A New Strain of Swine Flu

My article is called “Who holds 2 billion people could catch H1N1; Alarm on Tamiflu-resistant strain” and is from Arab times.

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDetails/tabid/96/smid/414/ArticleID/145861/reftab/96/Default.aspx

I thought that this was an extremely informative article on how there is a new strain of the H1N1 virus which is resistant to the Tamiflu vaccine. The mutation of the virus was found near where it originated, by the Mexico/ American Border line. It was written that though Americans need a prescription to take Tamiflu, in Mexico and Canada it is more readily available and is being taken more often. This over exposure has weakened the effect of Tamiflu and has helped lead to the creation of this Tamiflu-resistant strain. This article had a global feel to it by explaining all of the new countries that have been hurt by this infection. Analysts believe that this mutation has sprung from overdoses on vaccines. Just recently, Vietnam, India and South Africa all had their first deaths from the "Swine Flu".

This is a really relevant article to our class because not only does it talk about an infectious disease we studied this year, but it also has several instances of impoverished women who were hurt by diseases they can not battle, even with modern medicine. In Vietnam, a woman has been the first causality in this new strain of an already well-known illness. This article holds a lot of information and there is a break down on how other countries are being effected. In Spain, a 35 year old woman recently passed due to “complications with swine flu” doesn’t this remind you of similar complications AIDS patients died of? In Egypt alone there have been nine new cases of swine flu. The only death in Egypt was an Egyptian woman last month. Even in European countries, there have been H1N1 outbreaks. In Poland they have had 100 cases since April. In typical form though, they say there is nothing to greatly worry about. Back at the origin of the disease, Mexico recently reported around 1,000 new cases in a week. This is still a huge issue there

I really liked this article because it was told from a foreign point of view. Infectious Diseases don't only happen in America, so it is important to get a global perspective on it. This was from an Arab news source and is definitely not all about the United States of America.

Revenge of the Super Bug

The article I chose is called New Threat: Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria Causes Deadly Pneumonia. It was written by S.L. Baker on Saturday July 18, 2009. I found it on NaturalNews.com and can be found on http://www.naturalnews.com/026650_MRSA_bacteria_disease.html.

While H1N1 has been consuming the minds and worries of people everywhere, another infectious disease is arising that is a deadly threat to anyone susceptible. This fatal disease is called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. As you may have already put together, this infectious disease has become a large threat due to its resistance to antibiotics. New strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria have risen, AKA “super bugs,” and are threatening the skin, heart, blood and bones of healthy people. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) is a “flesh eating” pneumonia , community acquired and is fatal in 75 percent of cases. This impeding disease can strike anyone regardless of age, health or residence. It is most common among young athletes who play contact sport, nursing homes, military facilities, and childcare centers. The article states, “And those becoming sick with the disease aren’t necessarily the old and/or physically weak.” Upon these unfortunate victims, it causes a high fever and sometimes low blood pressure that progresses to septic shock. Also, it appears most commonly in people who have just experience a flu-like illness. CA-MRSA is well known for causing skin and soft tissue infections that are usually transmitted from person-person contact or contact with anything that may be contaminated.

What I found most intriguing about this disease was its victim. As written in a report from the Emory team, “CA-MRSA pneumonia appears to most commonly affect young and previously healthy patients.” I find this a scary thought because that means most anyone can contract this disease. It is almost an everyday occurrence that people share clothes or forget to put a band-aid on a small cut. However, these are the small things that lead to such a dismal disease. In History of Epidemic Diseases we have learned all about superbugs and the anti-biotic resistant TB. We all know how deadly and devastating TB is, and it causes me to believe that CA-MRSA has potential to become a renounced world issue. It is on its rise and just like any drug resistant bacteria, it has the natural power to reproduce and become superior to any antibiotic we may have now.

The Major Focus of the HIV Prevention Cause to be Focused on the Gay Community Once Again?

