US opposition to UN breastfeeding resolution defies evidence and public health practice

by ihsection, posted in APHA IH Section, Maternal and Child Health, Section Announcements

Statement from Georges Benjamin, MD, Executive Director, American Public Health Association

Washington, D.C., July 9, 2018 – “We are stunned by reports of U.S. opposition to a resolution at the World Health Assembly this spring aimed at promoting breastfeeding. According to news stories, U.S. officials attempted to block a resolution encouraging breastfeeding and warning against misleading marketing by infant formula manufacturers.

“Fortunately, the resolution was adopted with few changes, but it is unconscionable for the U.S. or other government to oppose efforts that promote breastfeeding. The consequences of low rates of breastfeeding are even greater for the health of children in resource-poor countries.

“Breastfeeding is one of the most cost-effective interventions for improving maternal and child health. Breastfeeding provides the best source of infant nutrition and immunologic protection. Babies who are breastfed are less likely to become overweight and obese, and have fewer infections and improved survival during their first year of life. Breastfed infants often need fewer sick care visits, prescriptions and hospitalizations. In addition maternal bonding is increased, a benefit to both mother and child.

“The scientific evidence overwhelmingly supports breastfeeding and its many health benefits for both child and mother. The American Public Health Association has long supported exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and continued breastfeeding through at least the first year of life. APHA also strongly supports policies that encourage breastfeeding at home, maternity hospitals and birth centers and the workplace, and help identify women most in need of support of breastfeeding practices.

“In cases where mothers are unable to breastfeed, there are evidence-based solutions to protect the mom and ensure the baby thrives. The solution to malnutrition and poverty is not infant formula, but improved economic development and access to domestic and international nutrition and food programs.”

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APHA champions the health of all people and all communities. We strengthen the public health profession. We speak out for public health issues and policies backed by science. We are the only organization that influences federal policy, has a nearly 150-year perspective and brings together members from all fields of public health. Learn more at www.apha.org.

Read the latest issue of the IH newsletter, Section Connection!

by ihsection, posted in APHA IH Section

The latest issue of Section Connection, the IH Section quarterly e-newsletter, is now available! You can find the latest issue of the newsletter here: http://bit.ly/SectionConnection8.

If you can’t access the newsletter for any reason please email Theresa Majeski, Global Health Connections Chair, at theresa.majeski@gmail.com.

Attention IH Student Members: Two Interim Student Leadership Opportunities Available; Deadline to apply 7/13

by ihsection, posted in APHA IH Section, Internships and Fellowships, Section Announcements

We currently have two student leadership opportunities! The deadline is Friday, July 13th for interested students to submit a response to this opportunity. Submission details below.

Two Interim Student Leadership Opportunities:

The APHA IH Section Leadership is writing to share a short-term opportunity: our appointed IH Student Committee leaders have had to step down for personal reasons and the IH Section is very interested in recruiting two interim, Acting Co-Chairs of the IH Student Committee.

The purpose of the IH Student Committee is to support and coordinate the efforts of the IH Section to reach out to students and early career professionals interested in careers in international and global health and to facilitate their engagement in IH Section activities. The committee chair is appointed by the IH Section Chair.  Other IH Section student members representing a cross-section of schools of public health, medical schools, and young professionals can be appointed by the committee and IH Section Chair.

Responsibilities of these two positions are not overwhelming, and include the following:

–          Attending IH Section leadership conference call meetings, in order to represent student interests and serve student’s needs with an official voice on leadership meetings (one hour the fourth Thursday of every month)

  • Identifying opportunities to link student members to our standing IH Section committee and working groups in order to develop future leadership for the IH Section
  • Helping to recruit students to take advantage of these identified opportunities
  • Organizing and leading the IH Student Committee meeting at the Annual Meeting, in order to ensure sustainability of IH Student Committee efforts and initiatives
  • As needed /as interested, recruiting a small team of other IH student members to plan and organize any activities of the IH Student Committee throughout the year

The IH Student Committee is formally described in the IH Section Manual, with some additional functions that we will share during a simple orientation for the selected Interim Acting Co-Chairs of the IH Student Committee.

