With International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week around the corner, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday called for discarding the use of lead paint and opting for safer alternatives to protect the lives of young kids who are highly susceptible to health problems associated with lead poisoning.

Lead is used everywhere- from building construction to lead-acid batteries. But, this useful metal is highly toxic to people of all ages, especially the unborn and young children as their growing bodies absorb lead more easily and get rid of the toxic metal less efficiently than the adults. Lead exposure during childhood is one of the most common preventable poisoning and is also one of the most important health issues in the U.S.

According to WHO, lead exposure accounts for 0.6 percent of the global burden of disease and kills about 143,000 people each year. Every year, 600,000 kids are diagnosed with intellectual disability due to lead exposure.

The Lead Poisoning Week from October 20 to 26, 2013, will see many countries join the campaign to raise awareness on lead toxicity.

"Lead poisoning remains one of the most important environmental health concerns for children globally, and lead paint is a major flashpoint for children's potential lead poisoning," said Dr Maria Neira, WHO's director for Public Health and Environment, in a statement.

Lead poisoning is known to slow mental and physical growth. The use of lead paint was reduced drastically in 1950 and in 1978 the addition of lead in paints was banned. However, flakes of old paint and lead dust ends in the babies' hands and toys, leading to various health issues. Even minor exposure of lead can trigger nervous system disorder, low IQ, impaired memory and reaction times and shortened attention spans.

Data according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention and Control suggest that nearly 890,000 children of age 1-5 have elevated blood lead levels, and more than one fifth of African-American kids livings in houses built before 1946 have high blood levels.

Neira concluded saying, "The good news is that exposure to lead paint can be entirely stopped through a range of measures to restrict the production and use of lead pain."

source: www.scienceworldreport.com

It's official: Breathing dirty air causes lung cancer.

The World Health Organization on Thursday declared air pollution a human carcinogen like tobacco smoke, asbestos and arsenic, calling it a leading cause of cancer deaths globally.

Health experts have known for years that air pollution increases the risk of a wide range of ailments, including respiratory problems and heart disease. Some compounds in the air we breathe, such as diesel exhaust, have already been deemed cancer-causing.

But this is the first time the organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified air pollution in its entirety as a cause of cancer.

The complex mixture of gases, fine particles and other pollutants in the air were labeled "carcinogenic to humans," the highest of the agency's four-level classification system.

A panel of experts convened by the WHO's cancer research arm made the finding after reviewing thousands of scientific papers.

"We now know that outdoor air pollution is not only a major risk to health in general, but also a leading environmental cause of cancer deaths," Kurt Straif of the international cancer research agency said in a news release.

Air pollution also increases the risk of bladder cancer, the agency reported. Experts also evaluated particulate matter, one the largest components of air pollution, and classified it as a carcinogen.

While air pollution levels vary widely across the globe and have fallen in the United States, exposure is on the rise in rapidly industrializing countries, the agency's report notes.

Air pollution caused more than 220,000 lung cancer deaths worldwide in 2010, the agency reported; more than half of lung cancer deaths from particulate matter were in China and East Asian countries.

The agency's report did not quantify the cancer risk to individuals or countries.

That can be hard to pin down because the sources of air pollution are widespread and ubiquitous, including vehicles with internal combustion engines, power plants, factories and farms, according to the report. The agency wanted to review air pollution globally to understand the role it plays in the more than 1.3 million new cases of lung cancer recorded each year.

"Even a small contribution from air pollution to this number would strengthen the justification for implementing tighter control measures," the report says.

source: www.latimes.com

Ministers in Indonesia hope that a new health programme will help the country achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5 target - a 75 per cent decline in maternal deaths, from 1990 levels, within two years' time.

The Action Plan for the Acceleration of Maternal Mortality Rate Reduction 2013-2015 outlines three strategies and seven distinct programmes, which are intended to strengthen partnerships between the government and private sector, and to improve healthcare in rural areas.

According to news agency Antara, the Health Ministry also issued a pocket book for paramedics and clinicians.

This contains guidance on procedures like making referrals, early diagnosis of pregnancy-related complications and emergency handling.

Based on the rate of progress identified in the Indonesian Health and Demographic Survey 1990-2007, the country is expected to lower the number of maternal mortalities to 161 per 100,000 live births by 2015.

This is some way short of the MDG 5 target for Indonesia, which stipulates a maximum of 102 deaths per 100,000 live births.

source: www.figo.org

The global health nonprofit organization, PATH and China National Biotec Group Co., Ltd. (CNBG), the leading vaccine manufacturer in China, have announced that an affordable vaccine to protect children against deadly Japanese encephalitis (JE) has been prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO), paving the way to reach millions more children across Asia at risk for the disease.

