The News Review:
- Uganda: Why Are Country’s Old Diseases Dying Hard?
- Studies stir confusion on safety of plastics
- Tanzania: Country Gains in Maternal, Child Survival
- Rare aneurysm surgery on 7-yr-old
- Large waist may raise death risk for women
- Weigh up the costs – Planning – Money – Business – Home – theage.com.a…
- Domestic Violence Associated With Chronic Malnutrition In Women And…
Uganda: Why Are Country’s Old Diseases Dying Hard?
AllAfrica.com – Apr 23, 2008
Yet it has taken more centuries to battle – with not much success – these ancient diseases which are treatable, curable and preventable and whose means of prevention is usually cheap and available. For years now, malaria has been Uganda’s most threatening and leading killer, claiming the lives of between 70,000 to 110,000 people every year. GA_googleFillSlot(“AllAfrica_Story_Inset”);According to the Ministry of Health statistics, 95 percent of the country has perennial malaria transmission and only 5 percent seasonal transmission. Perennial transmission emerges when a disease becomes persistent in an area recurrently for a long period of time. The ministry also says that 25 to 40 percent of all outpatient visits at health facilities and 20 percent of hospital admissions are as a result of malaria. Another 9-14 percent of in-patient deaths, according to the Ministry of Health, are as a result of malaria. Majority of its victims are children… "People don’t deposit all faecal matter in the latrines, they don’t wash hands after visiting the toilet or when they are going to serve food and end up consuming faeces," he said. To be able to combat diarrhoea, the ministry recently launched a newly formulated Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) that will be jointly used with Zinc tablets (Zinkid) to treat children under the age of five. The new ORS formula and Zinc is being promoted by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, and USAID and AFFORD, the Health Marketing Initiative as a new child survival strategy. Like malaria, more than a century after the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacillus that causes Tuberculosis, and a half a century after the discovery of antibiotics to treat the disease, TB is still taking its toll on the population. In Uganda, with 80,000 new cases occurring annually, TB contributes a large proportion of the country’s high disease burden and death. Uganda also ranks at number 15 among 22 countries with the highest TB cases worldwide. The absence of a fast and simpler drug regimen that would shorten treatment is escalating the disease.
Studies stir confusion on safety of plastics
San Diego Union Tribune – Apr 23, 2008
While the chemical industry adamantly, even aggressively, insists BPA presents no measurable health risk to humans and cites 50 years of safe use, the marketplace appears to be abandoning the chemical. Nalgene, the maker of hugely popular polycarbonate water bottles, has said it will stop using the plastic because of consumer concerns. Playtex, which makes baby products containing BPA, says it will follow suit. Major retailers including Wal-Mart and Toys “R” Us have announced plans to switch to selling only BPA-free baby bottles, teething rings and other products. For the consumer, these contradictory actions are both encouraging and alarming. Many experts say it is prudent to reduce, if not avoid, at least some kinds of plastics in some kinds of situations. But in a world dominated by the stuff, how practical is that?
Compound interest
Plastic is everywhere and, it seems, in almost every person… Industry spokesmen say the government backs up their position, noting the FDA's announcement last year that it knew of no research compelling enough to merit restricting or banning BPA. Last month, FDA officials conceded the conclusion was based on just two industry-funded studies. To be sure, not every kind of plastic poses a known or suspected health risk. Polyethylene terephthalate ethylene – more commonly known as PET or PETE – is widely used in disposable water, soda and juice bottles. Health experts generally say it poses no known health threat, particularly if it is not re-used. Likewise, high density polyethylene, or HDPE, plastic, used in milk jugs, shampoo bottles and cleaner containers, is considered to be safe, as is low density polyethylene, or LDPE, used in bin liners and packaging films, and polypropylene, or PP, used in microwaveable plastics and straws. More worrisome are polyvinyl chloride, PVC or V, used in cling wrap and some plastic squeeze bottles; polystyrene, used in foam cartons, carryout containers and opaque plastic cutlery; and BPA-laden polycarbonate plastics, used to create rigid, shatter-resistant containers, such as backpacking bottles or baby bottles.
Tanzania: Country Gains in Maternal, Child Survival
AllAfrica.com – Apr 23, 2008
According to the survey, which was funded by the Government of Norway, Tanzania’s mortality rate in children younger than 5 years dropped by 24 percent over the 5 years between 2000 and 2004. GA_googleFillSlot(“AllAfrica_Story_Inset”);The country was, as a result of the findings, described as a good example during the just ended Countdown 2015 Conference held in Cape Town, South Africa. Fellows from the Ifakara Health Research and Development Centre, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, World Health Organisation (WHO) and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania; and their Swiss Tropical counterparts conducted the study, which investigated yearly changes to identify factors behind the reduction. The research was also aimed at investigating the country’s prospects of meeting the Millennium Development Goal for child survival (MDG 4). Researchers analysed data from the four demographic and health surveys done in Tanzania since 1990 to generate estimates of mortality in children younger than 5 years for every 1-year period before each survey back to 1990. Estimating trends in mortality between 1990 and 2004 by fitting lowest regression, and using forecasted trends in mortality from 2005 to 2015, the study concluded that the country would achieve the MDG 4 by 2015. According The Lancet, which was published ahead of the Countdown conference, the study investigated contextual factors, whether part of Tanzania’s health system or not, that could have affected child mortality… Researchers analysed data from the four demographic and health surveys done in Tanzania since 1990 to generate estimates of mortality in children younger than 5 years for every 1-year period before each survey back to 1990. Estimating trends in mortality between 1990 and 2004 by fitting lowest regression, and using forecasted trends in mortality from 2005 to 2015, the study concluded that the country would achieve the MDG 4 by 2015. According The Lancet, which was published ahead of the Countdown conference, the study investigated contextual factors, whether part of Tanzania’s health system or not, that could have affected child mortality. Disaggregated estimates showed a sharp acceleration in the reduction in mortality in children younger than 5 years between 2000 and 2004, according to the findings. "Between 1999 and 2004 we noted important improvements in Tanzania’s health system, including doubled public expenditure on health, decentralisation and sector-wide basket funding, and increased coverage of key child-survival interventions, such as integratedmanagement of childhood illness, insecticide-treated nets, vitamin A supplementation, immunisation, and exclusive breastfeeding," the journal noted. Relevant LinksEast AfricaChildren and YouthPregnancy and ChildbirthTanzaniaThe Lancet is considered to be one of the core independent general medical journals whose coverage is international in focus and extends to all aspects of human life.
