National Public Health Week is Here!

by scanyatonwu, posted in APHA IH Section

National Public Health Week (NPHW) is a great opportunity for public health professionals to rally together and raise awareness about work that is being carried out around the nation. NPHW will take place from April 2nd to April 6th this year. It specifically highlights, “Generation Public Health,” a movement focused on creating the healthiest nation in one generation by supporting initiatives and policies that improve social and environmental factors which impact health. No matter what stage you are at in your public health career, you can get involved this week!

The theme of NPHW 2018 is Changing Our Future together. The key focus is to:

Additionally, daily themes will be highlighted in order to focus on one public health topic a day.

 

 

Ways To Get Involved

 

Feel free to also highlight and share social media posts of events that are being held in local neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and public health organizations near you! Make sure to include the following hashtags with your pictures and social media posts: #NPHW, #1BillionSteps, @ih_section, #ih_section!

 

NPHW 2018: Healthiest Nation Poem/Song

We want to be the healthiest nation
in one generation
for communities to have a solid foundation
where safety is the norm and we can all be free
to live life to the fullest and pursue our dreams
as we breathe clean air while we sleep, work, and play
our youth go to school and graduate
Our jobs lead to wealth, health, and have meaning
but there are services in place “for the time being” 
when we reach those moments that we fall through the cracks
or fall on hard times and it’s hard to come back
our nation truly practices justice for all
communities are well informed to sound the call
for various needs like fresh water and meals
or access to sidewalks for bicycle wheels
healthcare and prevention go hand in hand
so that unhealthy practices have low demand
Yes, the healthiest nation 
is what we aim to be 
in one generation is when we hope to see
public health infrastructure and improved capacity
to truly serve our nation and support communities

Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/sophianyatonwu/nphw-healthiest-nation

Sophia Anyatonwu, MPH, CPH, CIC
Epidemiologist II

 

World TB Day 2018

by abbhirami, posted in APHA IH Section, Infectious Disease

5149398656_ebd66669fa_z

Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium (seen in the image), a genus postulated  to have originated some 150 million years ago! The first written records about TB from India and China, date back to 3300 and 2300 years ago respectively.

Hippocrates accurately defined symptoms of “Pthisis” (Greek for TB) and described it as a fatal disease. There is also plenty of historical evidence about tuberculosis and its impact on human culture. From being identified as a “romantic disease” to being associated with poetic and artistic qualities, TB has had its fair share of time in the limelight.

All this history aside, the fact is, if untreated, TB can be fatal.  Effective treatment became available about 50 years after Robert Koch showed that TB was caused by an infectious agent in 1882Soldier TB 2. Isolation in sanitariums and surgical interventions were all part of treatment until the advent of streptomycin in 1944. BCG vaccine has also been in use since 1921. Several public health campaigns (such as the one seen here) were also conducted to raise awareness once TB was established as a contagious disease.

Unfortunately even to this day, TB is still a major public health concern in many parts of the world and is among the top 10 leading causes of death worldwide.  Seven countries account for two-thirds of total TB cases with India leading the count.

The disease typically affects the lungs and is spread in the air when a person infected with TB coughs or sneezes. Sadly the cost of having TB goes beyond the damage it does to one’s health. Recent studies show that economic impact TB can have people; TB can lead to a downward spiral into poverty and for the poor a TB diagnosis can prolong the cycle of poverty they already live in.

TB3March 24th is World TB Day. The theme for World TB Day 2018 is “Wanted: Leaders for a TB-free World”.

TB rate spike due to the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, poor TB infection control in South African clinics and jail time for doctors who fail to report TB cases in India, have all been in the news leading up to World TB day. Clearly these news reports show the need for stepping up global action, if we hope to end TB by 2030.

The message about greater commitment and better leadership comes ahead of the UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on TB in September 2018. Given the surge in multiple drug-resistant TB, it is imperative that leaders at all levels work together to end TB. End TB strategy adopted in 2014 outlines interventions that fall under three key pillars that include integrated, patient-centered care and prevention, policies and supportive systems and research and innovation.

But as public health professionals, community leaders and residents, we all can take small steps to make sure we put an end to TB. The path to ending TB will hopefully improve the lives of most vulnerable people world-wide.

TB4.png

Global News Round Up

by abbhirami, posted in APHA IH Section, News

Politics & Policies

The goal of the  Resolve to Save Lives initiative is to save 100 million lives within 30 years. With $225 million in funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the Gates Foundation, Resolve zeroed in on cardiovascular disease and epidemics as its twin priorities.

