At Last!!!...Glaxo Seeks Approval for World’s First Malaria Vaccine

GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) applied for regulatory approval of its experimental malaria vaccine, bringing it closer to becoming the first shot against the world’s deadliest mosquito-borne disease.

Glaxo is seeking approval to sell its RTS,S vaccine exclusively outside the European Union, London-based Glaxo said in a statement today. The request is part of a process in which the European Medicines Agency can assess a product made in an EU member state against a disease recognized by the World Health Organization as a major public health interest, for use in the rest of the world.

Malaria killed about 627,000 people in 2012, mostly children in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the WHO. A trial of Glaxo’s vaccine, which took three decades to develop, showed it reduced infections by 46 percent in infants ages 5 months to 17 months, and by 27 percent for 6-to-12-week-old babies.

This “brings us a step closer to making available the world’s first vaccine that can help protect children inAfrica from malaria,” Sophie Biernaux, head of Glaxo’s malaria business, said in the statement.

Glaxo has invested more than $350 million in developing the shot and expects to spend a further $260 million on it, according to the statement. The company has said it plans make about a 5 percent profit on sales of the vaccine, which it will reinvest in research on malaria or other neglected tropical diseases.

To contact the reporter on this story: Simeon Bennett in Geneva at sbennett9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at pserafino@bloomberg.net Thomas Mulier, Robert Valpuesta

#AskAg: Linking Agriculture, Nutrition, and USAID Strategy

Growing healthy foods is good. Making sure they're eaten is better. Ensuring projects and organizations support these efforts at the same time is best.

Please join Agrilinks for an #AskAg Twitter Chat on linking agriculture and nutrition. Experts from USAID, the 1000 Days Initiative, and the SPRING Project will be on hand to provide insights into why agriculture and nutrition programming can go hand in hand, what challenges face program designers and implementers, and the role that USAID's new Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy plays in addressing these efforts. Participants are encouraged to share their experiences and resources, and to contribute evidence and perspective on how to best make integrated programming get maximum nutritional outputs from agricultural inputs.

Twitter accounts to follow

Presenters	Organizations & featured contributors
Jennifer Rigg: @jennrigg	Devex: #feedingdev
Heather Danton: @SPRINGProject2	The FSN Network: @FSNNetwork
Katherine Dennison: @DennisonKM

Potential Guiding Questions

• Why is optimal nutrition so important, in the first 1000 days & beyond?
• How are agriculture and nutrition linked? Let's list all the possible pathways...go!
• What role do women play in improving household nutrition?
• How can we link nutrition and agriculture development programs for better nutrition outcomes? 

How to participate

• If you are new to Twitter, visit Twitter.com to sign up for an account. (For more tips on getting started, check out our Twitter training.)
• Explore the guiding questions that will be discussed during the chat.
• Join us for discussion by using the hashtag #AskAg and following @Agrilinks.
• You can also follow on Twubs or through the livestream below.

Livestream:

Tweets about "#AskAg"

South Sudan: UN warns 50,000 children may die of malnutrition in war-torn country By Africa correspondent Martin Cuddihy

Tens of thousands of children in the world's newest nation are on the brink of starvation.

The war in South Sudan has forced farmers from their land, closed supply routes and displaced almost 1 million people.

The United Nations is warning that without urgent help, as many as 50,000 children may die.

An appeal has been launched to help get aid into the country. A total of $1.8 billion is needed but so far only $600 million has been pledged.

"My child does not have any food to eat because there is no good food for her," one mother says. "I am the only one who normally eats."

When asked what it was she was eating that could not be fed to children, she goes quiet and then admits to foraging in the scrub to find grass and leaves.

Save The Children works in the rebel-held village of Akobo, handing out ultra-high calorie rations to the hungriest mouths.

Peter Walsh, director of the charity's South Sudan program, says the civil war has caused 4 million people to be food insecure and 2.5 million of those are children.

South Sudan enters 'hunger period'

Africa correspondent Martin Cuddihy describes the confronting scenes he encountered in Akobo:

"A 12-month-old girl is severely malnourished and is being assessed by aid workers. Her eyes are bulging and her head is skeletal. 

