Posts Tagged ‘chagas’

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Reading List 3/7/2011

March 7th, 2011

Happy Monday readers! Here’s a great new reading list to get your week started off! Today we’re reading about the first observed African Vaccination Week (AVW) which will take place later in April, India’s plan for a mass anti-filaria medicine-administering-drive in 20 districts of the state, Bayer Healthcare’s extension with the World Health Organization to fight Chagas disease, and President Jimmy Carter’s fight to eliminate guinea worm which includes a video. Enjoy!

Congo: First African Vaccination Week to be observed in April, Afrique en ligne
Plans afoot for massive anti-filaria drive, The Times of India
Bayer extends support to fight Chagas disease, World Pharma News
Jimmy Carter, Worm Slayer, Kristi York Wooten, The Huffinton Post

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Climate change prompts debate among experts about spread of tropical diseases

January 13th, 2011

This past Monday, an article was published in The Washington Post on the controversial correlation between climate change and tropical diseases. Concern was raised in 2000 by an article written by Harvard biologist Paul R. Epstein, which drew a lot of interest from the scientific community. The article sparked more than 4,000 studies on the changing climate and its effect on disease. Scientists and health professionals were also compelled by a map published in the Scientific American that predicted by 2020 a malaria outbreak could occur on the east coast of the United States and in Europe. This scenario of tropical disease presenting themselves may not be too far-fetched for the US. Last summer, dengue appeared in the Florida Keys, and in the past similar infectious diseases broke out in warmer areas of the States.

Tropical diseases thrive in warm weather. As our climate increasingly becomes warmer, organisms will reproduce at a faster rate, resulting in a greater number of disease-carrying insects. Other theories hypothesize  that climate change could actually reduce disease – some areas may become too hot for insects and vectors to survive, thereby reducing the outbreak of disease.

Click here to read the article in its entirety.

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Posted in NTDs, Public Health

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Doctors without Borders on The Hill

July 21st, 2010

By: Alanna Shaikh

Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) testified before the US congress today on Neglected Tropical Diseases. The testimony, from Suerie Moon on the U.S. Board of Directors of MSF, was a valuable reminder of why we continue to fight the NTDs, and introduced some of MSF’s core principles in global health. It’s an interesting speech.

She began by talking about NTDs. Her focus was on Chagas diseases, which is a major MSF focus, but the content applies to all the NTDS. First, she pointed out that the US presidential neglected tropical disease initiative only covered 5 out of the 14 Neglected Tropical Diseases. Chagas, as MSF was quick to point out, was not included. Neither were kala azar (aka Visceral leishmaniasis) or Trypanosomiasis (African sleeping sickness).

» Read more: Doctors without Borders on The Hill

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Posted in Global Development, Global Health, NTDs, Politics

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Chagas Highlighted in Nature Journal

July 7th, 2010

Nature is an international weekly journal of science focusing on medicine, health, and research. In the latest issue of their supplement, Nature Outlook, the journal highlights Chagas disease. Check out Nature’s open-access (aka free) supplement to get the full scoop on Chagas disease!

And to help combat Chagas and other NTDs, go to the Global Network website to get involved!

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Posted in Global Development, Global Health, NTDs, Public Health

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