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Raising awareness of extremely drug resistant TB
"For those of you who might not know the name, James Nachtwey is known as one of the greatest (if not the greatest) war photographer alive.
More than covering war, he also uses his cameras to document critical social issues as well.
In 2007, Nachtwey won the TED Prize, an initiative of the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) Conference, which grants three extraordinary individuals one wish to change the world. Winners are given one hundred thousand dollars in seed money, and individuals within the TED community and the world at large participate in making the wish come true.
Nachtwey wished for help in breaking a news story in a way that demonstrates the power of news photography in the digital age.
His project was published online today, and it is a powerful piece of documentary photography about a form of tuberculosis called XDR-TB (extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis)."
--above text from http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/bestseatinthehous... "For those of you who might not know the name, James Nachtwey is known as one of the greatest (if not the greatest) war photograp... more -
ARV and TB drugs taken together halve deaths
Combining antiretroviral (ARV) therapy with treatment for tuberculosis (TB) could more than halve the current mortality rate among patients co-infected with HIV and TB, saving an estimated 10,000 lives a year in South Africa. Combining antiretroviral (ARV) therapy with treatment for tuberculosis (TB) could more than halve the current mortality rate among pat... more
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960 babies in TB scare at Kaiser in S.F.
Kaiser Permanente is contacting 960 mothers whose babies may have been exposed to a health care worker in San Francisco who has an active case of tuberculosis.
The worker was assigned to the postpartum unit in the maternity ward of Kaiser's San Francisco Medical Center to care for mothers and infants. Kaiser officials say the infection risk for patients is very low, but testing will be provided along with treatment if necessary.
Kaiser also is notifying 115 employees who may have been exposed.
The Oakland health maintenance organization learned of the worker's infection Aug. 18. The part-time night shift employee worked at Kaiser from March 10 to Aug. 10 and is no longer an employee there. Kaiser has been working on the matter with the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
"We feel that this is a low-risk exposure, but we want to be aggressive about identifying any potential contacts," said Dr. Stephen Parodi, chief of infectious diseases for Kaiser Permanente in Northern California.
He said that the involved TB strain is a common one that responds well to a regimen of antibiotics. Pediatricians began notifying patients Tuesday.
"We are trying to take a personal approach," Parodi said. Kaiser Permanente is contacting 960 mothers whose babies may have been exposed to a health care worker in San Francisco who has an act... more -
TB hampers HIV treatment - study
Patients being treated for tuberculosis (TB) may not get the full benefits from HIV therapy, researchers say.
Nevirapine - a cheap antiretroviral drug used to treat HIV in developing countries - did not work as well in patients also on TB treatment. But another more expensive drug - efavirenz - did not seem to be affected by the TB treatment, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported. Around 40% of HIV patients in the South African study were also treated for TB. In poorer countries, antiretroviral therapy is often initiated in TB clinics, because TB is an infection common in HIV patients. Nevirapine is a common choice because of its cost and can be used in women of child-bearing age.
There is concern that giving HIV drugs alongside a TB treatment known as rifampicin may cause toxic effects or reduce the effectiveness of the drugs. Researchers looked at almost 4,000 patients who started antiretroviral therapy between 2001 and 2006. The researchers found that patients with tuberculosis who were also treated with nevirapine were about twice as likely to have a high viral load - that is high levels of HIV in their system - as those without tuberculosis. And patients being treated with nevirapine with TB therapy were more than twice as likely to develop speedy virological failure - where the drugs are not working. But there were no differences between patients starting efavirenz with and without tuberculosis treatment. The nevirapine treatment was also effective if it was started first, before the TB treatment.
It is thought the TB drugs speed up the breakdown of nevirapine in the body. Study leader Dr Andrew Boulle of the University of Cape Town said that, given the continued reliance on nevirapine-based regimens in Africa and the importance of TB services in initiating people on HIV therapy, further research was warranted. "One of the most striking aspects of our study was the demonstration that 40% of patients starting antiretroviral therapy in recent years have concurrent tuberculosis, underscoring the public health importance of improving affordable treatment options for patients infected with HIV and tuberculosis."
John Howson, associate director of the International HIV/Aids Alliance, said the study raised an interesting point but it was too soon to make recommendations about treatment. "It shows when you start antiretroviral therapy you may start them on a drug which may compromise their TB therapy, which is important, but this needs more research." He added that nevirapine had revolutionised HIV treatment because it could be given during pregnancy. Patients being treated for tuberculosis (TB) may not get the full benefits from HIV therapy, researchers say. ... more -
MicrobeWorld Video Episode 7 - ASM In Zambia
This video, produced in partnership with Global Health TV, showcases the American Society for Microbiology's laboratory capacity building initiatives in Zambia. The film focuses on ASM's support to the Zambian Ministry of Health and US government agencies in the strengthening of clinical microbiology services with the objective of integration of tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS laboratory infrastructure. Consultants representing ASM have traveled to Zambia to train researchers on diagnostics for TB, blood culture, and basic bacteriology. For more information about ASM's international activities, please visit www.asm.org. This video, produced in partnership with Global Health TV, showcases the American Society for Microbiology's laboratory capacity ... more
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Ancient bones could help combat TB
Ancient bones from the city of Jericho are to be used by British scientists to develop treatments for tuberculosis. The project is part of a new scientific discipline in which archaeologists and medical researchers are cooperating to gain insights into modern ailments.