From the Boston Globe, by Rebecca Haag and Douglas Brooks on May 17, 2010, the article is Back to the beginning in the HIV fight; this article can be found at: http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2010/05/17/back_to_the_beginning_in_the_hiv_fight/. Rebecca Haag and Douglas Brooks are both major players in the fight against AIDS and research into the disease, leading or helping direct multiple organizations.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data that is quite shocking regarding the disparities between infection rates of HIV and syphilis among gay and bisexual men and other groups of people. Gay and bisexual men are 44 times more likely to contract HIV than other men, and 40 times more likely than women. The author wonders how after so many breakthroughs in treatment and increased understanding of sexually transmitted disease that gay and bisexual men are the most vulnerable to infection once again. “We’re here because we’ve watered down prevention messages. Explicit public campaigns about how to stay safe have been replaced with simplistic messages about condoms. If we have learned anything about preventing HIV transmission among gay and bisexual men in the last 25 year we’ve learned this: it’s not about condoms; it’s about dignity. As long as men who have sex with men are at a higher risk for mental illness, trauma, and substance abuse — which they are thanks in large part to the stigma attached to being gay or engaging in gay sex — they are going to be more likely to engage in risky behaviors.” The author goes on to say we are here because of the past decade of abstinence-only sex education. It’s not uncommon for young men who have been sexually active for less than a year to come to a clinic and test HIV positive. “It is at once heartbreaking and maddening.” The author believes we should be funding research into human sexual behavior and influencing habits and change; specifically, prevention efforts for gay and bisexual men. Most of our AIDS prevention funding is diverted to Africa, and the author believes that until we focus more on the effort of overhauling the prevention campaigns for AIDS in America, we will not be able to stem the spread of AIDS in this country.

This article connects to our study of AIDS, and certainly connects to my individual study of Zackie Achmat for the quilt square project; Zackie contracted AIDS as a male prostitute during the ‘80s. This article comes as a real surprise to me, I did not expect, nor would I think anyone, that the gay and bisexual male community is significantly more susceptible to AIDS than others, and I personally question the ratios thrown out there in the article. I agree with what the author says, we need to put ourselves first in the fight against AIDS, rather than focusing most of our effort in Africa; and that we really need an overhaul in the prevention education methods. I found the fact that the author states that “[Gay/bisexual men are at higher risk for mental illness],” fairly offensive. As someone who suffers from mental illness, I can certainly state that it is completely genetic and related to brain chemistry, and is not just brought on by stigma against oneself. Though, I agree with the fact that they are more likely to engage in risky behaviors due to the stigma that is put against them.

At Front Lines, AIDS War Is Falling Apart

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/world/africa/10aids.html?pagewanted=1&sq=epidemics and disease&st=cse&scp=1

This article is written by Donald G McNeil Jr. Mr. McNeil, he has worked for the New York Times since 1976, and has won many awards for his work writing a series on patent monopolies on AIDS in Africa and about six diseases on the brink of eradication. He has also won awards for writing a series about patients suffering from cancer in third world countries are dying without morphine. He has worked for many magazines and has taught journalism at Columbia University.

I found this article very interesting because it relates to our class directly focusing on the war against AIDS. The global fight against AIDS has reached its tipping point, and may be falling in the wrong direction. Mr. McNeil reports that we are losing the war against AIDS. Each year 110,000 new cases turn up in Uganda alone. Comparing this with the 500,000 people needed to be treated, and with the facts that only 220,000 can be treated right now looks like a disaster in the making. These numbers are scary enough, but one becomes terrified when these numbers only represent the fight in Uganda. U.S donors have been making a "superhuman effort" to try and fight back against this disease, but unfortunately we are losing. Donations number around $10 billion a year to the global fight, but it is estimated that it would take at least $27 billion to just get a grip on the issue. We will still be dealing with this epidemic for many years to come, and the possibility of never beating it is coming ever so closer. Of the 33 billion people infected with AIDS, and at the rate of infection a million a year, many are being turned away from treatment because of the tight budget. News that is even more unsettling is the fact that because of the economic struggles donations have dropped. Meaning many patients once being treated no longer can get the treatment they need to stay alive. Causing the disease to take over their bodies and drive them to their deaths. Also with the stoppage of treatment many will die. Many have resulted with sharing pills with others which will lead to the death of both parties. Also with not continuing treatment many could develop drug resistant AIDS, and pass that on, thus making it even harder to fight off.

