender, 20 inmates are dying daily.
FDA and tobacco The US Senate has given the Food and Drug Administration the go-ahead to regulate tobacco products. The government will now be able to control factors such as the amount of nicotine in cigarettes and the marketing of tobacco products, including health warnings for packaging.
HIV in South Africa The third national HIV survey in South Africa shows encouraging progress: prevalence has stabilised at 11% overall, and has fallen for children and teenagers. Condom use and exposure to HIV/AIDS prevention programmes is increasing, except in older people. Prevalence continues to show significant regional disparity, however.
NHS faces financial crisis A report by the NHS Confederation, Dealing with the downturn, has predicted a £15 billion shortfall in resources available to the UK’s national health service between 2011 and 2016. The economic crisis and rising costs are to blame, with experts concerned that the lack of funds will lead to longer waiting lists for tests and treatment, and poorer training of staff.
Up in smoke? India’s efforts to introduce graphic health warnings on tobacco products have stalled, again. The images were meant to appear in November last year but were delayed after fierce lobbying from the tobacco industry. The Supreme Court then set a cut-off date of May 31, after which it would be mandatory for all tobacco products to carry the warnings. But, 3 weeks on, the images have yet to materialise.
G7 drags its heels By the end of 2008, the G7 nations had delivered only a third of the aid they promised African countries at the 2005 Gleneagles summit, according to the DATA Report. The remaining two-thirds is unlikely to appear by the due date of 2010, owing mainly to the poor performance of France and the “utter failure” of Italy. Meanwhile the USA, Canada, and Japan have surpassed their commitments.
Afghan food hygiene Diarrhoea is one of the preventable diseases that results in 50000 child deaths per year in Afghanistan, and contaminated food and water is thought to have a key role. In an attempt to improve food hygiene, the Health Ministry in Kabul has announced 4 days of spot checks on restaurants, bakeries, and street-based food and drink vendors.
Fake-drug peddler jailed A British man has been jailed for 2 years for operating an illegal online pharmacy. The business, which turned over more than £6 million between 2003 and 2007, sold unlicensed or counterfeit drugs for erectile dysfunction in the UK and elsewhere. Once thought to affect only developing countries, fake drugs now make up an estimated 1% of all medicines in developed nations.
Sickle cell day June 19 marks the first annual Sickle Cell Disease World Awareness Day. Launched at the UN headquarters in New York, the event is one of the outcomes of a UN resolution set out last year to recognise the disease as a major public health problem, to raise awareness internationally, and to eliminate prejudices. Sickle cell disease affects 1 in 5000 people in the USA, most of whom are African-American.
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