Length of commitment:

These interim positions are a commitment from time of selection (anticipated July or August this summer) through the November 2018 annual meeting. The IH Student Committee traditionally selects new co-chairs and other committee leaders in person at the annual meeting. The Interim Acting Co-Chairs will have the option to submit their names to the IH Student Committee leader selection process for the coming year.

Applicants should be current members and should be planning to attend the Annual Meeting in San Diego this coming November 2018, where they will chair the meeting at which the new IH Student Committee leaders will be selected, to begin serving as of the end of the 2018 Annual Meeting.

Monthly level of effort of commitment:

Effective incumbents for the IH Student Committee co-chair positions have found that this responsibility requires a range of 2-6 hours per month, including participation on the monthly, one-hour IH Section Leadership calls, as well as emails and personal communication with other leaders of the IH Student Committee and full leadership body, as needed to direct and implement activities and initiatives the IH Student Committee may have undertaken.

Instructions to submit your name:

Interested candidates will please email Mary Carol Jennings (current Section Secretary, marycaroljennings@jhu.edu) and Jay Nepal (current co-chair of IH Section Membership Committee, jnepal360@gmail.com) with a very short statement (<200 words) describing your leadership experience and your personal career and networking goals in the field of international health, as well as one concrete accomplishment you would like to undertake in the position of interim co-chair of the IH Student Committee.

Include your phone number and email so that we can contact you if your candidacy is short-listed for this opportunity. 

Deadline for applications: Friday July 13

Chagas: A Bug That Gives More Than Kisses

by publichealthtalks, posted in APHA IH Section

It is definitely feeling like summertime here in America, specifically Texas, where I live. This week, the high temperature reaches 100 degrees Fahrenheit multiple times. During these kinds of summer days, I find myself spending a lot of time outdoors recreationally exploring water holes and hiking. With all the outdoor time, I’ve also come across so many different types of bugs and contemplated how many of these bugs can cause vector-borne infectious diseases. There is one disease in particular that has been at the front of my mind after attending an insightful conference over diseases in nature last month – Chagas disease.

Chagas disease is caused by a parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi and transmitted to people and animals by insects called Triatomines, or more commonly known as “kissing bugs.” Uniquely, these vectors are only found in the Americas (mainly Latin America). The vector, or insect, can infect a person or animal when it takes a blood meal bite near a wound, mouth, eye or other mucus membrane and then deposits feces near the bite. If the human or animal rubs the infected feces into their eye or mucus membrane then the parasite will begin its life cycle, multiply and cause disease.

Chagas disease is tricky to diagnose because it causes mild to no symptoms at all and can go from an acute stage to a relatively quiet chronic stage. Fever and swelling near the bite is common in those that experience symptoms in the acute stage. In some very rare cases, people can experience inflammation of the heart or brain. After the acute stage, most will enter the chronic stage of Chagas disease. Most people will never have any other problems associated with the disease at this point. However, 20-30% can develop life-threatening medical problems associated with the chronic disease including heart rhythm abnormalities, a heart that does not pump correctly, or a dilated esophagus or colon that can cause issues with eating or passing stool. Antiparasitic treatment is recommended for all cases under the age of 50 that have not developed medical problems from the chronic stage. This treatment is typically through the drug nifurtimox or benznidazole.

Chagas diseases does not only affect humans. Dogs have been found to be significantly impacted as well if they ingest bugs or are passed the disease congenitally from their mother. Symptoms in dogs include: fever, loss of appetite, lethargy, swollen lymph nodes, liver or spleen. Many owners don’t notice these symptoms because they are similar to other diseases and resolve over time. If a dog develops a chronic infection, they can develop deadly heart disease which can result in heart failure or sudden death. Unfortunately, there is no medication that has been found to be effective for treating Chagas in dogs and no vaccine against the disease in dogs or humans.

