Archives: Morning Breakouts

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism examines what some experts are calling a serious inequity in public health spending, writing that neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) "together kill more people than maternal mortality and have a higher disease burden than malaria or [tuberculosis (TB)] and nearing that of HIV/AIDS. However, despite the severity of the situation, funding for NTDs is just a fraction of that spent on other diseases."

"Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe on Monday opened a national HIV and AIDS conference with a call for the nation's men to take a larger role in the response to the deadly pandemic, not only for their own health but that of women and children," VOA News reports (Gumbo, 9/5). Speaking at the conference, Mugabe said, "The role of men in society is unquestionable. It is for this reason that men should take their place in the HIV response, both for their own health as well as in support of women and children ... and it is not just treatment, but also a fact of discipline," Zimbabwe's Herald writes (9/6).

The Wall Street Journal examines the use of the African giant pouched rat to detect tuberculosis (TB) in lab samples. A study published online in the Pan African Medical Journal last month found the rats are "better than human lab techs at identifying TB bacteria in a dollop of mucus," a finding that "holds promise for diagnosing tuberculosis in sub-Saharan Africa," according to the newspaper. While "[t]he rats turn up many false-positive findings of TB, so the results need to be confirmed by conventional lab methods, ... [a] rat takes seven minutes to work through the same number of samples as a lab technician would assess in a full day," according to the researchers, the newspaper reports. The rats are being trained in Tanzania by the non-governmental organization Apopo, which "primarily trains African giant pouched rats to sniff land mines for de-mining activities in Mozambique, Thailand and other countries," the Wall Street Journal notes (Robinson (9/6).

After the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) "last week voiced concern about the appearance in Vietnam and China of" a mutant strain of the H5N1 avian flu virus, the WHO and FAO on Monday "said in a joint statement issued in response to questions from Agence France-Presse" that "[t]here is no evidence to suggest yet that this new virus strain will have any increased risk to human health," the news agency reports. "'Nevertheless, poultry producers and the general public should always take simple precautions to reduce exposure to the virus from infected poultry,' it said," the news agency writes, noting the "H5N1 virus typically spreads from birds to humans via direct contact" (9/5).

At a forum in South Carolina Monday, five GOP presidential candidates debated health care reform, among other issues.

The U.N. "announced Monday that Somalia's famine had spread to a sixth area within the country, with officials warning that 750,000 people could die in the next few months unless aid efforts were scaled up," the New York Times reports (Gettleman/Kyama, 9/5).

"Pakistan's southern province of Sindh is facing disaster once more with heavy rains over the past five days, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA)," with at least 85 people reported dead and more than two million people affected, IRIN reports (9/5). Sharjeel Memon, Sindh's information minister, said mobile health teams carrying malaria vaccinations and food aid have been sent to the affected districts, according to Bloomberg. "Pakistan suffered its deadliest floods last year, in which 1,800 people were killed and an area the size of Italy was devastated," the news agency notes (Anis, 9/5).

Brazil's health ministry on Monday said 115,708 malaria cases had been reported in the first half of this year in the Brazilian Amazon, down 31 percent compared with the same period in 2010, the Latin American Herald Tribune reports. "'The positive figures are the result of comprehensive action, which includes stepping up the routines for early diagnosis and the opportune treatment of patients,' Health Minister Alexandre Padilha said," the newspaper writes.

"Burundian NGOs say at least 20 people have died" as a result of a "months-long shortage" of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), although "Ministry of Health officials could not be reached to confirm the number of people affected," PlusNews reports. "More than 60,000 Burundians need HIV treatment, but only about 25,000 have access to ARVs," according to the news agency, which adds, "The shortage has been blamed on dwindling donor funds and a disorganized health ministry."