Venezuela"s infant mortality, maternal mortality and malaria cases soar

Venezuela’s infant mortality rose 30% last year, maternal mortality shot up 65% and cases of malaria jumped 76%, according to government data, sharp increases reflecting how the country’s deep economic crisis has hammered at citizens’ health.

The statistics, issued on an official website after nearly two years of data silence from President Nicolás Maduro’s leftist government, also showed a jump in illnesses such as diphtheria and Zika. It was not immediately clear when the ministry had posted the data, although local media reported on the statistics on Tuesday.

Recession and currency controls in the oil-exporting South American country have slashed both local production and imports of foreign goods, and Venezuelans are facing shortages of everything from rice to vaccines. The opposition has organized weeks of protests against Maduro, accusing him of dictatorial rule and calling for elections.

In the health sector, doctors have emigrated in droves, pharmacy shelves are empty, and patients have to settle for second-rate treatment or none at all. A leading pharmaceutical association has said roughly 85% of medicines are running short.

The health ministry had stopped releasing figures after July 2015, amid a wider data blackout.

Its statistics for 2016 showed infant mortality, or deaths of children aged 0-1, climbed 30.12% to 11,466 cases last year. The report cited neonatal sepsis, pneumonia, respiratory distress syndrome, and prematurity as the main causes.

Hospitals often lack basic equipment such as incubators, and pregnant women are struggling to eat well, including taking folic acid, factors that can affect a baby’s health.

Maternal mortality, or death while pregnant or within 42 days of the end of a pregnancy, was also up, rising 65.79% to 756 deaths, the report said.

The health ministry did not respond to a request for further information. Maduro’s government says a coup-mongering elite is hoarding medicines to stoke unrest.

Diphtheria, a bacterial infection that is fatal in 5-10% of cases and that Venezuela had controlled in the 1990s, affected 324 people, the data showed – up from no cases the previous year.

Diphtheria was once a major global cause of child death but is now increasingly rare thanks to immunizations, and its return showed how vulnerable the country is to health risks.

Reuters documented the case of a nine-year-old girl, Eliannys Vivas, who died of diphtheria earlier this year after being misdiagnosed with asthma, in part because there were no instruments to examine her throat. She was shuttled around several run-down hospitals.

There were also 240,613 cases of malaria last year, up 76.4% compared with 2015, with most cases of the mosquito-borne disease reported in Bolivar state.

Cases of Zika rose to 59,348 from 71 in 2015, reflecting the spread of the mosquito-borne virus around Latin America last year. There was no data for likely Zika-linked microcephaly, in which babies are born with small heads, although doctors say there have been at least several dozen cases.

Venezuela"s infant mortality, maternal mortality and malaria cases soar

UTI test used by GPs gives wrong results in at least a fifth of cases, study claims

A test that is routinely used by doctors to diagnose urinary tract infections wrongly gives a negative result in a fifth of cases, scientists have found.

The findings imply that a large proportion of women who seek medical help for UTIs such as cystitis are being misdiagnosed, with some being told their problem is psychological. Many women with severe symptoms are also likely to have been refused antibiotics.

Stefan Heytens, a practicing GP and a researcher at the University of Ghent, said: “A substantial percentage of women visiting their GP with symptoms of a UTI, who test negative for a bacterial infection, are told they have no infection and sent home without treatment.”

Rather than using unreliable tests, he said, women should be diagnosed and treated on the basis of their symptoms.

Each year an estimated four million people, the vast majority women, will have a bout of cystitis. It typically involves bladder pain, an intense burning sensation when passing urine and the need to urinate urgently, sometimes several times an hour.

While unpleasant and inconvenient, cystitis normally clears without medicine within a couple of days. But if symptoms are severe or linger and antibiotics are required, GPs often carry out a “dipstick” test using a litmus-style indicator or send a urine sample to a microbiology lab, where it is cultured to see whether harmful bacteria is present.

In at least a fifth of cases, these tests come back negative, and doctors had been at a loss to explain what was wrong with this subset of patients. Some have been diagnosed with unexplained “urethral syndrome” while for others it has been suggested the root cause might be psychological.

The latest work proposes a third explanation: the tests are at fault.

The study, published in Clinical Microbiology and Infection, recruited 220 women who were visiting their GP for UTI symptoms and 86 healthy volunteers, all of whom gave urine samples.

The standard culture test detected bacteria in 81% of the samples. But a more advanced technique, designed to spot tiny quantities of bacterial DNA, found evidence of an infection in 98% of the women with symptoms.

Only about 10% of the healthy women tested positive for bacteria such as E. coli, suggesting that the results were not simply explained by trace levels of bacteria that are always present.

The authors are not sure why some infections failed to grow in culture. “The microbiologists in our institution do not have the slightest idea,” said Heygens. “They are just surprised that their test is not as infallible as they thought.”

However, he had this advice for doctors: “The woman that is visiting you with typical urinary complaints has an infection. There is nothing more to explore.”

The findings come after researchers concluded last year that cranberry juice, traditionally recommended by doctors as a natural cure, has no discernible effect on cystitis.

Prof James Malone Lee, who runs a specialist clinic for chronic UTIs at Whittington Hospital in London, highlighted the inadequacies of current testing in parliament last year. “The patients attending our centre describe frequent occurrences of them presenting with typical symptoms of urinary infection but being denied treatment because the tests are negative,” he said. “They are told emphatically that nothing is wrong.”

The consequences for the minority of women who suffer chronic infections could be devastating, he added. “It is appalling that patients coming to our centre have been told that their problems are psychological,” he said. “We have got to accept that our tests are discredited and we must start to consider what happens to those who go untreated because they tested negative.”

Prof Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said the vast majority of women who present at their GP surgery with a UTI are given a test aimed at identifying infection. “GPs rely on the results of these tests, so if [they are] ineffective in properly determining the type of infection – as this research suggests the urine test is – it is certainly concerning, and it needs to be addressed,” she said.

