London School Of Hygiene And Tropical Medicine Audio News - Lshtm Podcast

PHILADELPHIA— Scientists in Zambia have reported significant progress in tracking asymptomatic malaria infection — a pre-requisite for eliminating the disease — to the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene annual conference in Philadelphia. Gillian Stresman from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine explained to Peter Goodwin that the research involved analysing patterns of infection from blood tests among people who have no malaria symptoms and checking on other malaria risk factors such as distance from the nearest river.

PHILADELPHIA—Vaccinating populations after an outbreak of cholera has already begun could be a powerful way of controlling the growth of an epidemic according to scientists reporting to the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene here. London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine MSc graduate Rita Reyburn — who’s been researching epidemics in Zimbabwe, Zanzibar and Calcutta with the International Vaccine Institute of Korea and working with Lorenz von Seidlein from the Menzies School of Health Research, Casuarina, Australia — told Peter Goodwin about their calculations which have validated the later use of vaccination to protect those who haven’t already been infected.

PHILADELPHIA—Boiling water may not be the best policy for making it safe to drink, according to scientists who reported their research findings from Zambia to the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual conference. Rebecca Psutka of the University of Otago in New Zealand, who works with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, explained to Peter Goodwin that the problem is not the boiling but the storage of drinking water after it’s been sterilised.

PHILADEPHIA—A way of making malaria control more effective was proposed at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual conference in Philadelphia, namely: to target the most concentrated areas of infection — known as malaria hot-spots. Jacklin Mosha from Tanzania, and Teun Bousema from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine discussed the evidence for using this strategy with Peter Goodwin.

LONDON—Scientists in Britain have found that an altered gene affects oestrogen in young women and is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer before the menopause. The research could lead to a better understanding of how to prevent the disease in young women and design drugs acting on the hormonal triggers of breast cancer. Professor Isabel Dos Santos Silva of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine explained to Peter Goodwin why the findings are important.

PHILADELPHIA—Pharmaco-vigilance was being urged here — as a key part of the strategy to improve malaria control in Africa and elsewhere — in a special session devoted to malaria drug safety at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual conference. With the battle against malaria slowly being won in Africa, the safety of anti-malarial drugs is of paramount importance now they are being used more widely than ever. Session chair Professor David Schellenberg of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine told Peter Goodwin about their findings and conclusions.

PHILADELPHIA—Scientists in the UK and Uganda have now completed a three year study showing that young children are at continued risk of intestinal schistosomiasis — also known as bilharzia — between the ages of 6-months and five years. In fact, these children should be treated routinely with the anthelminthic praziquantel, just as in older children and adults, for it is proven both safe and efficacious. The Schistosomiasis In Mothers and Infants (SIMI) study was conducted by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine working with the Vector Control Division, Ministry of Health, in Uganda and was reported at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual conference in Philadelphia. Professor Russell Stothard discussed some of the key findings with Peter Goodwin.

PHILADELPHIA—Research findings on gene changes enabling malaria parasites to resist anti-malarial drugs were discussed at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene meeting in Philadelphia. This has come in the midst of worries about the slow rise in resistance to the most modern group of drugs — artemisinin combinations — in Cambodia and Thailand. Professor David Conway of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine gave Peter Goodwin some of the details.

PHILADELPHIA—The recently-introduced rapid diagnostic test kits for malaria are saving lives — and not just among patients with malaria. In research for the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, scientists in Tanzania have found that patients whose fevers are not caused by malaria benefit from potentially life-saving treatments sooner if the cause is recognised by doing an actual test rather than just assuming all fever is malaria. Dr Florida Muro from the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshi, Tanzania presented her findings to the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene conference here. Afterwards she told Peter Goodwin about her group’s research.

LONDON—The ‘Welfare State’ can be sustained globally — even in the rapidly ageing societies of low- and middle-income countries. Social protection should not be delayed until a country is rich, and should be a state obligation. These views came out of the Global Health Lab symposium entitled: “Is the welfare state sustainable with an ageing society?” hosted by Professor Martin McKee of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Dr Richard Horton, Editor of the Lancet. The experts presenting data to the meeting — Professor Athina Vlachantoni from Centre for Research on Ageing at Southampton University, Astrid Walker Bourne of HelpAge International and Professor Peter Lloyd-Sherlock from the School of International Development at the University of East Anglia — explained to Peter Goodwin why there is an urgent need to prioritise the welfare of older citizens.

