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

LONDON—Success was celebrated at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine with a pre-Graduation Day party for students from around the world who have been working for their degrees and diplomas in the School’s Distance Learning programme. Dean of Studies Sharon Huttly discusses the importance of having 2 800 students in the programme who live in 140 countries and who outnumber those studying in London. Students and graduates Araksya Hovhannesyan, Boris Rebac, Egwuonwu Chidoziem, Enas Newire, and Colin Meghoo tell their reasons for choosing distance learning; tutor Sue Stirling gives a flavour of the tutorial process conducted between staff and students physically located in different parts of the globe; James Ransom of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission explains the reasons why his UK government-funded body is convinced of the benefits — both internationally and to the UK — of continuing to provide scholarships for able distance learners wherever they may live

HEIDELBERG—High maternal mortality rates in Africa could be reduced if all women delivered in a setting where a midwife or doctor can provide skilled care in case of complications. However, millions of women in Africa give birth at home. Two key factors influencing choice of delivery place are the distance from women’s homes to the closest health centre, and the quality of emergency obstetric care provided there, according to a study in rural Zambia published in the journal: PLoS Medicine. Sabine Gabrysch from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Institute of Public Health in Heidelberg discusses her findings and their implications for reducing maternal mortality.

LONDON—A plea for improved field-diagnostic methods for TB has been made in the scientific journal: Nature Reviews: Microbiology. Ruth McNerney of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine tells Audio News that better tests are needed because tuberculosis kills two million people every year even though it is curable. In the article she co-wrote with Peter Daley, from Memorial University, Newfoundland, Canada, she has assessed the “point of care” diagnostic tests available so far and examined what needs to be done to improve TB diagnosis — especially in resource-poor settings.

LONDON/DELHI—India’s rapid economic growth should be harnessed to provide healthcare for all by the year 2020 according to doctors and health system leaders who met together at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to launch a special “India Edition” of the medical journal The Lancet. Professor Vinod Paul from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi told Sarah Maxwell how this should be achieved and why universal healthcare in areas such as reproductive and child health is a top priority.

BUKINA FASO, MALI, THE GAMBIA—In three African countries where malaria is seasonal a big research study has shown that 80 per cent more children sleeping under bed-nets were protected from malaria infection when they received short courses of anti-malarial drugs, as compared with those who slept under nets but did not receive active drugs. This suggests that combining two strategies for malaria prevention in children: bed nets and intermittent preventive treatment, could save many lives in regions where malaria is seasonal. Professor Brian Greenwood from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine discusses his group’s findings which add up to important new knowledge to assist the World Health Organisation in it’s quest to reduce malaria deaths around the world.

LONDON—A call for action has been made in the medical journal: The Lancet that India should achieve health care for all by the year 2020. This was discussed at a symposium in the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine held to launch the Lancet’s India special edition at which the five section editors presented their views on the different means by which India can provide health for all. Vikram Patel Professor of International Mental Health at the London School talked with Peter Goodwin about the need to address issues of chronic diseases and injuries in these comprehensive healthcare plans.

LONDON & NEW DELHI—India can achieve universal healthcare for all its citizens by the year 2020 according to Dr A. K. Shiva Kumar, economist and advisor to UNICEF India in New Delhi, who is one of the editors of a special edition of The Lancet medical journal launched at a symposium in the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He explains to Peter Goodwin that the growing Indian economy can provide enough funding to give everybody access to healthcare, despite obstacles to overcome.

NEW DELHI—Although clinical studies have suggested that the cholesterol lowering drugs known as statins could benefit people who are not already ill with cardiovascular disease, this assumption may have been premature — according to the author of a new Cochrane systematic review of the effects of statins. Shah Ebrahim explains to Peter Goodwin how many of the drugs-industry sponsored trials showing statin benefits have shortcomings, and that the cautious advice is to reserve statin therapy for patients who already have heart disease and those at risk of having a heart attack since the side effects of very widespread use of these drugs among healthy low-risk people are not yet fully known.

To prevent AIDS it is essential to identify the factors driving the risk of infection in a particular community, rather than just applying a good — but un-researched — idea or a “one size fits all” approach to your strategy, according to Justin Parkhurst, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who talked at the World AIDS Day symposium held at the School. He tells Sarah Maxwell about the need for tailoring the prevention strategy to match the underlying social and other factors driving HIV infection in any particular community, and he warns that this is context specific: and can differ greatly from one community to another.