"It looks like there is only skin covering her tiny bony limbs. The worst affected children get care at the rundown hospital in Akobo.

"This healthcare clinic in the far east of South Sudan is basic. There is a brown dog under one of the beds. 

"The ward is staffed by the international medical corps. Thomas Ndambu is the nutritionist. He says this time of year is known locally as the hunger period. 

"There are six children in the hospital when we visit. The ward can only deal with 15. 

"One mother turns her head away from the camera as we film. She's embarrassed that she can't provide enough to eat for her child."

"The prediction that UNICEF have just published is that if we don't act now, and get the funding that's required, 50,000 children will die by the end of this year due to malnutrition," he said.

"It's extremely scary."

Fighting has caused more than 1 million people to flee their homes. Many have crossed the borders into Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia.

Others still are walking - footing, as the South Sudanese say - to places like Akobo.

The rich soil there is cracked and dry. The rains have not come. Maize and sorghum crops are established but they do not look like they will yield a crop.

The leaves are withering and the colour is fading and there is no help from the capital Juba because Akobo is rebel-held territory.

"The situation is clearly precarious," Mr Walsh said.

"I mean, 50,000 children will die by the end of the year if something is not done."

Please lets do something....

Lagos State of Nigeria, okays 6 months of Maternity leave and 10 days for fathers.

Governor Fashola of Lagos State Nigeria again has set the ball rolling for others states to follow suit. I mean, this is a move in the right direction, for mothers and babies especially who deserve exclusive breastfeeding in their first 6 months of life.

Lagos state government has introduced a new leave regime for all male and female civil servants in the state. Henceforth, all male civil servants whose wives give birth are entitled to a 10-day paternity leave while female civil servants had their maternity leave extended from 3 months to 6 months.

The new leave regime was announced today by the Lagos State Head of Service, Mrs Josephine Williams at a press conference held at the Baguada Kaltho Press Centre, in Alausa, Ikeja.

"A female officer shall be entitled to 24-weeks maternity leave with full pay in case of her first two deliveries. The said leave shall commence, at least two weeks before the expected delivery date; a male officer, to who a new baby (or babies in case of multiple births) is born shall be entitled to 10 working days" she said.

She added that subsequent deliveries after the second baby by any employee will only get 12 weeks maternity leave for a female officer while the men will not be entitled to the 10-day leave.

Special adviser to the Lagos state Governor on public health, Dr Yewande Adeshina, said the 6 months leave will enable women complete the mandatory months required for breastfeeding new born babies. 

Sanitizer vs. soap: Which is better when it comes to fighting germs?

With a 9-year-old and 2-year-old, Jessica Mothershed, does all she can to prevent her children from coming in contact with germs.

"I don't try to keep them in bubbles, but we are not going to take chances," said Mothershed, who lives in Cherokee. "I try to make sure we keep our hands washed. That's the best way to stop germs."

With the increasing popularity of hand sanitizer, the debate about how effective is hand sanitizer compared to washing your hands with soap and water, continues.

"I use the sanitizer, but it's not like soap and water," Mothershed said.

Hygiene experts say alcohol-based hand sanitizers can be used "in addition to" hand washing, but should not be used as a substitute for washing with soap and water.

"There are all kind of literature and studies out there about this," said Area Health Officer Dr. Karen Landers.

"Hand sanitizers are good, but we can't discount the fact that soap and water is still the best way to get rid of germs."

Debbie Thompson, an infection preventionist at Helen Keller Hospital in Sheffield, said sanitizers need to have 60 percent alcohol for them to be effective.

"The alcohol kills bacteria on contact," she said. "When using soap and water, we are rubbing our hands together and then you wash them off and you wash the germs and bacteria into the sink."

Thompson said sanitizers have made it easier to practice protecting ourselves from germs.

"They are so much more convenient, and they have proven to be effective," she said.

While alcohol-based hand sanitizers can be effective, a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states hand sanitizer doesn't reduce the spread of some viruses, such as the norovirus virus.

