The Return of the Measles

http://news.yahoo.com/warns-measles-spread-europe-132902661.html

Measles, a disease that many in the developed world are vaccinated for at birth, has made a return across Europe and Africa. While the quick spread of measles is alarming, it's not even the most disturbing thing. 90% of the cases of measles in Europe are people who haven't been vaccinated for it, or did not receive follow up boosters for it. If we can't even vaccinate and immunize people in well-developed countries, like France, how can we hope to vaccinate almost everyone in developing and undeveloped countries? The MDG to reduce childhood mortality relies strongly on the use of vaccinations to eradicate communicable, but preventable diseases.
To compound the difficulties of even getting one vaccine to a large majority of the world population, the measles vaccine requires two doses. This makes it very hard to make sure everyone who gets the first vaccine, also gets the second. This outbreak of measles has made it very clear that the road to achieve all the MDGs will be a very long, obstacle-ridden route. If the most powerful countries in the world with the supposedly highest standards of living cannot ward off preventable diseases, how can we expect to help un-industrialized countries lacking proper infrastructures to get such basic healthcare?
While we still must continue progress in developing countries to reach the MDGs, we also now need to focus on the MDGs in our own home countries. Healthcare and healthcare services have fallen in importance to our governments, and as such, has fallen out of the public eye. Unless a huge national or international scare occurs, we often don't hear about the behind-the-scenes work, or lack thereof, in health policy.

Automobile Fuel Damaging Livers?

http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Additives-in-Diesel-Fuels-Cause-Liver-Damage-111811.aspx

A new study conducted at Marshall University linked the nanoparticles of cerium oxide used in diesel fuels and damage to the liver. Cerium oxide is used in diesel fuels to increase the efficiency of the automobile's engine. It is also used as glass mirror polish, ophthalmic lens and television tube coating, and in many other products that we come into contact with in our daily lives. As the entire world goes about their daily lives with these product surrounding them at every corner, should we not be more worried about what we're putting into the production lines?
Diesel fuels, while not used by all automobiles, are still used by a fair amount of vehicles. As developed and developing countries try to move towards environmentally friendly fuels, diesel and biodiesels continue to look like a better options, in terms of vehicular fuel. Diesel-powered vehicles have better fuel economies, and diesel produces less greenhouse gases, slowing down the rate of global warming. The more countries use diesel however, the more of the cerium oxide is released into the air due to combustion. As we know, air pollutants do not stay in one place. Wind patterns will move these all over the earth, creating problems for those not even in industrialized or modernized areas of the world.
There really are no international laws on air pollution at the moment. If they were to be created, it would take a lot of work to reinforce the legislation simply because of the properties of air and wind. It's too difficult to track down exactly what the source of the pollution is, leaving corporations and individuals to be responsible for their own output, a highly idealistic proposal. We, as a international community, need to find a way to either phase out such harmful chemicals from the products we use, or find a way to regulate their use to diminish the harmful effects they have on everyone.

New Progress in the Malaria Vaccine

http://news.yahoo.com/scientists-big-chink-malarias-armour-180508332.html

A few weeks ago, we heard about how a new malaria vaccine had been developed with more than a 50% success rate. In this last week though, there has been a breakthrough in malaria research. It has been found that the parasite can only enter red blood cells by attaching ligand, a protein, to a very specific receptor on the surface of red blood cells. By blocking this receptor from the parasite, we have a very effective way of preventing malaria. This would give way more than a 50% success rate. This is a huge step in eradicating malaria. By not allowing the parasite to get into the red blood cells, the parasite cannot reach the liver to produce. The parasites will die, and hopefully malaria will be a disease of the past.
Hopefully, like with the malaria vaccine being developed currently, this vaccine will also be offered at a very low price. Because not many in developed countries need it, and the ones who are really at risk live in the poorest regions of the world, namely Sub-Saharan Africa, this will make the vaccine very accessible. This is a great example of how industrialized, developed nations can help out undeveloped countries. We have the resources to do such research and manufacture life-saving supplies. Realizing that the people who need the vaccine the most can't afford it and driving the price lower is a large humanitarian effort and is a step in the right direction. This is also a prime example of a low-cost, yet effective intervention, given that the vaccine can be developed.

The Global Health Bailout?

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/press/release.cfm?id=5590&cat=press-release

G20 leaders are coming together at the G20 Summit in Cannes to discuss major global issues. As healthcare becomes a increasingly large issue, it is only appropriate that a discussion on international healthcare funding was opened. The financial transaction tax that was discussed is a tax on the financial sectors of the nation in order to raise money for healthcare resources. According to Doctors Without Borders, if this just a percentage of this tax was allocated towards global health initiatives, millions of lives could be saved. We realize by now that sometimes, the smallest interventions can matter the most and change the most in the smallest amount of time. For instance, in 2009, 370,000 children were newly infected with HIV, most of them by their own mothers at birth. It only costs $40 to pay for antiretroviral medicine needed as prophylaxis, or preventative medicine, to prevent 98% of mother to child HIV infection.