UTI test used by GPs gives wrong results in at least a fifth of cases, study claims

Italy"s Five Star Movement blamed for surge in measles cases

An Italian health official has blamed an alarming rise in measles cases on the populist Five Star Movement (M5S), which has campaigned on an anti-vaccination platform and has repeated discredited links between vaccinations and autism.

According to the health ministry, more than 700 cases of the highly contagious disease have been registered so far in 2017, compared with 220 for the same period last year and 844 in the whole of 2016.

The surge in the number of cases follows a drop in the proportion of two-year-olds given vaccinations from 88% in 2013 to 86% in 2014 and 85.3% in 2015 – well below the 95% threshold advised by the World Health Organisation.

In 2015, the M5S proposed a law against vaccinations because of “the link between vaccinations and specific illnesses such as leukaemia, poisoning, inflammation, immunodepression, inheritable genetic mutations, cancer, autism and allergies”.

Writing on his blog the same year, the party’s leader, Beppe Grillo, said: “Vaccines have played a fundamental role in eradicating terrible illnesses such as polio, diphtheria and hepatitis. However, they bring a risk associated with side-effects that are usually temporary and surmountable … but in very rare cases, can be as severe as getting the same disease you’re trying to be immune to.”

The outbreak of measles this year has been mostly concentrated in the wealthy regions of Piedmont, Lazio, Tuscany and Lombardy. Some doctors in these areas have been actively encouraging parents not to give their child the injection. Turin in Piedmont and Rome in Lazio both elected M5S mayors last June.

Raniero Guerra, the director general for preventive health at the ministry of health, told the Guardian: “People from the M5S say measles is normal, and that every three years we have a peak, so why is it dangerous? Well, I say it’s not normal to have peaks or outbreaks – we are supposed to be a measles-free country.”

Italy’s health minister, Beatrice Lorenzin, issued a strong defence of vaccinations. Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

Last week, Beatrice Lorenzin, Italy’s health minister, issued a strong defence of vaccinations in response to the new figures.“The only weapon we have against serious diseases such as measles is vaccination: enough with the false information. There is no correlation between vaccines and autism,” she said.

Andrea Liberati, an M5s official in the Umbria region, said the nationwide rise in measles cases was the result of confusing information.

“It’s not that we’re entirely against vaccines, but the government needs to send out a clearer message; parents are very confused by the contradictory information,” he said. Liberati also claimed: “There is obviously [also] a commercial element to this, and need for big pharma companies to make money.”

Asked in November last year about some of the less mainstream theories the party has supported, M5S MEP Laura Ferrara denied it opposed vaccinations, but said it wanted to urge parents to be more vigilant about which vaccines they gave their children.

Italians’ perception of the safety of vaccinations was heavily influenced by now-discredited claims of a connection between the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination and autism. In a high-profile case in 2012, a court in Rimini awarded compensation to the family of an autistic child after ruling that the child’s autism was probably caused by the MMR jab, which played into parents’ fears even though the judgment was quashed on appeal three years later.

These fears, combined with a lack of trust in mainstream politicians, have left many parents agonising over whether to vaccinate their children.

Michele Marchesani and his wife struggled to decide whether or not to inject their daughter, now 15, against measles. They eventually agreed not to, a decision influenced in part by the seven years Marchesani, a physiotherapist, had spent working with an autistic boy.

“His parents believed that the autism was caused by the measles vaccination,” he said. “They campaigned and tried to take it to court, but didn’t get anywhere with it … I would trust the injection more if, say, a friend convinced me it was the right thing to do, but not when it comes from a politician.”

Elettra De Marches, a mother of 16-year-old twins, also shunned the jab. “My children both had measles,” she said. “It’s a manageable disease. There is no need for an injection, it’s just for commercial purposes.”

Initial symptoms of measles include fever, red eyes and sensitivity to light, greyish white spots in the mouth and throat and cold-like symptoms. The measles rash typically appears after two to four days. The disease can be very debilitating, and although most people recover fully, it can have very serious complications, including blindness and death.

The Italian government is striving to address unfounded fears over vaccinations as part of a new strategy focusing on social media.

“The usual institutional lines of communication do not work,” Guerra said. “The value of immunisation needs to be communicated in a language that is easily understood by younger parents, as that is where the biggest concentration of hesitation is right now.

“We’re talking about letting them know what appropriate information they can access, rather than using whatever rubbish is published on the internet – because that’s another issue.”

The government is also looking into ways of prosecuting doctors who actively persuade parents against the jab. “This is unacceptable … it’s close to being a crime,” added Guerra.

Italy"s Five Star Movement blamed for surge in measles cases

Ministers lose fight to stop payouts over swine flu jab narcolepsy cases

Dozens of children who developed narcolepsy as a result of a swine flu vaccine could be compensated after the high court rejected a government appeal to withhold payments.

Six million people in Britain, and more across Europe, were given the Pandemrix vaccine made by GlaxoSmithKline during the 2009-10 swine flu pandemic, but the jab was withdrawn after doctors noticed a sharp rise in narcolepsy among those who received it.

The sleep disorder is permanent and can cause people to fall asleep dozens of times a day. Some narcoleptics have night terrors and a muscular condition called cataplexy that can lead them to collapse on the spot.

In 2015, a 12-year-old boy, known as John for the proceedings, was awarded £120,000 by a court that ruled he had been left severely disabled by narcolepsy caused by the vaccine. He was seven when he had the jab and developed symptoms within months.

Because of his tiredness, John became disruptive at school and found it almost impossible to make friends. He takes several naps a day, cannot shower or take a bus on his own, and may never be allowed to drive a car.

Despite paying out, the Department for Work and Pensions argued John’s disability was not serious enough to warrant compensation and said the court was wrong to take into account how the illness would affect him in the future. But the high court on Thursday rejected the government’s appeal that only the boy’s disability at the time should have been considered.

The ruling paves the way for more than 60 other people to claim compensation.

“This important decision brings clarity to anyone who brings claims under the Vaccine Damage Payment Act in future,” said Peter Todd, the family’s solicitor at Hodge Jones & Allen. “It will in particular bring welcome relief to those who developed narcolepsy as a result of taking the swine flu vaccination and who have been awaiting payment from the DWP scheme but also has implications for anyone affected by other vaccines covered by the scheme.”

