Published32 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, GSKBy Naomi GrimleyHealth CorrespondentScientists have found a naturally occurring strain of bacteria which can help stop the transmission of malaria from mosquitoes to humans. They found it by chance, after a colony of mosquitoes in one experiment did not develop the malaria parasite.The researchers say the bacteria could be a new tool for fighting one of the world’s oldest diseases, which kills 600,000 people every year. Trials assessing its safety in the real world are now taking place.Scientists at a research facility in Spain, run by the GSK pharmaceutical company, made the discovery after noticing that a colony of mosquitoes being used for drug development had stopped carrying malaria. “The infection rate in the mosquitoes started dwindling and so by the end of the year the mosquitoes just would not be infected with the malaria parasite,” says Dr Janneth Rodrigues, who led the programme. The team froze the samples from their 2014 experiment and went back to them two years later to explore what had happened. US health alert over malaria cases in Florida and TexasBelize declared free from malaria by health chiefsGhana first to approve ‘world-changer’ malaria vaccineFurther studies revealed that a specific strain of bacteria – TC1 – which is naturally present in the environment, had stopped the development of the malaria parasites in the gut of the mosquitoes. “Once it colonises the mosquito, it lasts for the entire lifespan,” says Dr Rodrigues.”And we found out that, yes, it is the bacteria which was responsible for reducing transmission in those mosquitoes.” Image source, GSKNew data published in Science magazine suggests the bacteria can reduce a mosquito’s parasite load by up to 73%.The bacteria works by secreting a small molecule, known as harmane, which inhibits the early stages of the malaria parasite growing in the mosquito’s gut. In conjunction with Johns Hopkins University, the GSK scientists discovered that harmane can either be ingested orally by the mosquito, if mixed with sugar, or absorbed through its cuticle on contact. This lays open the possibility of treating surfaces in areas where the insects rest with the active compound.End the threatMore trials are now taking place at a contained field research facility called MosquitoSphere in Burkina Faso to assess how effective and safe it would be to use harmane at scale in the real world. The hope is that by developing this bacteria-based intervention into a product, scientists may soon have another tool in the box against one of the world’s oldest diseases. Malaria kills about 620,000 people a year – often children under the age of five. Vaccines have now been developed, but they are still in the early stages of being rolled out in Africa. Gareth Jenkins, from the charity Malaria No More, said the new discovery was promising. “Malaria kills a child every minute. Significant progress has been made in reducing the global burden of malaria, but to get us back on track we need new and innovative tools in the arsenal. “With a strong innovation pipeline, it is possible to end the threat of malaria in our lifetimes.”More on this storyHealth alert issued over malaria spread in the USPublished27 JuneBelize declared free from malaria by health chiefsPublished21 JuneGhana first to approve ‘world-changer’ malaria vaccinePublished13 April

Published2 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingBy Naomi GrimleyGlobal Health CorrespondentKnocking on doors to check on people’s health and catch problems before they escalate is common practice across Brazil. But could that approach work in the UK?Comfort and Nahima are on their regular beat around Churchill Gardens, a council estate in the Pimlico neighbourhood of London.Dressed in blue fleeces with logos, they steadily climb the concrete staircases of each block on the estate. Comfort, a retired nurse, is off to see 88-year-old Stanley Smithson. He says “loneliness is a very frightening aspect of old age” which he had not anticipated until one of his daughters moved to New Zealand. He jokes Comfort’s visits are exactly that – a comfort. “She’s keeping an eye on me. I notice she’s discreetly taking notes because she’s making her own observations,” he said.”And then – before I know it – I’m being asked to go into the surgery for a blood test or something.”Comfort and Nahima are two out of four door-knockers on this small patch, visiting residents as part of a proactive community healthcare pilot. They can help with anything from housing issues which impact health, such as overcrowding, or pick up the early signs of diabetes by chatting informally to residents about their lifestyle. It is an approach to healthcare which has been successful in the poorer parts of Brazil.Comfort can give practical assistance too – she once helped Stanley get handrails fixed in his bathroom after he had a hip operation. She points out the job is supposed to have a broad remit. “We’re not just talking about health. We go beyond health. We can liaise with housing and we’ll talk about anything and everything,” she said.Above all, she has time to listen which she says GPs do not always have given the strict time limit on appointments. Nahima is also going house to house and is not deterred by sometimes having the odd door slammed in her face. She says it is a job that requires patience but she has already seen a concrete way her role can make a difference to community health after she solved the