UNAIDS report: 33.4 million worldwide have HIV, but infections slow

A newly released United Nations report on HIV  says that while the disease has killed 25 million people worldwide, the rate of new infections is slowing sharply.  The UNAIDS agency report says the number of newly infected grew by 2.7 million in 2008,  bringing the world total to 33.4 million.

In sub-Saharan Africa,  where the scourge of AIDS is most keenly felt,  there were 400,000 fewer new infections last year, down 15 percent when compared to figures from 2001.

During the same time period,  new HIV infections in East Asia declined by 25 percent and by 10 percent in south and southeast Asia.

The report says the availability of life-saving HIV drugs is helping more people live longer.

Fake Chinese drugs marketed with ‘Made in India’ tag

An interesting article from the Financial Express, based in India, on counterfeit medicines and how they are being marketed.

Barely four months after China-made fake drugs with deceptive ‘Made in India’ labels were seized in Nigeria, more cases of spurious drugs are surfacing in the Indian market with alleged links to China.

Recently, seized samples of human immunoglobin injection used in the case of multiple sclerosis, bone marrow transplantation, chronic B-cell lymphocytic leukemia, pediatric HIV-1 infection among others, which were declared spurious by the drug regulator office in Rajasthan were allegedly manufactured by a Chinese company.

Earlier in June this year, the Nigerian drug regulator seized large consignments of fake anti-malarial generic pharmaceuticals labelled `Made in India’, which were later, found to be produced in China.

Changes in global child mortality and the MDGs

A very interesting video on global child mortality and the Millennium Development Goals by Dr. Hans Rosling (in collaboration with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation).

Preventing disease through vaccination — a contrast between developed and developing countries

Nearly 12 million Africans deemed at highest risk from yellow fever will be vaccinated next week against the virus, which can cause explosive epidemics in cities.

Vaccination is the best way to prevent yellow fever, which is hard to diagnose in early stages and for which there is no specific treatment, according to the United Nations agency.  Yellow fever infects 206,000 people a year and kills an estimated 30,000, mainly in tropical parts of Africa and the Americas where it has never been wiped out.

In contrast, a survey of Canadians shows that despite efforts to make vaccines available, nearly half won’t bother to get the H1N1 shot.  Similar results are reported from surveys in the U.S.

Poor nutrition stunting growth

A third of deaths in children under five in those countries are linked to poor diet, a report by UNICEF suggests. It also reveals 195m children – one in three – have stunted growth, even though rates have fallen since 1990.  UNICEF said the number of underweight children also remained high, with many countries struggling to hit official targets to halve the figures.

Experts warn that such a condition is often irreversible and effectively condemns children to a lifetime of poor health.  UNICEF chief Ann Veneman said: “Undernutrition steals a child’s strength and makes illnesses that the body might otherwise fight off far more dangerous.

UNICEF said that together with its partners, which include governments and international aid agencies, it was making progress to improve nutrition for children in the 150 countries it was working in.  Nonetheless, just 63 out of 117 countries look like they will meet the Millennium Development Goal of halving the rates of underweight children between 1990 and 2015.

Health Canada warns people not to buy unauthorized products to fight H1N1 flu

Federal authorities are warning Canadians not to buy unauthorized products from the Internet or other sources that claim to fight the H1N1 virus.  The Competition Bureau and Health Canada issued a statement Wednesday saying that only three products are authorized for use against the virus: the vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline called Arepanrix, which is available at flu clinics and doctors’ offices, and the antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza.

“Taking unapproved or counterfeit drugs could pose serious risks to health,” the advisory says.  “These products may contain ingredients not listed on the label or dangerous additives, and could cause serious side effects.”

The warning says vaccines should only come from a qualified health care provider, and antivirals should only be purchased with a prescription from a health care practitioner who has examined the patient.

The advisory says there are legitimate Canadian Internet pharmacies, but consumers need to be aware of the risks associated with buying drugs online.