Friends of the Global Fight today released an updated, two-page edition of its policy brief, “The Case for U.S. Investment in the Global Fund and Global Health.” This short edition includes updated data and talking points to show how U.S. support for the Global Fund offers extraordinary return on investment.

Ahead of Secretary Tillerson’s budget testimony, humanitarian, development and global health organizations release new data showing the devastating human costs of proposed administration cuts to foreign assistance.

It could take several years before United States aid recipient countries such as Uganda and Nigeria feel the full impact of the expanded Mexico City Policy. But new analysis shows there are already clear signs that the policy is pushing these countries to limit their expansion of key health services, including for women’s health care.

Launching the TB Free India Campaign at ‘Delhi End TB Summit’, PM Narendra Modi said his government is implementing a national strategic plan to end tuberculosis (TB) by 2025.

Global health care efforts rely heavily on U.S. funding, but U.S. attitudes toward spending in this area are increasingly hostile.

Programs, Grants & Awards

Drs. Catherine Blish, Nathaniel Landau, and Sara Sawyer are recipients of the 2018 Avant-Garde Award for HIV/AIDS Research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The Gates Foundation concentrates on advocacy efforts that encourage political leaders to fund initiatives supporting the elimination of global inequalities.  Other notable efforts include initiatives centered around helping farmers in developing countries research and implement better agricultural practices. These include the production of rice and flour enriched with micronutrients.

Research

Human antibody CIS43 protected mice from infection with the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum, a new study shows.

Physical inactivity is an important cause of noncommunicable diseases.  Interventions can increase short-term physical activity (PA),  but health benefits require maintenance. Few interventions have evaluated PA objectively beyond 12 months. We followed up two pedometer interventions with positive 12-month effects to examine objective PA levels at 3–4 years.

In a paper in Public Health Research & Practice, published by the Sax Institute, we outline how collaboration between like-minded national governments can improve pre-migration health assessments (PMHAs) through information sharing, collaborative learning and increased capability in countries of origin.

Diseases & Disasters

Egypt has become the first country in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region to eliminate lymphatic filariasis. This success comes after nearly 20 years of sustained prevention and control activities.

Whooping cough, caused by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis, is no longer a familiar condition to most Americans. The United States began widespread vaccinations in the 1940s, which nearly eradicated the disease. But whooping-cough has been increasing here over the past two decades despite record rates of vaccination: in 2016, more than 15,000 people in the US came down with the disease, and 7 people died.

There has been an 80 percent decrease in the number of new cholera cases reported among a community of Congolese refugees in Uganda’s western Lake Albert region, the World Health Organization told Devex Friday. As recently as Feb. 28, health care workers were identifying roughly 100 new cases a day and as of March 12, that number is down to 20.

A huge and deadly outbreak of Listeria in South Africa could alter the country’s approach to food-borne disease and prompt improvements in food safety standards, a leading health official said on Friday.

Technology

UNICEF aims to scale up real-time monitoring systems in 110 countries by 2021 using the open source technology called RapidPro.

Researchers are developing low cost technology to improve water quality and to remove contaminants using magnetic nanoparticle based adsorption.

Profusa Inc has developed injectable body sensors that are capable of streaming data to mobile phones and to the cloud.

Environmental Health

After the latest study showed that more than 90% of bottled water brands contained tiny plastic particles, the World Health Organization has announced a review of potential risks of plastic contamination in drinking water.

New study shows that alleviating the effects of global warming with tougher climate policies could save 150 million lives.

New research led by IIASA researcher Narasimha Rao has shown how it might be possible to reduce micronutrient deficiencies in India in an affordable way whilst also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Equity & Disparities

Two members of the polio vaccination team were ambushed and killed in a remote tribal region in Pakistan.

Advances in mapping tools and the ability to create maps with extraordinary detail is helping efforts from vaccination to disaster relief.

Maternal, Neonatal & Children’s Health

Even with futuristic advances in medicine and science, and increased access to food and other forms of nutrition, the oldest human health problem has remained stubborn—and, sometimes, seemingly impossible to fix: Young children and infants still die at epidemic rates in the poorest corners of the globe.

An international study of over 300,000 women from across 29 countries showed that pregnant women with anemia are twice as likely to die during or shortly after pregnancy.