The judgment means the DWP has to take into account the impact disability has on a person’s entire life, and not just the impact it has on the individual at the time their claim is made.

“Sadly, those who developed narcolepsy as a result of the swine flu vaccination have had their lives changed forever. The condition will affect many aspects of their lives including working, driving, personal and family relationships – the very things most of us take for granted,” Todd said.

In 2014, a 23-year-old nursery assistant who developed narcolepsy after receiving the swine flu vaccine took her own life, telling her family that living with the sleep disorder had become unbearable. In a note written on the day she died, Katie Clack, urged her family to pursue her legal case, saying she had been left with “no quality of life”. Her sister, Emma Sutton, told the Guardian at the time: “We feel she was let down by the defective vaccine, which caused her narcolepsy, and by the insufficient intervention and support, which ultimately led to this tragedy.”

The Pandemrix compensation case was the first that the court of appeal considered under the Ul statutory compensation scheme, which was set up in 1979 for rare occasions when vaccines cause severe damage. The decision to consider the impact of the disability over the person’s entire life is now binding on all future cases brought under the act.

Todd said there are about 100 people in the UK with narcolepsy caused by Pandemrix. A further 100 applications a year are made for compensation under the scheme due to harm caused by other vaccines. “Today’s judgment brings a welcome relief to the many people affected by the DWP’s continued refusal of applications for compensation,” Todd said. He is acting for 88 claimants, mostly children, who developed narcolepsy as a result of the swine flu vaccine, and in a civil case against GSK, which manufactured the vaccine.

A DWP spokesperson said: “We are aware of the judgment of the court and are carefully studying the court’s reasons.”

Ministers lose fight to stop payouts over swine flu jab narcolepsy cases

GP consultations too short for complex cases, says doctors" leader

The length of GP consultations is too short for many people with complex health needs because doctors are “ridiculously overworked”, according to the Royal College of GPs.

The average consultation length of 10 minutes in the UK – thought to be the shortest in the developed world – was “crazy” said the RCGP president, Dr Helen Stokes-Lampard.

While simple health problems could be dealt with in 10 minutes, for people with complex health needs it was inadequate but GPs had to practise “demand management”, she told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.

“It is a crazy situation. GPs are ridiculously overworked and there are too few of us – the situation is on the brink.”

Research by the Health Foundation – based on polling of GPs from 11 countries, including Germany, France, Australia and the US – has suggested the amount of time spent by UK GPs with patients is the lowest in the developed world.

The data showed 92% of consultations in the UK are completed in under 15 minutes, compared with 27% in other countries.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, of the BMA, said: “We spend less than other European countries. We have fewer doctors than other European nations. We have one-third of the hospital beds per head compared to Germany, for example, GPs spend less time per patient than any other European nations. We need to be addressing these issues as a priority.”

Plans to “modernise” the NHS by reducing hospital care and putting more services in the community to save £22bn and make the system more efficient risked undermining care, she said.

The number of GP consultations has already increased by nearly a quarter in the past five years, and while funding for MPs will increase by 14% by 2020, the current infrastructure could not cope, said Stokes-Lampard. “If you haven’t got the infrastructure there you are setting yourself up to fail. It’s a case of putting the cart before the horse.”

Meanwhile, an Ipsos Mori poll for the BBC of 1,033 UK adults found a majority of the public would be open to a tougher approach on people who abuse the GP system.

Seven in 10 said charging people for missed appointments would be acceptable, while 51% said they were against paying to have a guaranteed appointment within 24 hours, although 20% said they would be willing to pay more than £10.

Stokes-Lampard said the issue of charging – which both the Royal College of GPs and the British Medical Association are against – was a “red herring”, as most people who used the GP did not pay for prescriptions and would not have to pay.

GP consultations too short for complex cases, says doctors" leader

Norovirus cases in England at highest level in five years

More patients have been struck down with vomiting bug norovirus this year compared with the previous five years, according to official figures.

Data from Public Health England shows reports of the bug had reached 2,435 this winter – 12% more than the average for the same period over the last five years. The figure is also 71% higher than the same period last year, although last winter had unusually low levels of norovirus.

In the week ending on Christmas Day, the outbreaks of vomiting and diarrhoea resulted in more bed closures than during the same period last year – rising from an average of 559 beds closed per day to 699. Hospitals reported 20 outbreaks of norovirus in the first two weeks of December, 17 of which led to bay or ward closures and 13 of which were confirmed as the bug.

In total so far this season, there have been 163 hospital outbreaks reported.

Nick Phin, deputy director of the national infection service at PHE, said: “Norovirus is a common cause of illness during winter. Exactly when the peak in activity occurs will be different each winter but levels seen so far this year are not unexpected compared with the previous five years.”

The number of laboratory reports of the bug rotavirus this season is 1,136, which is also 3% higher than the average for the period from 2003 to 2013.

In early November the Mexican restaurant chain Wahaca closed several branches in London after more than 350 customers and staff fell ill with suspected norovirus. PHE and environmental health officers were called in after the suspected outbreak of the winter vomiting bug struck at nine restaurants.

NHS England also released figures showing there were 291,808 calls to the NHS 111 service in the week ending on Christmas Day as temperatures plummeted and a cold weather alert was issued. This was nearly 9% lower than the number of calls to the helpline in the same week last year. Of calls answered, 93.2% were answered within 60 seconds and 1.5% of patients abandoned their calls after waiting 30 seconds.

Norovirus cases in England at highest level in five years

Colombia Zika outbreak: microcephaly cases four times higher this year

Cases of microcephaly in Colombia were four times higher this year than last, an increase that coincides with a widespread outbreak of the Zika virus in the country, according to a report released on Friday.

At its peak in July, microcephaly cases in Colombia were nine times higher than in the same month in 2015, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s weekly report on death and disease.

Overall, there were about 9.6 cases of microcephaly per 10,000 live births in Colombia, where the virus infected as many as 20,000 pregnant women since the start of the outbreak there in October 2015.