The team, which also includes Israeli, Palestinian and German researchers, will be following up pioneering work by British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon. In the Fifties she made a series of important digs at Jericho and found bones from thousands of humans, some dating back 8,000 years.
When these bones were examined, it was discovered many had lesions, indicating that the city's men and women had suffered from tuberculosis. The walls of Jericho may have come down, not with a trumpet blast, but with epidemic of coughing, it seems.
TB infects nine million people a year - 450,000 with a strain that is resistant to first-line drugs, according to the World Health Organization. Ancient bones from the city of Jericho are to be used by British scientists to develop treatments for tuberculosis. The project is par... more -
Vaccines to reduce infant deaths
Bathandwa Mbola
Pretoria - Two vaccines to reduce and prevent the main causes of death among infants will be made available in South Africa for the first time, state news agency BuaNews reported on Wednesday.
A vaccine to prevent viral pneumonia in children and another to prevent viral diarrhoea is to be launched by the Department of Health.
This is according to Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang who was briefing reporters on the Social Cluster's progress towards implementing Government's Programme of Action on Tuesday.
These additions to the department's immunisation programme are part of government's strategy to combat infant mortality and realise the Millennium Development Goals.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) lists pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria, measles and HIV as the five main causes of death among children aged between one month and five years.
More than half of child deaths
These five diseases contribute to more than half of all child deaths.
Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, asthma and hypertension, however, also continue to place a burden on the country's health care system, the minister said.
Meanwhile, the framework for long term care for non-communicable diseases has been sent to provincial health departments for comments and the department is following up with its provincial counterparts to finalise this consultation process.
Turning to other issues, the minister said the cluster had reported earlier this year that it would build on the Healthy Lifestyle Campaign to encourage healthy living and decrease risky behaviour including smoking.
As such, the Tobacco Control Amendment Bill was passed two weeks ago in the National Assembly. It has now been passed to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence.
"Through this Bill, we seek to further control the advertising, promotion and sale of tobacco products in the country in line with our healthy lifestyles campaign and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control."
The amended Bill will strengthen sections which prohibit advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and the regulation of smoking in public places.
Health-promoting schools
It will also see the introduction of picture-based health warnings on cigarette packets as well as the removal of misleading descriptions such as "mild" and "light" which carries a hefty fine.
In further efforts to encourage healthier living in South Africa, the department is to increase the number of health-promoting schools from 500 to at least 5 000.
The cluster, which is made up of the Department's of Health, Social Development, Home Affairs, Transport, Education and Housing, also noted the number of adults who are voluntarily taking HIV tests.
Tshabalala-Msimang said this was in line with government's plans to increase such figures from 25% to 35%.
"We are also encouraged by the data as at 2 June 2008, which indicates that the number of clients tested for HIV [excluding antenatal] is 1 474 437 and the number of lay counsellors receiving a stipend is standing at 6 815."
Tuberculosis
On Tuberculosis (TB) the minister said there was a decrease in both the infection and defaulter rate.
She also informed the media about the breakthrough new rapid diagnostic test for Multi-Drug Resistant TB (MDR-TB) that is being rolled out by the department.
"We will now be able to diagnose drug resistant TB in seven days compared to several weeks or months using our current method," Tshabalala-Msimang said.
The test is already available in four provinces and will be rolled out to the rest of the country over the coming months. Bathandwa Mbola ... more -
Bush urges Congress to pass AIDS funds
$50 billion proposed to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria
President George W. Bush urged Congress on Wednesday to approve funds to fight AIDS in Africa and other countries, and said the issue was high on his agenda for a Group of Eight summit in Japan next week.
Members of the U.S. Senate sought last week to pass legislation to more than triple funds to fight AIDS, but some Republicans vowed to block it because of its cost.
The House of Representatives has approved its version of the measure which proposes $50 billion in U.S. funds over five years to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since it was first recognized more than a quarter century ago. About 33 million people are infected with HIV, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa where it is spread primarily through heterosexual sex. $50 billion proposed to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria ... more -
Japan pledges $560m to fight disease in Africa
Japan today pledged a record $560m to help fight Aids and other diseases in the developing world as it prepares to host a major African aid summit next week.
The money will be channeled through the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria over several years from 2009, the prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda, said.
The Geneva-based fund welcomed the announcement, which came soon after Japan promised to double aid to Africa over the next five years to ¥200bn (£975m).
Its executive director, Michel Kazatchkine, said today's pledge "confirms Japan's strong commitment to development and reducing poverty.
The pledge, Japan's single biggest donation so far, takes its contribution to the fund to $1.5bn since its launch in 2002.
The $10bn fund says it has so far prevented more than 2 million deaths from the three diseases which kill an estimated 6 million people a year, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Japan today pledged a record $560m to help fight Aids and other diseases in the developing world as it prepares to host a major Africa... more -
Failure at borders
Us and Mexico cannot catch a Mexican national with a dangerous strain of tuberculosis due to him using a fake name
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Tuberculosis
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Tuberculosis