Rare aneurysm surgery on 7-yr-old
Times of India – Apr 23, 2008
Following a negative on a biopsy at
the Institute of Child Health and a CT scan, doctors began to search for
information on “aneurysms” ? a balloon-like bulge of a blood vessel caused
by weakening of the vessel wall – on the internet. “It’s so rare in
children. Even the search engine threw up less than 15 results. There was none
from India. We still don’t know why she had these swellings in the axilla (joint
between the upper arm and the chest) and the groin,” said hospital’s vascular
surgeon J Amalorpavanathan.
Large waist may raise death risk for women
stuff.co.nz – Apr 23, 2008
Past studies have found that "apple-shaped" people appear to be at particular risk of clogged arteries, high blood pressure and diabetes. Abdominal obesity has also been linked to certain cancers, such as kidney cancer and colon cancer. In the new study, researchers at the National Institutes of Health and Harvard Medical School found that middle-aged and older women who were abdominally obese — with a waistline of 35 inches or more — were more likely than their thinner counterparts to die of heart disease or cancer during the study period. Among the more than 44,000 U. women the researchers tracked over 16 years, abdominal obesity doubled the odds of dying from heart disease or stroke, compared with women whose waistlines were smaller than 28 inches. When it came to the risk of cancer death, women with the largest waists had a 63 percent higher risk than women who were most trim around the middle… In fact, even among normal-weight women, those whose waistlines spanned 35 inches or more faced a greater risk of dying from heart disease or stroke. The results highlight the importance of staying trim around the middle as we age, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Cuilin Zhang of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. "Although maintaining a healthy weight should continue to be a cornerstone in the prevention of chronic diseases and premature death," Zhang and colleagues write, "it is equally important to maintain a healthy waist size and prevent abdominal obesity. "Excess abdominal fat is thought to be particularly unhealthy because of its metabolic effects. Too much fat in this area of the body appears to raise cholesterol levels, promote insulin resistance — a precursor to type 2 diabetes — and spur body-wide inflammation, which may contribute to heart disease and certain cancers.
Weigh up the costs – Planning – Money – Business – Home – theage.com.a…
The Age – Apr 23, 2008
Back in 1997 the Federal Government introduced a speciallevy on high-income earners who didn’t take out private healthinsurance. But the income thresholds have never been lifted and thelevy now applies to many people on average incomes. The Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, argued these thresholdsshould be increased during the election campaign but so far noaction has been taken. The 1 per cent surcharge applies if yourtaxable income plus reportable fringe benefits is $50,000 or morefor singles with no dependants and $100,000 for families. Thefamily threshold increases by $1500 for each dependent child. Hold on, don’t I already pay a Medicare levy?The surcharge is additional to the 1. 5 per cent Medicare levy thatmost taxpayers pay… The Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, argued these thresholdsshould be increased during the election campaign but so far noaction has been taken. The 1 per cent surcharge applies if yourtaxable income plus reportable fringe benefits is $50,000 or morefor singles with no dependants and $100,000 for families. Thefamily threshold increases by $1500 for each dependent child. Hold on, don’t I already pay a Medicare levy?The surcharge is additional to the 1. 5 per cent Medicare levy thatmost taxpayers pay. So, if you’re hit by the surcharge, your totalMedicare contribution rises to 2. 5 per cent of your income.
Domestic Violence Associated With Chronic Malnutrition In Women And…
Science Daily – Science Daily (press release) – Apr 23, 2008
Women and children who experience domestic violence tend to have higher levels of psychological stress, which has been associated with anemia and being underweight. The authors believe that reducing domestic violence is clearly important from a moral and intrinsic perspective, and that this study provides a compelling case to also address the problem from the perspective of health effects. The study was supported by National Institutes of Health by the National Institutes of Health Career Development Award. *Journal reference: "Domestic Violence and Chronic Malnutrition among Women and Children in India," M… The authors believe that reducing domestic violence is clearly important from a moral and intrinsic perspective, and that this study provides a compelling case to also address the problem from the perspective of health effects. The study was supported by National Institutes of Health by the National Institutes of Health Career Development Award. *Journal reference: "Domestic Violence and Chronic Malnutrition among Women and Children in India," M.