The numbers reflect a sharp increase in rates of the rare birth defect, but the number of cases was still far lower than those in Brazil, where Zika first arrived in May 2015. As of 3 December, Brazil has confirmed 2,228 cases of microcephaly linked with Zika, and there are 3,173 cases still under investigation.

Those numbers are far higher than the 432 cases of babies born in Colombia with microcephaly in 2016, and another 44 that occurred among fetuses that did not survive the pregnancy, according to the report by researchers at the CDC and the Colombian health department.

The study’s authors said the difference could have resulted from a number of factors, including the fact that women in Colombia had early warning about the risk of microcephaly.

In February, the Colombian ministry of health advised women to consider delaying pregnancy for six months, which may have played a role. During the study period, the number of live births fell by about 18,000 from 2015 to 2016.

Several experts also have suggested that women in Colombia took advantage of more permissive abortion laws, an option that was not available to women in Brazil, where abortion is banned in most instances.

Colombia Zika outbreak: microcephaly cases four times higher this year

Scurvy cases reported in Australia reveal modern diet failings

Scurvy, an 18th century disease caused by a lack of vitamin C, appears to have made a surprise comeback in Australia.

Historically associated with sailors on long voyages, scurvy has been detected in a number of diabetic patients at Westmead hospital in western Sydney.

Prof Jenny Gunton from the hospital’s centre for diabetes, obesity and endocrinology said several of her patients with long-running unhealed wounds had been cured by a simple course of vitamin C.

A lack of vitamin C in the body results in the defective formation of collagen and connective tissues, which can cause bruising, bleeding gums, blood spots in the skin, joint pain and impaired wound healing.
When the patients were asked about their diet, some were eating little or no fresh fruit and vegetables. The rest ate fair amounts of vegetables but were over-cooking them, which destroys the vitamin C.

Gunton fears the problem could be much more widespread.

“Human bodies cannot synthesise vitamin C, so we must eat foods containing it,” she said.

Most Australians don’t meet World Health Organisation standards for vegetable consumption.

Research by University of Sydney PhD candidate Reetica Rekhy, recently published in the journal Nutrition & Dietetics, found that while almost one in two Australians ate the recommended two serves of fruit daily, only 7% of adults consumed the recommended serves of vegetables.

Her research found most of the 1,000 respondents did not have a good understanding about specific nutritional benefits of most vegetables.

“If we are not eating what we are meant to eat, it will have a reflection on our health and there will be all these conditions [like scurvy] that will emerge or re-emerge,” Rekhy said.

Common foods that are high in vitamin C include oranges, strawberries, red and green peppers including capsicums, broccoli, kiwi fruit and grapefruit. Overcooking any food is likely to destroy the vitamin C.

The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating recommends people eat two to eight serves of vegetables and legumes each day, based on age, physical activity levels and body size.

One serve is described as about one cup of uncooked or half a cup of cooked or canned vegetables or beans.

Potatoes are not considered vegetables for the purposes of the requirements but tomatoes, although officially a fruit, are.

Scurvy cases reported in Australia reveal modern diet failings

A Look at 2 Cases: How HBOT Helped in Autism and Brain Injury Treatment

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) has emerged as an effective treatment for a number of medical conditions. There are conditions in which conventional therapies have not proved to be effective. In some of such conditions, HBOT has proved its potential to be considered as a viable treatment option. After experiencing HBOT’s benefits, many people are using a portable hyperbaric chamber in their homes, offices, and clinics to continue getting the therapy’s beneficial effects.

Autism and Traumatic Brain Injury are two such conditions, in which several patients have experienced substantial improvements with HBOT. Let’s look at 2 cases – a child with autism and a veteran with brain injury – and know how HBOT helped significantly in their improvement.

HBOT for Callum – Young Boy with Autism

Callum, a young boy with severe autism, had his communication abilities limited to slapping, biting and screaming tantrums. Callum’s mother, Lee Frost, took her son for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy treatment in a high-pressure oxygen chamber, for 3 months in 2013. Disheartened by an inadequate number of approved treatments for Callum, Ms. Frost came across HBOT through online research.

After getting the therapy, Callum, about 5 years of age now, is able to talk in sentences and get dressed up on his own in the morning before going to kindergarten, stated Ms. Frost. The therapy involved breathing pure oxygen inside a hyperbaric chamber for about 75 minutes at a time.

Dietary changes were also included in his treatment. Callum still has to go a long way, however, the child he is now, is a quite a different child, said Ms. Frost, living in White Rock at British Columbia in Canada.

HBOT for Ben Parkinson – Veteran with Brain Injury

Ben Parkinson was only 22 years old when a bomb blast at Afghanistan in 2006 left him with severe injuries. He lost both the legs and suffered major damages to his brain, arms, pelvis, skull and spine. Ever since, he is struggling to overcome these injuries.

However, Parkinson began a controversial treatment – Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. He, along with another injured veteran, Stephen Thomas, underwent HBOT, which involves inhaling 100% oxygen in a hyperbaric chamber at an atmospheric pressure which is up to twice the normal. Oxygen is supplied through a mask in the enclosed chamber. Just after one session of HBOT, Parkinson said that he was already experiencing its benefits.

Most of the specialists would state that about 8 years after the incident, no treatment would be likely to cause any improvement in a case of serious brain injury. However, Professor Philip James, who has been advising on Parkinson’s treatment, is quite optimistic.

He stated that so far, Ben made a remarkable recovery, and he is quite a brave young man. But his head injury hasn’t recovered. Parkinson gets severe fatigue that would certainly improve , according to what the Professor thinks. The speech of Parkinson is barely understandable sometimes, but it’s better at other times. This too would improve, as expected by the Professor.

Professor James illustrated that the treatment course depends on patients individually. It can be quite strenuous and there is no quick fix. Ben was probably going to undergo 21-hour sessions over a month, and was then going to be reviewed.

HBOT is always administered under the supervision of an authorized medical professional, whether the therapy is given to a patient at a clinic or hospital, or at a home or office in a portable hyperbaric chamber.

