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

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Vitamin A Supplements Do Not Reduce Maternal Mortality Vitamin A supplements given to women of childbearing age do not reduce their risks of dying as a result of pregnancy or childbirth, according to a research study conducted in seven districts of Ghana over a period of 10 years with more than 200 000 women, half of whom received a low regular dose of vitamin A, the other half taking an identical-looking placebo containing no vitamin A. Professor Betty Kirkwood of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine talks about her research findings with Peter Goodwin and explains how health system planners can now consider alternative ways of protecting mothers.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Avoiding A Silent Killer: Simple Blood And Urine Test To Detect Early Kidney Disease A simple, affordable, test for kidney disease could save lives according to a massive study combining research from among more than a million people in Europe, Asia, North America and Australia. Dorothea Nitsch from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine tells Peter Goodwin about their findings.

The meeting of world experts on malaria — held at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine — heard about fighting the global battle against malaria with well-organised health systems to deliver drug cures to those who need them and about the importance of communicating knowledge to the public. Sarah Maxwell hears a world-wide perspective from David Bell, Medical Officer of the WHO Global Malaria Programme; from Shunmay Yeung of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine on techniques being developed to help cope with the threat of drug resistance; and from Sarah Kline about:”Malaria No More UK” an organisation tackling malaria in Africa by raising funds and awareness in the United Kingdom and beyond.

A special meeting of leading world experts on malaria — held at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine — heard that eradication of the disease is a viable global goal and that the challenge of using the effective known drugs and developing new ones can be met. Brian Greenwood, Professor of Tropical Medicine at the School, told Sarah Maxwell about recent developments which are bringing so much hope.

An international group of scientists has found that one of the common types of malaria parasite — plasmodium ovale — is actually two completely different species, but living side by side in the same human communities. One of the researchers involved with the discovery (just published in the Journal of Infectious Disease), Colin Sutherland of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, explains to Sarah Maxwell how this finding is not only interesting scientifically but could also help in the global fight against malaria.

New ways of delivering healthcare — discussed at a conference in London — promise to save millions of lives in poor countries. The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine conference entitled; “Delivering Effective Health Care For All; New Evidence” held a workshop on the topic of: “Patient Centred Care” chaired by Kamran Siddiqi, from Leeds University. He explained to Peter Goodwin how scientifically tailoring care systems to patients’ needs is more effective — and saves more lives — than simply building impressive hospitals and health centres and hoping that patients can adapt to them.

New evidence on how to deliver health care for all — particularly in poor countries — was presented at a conference held in London. Kara Hanson of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine explained how improving the health systems which deliver care to ordinary people is needed if the health improvements made possible by new treatments and diagnostic tests are to be achieved. She discusses the findings of the research group she directs: the Consortium for Research on Equitable Health Systems (CREHS), funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

When breakthrough discoveries are made in health science — which could save many lives — they are often not put into routine practice around the world until many years later, according to Andy Haines, Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. He explained why this can happen and how it can be overcome at the 5th International Conference on Primary Health Care held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Targeted Approach To Home Hygiene: Best For Preventing Deadly Infections A report just published by the UK-based International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene has highlighted three key measures for preventing the transmission of life-threatening infections such as diarrhoea. Chair of the Forum Professor Sally Bloomfield, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, explains how a family-orientated approach to hygiene targeting "infection super-highways" around the home can give protection without over-exposing the environment to chemicals.

The huge success of the Distance Learning Programme from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine was celebrated recently at the School building in Keppel Street with a party, followed the next day by the graduation ceremony. The School's Dean of Studies Sharon Huttly explains what all the excitement was about, while LSHTM Director, Andy Haines, discusses the need for effective distance learning to fulfil global goals for public health. The guest speaker, Professor Fred Binka, Dean of the University of Ghana School of Public Health — and recipient the same weekend of the prestigious Ronald Ross Medal awarded in recognition of his distinguished contributions to tropical medicine — adds his reflections on the importance of having a method of learning which does not require students to leave their jobs or their countries.

Chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes are now so common in poor countries that they threaten the Millennium Development Goals for achieving significant progress on infectious diseases, and on child and maternal mortality by 2015. According to a report by scientists from London, Oxford and San Francisco, published in the journal PLoS Medicine, non–communicable diseases — common in rich countries — are now also taking their toll in poor countries, and — along with HIV — undermining the goals. Co-author, Martin McKee of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, discusses the findings.

Health workers in the developing world may need to test adolescents routinely for HIV acquired "vertically" — through mother-to-child transmission, following findings published in the medical journal; Public Library of Science – Medicine. Nearly half of a group of three hundred patients between the ages of 10 and 18, admitted to hospital in Zimbabwe for any reason, tested positive for HIV. And the absence of herpes simplex infection in the majority of these — along with other factors — clearly indicates that sex was not the principal means of transmission. Rashida Ferrand discusses the findings of her London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine team working jointly with the Biomedical Research Institute in Harrare.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Surviving Heatwaves: Shower, Drink Water...And Perhaps Have A Beer! With hundreds of thousands of people at risk of dying in unexpected heat-waves the latest advice on protecting yourself has been reviewed by a joint Canadian/British team in The Lancet medical journal. Shakoor Hajat of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine tells Peter Goodwin that showering and drinking plenty of fluids is good, but — contrary to the usual advice — you could also allow yourself the occasional light beer in very hot weather.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Finding The London School Expert You Need: Rockefeller Grant Awarded For Global Tracking It will soon be easier to track the public health expert you need in around 190 different countries thanks to a Rockefeller Foundation grant awarded to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to strengthen its network of more than 12 000 former students and staff all over the world. Alice Perry tells Peter Goodwin about their aims to improve the availability of public health experts particularly in low-income countries.

Professor Polly Roy discusses her team’s new vaccines for bluetongue: a lethal midge-borne disease of sheep, which is related to human diseases, including rotavirus infection. The vaccines — one already under development by a pharmaceutical company, the other at an advanced stage of laboratory testing — have been designed at the molecular level following clarification of the gene structures within the bluetongue virus. This makes them intrinsically safe to use, avoiding the need to use weakened forms of the actual virus for inoculation.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Darfur Conflict: Infections Were More Lethal Than The Violence Infectious disease such as diarrhoea and pneumonia have killed 80 per cent of around 300 000 people dying as a direct result of the war in Darfur, according to study published in The Lancet from a Belgian group led by Olivier Degomme. An editorial comment on this research was written by Francesco Checchi of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who specialises in infectious diseases. He discusses the implications with Peter Goodwin.

Professor Anne Mills of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine explains to Peter Goodwin how health systems development in Thailand has achieved healthcare coverage for all citizens, irrespective of ability to pay. Following her award of the Prince Mahidol Prize for Medicine — and in the light of the work she has done in Asia and Africa — she discusses how the Thai experience could give lessons for developing health systems in low and middle income countries in other parts of the world.

Peter Godfrey-Faussett of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, co-chair of a session on tuberculosis control at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 58th Annual Meeting, describes the Zamstar Intervention in Southern Africa with 24 communities and 1.2 million people. He talks with Peter Goodwin about the need to involve and support local communities and local teams in order to have success in controlling TB by applying known methods systematically through good organisation.

Albert Picado of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on his goups findings presented at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 58th Annual Meeting, Washington DC, that insecticide-treated bed-nets did not prevent infection with leishmania donovani parasites—cause of the deadly visceral leishmaniasis—transmitted by the bite of the sandfly. He told Peter Goodwin about the study in India and Nepal in which they compared villages with and without bednets.

Carlton Evans of the Universidad Peruana-Cayetana-Heredia in Lima, Peru and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine talked with Peter Goodwin about his group’s finding—presented at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Meeting—that women are just as likely to have TB as men: contrary to popular belief. He probes the reasons for this and emphasises the importance of prioritising the position of women in the poor communities where TB is prevalent.