The global battle against AIDS needs a ‘Robin Hood Tax’ to raise finance: rich countries need to shoulder the cost of fighting the pandemic in poor countries — as well as at home — in the interests of the whole planet. That’s according to Alvaro Bermejo, Executive Director of the International AIDS Alliance, who talked with Sarah Maxwell about his ideas during a symposium held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on World AIDS Day.

LONDON—Fighting AIDS in the future will need strong action and continued high levels of funding according to experts meeting at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. At a symposium held on World AIDS Day, Professor Geoffrey Garnett of Imperial College, London, talked about the huge practical task facing all countries. He discussed the priorities and options with Derek Thorne.

LONDON—Despite the need for cost savings in the UK economy, the British government is committed to prioritising key strategies for fighting HIV/AIDS both at home and globally, according to Peter Colenso, Head of the Human Development Group in the UK Department for International Development (DFID). At the World AIDS Day symposium held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine he explained to Derek Thorne just how the British effort is being undertaken.

On World AIDS Day, (December 1st, 2010) the Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Peter Piot — formerly head of UNAIDS — speaks out in support of a push for a co-ordinated and well-funded sustained strategic response to the challenge of AIDS. He discusses the importance of World AIDS Day, priorities for the future, and lessons learned from the fight against AIDS which could be applied to the looming confrontation with chronic non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Avoiding Blindness: Swaziland ‘VISION 2020 Links’ Project Points the Way SWAZILAND— Globally, eighty per cent of all blindness is from ‘avoidable’ causes, according to researchers working with the “VISION 2020 Links” programme, which brings together institutions in the UK with hospitals in the developing world, to promote more effective ways of preventing those at risk from going blind. Abi Smith of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine discusses a new project linking professional support staff at the School with the eye clinic team at the Good Shepherd Hospital in Swaziland, and emphasises good organisation of health service systems as one of the most important ways of improving eye health.

On World AIDS Day, (December 1st, 2010) the Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Peter Piot — formerly head of UNAIDS — speaks out in support of a push for a co-ordinated and well-funded sustained strategic response to the challenge of AIDS. He discusses the importance of World AIDS Day, priorities for the future, and lessons learned from the fight against AIDS which could be applied to the looming confrontation with chronic non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

A new book about HIV/AIDS — released for World AIDS Day (1st December, 2010) by the aids2031 group — calls for a sustained strategic response to the global threat of AIDS rather than just crisis management. This idea was originally launched in 2006 by the chief executive of UNAIDS, Professor Peter Piot — now director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Heidi Larsen, Director of aids2031, talks about the prospects for fighting the global epidemic of HIV now and in the future.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Healthy Diets In Rich Countries: Benefits, But Also Losses In Poorer Countries There can be unexpected adverse effects from introducing healthy eating all over the world, according to a leading health economist writing in the medical journal the Lancet. Richard Smith from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine explains how the introduction of healthy eating can impact jobs and industry in low and middle income countries, while in the same countries improvements in health from better eating are less clear than in affluent countries.

ATLANTA—Rapid diagnostic tests for malaria promise to distinguish accurately — and at low cost — patients with fever caused by malaria so that the only patients to receive antimalarial treatment are the ones who truly have the disease. That’s according to the findings of a symposium held to discuss the use of rapid diagnostic tests and artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual meeting held in Atlanta. Two Principal Investigators and the Director of the ACT Consortium — coordinated from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine — were among those taking part: Dr Hugh Reyburn who works in Tanzania, Dr Toby Leslie based in Afghanistan, and the Professor David Schellenberg from London who chaired the discussions. They discuss their findings about the current perceptions and actual use of malaria diagnostics and ACTs in countries where the disease is endemic.

LONDON—The potential danger of future epidemics and pandemics of influenza could be reduced thanks to an on-line survey being conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Ellen Brooks-Pollock and Ken Eames explain how their mathematical models of the spread and severity of ‘flu can help provide predictive information needed to protect the public in the future and be more prepared for emergencies such as the 2009 “swine ‘flu” pandemic.

ATLANTA—The paramount importance of diagnostic testing was highlighted at a session on malaria held at the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia (November 3-7, 2010). Researchers from around the world discussed cheap convenient rapid diagnostic tests and the latest and most sensitive laboratory methods. Clare Chandler of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine — who co-chaired a session on diagnosis in Atlanta — discusses the new tests and the improvements they have brought.