puzzle of why the estate had low take-up of cervical screening tests. “We had a number of women who, because they come from different ethnic populations, thought that a smear test would cost them money,” she said. “When we started there were quite low numbers coming for smear tests but since then they have shot up.”These community health workers are partly funded by the local authority and partly by the NHS so they can co-ordinate between the local GP surgery and other social services. The National Institute for Health Research helped crunch the data from the pilot. Households which had been visited regularly were 47% more likely to have received immunisations and 82% more likely to have taken up cancer screening, compared to other areas. The idea to import this model to the UK came from Dr Matthew Harris, a public health expert at Imperial College London who worked as a GP in Brazil for four years. There, community health workers have been credited with achieving a drop of 34% in cardiovascular deaths. “In Brazil they have scaled this role to such degree that they have 270,000 community health workers across the whole country, each of which looks after 150 households, visiting them at least once a month,” Dr Harris said. “They’ve seen extraordinary outcomes in terms of population health in the last two or three decades. We think we’ve got a lot to learn from that.”At the local surgery in Pimlico, Dr Connie Junghans-Minton is convinced the pilot is having an effect as there are now fewer requests for appointments which do not really need the doctor, such as requests for housing letters. She says she likes the fact that the community healthcare workers are her eyes and ears on the estate. “They have discovered real medical problems in the community which wouldn’t have come to our attention otherwise,” she said. “In the olden days it used to be the village GP who knew everyone, but we don’t have that anymore and we can’t go back to that. This initiative feels to me like it could be a natural way forward.” Already, other areas of the country are copying the project – similar schemes have already been implemented in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, and Warrington, Cheshire, by local primary care networks. Parts of Norfolk and Cornwall are also interested in following suit. It would cost £300m to roll it out in the poorest areas of England, according to Imperial College London, but advocates point out it could save lots of money down the line. More on this storyMillions wait more than a fortnight to see a GP21 April’The phone rings all day – the pressure is huge’4 January

Published2 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesBy Naomi GrimleyGlobal health correspondentLondon primary-school pupils not fully vaccinated against polio are to be offered catch-up jabs after Easter.The disease, common in the UK in the 1950s, was eliminated by 2003. But poliovirus traces were found in north and east London sewage in early 2022.An emergency vaccination-booster campaign in London last summer reached more than 370,000 children.And in early November, the latest tests found less of the virus – but officials say there is no room for complacency. What is polio and how can you protect yourself?Dr Vanessa Saliba, from the UK Heath Security Agency, told BBC News: “We have early signs that there’s less spread of poliovirus in London – but we will need 12 months of no detections before the World Health Organization could declare that the UK is no longer an infected country.”Polio causes paralysis in a very small number of cases where the virus attacks the nerves in the spine and base of the brain – but most are asymptomatic. Last month, an eight-year-old in northern Israel was paralysed in an outbreak that saw three other children infected. And an unvaccinated man was paralysed by the virus in New York.The vaccination schedule is normally:three doses before the age of onea booster at threeanother booster at 14But only 88% of London children have had three doses by the age of one, compared with 92% in England as a whole.”London is a very bustling, urban metropolis with lots of mobile populations, lots of diverse communities,” Dr Saliba said. “We need to engage with these communities [so] that we get the messages across to them and that we make vaccine as accessible as possible. “This is why the NHS is offering vaccinations through schools to children who have missed out.”More on this storyWhat is polio and how can you protect yourself?10 August 2022Malawi finds Africa’s first wild polio case in years18 February 2022Africa declared free of polio25 August 2020History of polio25 September 2015Related Internet LinksPolio – NHS6-in-1-vaccine-overview – NHSThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Published7 hours agoSharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingBy Naomi GrimleyGlobal health correspondent, DakarAs Africa holds its first ever conference on clubfoot – something about one in 800 people across the world are born with – the BBC visits a health clinic in Senegal to witness a transformative treatment which is turning lives around. Earlier this year, 14-year-old Serigne was reluctant to ever leave the house. He could walk very slowly, but – born with both his feet pointing inwards – he was just too ashamed. Some would make fun of the way he walked, others were afraid and would call him names. But now, less than six months on, his feet are transformed and his dream of playing football for Senegal seems at least