However, this week, the G20 has refused to endorse the financial transaction tax. Many of the G20 nations worry about the burden this tax would put on their already stressed economy and banks. This tax's implementation would mean there would be a steady source of money for international healthcare initiatives, instead of relying on donations from private sectors and committed amounts from countries that health aid groups may not receive in full. With a steady flow of funds, international aid groups would have to worry less about allocating funds because they don't have enough and could focus on getting help where it is needed. It would appear that developed nations are still too independent and may not realize the severity and importance of global health; they still do not realize the impact that poor and underdeveloped global health can have across the entire world. We are no longer isolated. Even though the G20 isn't backing the financial transaction tax, Nicolas Sarkozy and Bill Gates are not giving up. Many like them do realize that this tax could have been a game-changer for international health. Sarkozy has said that he will continue to push for the tax.

Bangkok's Flooding

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/27/141770333/bangkok-at-risk-of-its-worst-flooding-in-decades

As Bangkok's residents prepare for the imminent disastrous flooding coming their way, it makes us think about the true damage natural disasters cause. Besides being a hazard to human life, developing countries must repair physical damage and struggle to manage with a crippled economy. In addition, many are forced to move away from their homes. Natural disasters have a huge impact on health in developing countries. As these people in Bangkok are displaced because they have to move to higher elevation, they will have to find places to live, whether in city slums or shantytowns. The lack of jobs in a devastated economy leaves many without income and a way to pay for any healthcare. Since so many people are living in unsanitary conditions and in close proximity, disease can spread fast. The inability to get healthcare in combination with the increased chance of disease transmission makes the flooding in Bangkok a recipe for disaster.
Because of situations like this, we realize that we have to have ways to mitigate natural disasters quickly. However, even with plans, it is very hard to predict for everything that comes our way. This incident is not isolated in only Bangkok. Scientists have warned that as global climate change worsens, weather patterns will become more and more extreme. Bangkok should be a warning to all developing countries who cannot handle and initiate the response necessary to large scale natural disasters. International aid groups can only provide so much help for so long.

Wang Yue and China's Sense of Morality

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2051679/Yue-Yue-dead-Chinese-girl-Wang-Yue-2-run-bystanders-watch-dies.html

Earlier this week, a two year old girl named Wang Yue was run over twice on a road in China, and ignored by 18 passersby. She died this morning, her death being a painful message of the increasing lack of morality despite its rapid economic growth. This is not directly related to healthcare, but it tells a story. We have always been trying to continuously push money into the economies and governments of developing countries, but we see that even in China, a now relatively successful country, there are huge issues that will develop. Even if there is adequate healthcare, we ignore the fact that we can't change the mentality of people. 

She did eventually get to the hospital, but only after laying in the street for 10 minutes, completely ignored. This brings to light that there are many different aspects to international healthcare. Even if there are good systems available, we cannot ignore the fact that there are always going to be these situations. In order to keep healthcare moving forward, we have to make sure that people are educated in the importance of an interconnected society. Everything is related, and our actions affect others. We need to make sure that even though we cannot offer immediate healthcare to each other because we don't have a doctor's education, we can still save lives. Had just one person paid attention to her earlier, she would have an exponentially greater chance of surviving.

"14 Reasons Not to Donate to Somalia"

http://dochasnetwork.wordpress.com/2011/08/09/14-reasons-not-to-donate-to-somalia/
^This article is basically the translated version of the original article, which I can't find anymore. It has all the same content, but I'm really paying attention to the 14 reasons not to donate, and the one reason we should.


The fourteen reasons the Dutch journalist wrote for not donating to Somalia outline the very reasons our initiatives to provide international aid are rendered useless. The biggest reasons as to why so many suffer in Somalia is not because of natural disasters or lack of proper agricultural practices, it's because their government is unable to properly prioritize their spending on infrastructure and they sold acres upon acres of fertile land to foreign investors, leaving nothing to supply food to their own people, creating the huge famine in Somalia. Even if we give aid to the government, chances are that no good will come of it because they will spend it irresponsibly. If we give it to smaller groups, we run the risk of violent factions within Somalia getting a hold of the money and using it against other factions.

We have to realize that as good as our intentions are, we cannot create a big change in international health if the governments of those we are trying to help are not cooperating or are very corrupt. No matter what aid we funnel in, it will never be enough to create infrastructure for all of those countries, to pave roads, to build hospitals, to get equipment. We need the cooperation of those governments. If we don't have the cooperation of governments, we leave the citizens with roads leading to no healthcare (if we choose to put money into paving roads) or we leave them with hospitals and resources, but no way to get to them. It is difficult to put adequate funds into both because there simply isn't enough money. So while we do talk a lot about technology helping to cure disease, how expensive treatments are, and so on and so forth, we also have to note that the government and political environment of the country itself will also majorly effect the healthcare resources of the citizens in question.

How Vinegar Saves Women

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/health/27cancer.html?_r=4&ref=science

In decades past, cervical cancer came into the spotlight as the number one killer for women. However, as richer countries did their research, they developed Pap smears and women get them routinely to make sure they catch it early, making it more treatable. But what about their poorer counterparts? How were their lagging incomes going to pay for such technology? This article brings to attention the ingenuity of researchers, because now household vinegar can be brushed onto a woman's cervix, and the cancerous spots will turn white, allowing doctors to be able to easily spot and freeze off the cancerous cells with carbon dioxide chilled metal probe. This is very efficient, and more importantly, inexpensive. 