Health Canada says it will monitor the Internet and take action against websites selling unauthorized products for the treatment or prevention of the H1N1 flu virus, or any other health condition.

200,000 doses of the unadjuvanted H1N1 vaccine called Panvax have also been imported from Australia for use in pregnant women.

30 million mosquito nets for Nigeria

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, in its largest-ever malaria initiative, will provide 30 million long-lasting treated mosquito nets to Nigeria.  This initiative will provide the African nation with half the nets needed to cover its entire population.

The Global Fund’s “unprecedented commitment to Nigeria, which bears one quarter of the global malaria burden, will protect millions of people from malaria and save over 100,000 lives,” said Ray Chambers, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Malaria.

Halting the incidence of malaria is one of the many health-related targets that make up the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the pledges world leaders made to try to slash poverty, hunger, preventable illness and a host of other socio-economic ills by 2015.

UN Report: reducing 5 key health risks could boost global life expectancy by 5 years

Addressing five critical risk factors – underweight childhood, unsafe sex, alcohol use, lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene, and high blood pressure – could add almost five years to global life expectancy, according to a new United Nations report.

These five factors are responsible for one quarter of the 60 million deaths estimated to occur annually, said the UN World Health Organization (WHO), which published “Global Health Risks.”

A health risk is defined in the report as “a factor that raises the probability of adverse health outcomes.” It looked at 24 of them which are a mixture of environmental, behavioural and physiological factors – such as air pollution, tobacco use and poor nutrition – and estimated their effects on deaths, diseases and injuries by region, age, sex and country income for the year 2004.

“Understanding the relative importance of health risk factors helps governments to figure out which health policies they want to pursue,” said Colin Mathers, Coordinator for Mortality and Burden of Disease at WHO.

UN Secretary-General urges global response to combat fake medicines

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged collective action to protect people from falling victim to the “insidious and illicit” trade in counterfeit medicines, a problem affecting all countries but which hits the poor particularly hard.

“We must join forces to fight this global crime for the sake of international public health,” Mr. Ban told the “Call of Cotonou” meeting held in Benin on the trafficking of counterfeit medicines.

The initiative is the brainchild of former French president Jacques Chirac, and is intended to be the first step of a global campaign aimed at raising awareness of the problem and persuading governments to impose tougher penalties and improve routine testing of medications.

Mr. Ban added that individuals are not the only ones who suffer, noting that counterfeit medical products undermine the credibility of health systems, waste resources and diminish confidence in the authorities responsible for public safety.

The problem is pervasive, affecting nearly all countries, but developing countries, which often lack the capacity to stop counterfeit products from entering markets, are hit hardest, said the Secretary-General.

Noting that organized counterfeiters operate through international networks, Mr. Ban emphasized that only a global response can stop them. He pledged UN support to international agencies, drug and law enforcement bodies, the pharmaceutical industry, health professionals and consumer groups to address this problem.

TIME: The Trade in Counterfeit Medicines

TIME Magazine recently published an interesting article on the trade in counterfeit medicines and an initiative fostered by former French President Jacques Chirac to combat this epidemic.  The proposed Cotonou declaration would be the first step of a worldwide campaign aimed at raising awareness of the problem and persuading governments to impose tougher penalties and improve routine testing of medications. The larger goal is to establish an international convention on counterfeit drugs.  Read the full article below:

How To Stop The Counterfeit-Medicine Drugs Trade

The next time you’re tempted to buy Viagra, Lipitor or some other medication online, ponder this: there’s a high likelihood that what you buy will be fake. The pill or vaccine may contain a much smaller dosage than stated, or it may lack any active ingredient whatsoever. Worst of all, it could be toxic. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 50% of drugs sold online have either been falsified or altered in some way. And Internet sales are just the tip of a much bigger problem. Falsified medicines are especially prevalent in developing countries; the WHO estimates that up to 30% of drugs sold in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America are fake, including ones used to fight diseases like malaria and tuberculosis.