Many Americans have reached such a high point of frustration that many have turned to donating their money to help fight other diseases. Now many have shifted their focus to fight off child-killers and still birth. Many doctors feel on the other hand that the AIDS epidemic is much more important to fight because it infects 2 million people each year. Those other diseases can be fought off using antibiotics, and other treatments. Many donors think they are saving more people by focusing on these diseases instead of AIDS because they believe that they cannot beat AIDS. This frustrates doctors who have given hope to so many over the past ten years only to have the money be cut, and have to turn away patients. Mr. Sidibé said, “The whole hope I’ve had for the last 10 years will disappear.” The cavalry is not coming people, and for those millions of people in the future who will be infected with this disease, most of you will not be able to get treated. There has been no magic bullet that will stop AIDS and no miracle is in sight. The director-general of Uganda AIDS Commission Dr. David Kihumuro Apuuli says, "You cannot mop the floor when the tap is still running on it.” this quote really explains how everyone is feeling about this epidemic.

It is very easy to relate this article to what we have been studying in class. After spending a unit on AIDS one gets a better picture about how troubling it is to get rid of. I found that this article reinforces that fears that we all share about AIDS. It terrifying to think that in 2031 we will still be tangling with this monster of an epidemic with no end in sight. Only having the sight of billions dead from this non forgiving disease with the wish that we did more to fight it. We have to do something about this growing problem, or else it could turn even harder to get rid of. We cannot simply look the other way and allow this beast to consume the entire world, and live under the threat of its fist bringing our down fall. This is simply one beast we most tangle with in the world of epidemics, and the future is not looking promising. We can only hope that a medical miracle can come soon to save our lives before it is too late.

Take your medicine!

I read an article titled Take as Directed which was written by Stephen Smith on www.Boston.com May 10, 2010. (http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2010/05/10/millions_of_patients_skip_drug_doses_or_never_get_prescriptions/?page=2) The article talks about how patients which have been prescirbed medicine for heart disease, cholestoral issues, blood pressure problems, etc. all over the US have been known for putting off taking medicine all the time. Recently in some places, the usual rate of missed doses was 22% ! Some hospitals have started doing experiments by rewarding the patients for taking their medicine. One hospital made it so that when patients opened their pill compartments on the right schedule, they had a chance to win $3 to $100. This lowered the usual rate of missed doses from 22% to 2%! An incredible drop of 20%. The article also talks about how in some cases doctors would go to patients houses to help them take their medication, and to make sure that it was taken at all. A case of this was with a woman named Carole Connolley,71, which was diagnosed with 2 forms of diabetes. She was prescribed to a certain insulin, as well as other medications. At first, a nurse went to her house to help her with the medications 3-4 times a week, now however Connolley takes the medications on her own. Before she was allowed to leave the hospital she was spoken to about how important it is for her to take all of the medications she was told to.“The health consequences are so enormous and the expenses are so enormous that we’re trying some of these innovative methods on clinical conditions with the greatest return of investment,’’ said Dr. Peter Berger

After reading this article, i knew right away that this was the perfect article to connect with our class. We have learned so much about Haiti in the past couple of weeks, and how Paul Farmer and the Partners in Health work extremely hard day and night on making sure that their patients take their medications. I know myself that it's extremely hard to take the whole dose of medicine when you are prescribed to it, especially when you start feeling better, and feeling that the symptoms are going away. When i was taking antibiotics for lime disease last summer, i began feeling better within 3 days of starting to take the medicine, but my doctor kept telling me that i needed to take all the pills before i was 100% safe. I never understood this until I learned that this is how bacteria/viruses become immune to certain antibiotics.

I loved this article because it shows how much ignorance their is when it comes to medicine. Everyone stops doing the thing that makes them feel ill, but medicine is one of the rare things that should be taken even when it makes you feel worse at the time. In the article someone talks about how they wanted to stop taking the medicine because it made them feel sick, this is ironic because in the long run it is helping them, but it is natural for someone to stop taking something when it starts making them feel sick. The article shows controversey because most dont want to believe that their is ignorance in such an important field. Articles like this however will help to clear things up.

