June 21, 2013
A roundup of news on drug resistance and other topics in global health.
A group of CDDEP researchers have published an abstract in The Lancet presenting DCPSim, a simulation model created to help determine the cost effectiveness of health interventions and policies in India. [The Lancet]
CDDEP Director Ramanan Laxminarayan and Senior Fellow Susmita Chatterjee have authored a study on the cost of surgery in Indian hospitals. Read the complete text in BMJ Open.
A recently issued statement by the G8 Science Ministers after their first ever joint meeting identifies antimicrobial drug resistance as a major health security challenge of the twenty first century. [Gov.uk]
Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics writes a letter to The New England Journal of Medicine pointing out the risks of using antibiotics in treating malnutrition. [NEJM]
In a video in The Economist, chief medical officer for England, Dame Sally Davies, “explains why politicians need to respond to the rise in resistance to antibiotics.” [The Economist]
An article in Scientific American explores how the tuberculosis bacteria may be evolving into a new bug that is far more deadly, spreads more quickly and is more likely to become resistant to treatment with antibiotics. The magazine also published a slideshow that highlights the proliferation of dangerous strains of tuberculosis. [Scientific American]
A new study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine describes how silver makes bacterial cell membranes more permeable and interferes with the cell s metabolism to enhance the capacity of antibiotics to kill between 10 and 1,000 times as many bacteria. [Nature]
The Times of India reports that India faces a severe shortage of pediatric and drug-resistant tuberculosis drugs. [Times of India]
Through a systematic review and meta-analysis of 4,696 studies published over the last three decades, new research finds that the poorest children are twice as likely to be infected with malaria than the least poor children and recommends increased investments in socioeconomic development interventions to control malaria. [VoA]
A study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine suggests that the use of vaginal estrogen could help prevent urinary tract infections in postmenopausal women. [US News]
The booming illegal trade of used medical equipments and hospital waste is posing a serious threat to public health in Pakistan. [Pakistan Today]
Screening the national population in India for HIV every five years is cost-effective and could save millions of lives, according to a study published in the journal PLoS One. [Futurity]
Silver image via Flickr/Marg