Mothershed said she doesn't use fragrant sanitizers.

"There are a lot of people who use those cutesy, fruity sanitizers, I'm not going to," she said. "I want the real stuff, the ones you can smell the alcohol in."

Mothershed said it seems more people than ever are conscious of good hygiene.

"I haven't been in a business in a long time where there wasn't some kind of hand sanitizer in the entrance or located in areas of the store," she said.

"I know I keep a two-liter bottle at work; we use it all the time.

"It's quick and easy and we use it, but it does not replace good old soap and water."

Thompson said when you use a hand sanitizer, rub it on your hands thoroughly.

"The technique is what is so important," she said. "Cover all areas of your hand and even the back of the hand and between the fingers and around the fingernails. And continue to rub your hands until they dry."

Health officials agree, the technology and the convenience of the hand sanitizer doesn't replace tried-and-true hand washing.

"Hand sanitizer is good for an extra level of precaution (against germs) or something to help us when soap and water is not readily available," Landers said.

"Nothing beats a 15-second soap up and scrub off."

Tom Smith can be reached at 256-740-5757 or tom.smith@TimesDaily.com. Follow on Twitter @TD_TomSmith.

Cholera in 2014: How Do You Mix Optimism With Worry on the Long Walk Home?

I have a long walk to work, up and over a steep hill, and I often spend time thinking and problem solving about my day to come or, on my way back, my day behind.  For almost six months I fretted for a good portion of my walks on how to enable the use of a new and less expensive cholera vaccine. Increasingly, my worry is tempered with optimism.

We have come far since I wrote in a 2012 blog post that: “We should not have to argue that the hard choices we have to make are between vaccination and water and sanitation.” By the end of 2013, the world had a cholera vaccine stockpile at the WHO, and GAVI had made the decision to provide limited support for the vaccine. Then, early this year, the stockpile was used preemptively in several internally displaced persons camps in South Sudan.

Recently, an excellent New England Journal of Medicine article showed vaccines protected against the spread of cholera even after an epidemic had started. It’s the first evidence of that kind and adds important information to the consideration of vaccine use. 

Amidst all that progress, my walks back and forth to work are still full of concern about daily reports of outbreaks.  In 2014 alone there is a large and continuing one in South Sudan that has caused 23 deaths and is affecting a wider non-vaccinated population in Juba.  There are also recent reports of cholera deaths from places like the Philippines, Namibia, Haiti, Nepal, Cameroon and Nigeria – undoubtedly only a fraction of the actual deaths because they are reported in the news or to the WHO.  Each death represents a family member – someone’s beloved brother, sister, child or parent is dead because of this preventable disease.  Many have died needlessly from diarrhea in 2014.

I am so grateful for the work by the wider cholera community for the progress that has been made, but all of my fretful thinking makes me impatient.  The world still needs adequate vaccine supply to provide to countries and partners; there needs to be better understanding of the epidemiology and burden of the disease so the vaccine can be targeted more effectively; additional resources are needed to go toward integrated prevention and treatment and it’s important countries and donors have a good understanding of the choices there are to combat cholera.  There’s a lot of work still ahead to prevent deaths from this disease in 2015 and beyond.  I know I’ll continue to think about this on my walks, but I’m hoping we’re getting close to the top of the steep hill. 

 By Helen Matzger

A Potential Breakthrough in the Fight against Dengue Fever | Impatient Optimists

Please open this post and get the details.



A Potential Breakthrough in the Fight against Dengue Fever | Impatient Optimists

Twitter Chat on July The 16th!

Join @CDCTobaccoFree for  July 16 Twitter Chat on Smoking & Women's Reproductive Health 2pm-3pm ET. Use the hatch tag SGR50chat (do not forget to add the hatch tag)

Member States commit to reduce preventable deaths from heart disease and stroke, cancer, diabetes and lung disease

11 JULY 2014 ¦ NEW YORK - UN Member States have reaffirmed their commitment to take bold measures to reduce the avoidable burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). These ailments, including heart disease and stroke, cancer, diabetes and lung disease kill 38 million people every year, many of them before they reach the age of 70. Most of these largely preventable deaths occur in developing countries, where this epidemic threatens to undermine social and economic development.