Although not approved by FDA for treatment of autism, brain injury and several other medical conditions, many patients and families with patients have reported of the remarkable benefits HBOT can provide in such conditions. Nowadays, HBOT treatment is offered by a number of clinics, alternative medicine centers and medical spas. Many companies, like OxyHealth LLC, offer portable hyperbaric chambers for use at home, office and clinic.

A Look at 2 Cases: How HBOT Helped in Autism and Brain Injury Treatment

"We need to talk about shit": just six bugs causing 78% cases of diarrhoea

The role of microorganisms in childhood diarrhoea has been greatly underestimated, with pathogens including bacteria, viruses and parasites, responsible for almost twice as many cases as previously thought, research has revealed.

The study published in the Lancet, which involved the analysis of stool samples from more than 10,000 children in countries across Africa and south Asia, also found that nearly 78% of cases were caused by just six bugs – an insight scientists say could help to tackle the problem.

“It really comes down to just a handful of pathogens that are most important,” said Eric Houpt of the University of Virginia who co-authored the study. “So it is not a hopelessly long list of infections that we can’t do anything about.”

Diarrhoea is the second most common cause of death among children under five after pneumonia, and it has also been linked to stunted growth. It is believed to be caused by infections that spread by contaminated food and waterbetween people, but it has been difficult to pinpoint the cause of each case.

“Diarrhoea in children under five years old remains an enormous public health problem with half a million deaths each year or more, mostly in Africa and south Asia,” said Houpt.

He says the research will galvanise scientists to develop new ways to tackle the pathogens responsible for diarrhoea. “My feeling is that vaccine developments and proper use of antibiotics can lead to a large decrease in childhood diarrhoea over the next 10 to 20 years if we target these six pathogens, while hopefully economic development trickles along,” he said.

Writing in the Lancet, an international team of researchers describe how they re-analysed stool samples collected as part of an earlier multi-year project called the Global Enteric Multicenter Study, which looked at cases of moderate to severe diarrhoea in children under five in seven countries across Africa and south Asia.

The initial results, published three years ago, suggested that 51.5% of cases were down to pathogens, with the findings based on a suite of analytical methods including culturing bacteria. But researchers decided to re-analyse the samples in the light of the recent development of highly sensitive genetic analysis techniques.

The new study analysed samples from 10,608 children, half of whom had diarrhoea and half were unaffected “controls”, in an attempt to unpick the proportion of cases caused by bacteria, viruses and other pathogens, focusing on 32 known to be linked to diarrhoea.

“These [new techniques] get down to lower amounts. We can tell not only what is there for the 32 but how much is there – so they give a quantitative result as well,” said Houpt.

The results reveal that the influence of pathogens has been underestimated, with 89.3% of childhood diarrhoea cases caused by pathogens. Just six, including rotavirus and Cryptosporidium parasites, were responsible for almost 78% of cases.

What’s more, almost 40% of diarrhoeal cases showed evidence of two or more pathogens, suggesting that multiple infections are at play, while even among the apparently healthy controls many children were found to have low levels of infection.

Of the six key pathogens identified, only one – rotavirus – currently has a vaccine available, although vaccines for two of the other pathogens, bacteria known as Shigella and ETEC (a type of E.Coli), are in the pipeline.

Professor Val Curtis, director of the environmental health group at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, welcomed the findings, saying the research has demystified the causes of the condition. “It is exciting because we are no longer in the dark ages about diarrhoea,” she said. “We are moving into a new era where we can actually use molecular methods to detect with much more sensitivity the pathogens in stools.”

“Diarrhoeal disease is not sexy. It sounds unpleasant. It has never been the area that people have really, really wanted to put their effort into,” she said. “’We need to talk about shit’ is my campaign slogan.”

"We need to talk about shit": just six bugs causing 78% cases of diarrhoea

GPs fail to refer a third of malignant melanoma cases for urgent tests

GPs are failing to refer almost one in three patients with malignant melanoma for urgent tests, prompting a health watchdog to say services must improve.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has published a new quality standard, setting out the key areas for improving care for skin cancer patients.

It stresses that GPs should refer people with suspected malignant melanoma for an appointment to see a specialist within two weeks through the urgent referral system for suspected cancer.

The latest data from the National Cancer Intelligence Network shows that 56% of malignant melanomas were diagnosed following a two-week referral for suspected cancer in 2013.

Almost a third of cases, however, 29%, were only diagnosed following a normal GP referral to a specialist, which Nice says can take between four and six weeks in some trusts.

Another 2% of cases were diagnosed in A&E and 5% when the person concerned was already a hospital inpatient.

Figures released in July showed that the “sun, sea and sangria” generation of older people is being diagnosed with deadly skin cancer at an alarming rate.

Some 10,583 people aged 55 and over were told they had malignant melanoma in 2014, the most recent figure available, up from about 3,100 cases 20 years ago.

Cancer Research UK said people living longer is contributing to the rise but also blamed cheap package holidays.

It said people who have taken inexpensive package holidays since the 1960s and wanted a tan at all costs were now being diagnosed due to exposure and sunburn.

Rates of melanoma in people aged 55 and over have increased by 155% in the last 20 years, the data showed.

Rates among younger age groups are also rising, but at a slower rate, with a 63% growth in the last 20 years.

The disease kills around 2,000 people in the UK every year.

Non-melanoma skin cancers are also common, with 72,100 new cases diagnosed in the UK in 2013.

GPs fail to refer a third of malignant melanoma cases for urgent tests

Monitoring of prostate cancer as effective as treatment in some cases

Regular monitoring of men with localised prostate cancer offers them the same – higher than expected – survival chance after 10 years as surgery or radiotherapy, according to a major study.

The trial, the largest of its type, looked at men diagnosed with the low-risk form of the disease through a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test and found the survival rate for all three main treatment options was 99%, compared with the 90% researchers expected.

Having surgery to remove the prostate gland – a prostatectomy – or radiotherapy halved the risk of cancer progression, compared with monitoring, to around 10%, but caused more unpleasant side-effects.

