Polio News and Research

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Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus that invades the nervous system and can cause severe paralysis. The virus enters the body through the mouth and multiplies in the intestine. Initial symptoms are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck, and pain in the limbs. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis (usually in the legs). Among those paralyzed, 5-10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized. Polio mainly affects children under five years of age. Naturally occurring polio was eliminated in the U.S. in 1979 and in the Western Hemisphere by 1991; however, worldwide efforts are continuing towards eradication of this contagious and devastating disease.

Outbreak of whooping cough mirrors challenges in developing world, global health official says

The outbreak of whooping cough in Texas, California, and other states this year underscores the critical importance of widespread vaccination coverage, both locally as well as around the world, said a leading global health official attending conferences on world affairs and immunization in Fort Worth this week.

29 Sep 2010

Objective of WHO and health partners in Pakistan is to reduce avoidable death and illness

In a massive health relief effort underway in the flood-affected parts of Pakistan, nearly six million people have been treated for health conditions since the floods began in late July; but there are urgent needs to prevent further health crises or food insecurity caused by large-scale damage to crops and agricultural land.

24 Sep 2010

World leaders address country ownership, accountability, women at MDG summit

At the U.N. Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on Tuesday African leaders said "they could do more to meet U.N. goals to slash extreme poverty and urged stronger leadership among developing countries to tackle hunger and disease and attract investment," Reuters reports in an article that examines the leaders' call for African nations to take greater ownership over their development.

23 Sep 2010

Oxygen Biotherapeutics announces CRADA Agreement amendment

Oxygen Biotherapeutics, Inc. today announced it has amended an existing Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) to include preclinical trials using swine models to assess the safety and efficacy of Oxygen Biotherapeutics' proprietary Oxycyte perfluorocarbon emulsion (PFCE) for spinal cord injury (SCI) due to decompression sickness (DCS), and for hemorrhagic shock.

20 Sep 2010

Reuters examines conditional cash transfer programs in Latin America

Reuters examines a program providing cash incentives to "more than 2.6 million Colombians, mostly women with young children living in extreme poverty" in exchange for their participation in "health workshops" and their commitment to ensuring their children receive "regular medical check-ups," receive immunizations and "attend school at least 80 percent of the time."

16 Sep 2010

U.N. General Assembly opens 65th session with a look ahead to next week's MDG Summit

The U.N. General Assembly opened its 65th session on Tuesday in New York with the incoming Assembly President Joseph Deiss, former Swiss foreign minister, calling for the focus of the upcoming year to be prioritizing efforts to achieve the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), reaffirming the role of the U.N. in global governance and promoting sustainable development, Xinhua reports (9/15).

16 Sep 2010

Doctors demonstrate the true impact of vaccination

With Children Back in School, Doctors Clear up Confusion and Demonstrate the True Impact of Vaccination

16 Sep 2010

Researchers develop mathematical framework for vaccine stockpile implications

A creative version of a classic engineering technique may improve decisions about building and using supplies of important pediatric vaccines, potentially leading to lower public health costs and healthier children.The United States maintains a six-month supply of common pediatric vaccines to ensure protection from deadly diseases, such as the flu, polio, and diphtheria, despite interruptions in vaccine production.

13 Sep 2010

Gates Foundation 2009 annual report released

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Tuesday released its 2009 annual report (.pdf) highlighting some of the foundation's work over the last year, the Puget Sound Business Journal reports (Holtzman, 9/7).

10 Sep 2010

Regional Director of WHO Africa warns of impact global financial situation will have on health systems, MDGs

Regional Director of WHO for Africa Luis Sambo discussed during the 60th session of the Africa Committee of the WHO how the global economic situation could impact funding for health programs in Africa and the ability for countries to reach U.N. Millennium Development Goal targets, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports.

3 Sep 2010

Research finds adenovirus impact on cell's suicide program pave way for new cancer therapy

A novel mechanism used by adenovirus to sidestep the cell's suicide program, could go a long way to explain how tumor suppressor genes are silenced in tumor cells and pave the way for a new type of targeted cancer therapy, report researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in the Aug. 26, 2010 issue of Nature.

26 Aug 2010

Serious funding shortfalls jeopardize UNICEF's humanitarian operation in Pakistan

UNICEF warned today that serious funding shortfalls are jeopardizing its humanitarian operation in Pakistan. UNICEF is extremely concerned at the lack of funds for its water and sanitation operation, with millions of children at risk from water-borne diseases.