Member States, gathered for the second time in 3 years at the United Nations in New York to discuss this topic, pledged to intensify efforts to combat the growing menace of NCDs. They acknowledged that progress has been too slow and uneven since 2011, when the UN General Assembly adopted the Political Declaration and pledged to better protect the lives of their people.

“Success [in combating NCDs] will depend on finding new ways to strengthen the ability of countries to adopt bolder measures,”

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

”Three years ago we agreed that it is time to act,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message. “The global epidemic of noncommunicable diseases is a major and growing challenge to development.”

He also noted that “success will depend on finding new ways to strengthen the ability of countries to adopt bolder measures,” calling for strong leadership and action from governments, the private sector and others.

Under the leadership of the WHO, the international community agreed in 2011 on global mechanisms including a Global NCD Action Plan. This plan aims to reduce the number of premature deaths from NCDs by 25% by 2025, in part by addressing factors such as tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity that increase people's risk of developing these diseases.

UN support to developing countries

The United Nations, through an Interagency Task Force established by the Secretary-General, is providing support to developing countries. Civil society, academia and the private sector contribute to NCD prevention and control worldwide through a Global Coordination Mechanism, and achievements are measured by a set of joint indicators.

“The obesity epidemic has been getting worse, not better, for more than 3 decades,” stressed WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan. “Industry practices, especially the marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to children, play a contributory role.”

She noted that the article in the political declaration calling for collaboration with the private sector “has not been fully implemented. Healthier food formulations are neither affordable nor accessible in large parts of the developing world. Unfortunately, the unhealthiest foods are usually the cheapest and most convenient.”

New WHO NCD country profiles give detailed picture

The most recent WHO NCD country profiles give a detailed picture on the situation in 194 Member States and identify existing gaps and weaknesses. They also indicate that countries need to do more to reduce the toll of death and disease from NCDs. As one of the results of the New York meeting WHO will prepare a Framework for Country Action together with partners. WHO was also tasked to establish systems to register and publish contributions of the private sector, philanthropies and civil society to the achievement of the 9 voluntary targets of the Global NCD Action Plan.

The first UN General Assembly High-level on NCDs took place in 2011 and resulted in the adoption of a Political Declaration that put NCDs high on the development agenda. In 2018, the UN General Assembly will convene a third high-level meeting to take stock of progress.

For more information, contact:

In New York:
Marie-Agnes Heine
WHO Communications Officer
Mobile: +41 79 449 5784
Email: heinem@who.int

In Geneva:
Dan Epstein
WHO Spokesperson
Office: +41 22 791 2780
Mobile: +41 79 603 7294
Email: epsteind@who.int

Ebola Virus Disease

Ebola virus disease (formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever) is a severe, often fatal illness, with a case fatality rate of up to 90%. It is one of the world’s most virulent diseases.The infection is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, body fluids and tissues of infected animals or people. Severely ill patients require intensive supportive care. During an outbreak, those at higher risk of infection are health workers, family members and others in close contact with sick people and deceased patients. 

Ebola virus disease outbreaks can devastate families and communities, but the infection can be controlled through the use of recommended protective measures in clinics and hospitals, at community gatherings, or at home.

The anatomy of fear | Emory University | Atlanta, GA

The anatomy of fear | Emory University | Atlanta, GA

Unsung Heroes in Public Health

Friends in Public Health:

For a fifth consecutive year, The CPH Foundation is reaching out to those working in public health to find, highlight, and applaud the best and brightest in the disease control and prevention arena. Too often, public health is relegated to the back bench. While lifesaving work, science, and research is put into action 24-7 by our nation's public health leaders, most Americans don't realize the all the important work done by public health experts to keep them safe from disease, injury, infection, and more. These awards are meant to highlight this work and to bring their service to light here in Washington, DC.

