By admin | Published:
January 22, 2012
January 22, 2012
David Schellenberg
PHILADELPHIA—Pharmaco-vigilance was being urged here — as a key part of the strategy to improve malaria control in Africa and elsewhere — in a special session devoted to malaria drug safety at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual conference. With the battle against malaria slowly being won in Africa, the safety of anti-malarial drugs is of paramount importance now they are being used more widely than ever. Session chair Professor David Schellenberg of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine told Peter Goodwin about their findings and conclusions.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
By admin | Published:
January 21, 2012
January 21, 2012
Russell Stothard
PHILADELPHIA—Scientists in the UK and Uganda have now completed a three year study showing that young children are at continued risk of intestinal schistosomiasis — also known as bilharzia — between the ages of 6-months and five years. In fact, these children should be treated routinely with the anthelminthic praziquantel, just as in older children and adults, for it is proven both safe and efficacious. The Schistosomiasis In Mothers and Infants (SIMI) study was conducted by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine working with the Vector Control Division, Ministry of Health, in Uganda and was reported at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual conference in Philadelphia. Professor Russell Stothard discussed some of the key findings with Peter Goodwin.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
By admin | Published:
January 21, 2012
January 21, 2012
David Conway
PHILADELPHIA—Research findings on gene changes enabling malaria parasites to resist anti-malarial drugs were discussed at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene meeting in Philadelphia. This has come in the midst of worries about the slow rise in resistance to the most modern group of drugs — artemisinin combinations — in Cambodia and Thailand. Professor David Conway of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine gave Peter Goodwin some of the details.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
By admin | Published:
January 3, 2012
January 3, 2012
Florida Muro
PHILADELPHIA—The recently-introduced rapid diagnostic test kits for malaria are saving lives — and not just among patients with malaria. In research for the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, scientists in Tanzania have found that patients whose fevers are not caused by malaria benefit from potentially life-saving treatments sooner if the cause is recognised by doing an actual test rather than just assuming all fever is malaria. Dr Florida Muro from the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshi, Tanzania presented her findings to the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene conference here. Afterwards she told Peter Goodwin about her group’s research.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
By admin | Published:
January 2, 2012
January 2, 2012
Athina Vlachantoni, Peter Lloyd-Sherlock, Astrid Walker Bourne
LONDON—The ‘Welfare State’ can be sustained globally — even in the rapidly ageing societies of low- and middle-income countries. Social protection should not be delayed until a country is rich, and should be a state obligation.
These views came out of the Global Health Lab symposium entitled: “Is the welfare state sustainable with an ageing society?” hosted by Professor Martin McKee of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Dr Richard Horton, Editor of the Lancet.
The experts presenting data to the meeting — Professor Athina Vlachantoni from Centre for Research on Ageing at Southampton University, Astrid Walker Bourne of HelpAge International and Professor Peter Lloyd-Sherlock from the School of International Development at the University of East Anglia — explained to Peter Goodwin why there is an urgent need to prioritise the welfare of older citizens.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
By admin | Published:
January 2, 2012
January 2, 2012
Richard Hayes
LONDON—A massive new study of HIV/AIDS could help turn the tide of the epidemic globally. The PopART study — of 24 communities in Zambia and South Africa — is testing a powerful combination of approaches to HIV in the community: universal testing, immediate treatment for patients and a range of preventive measures. The $37 million research trial is jointly funded by the Office of the US Global AIDS Coordinator, the National Institutes of Health, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Professor Richard Hayes of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine described the rationale and the potential benefit of the PopART study to Derek Thorne.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
By admin | Published:
January 2, 2012
January 2, 2012
James Logan
PHILADELPHIA—How populations of mosquitoes become insensitive to insect repellents has been researched by scientists at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, in collaboration with Rothamsted Research, and discussed at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene conference in Philadelphia. This was one of the many activities of Dr James Logan, who also runs a new service made available by the London School called: the Arthropod Control Product Test Centre, or ARCTEC. Dr Logan told Peter Goodwin about the results of an experiment in which volunteers were exposed to mosquitoes after being sprayed with the powerful insect repellent, DEET. Resistance developed among the mosquitoes with the proportion of DEET-insensitive mosquitoes rising from a normal level of 10 per cent up to 60 per cent in a single generation.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
By admin | Published:
January 2, 2012
January 2, 2012
Adam Bourne
LONDON—The extent to which people infected with HIV are marginalised has been highlighted by a report from the Sigma Research Group at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine looking at black African people living in England in relationships where one partner had diagnosed HIV while the other did not. Dr Adam Bourne described the stigma and fear they face and told Peter Goodwin what needs to be done to improve this.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
By admin | Published:
January 2, 2012
January 2, 2012
Richard Oxborough
MOSHI, TANZANIA—New insecticides to control mosquitoes — being tested in Tanzania — promise to overcome the biggest threat to malaria control in Africa: resistance to pyrethroid insecticides. Dr Richard Oxborough from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine explained to Sarah Maxwell how his group’s research evaluating new insecticides for mosquito nets and spraying inside houses, at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshi, Tanzania, is bringing hope for sustainable control of pyrethroid-resistant malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. The development of new insecticides for malaria vector control will help continue the decline of malaria in the region when combined with other malaria-control measures including new drugs, a vaccine and better diagnostic tests.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
By admin | Published:
January 2, 2012
January 2, 2012
Simon Croft
LONDON —A new weapon in the global battle against infectious disease was recently unveiled in London. The Bloomsbury Institute for Pathogen Research has been launched as a collaboration between two big university research groups to combat pathogens — infectious agents including bacteria, viruses and parasites. The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine brings expertise in parasitic and bacterial diseases, while University College London contributes long experience and excellent facilities for researching viral illnesses. Professor Simon Croft from the London School explains to Peter Goodwin how the new institute forms an important tool to be used along with excellent health system planning to fight infections everywhere.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
By admin | Published:
October 24, 2011
October 24, 2011
Val Curtis
LONDON—Scientists in London have found that a significant proportion of mobile phones in Britain are contaminated with faecal bacteria. This news was announced on Global Handwashing Day 2011 by Dr Val Curtis, Director of the Hygiene Centre at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She talks to Peter Goodwin about the significance of the finding they’ve made — jointly with Queen Mary College — and the importance of washing hands with soap and water after going to the lavatory.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
By admin | Published:
October 24, 2011
October 24, 2011
Carine Ronsmans
LONDON—In the new book: Good Health At Low Cost, the achievements of Bangladesh are discussed as an example of how the health of most people can improve despite adverse circumstances. Professor Carine Ronsmans of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who has lived in Bangladesh and visits frequently, explained to Peter Goodwin why she thinks it is a good example.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.