possible. Serigne has clubfoot, also known as talipes, and today is another step in the journey to correct that. Every year 200,000 babies are born with clubfoot. According to the charity MiracleFeet, of the nearly 10 million people alive today who were born with it, as many as eight million have never received treatment. Senegal has been a relatively late adopter of Ponseti – a pioneering method of correcting clubfoot named after the Spanish doctor who invented it – compared with some other African countries. Malawi and Uganda, for example, were ahead of many Western countries in recognising its potential. But this means Senegalese medics have perfected the original concept and are now using it to treat teenagers or even adults who thought they had passed the age for any intervention.Serigne’s mother is beaming at her son’s progress. She knows better than anyone the cruel nature of this disability. “One time he even refused to leave home for three days. It caused me so much hurt inside. But now we’re happy.” As part of the Ponseti method, a new plaster cast is put on every week to gradually manipulate the foot into a better position. Because his case is so severe, he has had 20 casts in as many weeks, but the average is between five and eight. As with most cases, towards the end of his treatment a minor operation to release his Achilles tendon has been required, but otherwise this treatment is non-invasive. Better still, it is low cost, doesn’t need to be done by highly-trained surgeons, and is extremely effective – 90% of children receiving help under the age of two with routine cases will be left with good foot function, whereas surgery can lead to complications. The change is truly astonishing when you look at the video footage of Serigne’s shuffle before treatment began. A few days ago, Serigne had his final cast put on. After that, he will need some physiotherapy to help him learn to bear weight on his legs, and he must initially wear short leg braces to keep his feet in position, but his future is very promising. Fatou, another child being treated in this Dakar clinic, has travelled 400 miles (644km) to get the same treatment for her right foot. Today is her 13th birthday but the day is starting with the removal of her fourth cast. The nurses saw through the plaster and then, in a cloud of dust, prise it off her leg. She winces a little, but the clinic’s head nurse, Nicanor Manga, reassures her that some pain is normal and it will be worth it in the end. “We believe that her foot will be corrected and that later on she will be able to walk properly,” he says. “Really, it’s a joy for us,” he smiles. “When we lift the cast off and see the good progress, we’re really happy.”Fatou explains that because she lives in such a remote part of the country, she never expected to get her foot corrected. So she is happy to be patient.School has been hard – watching other children run around and jump – whereas Fatou has been forced to rely on crutches. “Everything I longed to do, I couldn’t. But once I’m cured, I’ll be able to do anything I want.” That includes working towards achieving her new dream of becoming a doctor, so positive has been her experience here.But not everyone is so fortunate. Take 32 year-old Oumou Barry, for example. When we visit her in Lac Rose, a suburb of the Senegalese capital, she shows us her left foot, which is bulky and misshapen. She hobbles on the side of her foot and shooting pain means she can’t walk far. Her life has been marked by the stigma of clubfoot, and she wipes away tears as she recalls her childhood.”I used to ask my mother why I was like this? She would answer me: ‘It’s God’s will’ and ‘You were born like this.'” Oumou has experienced exactly the kind of fatalism that stops many families in Senegal from seeking treatment.She says her toughest time was during her teens, when her friends began wearing heels, but she had to stick to sandals. In the end she dropped out of school – no longer able to cope with the bullying. Even away from spiteful classmates, life was tough. She had to give up on a sewing course when she discovered that operating the sewing machine pedal was just too painful.Oumou has a husband and two children so her life isn’t as isolated as some who have been ostracised because of clubfoot, but she still feels the limitations of a very visible disability which has left her unemployed. “I hold on to nothing concrete,” she weeps. Unfortunately, due to her age and a botched surgery, Oumou is not able to receive Ponseti treatment. Some adults can respond well to Ponseti, but it is more complicated because their feet are less supple. In most cases, the exact causes of congenital clubfoot are still not well understood, although boys are twice as likely than girls to be born with it. The vast majority of global cases are in low and middle income countries, due to high birth rates, and it’s in poorer countries that the condition is most likely to go uncorrected.One woman who has dedicated her life to making sure fewer people reach adulthood with clubfoot is Aisha Mballo. When we meet her, she is walking confidently through a market in the town of Thies, a big picture book under her arm. The book explains clubfoot and how the Ponseti method can correct it. She has come here to seek out cases of clubfoot which might otherwise go undetected. Aisha says her own feet were “completely turned backwards” until, in the 1990s when she was in her mid-teens, she was sent to the US for complex surgery. Now she volunteers