The experts behind the study, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, said it has significant implications for up to 30,000 men diagnosed with localised prostate cancer via a PSA test each year.

Chief investigator Prof Freddie Hamdy, from the University of Oxford, said: “The doctor will be able to say your risk of dying of prostate cancer within 10 years is very low. If you do have [radical] treatment, it does improve [the chances the disease will not spread] but you have those side-effects. The conversation now between doctors and patients will be much better informed than in the past and will have less bias than before.”

He said clinicians had a tendency to recommend the treatment they offer personally but hoped the study would change that.

For the ProtecT trial, led by researchers at the universities of Oxford and Bristol in nine UK centres, 82,429 men across the UK aged 50-69 were tested and 1,643 diagnosed with localised prostate cancer agreed to be randomised to active monitoring (545), radical prostatectomy (553) or radical radiotherapy (545) between 1999 and 2009. The research team measured mortality rates at 10 years, cancer progression and spread, and the impact of treatments reported by men.

Approximately 50% of men under active surveillance, which includes regular PSA tests, had surgery or radiotherapy later in the trial monitoring period because of fear the disease was progressing.

The researchers said a longer-term follow-up was needed to see whether reducing the spread of prostate cancer through radical treatment boosted longevity and/or quality of life.

Prostatectomy had the greatest negative effect on sexual function and urinary incontinence, and radiotherapy caused more bowel problems, although the number of men experiencing side-effects declined over time.

The researchers stressed they were not recommending a particular course of action for men with a positive PSA test.

Co-investigator Prof David Neal, from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, said: “Clinicians don’t necessarily have the right answer. It’s important there’s a genuine partnership so men can really understand what the benefits and disbenefits are so they can take the right decision for them as an individual.”

Anne Mackie, director at Public Health England Screening, said the study provided “key information needed to manage localised prostate cancer”.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, with about 47,000 diagnoses and 10,000 deaths every year in the UK.

But there is currently no national screening programme because of issues with the accuracy of PSA tests and their potentially harmful consequences. However, the advantage is that they may catch the cancer early.

Dr Matthew Hobbs, deputy director of research at Prostate Cancer UK, said the results were good news for men diagnosed with the localised form of the disease, adding: “Many men decide against active surveillance because of the uncertainty about the impact of that choice and the anxiety it causes.”

He said more work was needed to ensure cancers are found at an early stage, pointing out that only 22% of men diagnosed when it has spread outside the prostate and abdomen survive for 10 years.

Monitoring of prostate cancer as effective as treatment in some cases

Syphilis cases increase by 163% in London in five years

Five times more people were diagnosed with syphilis in London last year than in any other English region, according to a report that says cases of the infection have more than doubled in the capital since 2010.

Nearly 60% of syphilis cases in England were diagnosed in London, according to research (pdf) published on Wednesday by Public Health England, with rates increasing in 32 of the capital’s 33 boroughs in the five years to 2015.

Gay men were disproportionately affected, experiencing 90% of new diagnoses in 2015, despite comprising just 2% of the adult population. But experts are warning of a rise among heterosexuals as well.

Dr Patrick French, genitourinary medicine consultant at Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The increase we are seeing in syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections is a marker of a more general problem within sexual health and tackling this must be a priority across London.

“More awareness is needed around STIs, how they can be prevented and why it is important to have a check-up if you think you are at risk. Anyone having sex with new or casual partners should always use condoms and have regular sexual health checks.”

Last year, there were 2,811 cases of syphilis in London, representing a rate of new infections of 32.9 per 100,000 people – more than five times higher than that of any other region in England, and three times higher than the rate for the country overall.

That figure represents a 163.4% rise in cases since 2010, when there were 1,067 diagnoses in the capital, and an increase of 21.9% on 2014, when there were 2,306 cases.

The overwhelming majority of cases in 2015 were among gay men, with 2,406 infections compared with 196 among heterosexual men and 70 among heterosexual women. Gay men have long been overrepresented, but the gap has widened significantly since 2010, when there were 724 infections compared with 130 among heterosexual males.

Syphilis infection is a marker of high-risk sexual activity, PHE’s report says, and comes amid evidence that Londoners, particularly gay men, are having more sex than ever.

Drug-fuelled “chemsex” parties, app-facilitated sexual networking and so-called “sero-sorting”, where people choose sexual partners based on their HIV status, are all associated with reduced use of condoms, the report says.

Related: Give young people and gay men free condoms to reduce STIs, watchdog says

The recent rise in cases of syphilis comes after a historical decline in the late 1980s and early 90s, when the spectre of the HIV pandemic encouraged many people to change their sexual habits.

The first symptom of syphilis is a painless ulcer at the site of infection, lasting from three to six weeks. That is followed by general symptoms of illness including fever, headache, swollen glands and night sweats. If untreated it can lead to central nervous system disease, cardiovascular complications and death, but the widespread use of antibiotics means it rarely progresses that far.

Dr Yvonne Doyle, regional director for PHE London, said: “In London, we have excellent open-access sexual health services providing free STI testing and treatment, notification for the sexual partners of those diagnosed with an STI and free provision of contraception. With these services available across the capital, there is no reason for people to be taking unnecessary risks with their sexual health.

“I hope today’s report will further raise awareness of sexually transmitted infections including syphilis and drive home the messages about the importance of practising safe sex, which include using condoms, regularly being tested and avoiding overlapping sexual relationships. All of these will reduce the risk of STIs.”

Syphilis cases increase by 163% in London in five years

Thousands of Lawsuits Seek to Keep Up Momentum in Talcum Powder Cases

Natural News has been reporting on the dangers of talcum powder for almost a decade. The federal government has also known that this popular product could cause cancer since at least 1973. Yet somehow, companies such as Johnson & Johnson were permitted to legally continue selling a carcinogenic substance without being forced to disclose the risk involved with using it on a regular basis.

All of this began to come to an end when a $ 72 million talcum powder lawsuit was settled in favor of the plaintiff. In this particular case, a Missouri woman passed away from ovarian cancer. Her family was able to provide compelling evidence that this was linked directly to her usage of multiple Johnson & Johnson products that contain talc, including Shower to Shower and Baby Powder.