The SA 14-14-2 live, attenuated JE vaccine is the first JE vaccine to be prequalified for use in children by WHO. This milestone also marks the first time a Chinese vaccine manufacturer has achieved WHO prequalification. The vaccine is manufactured by Chengdu Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd. (CDIBP), a subsidiary of CNBG.

With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, PATH led a series of pivotal clinical trials to establish the immunogenicity and safety of the vaccine in at-risk children and provided technical and financial support to help CDIBP meet the international manufacturing standards required for WHO prequalification.

"This milestone brings the world within reach of an audacious goal: the elimination of a devastating disease through expanded access to an affordable and lifesaving vaccine," said Steve Davis, PATH president and CEO. "Our groundbreaking collaboration with leading Chinese partners also helped lay the foundation for reshaping global vaccine supply, pricing, and accessibility through increased competition. This milestone signals China's rising importance as a global supplier of high-quality vaccines for the most vulnerable children in the world."

WHO prequalification is a critical step in expanding access to this lifesaving vaccine. The WHO decision allows United Nations procurement agencies to purchase the vaccine and serves as an endorsement of quality for countries interested in adopting it. Prequalification also opens the door for the vaccine's inclusion in the GAVI Alliance portfolio and for essential vaccine financing for low-resource countries.

More than 4 billion people live in JE-endemic regions in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. JE is carried by mosquitoes and causes a viral brain infection. It is the leading cause of viral neurological disease and disability in Asia, with nearly 70,000 cases and an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 deaths reported each year. However, because of limited surveillance and complexities in diagnosis, these figures likely underestimate JE's impact. Children who survive JE are often left with severe neurological damage.

"We have reached two major milestones today. In addition to achieving WHO prequalification of our JE vaccine, we are proud to be the first Chinese manufacturer to produce a WHO-prequalified vaccine," said Dr. YANG Xiaoming, CEO of CNBG. "As one of the largest vaccine manufacturers in the world, we take our mission of providing safe, effective, and affordable vaccines very seriously. With PATH's support and WHO's prequalification, we're proud to bring China onto the global stage as an important vaccine supplier serving GAVI-eligible countries."

Over the past decade, PATH has led a cross-sector collaboration with CNBG, CDIBP, and other global partners to pave the way for the prequalified JE vaccine—improving surveillance systems to better understand the disease burden; identifying the existing SA 14-14-2 live, attenuated JE vaccine and working to scale it up; collaborating on clinical trials; and helping countries plan for vaccine introduction. PATH worked with CDIBP to construct a new manufacturing facility that would meet rigorous international standards for vaccine quality and good manufacturing practices while ensuring adequate supply.

PATH also negotiated with CDIBP to establish an affordable public-sector price and supported vaccination campaigns in 11 countries outside of China that have already licensed or registered the vaccine for use ahead of WHO prequalification. Those campaigns have reached more than 200 million people to date.

"Today's prequalification means that all communities in JE regions will have access to a safe, affordable vaccine," said Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, director of PATH's Vaccine Access and Delivery Program. "We'll now work with our global health and in-country partners to accelerate the delivery of this vaccine to children in low-resource settings who are most vulnerable to the disease and its severe consequences."

PATH also leads a multicountry JE project that is taking a regional approach to the adoption, introduction, and scale-up of JE vaccination in endemic countries, building on the lessons learned and best practices developed over the past decade.

PATH is an international nonprofit organization that transforms global health through innovation. PATH takes an entrepreneurial approach to developing and delivering high-impact, low-cost solutions, from lifesaving vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, and devices to collaborative programs with communities.

China National Biotec Group Co., Ltd. (CNBG) is a subsidiary of China National Pharmaceutical Group Corporation (Sinopharm Group Co., Ltd.) and research-driven company with its corporate headquarters in Beijing.

source: www.pharmabiz.com

Leaders attending the 21st informal economic leaders' meeting of APEC vowed to bridge the development gap and maintain path of sustainable growth with equity, according to a joint declaration issued here on Tuesday.

"We commit to implement workable solutions that will increase resilience, sustain growth and decrease disparity, while improving the welfare of the people in the Asia-Pacific region," the declaration said.

APEC Leaders agreed to take further steps toward empowering, engaging and opening opportunities for their stakeholders to fully participate in their economic growth.