In each of the past 4 years, the CPH Foundation has flown our winners to the Nation's Capitol to commended and applauded their efforts at a congressional reception. We introduced our winners to legislators and policy leaders during a day of meetings so their work can be better understood. We cannot wait to do it again!

The stories our Unsung Heroes tell serve as examples of the type of work being done at the local, state, and international level by public health leaders across the nation each and every day.

Nomination forms are due into our office no later than Monday, Novmember 3, 2014. Our two public health award nomination forms can be found here (one form is used for both awards), while our media nomination form can be found at this link. More information on all three awards can be found below.

We anticipate holding a reception in Washington in early December. More details will follow.

Please let us take a moment to thank AbbVie, our 2014 Unsung Heroes of Public Health Awards sponsor - and the the Heroes Award sponsor for the second year in a row. AbbVie's support continues to make our recognition of these tremendous public health heroes possible.

Handshake May be as Dangerous as smoking.

A controversial report has called for doctors to stop shaking patient's hands and says the practice is as dangerous as smoking in public.

The team claims that even though the handshake is a deeply established cultural custom it can spread diseases between patients.

Some parallels may be drawn between the proposal to remove the handshake from the health care setting and previous efforts to ban smoking in public places; the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) team claims.

The UCLA team claims that even though the handshake is a deeply established cultural custom, it can spread diseases between patients - and should be replaced by a wave or a bow.

The handshake has evolved over centuries into its currently profound cultural role. Artifacts from ancient Greece suggest that the handshake began as a general gesture of peace , revealing one's open palm as a symbol of honesty and trust. The custom and technique of this open palm gesture subsequently evolved into the modern form of the handshake now representing an international symbol of greeting/departure, reconciliation,respect,friendship, peace, congratulations,good sportsmanship or formal agreement.

''In recent years there has been increasing recognition of the hand as a vector for infection, leading to the formal recommendation and policies regarding hand hygiene in hospitals and other health care facilities.'' says the team led by Mark Sklansky in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Health care workers hand become contaminated with pathogens from their patients and despite efforts to limit the spread of disease , cress-contamination of health care workers hands commonly commonly occurs through routine patient and environmental contact'' the report states.

It calls for the handshake to be replaced by a new gesture. ''Regulations to restrict the handshake from the health care setting in conjunction with more robust hand hygiene programs , may help limit the spread disease and thus could potentially decrease the clinical and economic burden associated with hospital acquired infections and antimicrobial resistance.

Why Pregnant Women should avoid Alcohol.

In the eastern part of Nigeria, Delta, Anambra, Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom States, many pregnant women take alot of alcohol due partly to popular belief that alcohol  use is 'preparatory to having healthy babies'.

A traditional birth attendant resident in the eastern part of Nigeria , affirmed that alcohol consumption is the 'in thing'. She said 'if you don't take lager or vodka in pregnancy, then you have not arrived that is, ready for a safe delivery.

While in the south western part of Nigeria, where pregnant women do not so much consume raw alcohol, they however do so indirectly through the use of medicinal concoctions called agbo and related beverages called ''healthy bitters''.

But how healthy is alcohol for an Unborn Baby?

For decades, researchers around the world have known that heavy drinking during pregnancy could cause birth defects. But the potential effects of small amount of alcohol like a glass of champagne during Christmas on a developing baby are not well understood.

Their warning is however precise, 'The problem with drinking alcohol during pregnancy is that there is no amount that has been proven to be safe '' Jacques Moritz, Director of Gynecology at St.Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital in New York once said.

As a result of the uncertainties, The Center for Disease Control,(CDC) , the United States surgeon general , the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics have at various times advised pregnant women to drink alcohol at all.

They warned that pregnant women who drink alcohol risk giving birth to child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). This condition ranges from mild to severe and includes speech and language delays, learning disabilities, abnormal facial features, small head size and many other problems.

Hand Washing Campaign...

My first post on this blog is emphasizing on the need to wash your hands frequently especially children and the elderly who are most likely to get get very ill as result.

Hand washing should be taken very seriously. Most of these diseases flying around can be avoided if hand washing is adopted.

Please wash your hand today.