The disease has gotten much attention in the news and public health realm as of recently. CDC deemed it a “neglected tropical disease” and has devoted time to learning more about the disease and its impact. The public health burden of the disease in the United States is uncertain because many states are not required by law to keep track of the number of confirmed cases. As immigration increases in America, specifically from Latin America to the U.S., we are seeing increasing numbers of Chagas reports. In Texas, a research group from A&M that studies kissing bugs extensively has even created a collaborative project where citizens can send in bugs to have identified and be counted for. This study emphasizes the importance of “citizen science” – where the community can contribute to the advancement of scientific research through their participation in the study by sending in insects. They even have provided an interactive map on their website that shows where kissing bugs have been submitted from in the state of Texas.

If you’re interested in seeing a picture of a kissing bug, check out this link from the Texas A&M research site. The photos are taken by Dr. Gabriel Hamer and show the kissing bugs that can be found in Texas as well as the ones found across the United States.

If you live in the Americas, keep your eyes peeled for these bugs this summer and know when to seek care. This article by USA today, hits on some places that the bug can be found including: under porches, cement, in between rock, wood or brush and in outdoor dog houses or chicken coops. If you do come across these bugs and are interested in submitting them to the Texas A&M research team, check out this link. They have a few FAQ’s and reminders on how to handle the bug. Happy summer and bug swatting season!

Global News Round Up

by abbhirami, posted in APHA IH Section, News

Politics & Policies

Early last week, the White House made a number of modifications to its proposed rescission package, including a removal of the recession of $252 million in remaining unobligated Ebola response funding.

The use of medicinal cannabis is to be reviewed, which could lead to more prescriptions of drugs made from plant, the home secretary has said.

Programs, Grants & Awards

The WHO released a version of ICD-11, a vast improvement on ICD-10 which was launched nearly 18 years ago.

London School of Tropical Medicine led consortium has been awarded £ 3million to investigate the impact of human behavior on the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance.

New York city’s health department has launched a public service ad campaign aimed at Chinese men to address the high rates of smoking among them.

Research

Dengue fever is the most prevalent and widespread mosquito-borne disease, and can only be countered by integrated prevention and control strategies, including sustained vector control programs, the best evidence-based clinical care, and vaccination.

Long term survival of patients with recurrent glioblastoma improved significantly with genetically modified polio virus therapy.

Diseases, Disasters & Wars

Governments around the world will not reach the Sustainable Goal Of sharply reducing premature deaths unless “urgent action” is taken, according to a WHO report published today in The Lancet.

A new study shows that a key genetic change the V. cholerae (human cholera pathogen) acquired during the seventh pandemic allows it thrive for 50 years.

A single case of polio has been reported in Papua New Guinea, a country that has been polio free since 2000.

Technology

The FDA-approved wearable device The Embrace analyzes physiological signals to detect seizures. The device aims to change the future of stress management to predict and head off panic attacks.

A computer-generated model allows clinicians to tailor effective therapies for individual patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).

Using lay mHealth workers to develop real time cartography of an epidemic disease in remote villages has great potential, a new study shows

Environmental Health

Triclosan, a common ingredient in toothpaste and thousands of other personal care products, could be worsening the global problem of antibiotic resistance, a new study shows.

Children in the UK, who walk along busy roads in close proximity to fumes from vehicle exhaust, are exposed to 30% more air pollution than adults.

This month, diplomats from around the world met in New York and Geneva to hash out a pair of new global agreements that aim to lay out new guidelines for how countries should deal with an unprecedented surge in the number of displaced people, which has now reached 65.6 million worldwide.

Equity & Disparities

India’s public health expenditure (₹ 1112 per capita per year) is among the lowest in the world, a  new analysis shows.

Tenants in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, receive drastically inferior household services and pay more rent compared to those in its formal settlements, a new study shows.

A study conducted in Valencia (Spain) shows that certain neighborhood characteristics are associated with increased risk of family violence, regardless of whether it is intimate partner violence or violence against children.

India ranked as the most dangerous country for women,a new poll shows.

Women, Maternal, Neonatal & Children’s Health

Deaths among children under 5 years of age dropped nearly 20% in just 2 years in Madagascar and dropped 60% in Rwanda between 2005 and 2010. This success is due to the grassroots movements to improve health systems.

According to a new study, food insecurity impacted behavioral problems in young children of single mothers in urban neighborhoods.