June 24th 2009
This week in medicine
The following will appear in the June 27 issue of The Lancet:
Australian child health Australian children are “doing well” but “could do better” according to the latest in a series of national statistical reports. Death rates continue to fall, as do rates of teenage pregnancy, and immunisation rates are going up. However, the rise in the incidence of diabetes and obesity, and the disparity between white and indigenous children, are areas of concern.
Teaching CDI Senior university officials from 12 African nations have agreed to introduce the teaching of community-directed intervention (CDI) into their departments of medicine. The draft curriculum is modelled on WHO’s highly successful African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control, which has been empowering communities to fight the disease in their own villages for nearly 14 years.
Latvia loses minister Latvia’s health minister, Ivars Eglitis, resigned last week after refusing to slash spending in the health sector—a measure called for by the government in response to the country’s economic crisis. The Baltic state is facing a 20% economic decline and is cutting wages by 20% in the state sector to try to meet the terms of an international bailout.
Somali conflict Armed conflict between Islamist guerrillas and Somali and UN-backed forces is having a disproportionate effect on women and children, according to UNICEF. The looting of the agency’s main humanitarian supply centre last month has “seriously affected” UNICEF’s ability to assist the most vulnerable, it said.
Malaria funding Despite global commitment to the fight against malaria, funding is falling short, with an estimated US$5·3 billion needed in 2009 and $6·2 billion in 2010. A report by the European Alliance Against Malaria says that although the EU is cumulatively the largest global contributor, more funds are needed to ensure sustainability of prevention and control programmes.
World Refugee Day On June 20, the world paid tribute to people who are forced to leave their homes as a result of conflict and persecution. 42 million people were thus affected in 2008, according to a UNHCR report. Although the figure is lower than the previous year, recent crises in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Somalia have already “more than offset” this decline, according to the report.
Lost in conversion According to the UK’s National Patient Safety Agency, 60 000 children younger than 18 years were subject to national health service “safety alerts” in England and Wales during 2007-08. 10 000 of these alerts resulted from medication errors, mainly incorrectly calculated drug doses. The findings raise the importance of packaging drugs with precalculated paediatric doses.
Trials in India The Government of India has made it obligatory for all trials done in the country to be registered in the Indian registry. All trials starting after June 15 must comply. This step will ensure accurate records of objectives, provide avail-ability of all results, help inform participants, and discourage unethical conduct.
World Drug Report The UN Office on Drugs and Crime launched its World Drug Report 2009 on June 24, 2 days before World Drug Day. The report provides evidence about the trends in world drug markets, and contains a chapter about the effect of drug-related organised crime and what should be done about it.
Migrants and HIV The laws and policies of many countries prevent or restrict the treatment of HIV-positive migrants, according to a report by Human Rights Watch. The organisation is calling for countries to repeal all HIV-related restrictions on entry, stay, and residence; to ensure that treatment provision is not affected by origin or citizenship; and to refrain from deporting HIV-positive people to countries where treatment is unavailable.
Bubonic plague An outbreak of bubonic plague near the town of Tubruq, eastern Libya, seems to be under control after the instigation of a WHO-supervised programme. One death due to plague had been reported and 13 other cases confirmed before provision of antibiotics and efforts to control rat populations quelled the outbreak.
Cold comfort On June 16, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advised consumers against using three intranasal common-cold remedies containing zinc. The FDA has received more than 130 reports of anosmia after use of the three popular Zicam products. The manufacturer, Matrixx Initiatives, has been issued with a formal warning letter stating that these products cannot be marketed without permission from the FDA.
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