According to a study published by Cancer Prevention Research, women who use products that contain talc as part of their personal hygiene routine have a shocking 20 to 30 percent increased risk of developing ovarian cancer. This alone makes it clear that talcum powder is highly dangerous and should not be sold or used as a personal hygiene product.

After the completion of the first successful lawsuit, a jury awarded a South Dakota ovarian cancer survivor $ 55 million in damages. Assuming that neither of these awards ends up being whittled away by the appeals process, Johnson & Johnson now owes $ 127 million for two cases. This may not make much of a dent in the company’s estimated net worth of $ 65.03 billion, but the one thousand new cases that loom on the horizon in Missouri alone have to be enough to make the CEO lose some sleep each night.

After all, if all of these women were to win their case for the $ 55 million that was awarded in the second trial, this would equal another $ 55 billion that must be paid out. When you consider the fact that thousands of women could still file from other states, it becomes easy to see how quickly this scandal could put Johnson & Johnson out of business.

The momentum is definitely on each victim’s side, which makes this the perfect time for other injured parties to come forward. It is also vital to be aware that Johnson & Johnson attempted to settle the very first talcum powder lawsuit by offering what was basically a bribe: $ 1.3 million in an out of court settlement that would have required the plaintiff to sign a confidentially agreement. In other words, they offered her hush money. Fortunately, the victim in this case did not accept the company’s attempt at sweeping her case under the rug.

It remains to be seen exactly what will happen with all of the pending lawsuits, but one thing is certain: Johnson & Johnson is in big trouble. Even if many of these cases are dismissed or settled for a nominal amount, the company’s reputation has been severely tarnished. Additionally, it’s going to be very difficult to get consumers to continue to purchase enough cancer causing products for them to keep making a profit. The good news is that this means women’s lives will be saved instead of willfully put in harm’s way in exchange for money.

SOURCES:

DrugLawsuitSource.com

CancerPreventionResearch.AACRJournals.org

StLouis.CBSLocal.com

CelebrityNetWorth.com

DigitalJournal.com

Author Bio

Jade Rich currently works as an LPN at a Skilled Nursing Facility and Inpatient Rehabilitation Center. As a woman, mother and healthcare provider, Jade enjoys staying updated about the latest medical news. She is also saddened by the damage that talcum powder has allegedly caused individuals and their loved ones and is keeping a careful eye on news about any pending developments.

Thousands of Lawsuits Seek to Keep Up Momentum in Talcum Powder Cases

Fifty-three cases of Zika virus confirmed in UK, says health agency

Fifty-three people have been confirmed with Zika virus in the UK, Public Health England has said.

In the most recent cases, a hospital trust said three people had been treated for the virus in Yorkshire.

The Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust said the three had returned from overseas have tested positive for the Zika virus. The condition of the patients is unknown, but the infection itself is mild – some people do not even know they have it – and does not require hospital treatment.

Two cases have been confirmed in Ireland.

An infection control report submitted to the Calderdale and Huddersfield hospitals’ trust board on Thursday said: “Three patients have tested positive for Zika virus following return from foreign travel.”

Dr Gavin Boyd, infection control lead at the trust, said: “There is no specific treatment for Zika and it usually wears off naturally after two to seven days.

“There is extremely low risk of contracting Zika virus in the UK as the mosquito that transmits the infection is not present in the UK, however it can be spread by sexual transmission.”

Zika virus is widespread across Latin America and particularly in Brazil, which is about to host the Olympics. However, the mosquito-breeding season is now over and the danger of transmission of the virus is low.

On Friday, four patients in Florida became the first of 1,650 to be infected by the virus in the United States whose illness is not linked to foreign travel. Florida’s governor said the state had concluded that the infections probably came from mosquitoes in the Miami area.

The virus has caused Guillain-Barre syndrome in a small number of people in Latin America. The syndrome can be triggered by viral attacks on the immune system and results in muscle weakness and sometimes patients are unable to stand without support. Most get better over time, however.

But the biggest concern is the link between zika infection in pregnant women and brain damage in their babies, which is now known to take forms other than just microcephaly (an under-developed head). Fourteen countries have reported microcephaly cases. The first baby born in Europe with microcephaly was reported in Spain this week. The mother had contracted both dengue fever and Zika virus while travelling in Latin America.

Zika virus is predominantly transmitted by the Aedes Egypti mosquito which cannot live in the cooler climate of the UK. There is a very small risk, however, of sexual infection.

The World Health Organisation and PHE are warning those intending to take part in the Olympics or go to Rio to protect themselves against bites while there and take precautions when they return. Some competitors, including golfer Rory McIlroy, have pulled out, even though the WHO says the risk of contracting Zika at the Olympics is very low.

PHE says men and women should use condoms for eight weeks after returning from an area where there is Zika virus and for six months if they experience any symptoms themselves.

Prof Paul Cosford, medical director of PHE, said in a statement: “We expect to see small numbers of Zika virus infections in travellers returning to the UK, but the risk to the wider population is very low as the mosquito that spreads the Zika virus is not found in the UK. As of 27 July 2016, over 50 cases have been diagnosed in UK travellers since January 2016. Public Health England is monitoring the international situation closely and the risk to the UK remains unchanged.

“If you have recently returned from an area where Zika virus transmissions are currently reported and have a fever or flu-like illness, seek medical attention without delay to exclude malaria and mention your recent travel.”

Fifty-three cases of Zika virus confirmed in UK, says health agency

Two Mers cases in US did not spread to relatives or healthcare workers

Neither of the two US situations of Mers has spread the typically fatal infection to family members or to healthcare employees who taken care of them in Indiana and Florida, the Centers for Condition Handle and Prevention said on Tuesday.

Both of the US circumstances concerned healthcare employees who traveled to the United States in May from Saudi Arabia, which remains at the center of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) outbreak.