LONDON—A massive new study of HIV/AIDS could help turn the tide of the epidemic globally. The PopART study — of 24 communities in Zambia and South Africa — is testing a powerful combination of approaches to HIV in the community: universal testing, immediate treatment for patients and a range of preventive measures. The $37 million research trial is jointly funded by the Office of the US Global AIDS Coordinator, the National Institutes of Health, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Professor Richard Hayes of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine described the rationale and the potential benefit of the PopART study to Derek Thorne.

PHILADELPHIA—How populations of mosquitoes become insensitive to insect repellents has been researched by scientists at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, in collaboration with Rothamsted Research, and discussed at the American Society of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine conference in Philadelphia. This was one of the many activities of Dr James Logan, who also runs a new service made available by the London School called: the Arthropod Control Product Test Centre, or ARCTEC. Dr Logan told Peter Goodwin about the results of an experiment in which volunteers were exposed to mosquitoes after being sprayed with the powerful insect repellent, DEET. Resistance developed among the mosquitoes with the proportion of DEET-insensitive mosquitoes rising from a normal level of 10 per cent up to 60 per cent in a single generation.

LONDON—The extent to which people infected with HIV are marginalised has been highlighted by a report from the Sigma Research Group at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine looking at black African people living in England in relationships where one partner had diagnosed HIV while the other did not. Dr Adam Bourne described the stigma and fear they face and told Peter Goodwin what needs to be done to improve this.

MOSHI, TANZANIA—New insecticides to control mosquitoes — being tested in Tanzania — promise to overcome the biggest threat to malaria control in Africa: resistance to pyrethroid insecticides. Dr Richard Oxborough from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine explained to Sarah Maxwell how his group’s research evaluating new insecticides for mosquito nets and spraying inside houses, at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshi, Tanzania, is bringing hope for sustainable control of pyrethroid-resistant malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. The development of new insecticides for malaria vector control will help continue the decline of malaria in the region when combined with other malaria-control measures including new drugs, a vaccine and better diagnostic tests.

LONDON —A new weapon in the global battle against infectious disease was recently unveiled in London. The Bloomsbury Institute for Pathogen Research has been launched as a collaboration between two big university research groups to combat pathogens — infectious agents including bacteria, viruses and parasites. The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine brings expertise in parasitic and bacterial diseases, while University College London contributes long experience and excellent facilities for researching viral illnesses. Professor Simon Croft from the London School explains to Peter Goodwin how the new institute forms an important tool to be used along with excellent health system planning to fight infections everywhere.

LONDON—Scientists in London have found that a significant proportion of mobile phones in Britain are contaminated with faecal bacteria. This news was announced on Global Handwashing Day 2011 by Dr Val Curtis, Director of the Hygiene Centre at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She talks to Peter Goodwin about the significance of the finding they’ve made — jointly with Queen Mary College — and the importance of washing hands with soap and water after going to the lavatory.

LONDON—In the new book: Good Health At Low Cost, the achievements of Bangladesh are discussed as an example of how the health of most people can improve despite adverse circumstances. Professor Carine Ronsmans of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who has lived in Bangladesh and visits frequently, explained to Peter Goodwin why she thinks it is a good example.

LONDON—The National Health Service in England has benefited from being made subject to market forces since 2002 — and it continues to serve as a good example of how ‘health for all’ can be achieved. This is according to a book published by the King’s Fund entitled: “Understanding New Labour’s Market Reforms of the English NHS” looking at the effects of a change of policy allowing competitive market practices. The book’s co-editor, Professor Nicholas Mays of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, discussed its findings and conclusions with Peter Goodwin.

LONDON—Heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases pose a looming threat to low- and middle-income countries just as in the rich world according to experts meeting in London. At the Global Health Lab symposium in London Martin McKee and Erica Richardson of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine with Richard Horton Editor of The Lancet told Peter Goodwin about the importance of the issues raised by the experts contributing to the session: Allison Beattie of the UK Department for International Development, Philip James from the International Association for the Study of Obesity and David Stuckler from the University of Cambridge.

LONDON—Why do some low and middle income countries manage to achieve good health outcomes while others fail? What factors drive improvements in the health system and in access to primary health care? How can we act on the social determinants of health in cash-strapped economies? Low and middle-income countries can achieve good health, without having to spend large amounts of money: they simply need to apply identifiable techniques and to have particular philosophies. This is the message emerging from a new book: entitled: Good Health At Low Cost just launched in London. It’s the result of painstaking research into health outcomes from different healthcare policies around the world. The book follows on from research in 1985 when the Rockefeller Foundation published what was to become a seminal report — Good Health At Low Cost — which became essential reading for health systems decision- and policy-makers alike. The new book draws on a series of up to date case studies from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Tam