Just because these treatments seem rudimentary, does not mean they should be looked down upon. As Dr. Wachara Eamratsameekool says, it's not "poor care for poor people," it's simply the most effective usage of their resources. Because researchers have realized that clearly, developing and undeveloped countries are very far behind us, but still need help even more than we do, they have started to look for help in places where they would not look before. Who would have thought that your simply household vinegar could decrease the chances of 8 million poor women developing cervical cancer by more than 65%? Our resources to help have not been exhausted in the slightest. However, if we constantly look to newer and more expensive technology to save and cure people, how can we expect to help the people who need it most? Resources need to be put into research projects like the one that discovered this treatment. It makes it not only more affordable to those who need it most, but also easier to create and distribute. While it may not be possible to eradicate disease in our lifetime, we have a whole low-tech range of possibilities we have yet to extensively explore. We can save countless lives and still contribute resources to research of high tech solutions.

A Possible End to HIV?

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/09/gene-therapy-may-thwart-hiv.html?rss=1

Timothy Brown, the first man to be cured of HIV, has driven scientists to find an effective way to end HIV. He was cured when he was diagnosed with HIV and received a bone marrow transplant from a donor who had defective CCR5 receptors on his T-cells, the receptors that HIV uses to infiltrate cells. Soon after, the HIV in his body started to decline. Scientists have tried to apply the same concept in very small clinical trials with minor success, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

While this is a small success in the battle against HIV, it also brings to attention a very large issue in healthcare: money. Even if this gene therapy were to be at a stage where it could be used outside of clinical trials, it's still technologically advanced and expensive. HIV has hit Africa the hardest, but Africa also has the poorest countries in the world. There is no way that this gene therapy could be supplied to the people who need it most. As we have discussed, the poor need this technology significantly more than the rich, yet they suffer even more without it. While the relatively well off at least have anti-retroviral medication to slow down the effects, the poor have nothing to use. When we applaud such discoveries, research, and advancements, we also have to keep in mind the people we end up helping, and those who we still are not bringing help to. We don't realize that although there is a big accomplishment here, many, many more are still suffering.

Eastern Europe's Tuberculosis Crisis

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(11)61428-1/fulltext

A big problem that's been hitting developed countries recently is the rise drug-resistant strains of previously treatable diseases. Due to the overwhelming numbers of unnecessary antibiotics being prescribed to the public, we have selected for drug-resistant bacteria and viruses. Much of Eastern Europe is still developing and due to their lack of solid healthcare and infrastructure, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis is on the rise.

This is another example of how weak country infrastructures prevent proper healthcare. Eastern Europe's case is different than Haiti's, though. Their predicament is not due to inability to get aid everywhere, but that people do not seek aid at their local hospitals. Their programs are also failing to screen and detect cases of tuberculosis in vulnerable population. Because of the inadequate system they have in place, those who seek help are not well educated about things like antibiotics. Not using antibiotics to full term selects for these multi-drug resistant strains, creating Europe's fear that multi-drug resistant tuberculosis will become a huge problem all across Europe. Another reason for Eastern Europe's lacking programs is due to their inability to fund the programs to properly educate, detect, and effectively cure cases of tuberculosis.

Haiti's Cholera Outbreak

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/05/2391890/haiti-cholera-epidemic-as.html#ixzz1XHbNbKsL

Cholera is a deadly epidemic striking Haiti, however, aid groups are starting to leave Haiti without the outbreak being completely eliminating the threat. The problem here is that Haiti's terrain, in addition to the inaccessibility of those who need the most help, make it very difficult for aid groups to get supplies where they need to go. The issue behind this cholera epidemic is that Haiti has not even started industrializing and developing. Like many undeveloped countries, it has few roads and many rural communities that are isolated. There is hardly any way to efficiently save those in Haiti if help can't get to them easily.
Cholera kills fast and moves fast as well. With no widespread road system paved over the rocky terrain, there is no way to help. The issue to think about here is whether or not sacrificing three, four, five generations of people is worth it to industrialize and make the country easier to live in. It would be near impossible to evenly split funds between helping the sick and moving the country forward economically.

These poor sub-Saharan African workers are trapped in Libya because rebels have looted everything they own and have taken their papers. They live in constant fear and stress which has resulted in an array of medical problems, in addition to their medical problems from terrible living conditions. They barely have any food and are barely getting aid, as very few are willing to go into such a violent area. It is definitely important that they get clean water and food first, so that they will survive until medical aid comes to help with their physical ailments.
This situation is a sad byproduct of the fact that sub-Saharan Africa has yet to be able to industrialize and provide for its people. With little hope to progress in the near future in the areas of clean water, proper medical care, education and so on, the people of sub-Saharan Africa move to more prosperous parts in order to try and find a better future for their families. Innocent citizens are suffering only because they tried to find a better life.