July 8th 2009
This week in medicine
The following will appear in the July 11 issue of The Lancet:
India repeals anti-gay law After many attempts to legalise homosexuality in India over the past 148 years, the high court in Delhi finally ruled last week that same-sex intercourse between consenting adults was not a criminal act. The ruling brings the hope of improvement to gay people’s rights to health, especially in HIV prevention and access to treatment.
US climate bill US President Barack Obama’s ambitious climate bill cleared its first hurdle last month as the House of Representatives narrowly passed it by 219 votes to 212. The bill would require a 17% drop in emissions by 2020, and introduce a trading system in carbon credits. It passed to the Senate this week, where it could have a rougher ride.
Draft law shock Human Rights Watch has condemned a draft law issued by the Rwandan Parliament that would make HIV testing mandatory for people wishing to marry, and force those with intellectual disabilities to be sterilised. The UN and WHO have also condemned these measures, since forced sterilisation is regarded as a crime against humanity according to the International Criminal Court.
Pertussis resurgence Australia’s North Coast has seen the rates of whooping cough rise substantially during the first half of 2009. Compared with around 1000 cases for the whole of 2008, the 936 cases reported so far this year have alarmed the North Coast Public Health Unit. Officials reminded the population of the importance of vaccination for both children and adults.
Childhood cancer Representatives from countries involved in the My Child Matters programme met in Dakar, Senegal, on July 1-2, to sign a call to action—the Dakar Manifesto—to improve the outlook for children with cancer in low-income and middle-income countries. My Child Matters was initiated by the International Union Against Cancer and Sanofi-Aventis in 2004.
US obesity The USA is losing the battle against obesity, according to a new report. F as in Fat finds that two-thirds of adults and nearly a third of children are overweight or obese, and calls for a national strategy to define responsibilities. Proposals include increasing healthy food in schools, and banning junk food advertising aimed at children.
Tobacco smuggling Governments met in Geneva last week to negotiate a treaty on cigarette smuggling. Smuggling deprives governments of revenue and undermines national attempts to control tobacco use. Smoking and contraband are particularly prominent in developing countries—the very populations that are especially prone to tobacco-related illnesses.
H1N1 update The first confirmed case of resistance to oseltamivir has been discovered in a patient in Denmark. The patient had apparently been taking the drug prophylactically, and the resistant virus is not thought to have spread to others. Kenya reported its first case of influenza A (H1N1)—a British medical student who had just spent a week visiting hospitals and schools.
Anti-smoking drug alert The US Food and Drug Administration has ordered Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline to append black box warnings to their smoking-cessation drugs varenicline and bupropion. The agency’s Adverse Event Reporting System had flagged up a significant number of “serious mental health events” including hostility and suicidal thoughts.
Operation Cast Lead Amnesty International has released a report on the 22-day Israeli conflict with Gaza in early 2009. The report concludes that Israeli forces breached international laws of war by killing unarmed Palestinian civilians and attacking emergency services on their way to rescuing victims. Rocket attacks by Hamas on Israel were also criticised and described as war crimes.
Roche snubs ABPI The drug industry’s ability to self-regulate has been thrown into doubt after Roche declined to rejoin the regulatory body the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). Last July, Roche was found to have committed “serious breaches” of the ABPI Code of Practice, and was suspended—the harshest sanction, apart from expulsion, that the ABPI can apply.
Boomeritis Baby boomers are staying more active than are previous generations, resulting in more injuries during middle age. The trend has been noted for a decade, and in 2008 led to more than 160 000 consultations in the USA for exercise-related complaints by people aged 45-65 years, according to the US Consumer Products Safety Commission.
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