AIDS Golden Window Is Slowly Closing !

This article is called At Front Lines, AIDS War Is Falling Apart by Donald G. McNeil Jr. who is a science and health reporter who specializes in plagues and pestilences, it was published on May 9th 2010, and this is from the New York Times magazine http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/world/africa/10aids.html?scp=1&sq=epidemic%20disease&st=cse

This article is about how the war on global AIDS is falling apart as more and more each day people are not being able to afford the drugs they need for treatment, and how there are no drugs to even treat the people in Uganda. The article starts with Dinavance Kamukama she is infected with AIDS and its so bad that her kidneys are failing and she cant even barely walk. She states that so many people are depending on the help of Americans and wonder if they cannot help her? McNeil states that the past decade has been considered a "golden window" where as drugs that costed 12,000 were being lowered to as little as 100 which were being payed by Americans, but that the window is now closing. Which cause people to be put on a waiting list for drugs that most cant even get on until a patient dies. An American run program in Mozambique has been told to stop opening up clinics because of drug shortages. They state that the collapse was set off by the global recession's effects on the donors and that more lives would be saved if they fought other cheaper diseases.

In Uganda there are over 500,000 that need treatment, 200,000 that are getting it, but each year, an additional 110,000 are infected. Dr. Kihumuro who is the director-general of the Uganda AIDS commission states that “You cannot mop the floor when the tap is still running on it,” which is very true because you try so hard to treat these people and keep them from getting worse but then each day a new case is found and is even stronger than the last on.

I thought this article was very sad to think about because it is so easy for us to just go to the doctors and get seen and treated for almost anything that is wrong with us but these people get put on ridiculous waiting lists that are almost impossible to get on. This article makes me think about the importance of staying safe aand how much a little education can go because im pretty sure most of these cases could have been prevented.

China Lifts Bans on Traveling for H.I.V Infected

China Lifts Ban on Visitors Who Are H.I.V. Positive

By Michael Wines

Published: April 28, 2010

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/world/asia/28aids.html?ref=policy

“China has lifted a two-decade ban on travel to the country by people who carry the virus that causes AIDS or who have other sexually transmitted diseases.”

The Chinese government has amended a 1986 law governing quarantines as well as a 1989 law regulating entry by foreigners. Before their amendment, these laws prohibited people infected with H.I.V. from entering the country of China. The government has lifted a ban on travel to the country by people with leprosy as well. These changes where reported by the Chinese State Council on its website on Tuesday, April 27, 2010. Premier Wen Jiabao signed decrees putting the new laws into effect on April 24 after the council’s standing committee approved the changes on April 19.

These changes make the official ban on travel applicable only to those who have infectious tuberculosis, serious mental disorders or “infectious diseases which could possibly greatly harm the public health.” In the past, China has made exceptions and temporarily lifted the ban for major events such as the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This time around, the law itself has been amended, indicating that the change will be permanent. According to UNICEF, somewhere between 450,000 and one million Chinese citizens are infected with H.I.V. virus, around 75,000 of which have developed AIDS. Sex workers, migrant workers and residents of some border areas, like the Yunnan province in southwest China, where most drugs are smuggled into the country are among those most commonly infected with the virus.

China is not the only country that has recently revised their laws pertaining to travel bans. In January 2010, the United States dropped its own ban that prevented those with the H.I.V. virus from entering the country. This ban had been in effect for 22 years.

This article caught my interest due to the mention of tuberculosis and the start of the AIDS unit today in class. I was most surprised at the fact that the Chinese government lifted the travel bans temporarily for big events but had not considered permanently changing the law until recently. I think it is a good change but I also think it could lead to huge problems for China in the future. At this point, China has a considerably lower rate of infected citizens than most of its neighboring countries and I feel that this amendment could quickly change that. The bans may not seem fair to the people affected by them but they are put into effect by countries to protect their citizens from becoming infected with harmful diseases.