as an ambassador for the charity MiracleFeet, championing early screening for newborns. “If people recognise the condition and get their kids out of hiding, we can get them to hospital for treatment.”Rosalind Owen of the Global Clubfoot Initiative, who has studied the perception of clubfoot in Africa, says that in traditional communities there are “huge problems with stigma”. “People think you were cursed, or had witchcraft against you, or perhaps that your parents did wrong.” This can include, she says, a belief that the mother committed adultery and this is the punishment. Still, fewer than 20% of clubfoot cases are receiving treatment at birth in Senegal, so there’s a lot of room for improvement. Before leaving Thies, we drop in on another clinic to see a two-week-old baby girl getting a new plaster cast.The doctors and nurses are winding bandages around her tiny legs and then smoothing down wet plaster on top.This is the ideal time to correct clubfoot.In the waiting room, a two-year-old boy, possibly a budding footballer, is kicking a juice carton around. He’s a little unsteady – with one foot still turned inward – but at least he’s getting the treatment he needs.Photography and additional reporting by Gabriella O’Donnell, Nick Loomis and Borso TallRelated Internet LinksClub foot – NHS ChoicesThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Published8 hours agoSharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesA health official in New York State has told the BBC there could be hundreds or even thousands of undiagnosed cases of polio there. It follows an announcement last month that an unvaccinated man had been paralysed by the virus in Rockland County, New York.His case has been linked genetically to traces of polio virus found in sewage in London and Jerusalem. Developed countries have been warned to boost vaccination rates.Dr Patricia Schnabel Ruppert, health commissioner for Rockland County, said she was worried about polio circulating in her state undetected. “There isn’t just one case of polio if you see a paralytic case. The incidence of paralytic polio is less than 1%,” she said. “Most cases are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, and those symptoms are often missed. “So there are hundreds, perhaps even thousands of cases that have occurred in order for us to see a paralytic case.”What is polio and how can you protect yourself?The truth behind polio rumours spreading onlineDr Ruppert confirmed that scientists are looking at “a linkage” between the New York paralysis case and traces of poliovirus found in wastewater in London and Jerusalem, after genome sequencing was conducted on samples from the three locations. “This is a very serious issue for our global world – it’s not just about New York. We all need to make sure all our populations are properly vaccinated,” she said. Vaccine-derived polioThe US man who was paralysed has a form of “vaccine-derived” polio, which occurs because some countries use a weakened form of the virus in their vaccinations. In rare cases, it can mutate and then be transmitted through poor hygiene to others who are unvaccinated. Global travel means these cases can crop up in countries which are not used to seeing polio, but where there are pockets of low vaccination. Although weaker than the original or “wild” form of the disease, vaccine-derived polio can still cause serious illness. The virus can attack the nerves in the spine and base of the brain. This can cause paralysis, usually in the legs, but if the breathing muscles are affected too, it can also be life-threatening.The US and most developed countries use a newer form of the vaccine, which does not contain any live virus. Dr Ruppert said she never thought she would see a case of polio in the US in her lifetime. Some areas of Rockland County have historically low vaccination rates of only 60%. In 2018, there was an outbreak of measles there. Field teams are now being sent into these areas to encourage better uptake of polio vaccination, particularly in children.In the UK, more testing is currently being carried out after traces of polio virus were found over several weeks at Beckton sewage works during wastewater surveillance. The UK Health Security Agency is expected to release more details soon about which areas of London are most affected.More on this storyPolio virus found in New York wastewater6 days agoUS reports first polio case in nearly a decade21 JulyThe truth behind polio rumours spreading online25 JuneWhat is polio and how can you protect yourself?23 JunePolio virus detected in London sewage samples22 June

SharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesGordon Brown has warned that the world risks “sleepwalking” into another Covid variant crisis if it does not increase vaccinations in low-income countries. Wealthier countries needed to share the cost of global vaccinations, tests and treatments, he told the BBC.Speaking before an international Covid summit on Thursday, the former UK prime minister said the world had become “complacent” about the virus. US President Joe Biden is due to host the virtual summit at the White House.He does so at a time when Congress has failed to approve key funds earmarked for the global pandemic response. Campaigners fear that could mean other countries will not offer extra money either, leaving the push for better vaccine coverage around the world without momentum.Mr Brown, who is a World Health Organization (WHO) ambassador on health finance, said the numbers were “shocking”. “Only 11% have been vaccinated in low-income countries and we set a target of 70%,” he said.”Tragically, we are sleepwalking into the next variant, and political leaders are still not listening to the medical advice that is still there – that we’ve got to increase vaccination, continue to test at a high level, and provide the new treatments available.”