The CDC said test results of specimens from each of the home members and the healthcare staff in hospitals the place the contaminated men have been treated tested unfavorable for each energetic infection and any signs of earlier infection with the virus.

Efforts to get in touch with folks who may possibly have come into get in touch with with the infected guys throughout their travels to the United States are virtually finished, and so far none of these travel contacts has shown signs of MERS infection, the company mentioned.

Mers, which brings about coughing, fever and at times fatal pneumonia, has been reported in much more than 800 patients, largely in Saudi Arabia. It has spread to neighboring nations and, in a few situations, to Europe, Asia and the United States. At least 315 men and women around the world have died from the condition.

Two Mers cases in US did not spread to relatives or healthcare workers

Skin cancer alert issued as number of cases soars

The large increase in package holidays to sunny European destinations has contributed to the rise in malignant malanoma. Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian

Prices of malignant melanoma, the most unsafe form of skin cancer, are 5 instances higher in the United kingdom than they had been in the 1970s, new figures demonstrate.

Much more than 13,000 individuals are now developing the disease every 12 months compared with about one,800 in 1975. Incidence fee has shot up from just more than 3 per a hundred,000 of the population forty many years ago to about 17 per a hundred,000.

The dramatic rise is partly down to the huge improve in package deal holidays to sunny European locations, a boom in sunbed use and the trend for a “healthy” tan, according to Cancer Study Uk which released the figures.

Malignant melanoma is now the fifth most widespread cancer in the Uk and more than 2,000 folks die from the condition every single year.

Sunburn is recognized to boost the risk of skin cancer, specially in men and women with pale skin or massive numbers of moles or freckles.

Nick Ormiston-Smith, head of statistics at Cancer Analysis United kingdom, stated: “Because the mid-1970s, malignant melanoma incidence charges in the United kingdom have elevated much more quickly than any of today’s 10 most frequent cancers.

“Holidays in scorching climates have turn into more cost-effective and sunbeds are much more broadly available since the 1970s. But we know in excess of-exposure to UV (ultraviolet) rays from the sun or sunbeds is the major trigger of skin cancer. This signifies, in a lot of situations, the illness can be prevented, and is why it truly is vital to get into excellent sun safety routines, no matter whether at home or abroad.

“The very good news for these that are diagnosed is that survival for the illness is amongst the highest for any cancer far more than eight in 10 men and women will now survive it.”

Cancer Research Uk is campaigning for the third yr to encourage individuals to appreciate the sun safely, in partnership with Nivea Sun. The campaign provides basic recommendations aimed at helping individuals protect their skin this summer time. Apart from steering clear of sunburn, other suggestions involves investing time in the shade, covering up and making use of a minimal factor 15 sunscreen.

Red haired and fair skinned mother-of-two Amanda Crosland, 43, from Leeds was diagnosed with malignant melanoma in 2001, in spite of covering up in the sun. She said: “When I noticed a new mole on my left calf, I knew it was safest to get it checked out by the medical doctor. Spotting it early meant I had a profitable operation to eliminate the cancer prior to it spread.

“I have usually been mindful to seem after my skin, but I do remember getting sunburnt as a lady. I nonetheless take pleasure in acquiring out in the sun, but now make confident the children and I are appropriately protected: hats, T-shirts, and sunscreen, so we can appreciate the sun securely in the garden or at the seaside. All you need to have is a bit of widespread sense.”

Caroline Cerny, senior overall health campaigns manager at Cancer Study United kingdom, said: “Every person loves acquiring out and about and enjoying the summer time sun. It truly is crucial to get care not to burn up – sunburn is a clear signal that the DNA in your skin cells has been damaged and, in excess of time, this can lead to skin cancer.

“When the sun is powerful, pop on a T-shirt, invest some time in the shade and use a sunscreen with at least SPF15 and good UVA safety.”

Skin cancer alert issued as number of cases soars

Scarlet fever cases in England soar to their highest degree given that 1990

Antibiotics may be prescribed in circumstances of scarlet fever, which were at their highest February level this yr in England for 24 years Photograph: Helen Sessions / Alamy/Alamy

Cases of scarlet fever in England are at the highest level for 24 many years, figures display. Throughout February there were drastically a lot more situations of the very contagious bacterial illness than anticipated, according to Public Overall health England, with 868 situations reported to wellness officials in the four weeks to 23 February.

In the previous 4 years authorities have noted an average of 444 instances. Officials explained that the figure is at its highest for this time of year because 1990.

The most noticeable symptom of scarlet fever is a distinctive pink-red rash that feels like sandpaper to touch. Other symptoms incorporate a large temperature, a flushed encounter and a red, swollen tongue.

The boost has been mentioned across England, but not in the north-west.

An interim report on the infection states: “Regimen monitoring of surveillance data has recognized widespread increases in scarlet fever notifications in February 2014, beyond these seasonally anticipated. These are the highest notification totals for this time of yr because 1990.”

A PHE spokeswoman mentioned there was also a notable improve in the variety of instances each couple of years and that the most current bout of infections was probably to be part of that cycle.

The organisation has warned overall health officials to be mindful of the recent rise in figures when treating sufferers. Scarlet fever is very contagious and can be caught by breathing in bacteria from an contaminated person’s coughs and sneezes, touching the skin of a individual with a streptococcal skin infection and sharing contaminated towels, baths, clothes or bed linen.

PHE’s head of streptococcal infection surveillance, Dr Theresa Lamagni, mentioned: “The very first signs and symptoms of scarlet fever often include a sore throat, headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting.

“Between 12 to 48 hours after this a characteristic rash develops. Cases are far more common in youngsters despite the fact that grownups can also create scarlet fever. Signs generally clear up soon after a week and in the bulk of situations stay fairly mild delivering a program of antibiotics is completed to reduce the danger of complications.

“Youngsters or adults diagnosed with scarlet fever are advised to stay at property until at least 24 hours after the begin of antibiotic therapy to keep away from passing on the infection.

“We will continue to closely keep track of these increases and perform with healthcare specialists to attempt and halt the spread of infection.”

Scarlet fever cases in England soar to their highest degree given that 1990