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News From Around the World

Mysterious disease devastates pacific Coast of Central America A mysterious epidemic has killed more than 24 000 people in El Salvador and Nicaragua since 2000 and stricken thousands of others with chronic kidney disease at rates unseen almost anywhere else. Some suggest that agricultural chemicals are the cause, but others contend that the grueling nature of the work and dehydration are to blame. Dr Richard J. Johnson, a kidney specialist at the University of Colorado, Denver, and other researchers who are working to discover the cause of the disease suspect chronic dehydration. To read the full article, click here. (Source: seattlepi.com)

A study published this month in Health Affairs found that doctors using computers to track tests such as x-rays and magnetic resonance imaging ordered substantially more tests than doctors who relied on paper records.
A number of experts have suggested that electronic health records (EHRs) will help reduce unnecessary and redundant tests by giving doctors more comprehensive and timely information when making diagnoses, but this study showed the opposite: doctors with computerized access to a patient's previous image results ordered tests on 18% of the visits, whereas those using paper records ordered tests on 12.9% of visits. In other words, physicians using electronic technology ordered 40% more image testing than those without the tracking technology.
Health information technology (IT) leaders are now voicing their disagreement with this contention. In a blog post soon after the study's results were featured on numerous websites, Dr Farzad Mostashari, national coordinator for health information technology, said that the study's results "tell us little" about whether electronic health records will help to reduce costs. Dr Mostashari cites several problems with the study authors' analysis, a major one of which is that reducing test orders is not the way in which EHRs are intended to reduce costs.
Read the full article about the Health Affairs study here. Pregnancy reduces a woman's immunity, making pregnant women more vulnerable to malaria infections and increasing the risk of illness and death, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Though the potential effects of malaria on later stages of pregnancy and birth weight-including spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, and premature delivery-are well documented, the study by SMRU is among the first to show the effects of malaria on early fetal growth, even in areas where malaria infections are not nearly as prevalent as they once were.
Read more about the study's results here. (Source: AsianScientist)

Urgent Humanitarian Aid Needed For 80 000 sudanese Refugees
Only a short window of opportunity remains before the rainy season severely inhibits the urgent provision of humanitarian assistance to tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees in South Sudan, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned recently.
Since November 2011, 80 000 refugees have fled violence in Sudan's Blue Nile State, seeking shelter in the Doro and Jamam refugee camps. The camps are located in a remote and barren region of South Sudan, where humanitarian organizations confront massive logistic challenges to access and assist refugees. At the onset of rains in late April, the region will be even more inaccessible, likely becoming a vast swamp with small islands of dry ground. Over the coming weeks, all organizations providing assistance in the camps must transition to an emergency footing to ensure that refugees can survive the coming months, MSF said.
Newly arriving refugees speak of ongoing bombing and fighting in Sudan's Blue Nile State. While people have sought safety in the Doro and Jamam camps, they have encountered a harsh environment where their ability to survive is stretched to the breaking point.

Changing Landscapes
Serious gaps in assistance mean that the most basic needs are not adequately covered. Less than 8 liters of clean water per person per day is being provided, far below the recommended minimum standards of 15 to 20 liters per day in refugee camps. In its clinics, MSF witnesses the direct consequences of the lack of water; rising cases of diarrhea constitute 1 in 4 medical consultations.
The full press release is available here. (Source: Médecins Sans Frontières) environmental exposure to pCbs Linked to Infertility High levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and p,p'-DDE, a breakdown product of DDT, have been linked to an excessive number of sex chromosomes in sperm, according to a recent study published in Environmental Health Perspectives.
Men with higher levels of PCBs and p,p'-DDE in their blood were more likely than those with lower levels to have a higher percentage of sperm sex-chromosome disomy, the greatest known cause of failed pregnancies.
In the study of 341 men from subfertile couples, researchers found that exposure to p,p'-DDE may be associated with increased rates of XX, XY, and total sex-chromosome disomy, and exposure to PCBs may be associated with increased rates of YY, XY, and total sex chromosome disomy.
Read the study here.

Camel Milk May Improve Autism symptoms
Emerging reports suggest that camel milk, the drink of nomadic peoples from Mongolia to India, may have a healing effect on various diseases.
Parents worldwide who have been experimenting with camel milk in their children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are reporting reduced symptoms and increased skills in their children. Improvements cited in Internet posts include better sleep, increased motor planning abilities and spatial awareness, more eye contact, better language, and fewer gastrointestinal problems. Though autism is defined as a developmental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), studies have shown that inflammation, a condition common to many human diseases, may be a factor.
Veteran Israeli camel expert Dr Reuven Yagil, who first described the use of camel milk to treat autism, contends that autism is an autoimmune disease afflicting primarily the intestines. American-Israeli scientist Dr Amnon Gonenne says that there is an active inflammatory component particularly in cases of autism that exhibit allergic symptoms.
Eyal Lifshitz, manager of a camel milk research center and owner of Milk From Eden camel farm, and Dr Gonenne believe that one of camel milk's beneficial effects is the calming of inflammation.
Read the full article here. This policy comes at a critical time as global efforts to reduce gender gaps have met only partial success. Across every development priority worldwide-from education to economic inclusion-gender inequality remains a significant challenge. For example, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Association, if women had equal access to the same productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20% to 30%, which could reduce the number of hungry people in the world by up to 150 million people. The goal of the policy is to improve the lives of citizens around the world by advancing equality between females and males, and empowering women and girls to participate fully in and benefit from the development of their societies.
More information, including the specific goals of the policy, is available here. (Source: USAID)

Millennium development Goal drinking Water target Met
The world has met the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water well in advance of the MDG's 2015 deadline, according to a report issued recently by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO). Between 1990 and 2010, more than 2 billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources, such as piped supplies and protected wells.
The report, Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation 2012, by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation, says that at the end of 2010, 89% of the world's population, or 6.1 billion people, used improved drinking water sources. This is 1% more than the 88% MDG target. The report estimates that by 2015, 92% of the global population will have access to improved drinking water.
But there is still considerable work to be done in this area. Read about it here. (Source: World Health Organization) Photo: Kamran Jebreili/ASSOCIATED PRESS Chemical structure of PCBs.