18 Aug 2010

August is National Immunization and Cataract Awareness Month

Childhood immunizations keep our children safe from a number of serious diseases. This is a good time of year to make sure your child is up-to-date on all of his/her immunizations. Continue reading to find out which vaccines the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend for children 6 and under.

16 Aug 2010

U.S. increases Pakistan flood aid contribution; Sen. Kerry to visit flood-hit Pakistan

"On assistance to Pakistan, to date, approximately $76 million in assistance has been provided by the U.S. to the flood-affected populations in Pakistan," Mark Toner, acting deputy spokesman for the State Department, said at a press briefing on Thursday, according to a transcript. "As of this morning, the additional money that the U.S. is providing is to Save the Children, and that's 4.1 million that will be used for food vouchers, enabling flood victims to purchase food in their local markets," he said.

16 Aug 2010

Myths and realities of Medicare bidding program for durable medical equipment

Providers of home medical equipment and services across California are proposing a fiscally responsible alternative to the mislabeled "competitive" bidding scheme currently under way in Medicare that will actually discourage competition, reduce access to care for many of California's 4.6 million Medicare beneficiaries, and put thousands of California homecare providers out of business.

7 Aug 2010

Boston Globe examines rise of polio in Tajikistan, other pockets of world

"Polio has reappeared in a corner of the world that had not seen cases in years - Tajikistan, the former Soviet republic - a chilling setback in the two-decade campaign to purge a dreaded cause of childhood paralysis from the planet," the Boston Globe reports in a story that examines the reemergence of polio in other areas of the world.

7 Aug 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

According to a Lancet Comment, "alcohol remains conspicuously absent from the larger field of research and programming in HIV and substance use. ... Patterns of hazardous alcohol consumption prevail in countries with the most severe HIV epidemics, notably eastern and southern Africa." In addition, "hazardous drinking patterns also dominate in the concentrated epidemics of eastern Europe and Asia, where alcohol use by injecting drug users and other marginalised groups might be an additional barrier to effective efforts to prevent HIV infection."

7 Aug 2010

WHO provides medicines, related health supplies to flood-affected areas in Pakistan

The worst floods on record in Pakistan are placing the health of hundreds of thousands of people at risk, with a high threat of waterborne disease outbreaks and immense damage to health facilities. WHO is coordinating the response of health partners and supporting Pakistani authorities by sending medicines and related health supplies capable of treating more than 200 000 people to the affected areas in the northwestern region of the country.

4 Aug 2010

East Africa declared polio-free again after outbreak

"Eastern Africa is free of polio again, with four countries - Ethiopia , Kenya, Sudan and Uganda - having reported no cases of the crippling disease for more than a year, U.N. and other aid agencies said on Friday," Reuters reports (7/30). The WHO "said the region had responded fast to the outbreak," according to the Daily Monitor. The article reports that the four countries now "join neighbouring Somalia which has been polio free for the last three years" (Lirri, 8/2).

3 Aug 2010

Polio cases in India lowest in a decade; Vaccination effort begins in Afghanistan

This year "India has reported the lowest number of polio cases in [the] January-June period ... in a decade," PTI/ZeeTV reports. Twenty-four cases were detected between January and June this year, compared to 151 in the corresponding 2009 period, and 317 in January-June 2008 (7/29).

30 Jul 2010

Polio News and Research

Further Reading

Outbreak of whooping cough mirrors challenges in developing world, global health official says

Objective of WHO and health partners in Pakistan is to reduce avoidable death and illness

World leaders address country ownership, accountability, women at MDG summit

Oxygen Biotherapeutics announces CRADA Agreement amendment

Reuters examines conditional cash transfer programs in Latin America

U.N. General Assembly opens 65th session with a look ahead to next week's MDG Summit

Doctors demonstrate the true impact of vaccination

Researchers develop mathematical framework for vaccine stockpile implications

Gates Foundation 2009 annual report released

Regional Director of WHO Africa warns of impact global financial situation will have on health systems, MDGs

Research finds adenovirus impact on cell's suicide program pave way for new cancer therapy

Serious funding shortfalls jeopardize UNICEF's humanitarian operation in Pakistan

August is National Immunization and Cataract Awareness Month

U.S. increases Pakistan flood aid contribution; Sen. Kerry to visit flood-hit Pakistan

Myths and realities of Medicare bidding program for durable medical equipment

Boston Globe examines rise of polio in Tajikistan, other pockets of world

Recent releases in Global Health

WHO provides medicines, related health supplies to flood-affected areas in Pakistan

East Africa declared polio-free again after outbreak

Polio cases in India lowest in a decade; Vaccination effort begins in Afghanistan

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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