December 06, 2013
A roundup of news on drug resistance and other topics in global health.
The Lancet Commission on Investing in Health released its report Global Health 2035: A World Converging within a Generation on December 3, with launch events taking place in London, Johannesburg and Tunis. The report makes the case that by 2035, the world could achieve a “grand convergence”, bringing preventable infectious, maternal and child deaths down to universally low levels. The full report, along with the below infographic video and a webcast of the London launch event, is available at The Lancet. [Global Health 2035, The Lancet]
Lawrence H. Summers, President Emeritus of Harvard University and chair of the Commission on Investing in Health, spoke with CNN this week about the importance of universal healthcare and eliminating global health disparities. [CNN]
An open access database called Project Tycho contains 125 years worth of data charting infectious diseases, providing the ability to perform in-depth analysis on the spread of a number of diseases and the benefits of vaccines. [MedCity News; livescience]
An article in Nature discusses how slow action by regulatory agencies and manufacturers on screening tests to detect antibiotic-resistant bacteria especially carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), also called the as nightmare bacteria hampers our ability to detect them, which could lead to outbreaks. [Nature]
The UK s first case of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) in poultry has been detected, infecting two-thirds of turkeys on the farm where it was discovered. Wired s Superbug blog discusses the dangers of LA-MRSA. [BBC, Wired]
Meanwhile, ABC Australia reports that infectious disease specialists are urging the government to implement rigorous tests to detect the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria on Australian and imported foods to control their spread. [ABC Australia]
Results from a new study published in the journal Neurology show that the BCG vaccine, which is used to prevent tuberculosis, may reduce the risk of multiple sclerosis in people with early signs of the disease. [Bloomberg]
Could technology help contain the superbug threat? IBM, one of the world s leading technology corporations, is working on solutions on two fronts: nanostructures that biodegrade to prevent harm to healthy cells before targeting and destroying infected cells, and radio-frequency identification (RFID) badges that seek to enforce hand-washing compliance. [IBM, ExtremeTech]
Severe MRSA infections in U.S. hospitals have decreased by 54.2% since 2005, according to the CDC. [CNN]
Donors pledged $12 billion in funds to support programs run by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria at its 4th Replenishment Meeting in Washington, D.C., this week. The Global Fund has now reached 80% of its replenishment goal of $15bn. [VOA News]
A 10-capsule regimen of pills made from human feces are simplifying the fecal transplant, a rare procedure in which bacteria from a healthy person s stool are placed in a patient’s gut to treat severe Clostridium difficile infections. [The Atlantic]
Households of the future could use hacked bacteria to detect Salmonella on countertops, adjust the lighting and, most importantly, to do the cleaning. [Co.Exist]
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