Concrete actions should be considered by APEC members to expand women's participation in the economy by creating an enabling environment for them, the leaders declared.

APEC members could enhance the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) global competitiveness by improving access to finance and markets, and encourage regional collaboration to facilitate trade finance for SMEs, the declaration said.

Recognizing the crucial role of farmers and fishers, leaders called for strengthening their capacities.

The leaders noted that APEC members could also advance greater collaboration among law enforcement authorities in combating corruption, bribery, money laundering, and illicit trade.

APEC members could strengthen cooperation among government, scientists, and business sector to promote science, technology and innovation in the region.

APEC leader also proposed steps for tackling issues of resource scarcity and natural and human-caused disasters.

They vowed to address the nexus of water, energy and food security through the promotion of integrated policies and collaborative approaches.

To provide lasting food security to APEC economies, APEC leaders reiterated their pledge against protectionism and called on members to enhance supply chain connectivity.

They pledged to pursue cross-sectoral work to maintain the health and stainability of oceans and coastal resources, while continuing to build regional capacity to assist APEC economies to rationalize and phase out inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies.

They also vowed to work to develop clean and renewable energy through public-private partnership, while combating wildlife trafficking by enhancing international cooperation.

The APEC leaders called for promoting sustainable health-care systems,engaging in capacity building efforts and effective regional and global partnerships across the public and private sectors with the aim of addressing emerging infectious diseases and promote understanding on safe and effective use of traditional medicine.

They also promised to work to ensure ease of mobility of emergency responders and their equipment to save lives in the early aftermath of disasters, while improving cooperation in disaster risk reduction.

source: english.cntv.cn

British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline is seeking regulatory approval for the world's first malaria vaccine after trial data showed that it had cut the number of cases in African children.

Experts say that they are optimistic about the possibility of the world's first vaccine after the trial results.

Malaria, a mosquito-borne parasitic disease, kills hundreds of thousands of people worldwide every year.

Scientists say an effective vaccine is key to attempts to eradicate it.

The vaccine known as RTS,S was found to have almost halved the number of malaria cases in young children in the trial and to have reduced by about 25% the number of malaria cases in infants.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is developing RTS,S with the non-profit Path Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), supported by funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

"Many millions of malaria cases fill the wards of our hospitals," said Halidou Tinto, a lead investigator on the RTS,S trial from Burkina Faso.

Malaria is caused by protozoan parasites that are transmitted by the bites of mosquitoes

"Progress is being made with bed nets and other measures, but we need more tools to battle this terrible disease."

The malaria trial was Africa's largest-ever clinical trial involving almost 15,500 children in seven countries.

The findings were presented at a medical meeting in Durban, South Africa.

"Based on these data, GSK now intends to submit, in 2014, a regulatory application to the European Medicines Agency (EMA)," GSK said in a statement.

The company has been developing the vaccine for three decades.

The statement said that the hope now is that the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) may recommend the use of the RTS,S vaccine from as early as 2015 if EMA drugs regulators back its licence application.

Testing showed that 18 months after vaccination, children aged five to 17 months had a 46% reduction in the risk of clinical malaria compared to unvaccinated contemporaries.

But in infants aged six to 12 weeks at the time of vaccination, there was only a 27% reduction in risk.

A spokeswoman for GSK told the AFP news agency that the company would file its application to the EMA under a process aimed at facilitating new drugs for poorer countries.

UK politician Lynne Featherstone, International Development Minister, said: "Malaria is not just one of the world's biggest killers of children, it also burdens health systems, hinders children's development and puts a brake on economic growth. An effective malaria vaccine would have an enormous impact on the developing world.

"We welcome the scientific progress made by this research and look forward to seeing the full results in due course."

source: www.bbc.co.uk

WHO Regional Director for Europe, Ms. Zsuzsanna Jakab on Monday said that she knew Turkey made great improvements in health sector in the last decade, and met great expectations; "EU countries have a lot to learn from Turkey".

Today, the WHO Regional Director for Europe, Ms. Zsuzsanna Jakab, and the Minister of Health of Turkey, Dr. Mehmet Muezzinoglu, officially opened the Autumn School on Health Information and Evidence for Policy-making, a joint venture between WHO/Europe and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) of the Netherlands.

The venture, taking place on 7–11 October 2013 in Izmir, Turkey, is an extension of the steps taken by WHO/Europe to improve member states' ability to use health information to create an evidence base for crucial public health questions within the scope of Health 2020, the new European health policy framework. Alongside it, the first workshop will be held of the multicountry Evidence-Informed Policy Network (EVIPNet), Europe.