Stand up for gun violence prevention with a few actions you can take in the coming week

by ihsection, posted in APHA IH Section, Policy and Advocacy, Section Announcements

Dear IH Friends,

Here is a message from our colleagues at APHA and the MCH Gun Violence Prevention Workgroup:

Now is the time to stand up for gun violence prevention (GVP) in our Nation.  Many of you have asked what you can do to promote the public health approach to gun violence prevention. Below are actions to take in the coming week:

1.    Please plan on attending one of over 817 March for Our Lives events worldwide on Saturday, March 24th. Click on this link to register for the March:  March for Our Lives (https://event.marchforourlives.com/event/march-our-lives-events)

Possible Signage for the March for our Lives:

-Gun violence is a public health crisis.

-We need more funding for gun violence prevention research

-Gun violence is a public health issue

2.    Visit the APHA website Gun Violence Page:   Gun Violence. (https://www.apha.org/topics-and-issues/gun-violence)

3.     Share AJPH Gun Violence Research. (http://ajph.aphapublications.org/topic/gunviolence)

4.    Get active in your communities. Engage at the grassroots level.  Join your local GVP organizations and promote a public health approach to end the gun violence epidemic.

In collaboration,

The APHA Intersectional Council (ISC) and MCH Gun Violence Prevention Workgroups

Access to PrEP under NHS England: My trip to London

by kimberly levitt, posted in APHA IH Section, Health Systems, HIV/AIDS, Human Rights, LGBTQ Health

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a way to prevent HIV infection for people who do not have HIV but who are at high risk of getting it by taking the pill everyday. When someone is exposed to HIV through sex or injection drug use, PrEP can work to keep the virus from establishing a permanent infection. Individuals who take 7 PrEP pills per week, have an estimated level of protection of 99%. It is a powerful prevention tool combined with condoms.

In the United States, PrEP became available in 2012 by the FDA and can be accessed in most clinics and hospitals and is free under most insurance plans. As of 2017, there are an estimated 136,000 people currently on the drug for HIV prevention. This is not the case in the United Kingdom. As a part of a research project for my MPH degree I traveled to London, England to meet with members from the LGBT community, advocates and public health professionals and to learn more about access to PrEP under the National Healthcare System (NHS) England. Currently, PrEP is not available under NHS England even though HIV continues to be a prevalent problem in England, namely among men who have sex with men (MSM) where approximately 54% of the total of MSM population were diagnosed in 2015. England is however enrolling 10,000 people over 3 years through the PrEP IMPACT trial.

Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are also a component of the NHS. Wales has commenced their PrEPared Wales project, which provided information on where to access PrEP in the country. Scotland is currently the only country in the UK that offers a full PrEP provision through their NHS. Northern Ireland currently has no provision of PrEP.

The NHS is widely regarded as a remarkable system, allowing UK citizens to access certain free healthcare services. England has had some shortcomings however when it comes to preventing HIV and I was interested in learning more. I visited the Terrance Higgins Trust (THT), a British charity that campaigns on and provides services relating to HIV and sexual health. In particular, they aim to end the transmission of HIV in the UK, to support people living with HIV (PLWH), and decrease stigma around HIV. I met Greg Owen, the founder of iWantPrEPNow, a website that explains why it is important for HIV protection, who might consider PrEP, what you need to do before you start, where to buy it online, and how to take it. I also met with Will Nutland, who works alongside Greg and is the founder of Prepster, a guide and movement to safely buying PrEP. Both websites have experienced a lot of traffic since the IMPACT Trial began in October 2017. The trial seems like a step in the right direction when it comes to accessing PrEP, this is not the attitude for many and there continues to be a debate.  While there is significant evidence from other trials that demonstrates PrEP is an effective HIV prevention tool, many people believe that NHS will not endorse PrEP after the trial is complete.

I asked Liam Beattie, also a member of the THT team, why he believes NHS England did not endorse PrEP under its guidelines. He believed that it was because of 1. homophobia among the NHS and 2. the media. Liam was recently interviewed on BBC News. During the interview, PrEP was categorized as a “controversial drug,” which paints a negative light on the topic from the get-go.  While England is well-developed and progressive in so many ways, HIV is still known as the “middle-aged gay male virus.” THT and other organizations continue to develop new marketing tools and programs in order to target women, transgender persons, and people of color to visit a sexual health clinic and get tested. Taking PrEP is an advantage for not only the individuals health but the overall cost of healthcare. Many are hopeful that in the future, the NHS will work with organizations like THT to promote PrEP and other educational resources to prevent HIV.