‘Come back to haunt them’Mr Brown said that if wealthy countries did not pay for what is needed now, they might face huge economic costs later if a more lethal variant emerges in low-income countries and is detected too late.He also said daily testing in poorer countries was only averaging five tests per 100,000 people, rather than the goal of 100 per 100,000, as suggested by the WHO.Congress has so far been reluctant to approve extra funds of $5bn (£4bn) for international vaccination programmes. Mr Brown and other former leaders have written to Mr Biden urging the United States to keep up the momentum on the global vaccination push. Mr Brown said: “I think the Americans have forgotten that if they take no action, then the virus will spread from places that are least vaccinated and least protected, and it will come back to haunt them – even if they’ve been vaccinated four times.”The WHO says there’s a $15bn financing gap which richer countries need to fill collectively if the developing world is to have the right tools to fight the pandemic properly. But pressure groups are not expecting countries like the UK to allocate any more money than it has already.In Africa, more than 45 faith leaders have also called for “immediate action to address the massive inequalities in the global pandemic response”. In a joint statement, the religious leaders point out that only one in five Africans has received their first dose of vaccine, while high-income countries are rolling out third and fourth doses. The Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, is one of those urging world politicians “not to see this as just a number, but as a reminder that each statistic represents a human being who deserves dignity and the ability to thrive in a post-pandemic world”.More on this storyTrue Covid pandemic death toll is 15 million – WHOWhy India’s real Covid toll may never be knownGlobal vaccine rollout a stain on our soul – BrownHow Covid funds went missing in DR Congo – reportVaccine hold-ups risk new Covid wave in DR Congo

SharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, ReutersFormer prime minister Gordon Brown says the failure to distribute vaccines to poorer countries is a “stain on our global soul”. He said people were realising coronavirus would “come back to haunt” every country, without a push to get the whole world vaccinated next year. So far, eight billion Covid vaccines have been administered worldwide.But of those, the vast majority have been given in high and middle-income countries. Vaccinations: More than 50 nations miss target set by the WHOOmicron variant: Are low vaccination rates in South Africa a factor?Brown: £22bn for Covid vaccines ‘small price to pay’The World Health Organization (WHO) says 98 countries have not yet met the target of vaccinating 40% of their populations.About three-quarters of the population have received a vaccine in the UK, US and France, and 80% in Japan. In Nigeria only one in 20 people has been jabbed, and in Ethiopia the figure is just 8%.Only one in four African healthcare workers has been vaccinated. Some have linked low vaccination rates to the emergence of new coronavirus variants such as Omicron, first identified in South Africa and now spreading rapidly across the world.Millions more deathsIn an interview with the BBC World Service, Mr Brown said the uneven distribution of Covid vaccines “is one of the greatest policy failures of our times” and had been caused by wealthy countries hoarding and stockpiling vaccines. He predicted another five million people could die from the virus worldwide if better vaccine access was not achieved soon. Mr Brown, who was prime minister from 2007 to 2010, said: “It’s really a stain on our global soul and it affects us all – because I think people are beginning to realise that if we allow the disease to spread in poor countries and the virus mutates, it comes back to haunt even the fully-vaccinated.”He argued it was an achievable task, saying: “We have the technology. We have the expertise and we’re producing 1.5 billion vaccines now a month. We could get them out to people and we will all suffer if we don’t do this.”Image source, ReutersMr Brown said he hoped world leaders would come together and agree to make the distribution of vaccines a priority at the start of 2022. He also wants more funding for fragile healthcare systems, and better distribution of testing equipment and treatments for Covid-19.Mr Brown said that, as a father of teenage boys, he felt sorry for the young who had had a year or two taken out of their lives. Ensuring fairer access to vaccines, he argued, would be well worth it in economic terms given the trillions of dollars at stake in global trade – as well as improving everyone’s mental health. On Wednesday, a top WHO official said she believed the world was still in the “middle” of the pandemic. Dr Maria Van Kerkhove said: “Getting vaccines to those who need them most must be a priority for every single government – not just some.”If we don’t, we will continue to see the virus change and threaten us in ways that will bring us closer to the beginning rather than closer to the end.”

SharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, AFPThe Covid pandemic will “go on for a year longer than it needs to” because poorer countries are not getting the vaccines they need, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.Dr Bruce Aylward, senior leader at the WHO, said it meant the Covid crisis could “easily drag on deep into 2022”.Less than 5% of Africa’s population have been vaccinated, compared to 40% on most other continents.The UK has delivered more than 10 million vaccines to countries in need.It has pledged a total of 100 million.More than 50 countries missing Covid vaccine targetCovax: How many Covid vaccines have the US and the other G7 countries pledged?Covid vaccines: How fast is progress around the world?The original idea behind Covax was that all countries would be able to acquire vaccines from its pool, including wealthy ones. But most G7 countries decided to hold back once they started making their own one-to-one deals with pharmaceutical companies.The vast majority of Covid vaccines overall have been used in high-income or upper middle-income countries. Africa accounts for just 2.6% of doses administered globally. The group of charities, which includes Oxfam and UNAids, also criticised Canada and the UK for procuring vaccines for their own populations via Covax, the UN-backed global programme to distribute vaccines fairly.Official figures show that earlier this year the UK received 539,370 Pfizer doses while Canada took just under a million AstraZeneca doses. Dr Aylward appealed to wealthy countries to give up their places in the queue for vaccines in order that pharmaceutical companies can prioritise the lowest-income countries instead.He said wealthy countries needed to “stocktake” where they were with their donation commitments made at summits such as the G7 meeting in St Ives this summer. “I can tell you we’re not on track” he said. “We really need to speed it up or you know what? This pandemic is going to go on for a year longer than it needs to.”The People’s Vaccine – an alliance of charities – has released new figures suggesting just one in seven of the doses promised by pharmaceutical companies and wealthy countries are actually reaching their destinations in poorer countries. Image source, BBC NewsOxfam’s Global Health Adviser, Rohit Malpani, acknowledged that Canada and the UK were technically entitled to get vaccines via this route having paid into the Covax mechanism, but he said it was still “morally indefensible” given that they had both obtained millions of doses through their own bilateral agreements. “They should not have been acquiring these doses from Covax,” he said. “It’s nothing better than double-dipping and means that poorer countries which are already at the back of the queue, will end up waiting longer.” The UK government pointed out it was one of the countries which had “kick-started” Covax last year with a donation of £548m. The Canadian government was keen to stress that it had now ceased to use Covax vaccines. The country’s International Development Minister, Karina Gould, said: “As soon as it became clear that the supply we had secured through our bilateral deals would be sufficient for the Canadian population, we pivoted the doses which we had procured from Covax back to Covax, so they could be redistributed to developing countries.” Covax originally aimed to deliver two billion doses of vaccines by the end of this year, but so far it has shipped 371m doses.SHOULD ONE ORGANISATION HAVE SO MUCH INFLUENCE?: Stephen Nolan investigates the power of StonewallTHE AWARD FOR MENDING THE PLANET: What is the Earthshot Prize?