Speaking at the opening, Jakab pointed out that the organization of this venture in Izmir is not by chance, referring to Izmir's EXPO 2020 candidacy with the theme "New routes to a better world and health for all".

Noting that in the last decade, Turkey has made great improvements in health, especially in the prevention of infant and maternal mortality, Jakab stated that the EU countries have a lot to learn from Turkey.

Speaking of the venture, Jakab thanked Muezzionoglu for his support in opening the autumn school in Izmir and said: "We live in an era of multiple challenges. Our Member States in the European Region lead the way in so many fields and have achieved many dramatic changes. Change demands courage and, in policy-making, courage comes from knowing you are doing the right thing. The implementation of the new Health 2020 policy depends on using the right information, and its impact will be measured by tracking progress over time. This is why the Autumn School and other capacity-building ventures are so significant, because participants will learn how to use evidence and translate it into confident, effective public health policy."

Speaking about the Turkey Health Transformation Program, Muezzinoglu said: "In the last decade, we have undertaken serious work and reforms in health. We have always endeavored to form and implement people-oriented, equitable, sustainable, and evidence-based policies in all our work for public health. We have shown and continue to show maximum effort in order to make sure that everybody has access to health services. It is especially important that low-income and disadvantaged groups have full and timely access to health services.

With this purpose, we have lifted all barriers to health services access, providing general healthcare for everybody. .... and with all of our works based on evidence-based policies, we have significantly reduced infant and maternal mortality, and lengthened average life span."

Reminding that Izmir recently hosted the sixty-third session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe, between 16 and 19 September, Muezzinoglu said that the European countries reached important agreements on a number of key public health issues and the technical and administrative work of the WHO Regional Office for Europe.

Muezzionoglu also said that Turkey actively supported the Health 2020 policy which aims to support action across government and society to: "significantly improve the health and well-being of populations, reduce health inequalities, strengthen public health and ensure people-centred health systems that are universal, equitable, sustainable and of high quality".

The Autumn School and workshop will be attended by professionals working in health information and analysis and those involved in the translation of evidence into policy.

source: www.worldbulletin.net

As the hajj season in Saudi Arabia quickly approaches, the country's Ministry of Health (MOH) is ramping up efforts to keep millions of pilgrims safe from falling ill to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

The annual pilgrimage occurs from October 13-18 with millions expected to be flocking to Mecca and Medina for prayer and worship. While the MOH had not reported any known cases of MERS-CoV stemming from the previous year's hajj, there are still concerns that the elderly, children and those with compromised immunity could be susceptible to a deadly virus.

The MOH has been continuously updating any and all known cases to the World Health Organization (WHO) since February, when the illness was only labeled as a Novel Coronavirus. Since the MOH's report on February 21, 2013, MERS-CoV illnesses have climbed from 13 to 136 and from seven to 58 deaths. Most people who have fallen ill and/or died from this virus have been elderly and with underlying health conditions. However, children have also been susceptible to this virus, with several known cases.

The new case count of 136 comes after the MOH reported an additional six lab-confirmed cases to the WHO. The six new cases are all from the Riyadh region and range in age from 14 to 79 years old — including three men and three women. The dates of onset for these patients range from Sept. 15 to Sept. 26, 2013.

Three of the patients are contacts of previously confirmed cases of MERS-CoV, two are reported to have had no exposure to confirmed cases or animals, and there was no exposure information for the final patient.

With the hajj nearly a week away, the MOH is continuing to prepare for the possibility that MERS-CoV could spread, despite no mass spread seen during previous pilgrimages to the holy land. Still, it is urging that elderly, children and those with underlying medical conditions forgo this year's pilgrimage to protect themselves from possible infection.

The biggest fear is that pilgrims may carry the disease back to their homelands, giving a virus that has so far had limited outbreak beyond the borders of the Middle East a new route to the world, possibly kicking off a global pandemic. Still, Saudi authorities are remaining optimistic that the hajj will come and go without any outbreaks.

Dr. Nazreen Sherbini, a specialist in infectious diseases and influenza with the MOH, has advised pilgrims to wear masks in crowded places, according to CIDRAP.

"Pilgrims should wear protective masks that cover the noses and mouths in crowded places and follow basic health etiquette while sneezing or coughing," Dr. Nazreen Sherbini was quoted as saying.

Currently, neither the WHO nor the US CDC recommend that travelers where protective masks when visiting the Middle East, and there remains not enough information or concern to issue travel and/or trade restrictions with the region.

source: www.redorbit.com