medicalcondition:meningitis

Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Found in Rio de Janeiro Waterways Ahead of Olympics
▻http://ecowatch.com/2016/06/14/antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-olympics

Two studies have connected five beaches—Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon, Botafogo and Flamengo—and Rio de Janeiro’s Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon to the superbug bacteria, Reuters reported.

Copacabana, which had microbes present in 10 percent of the water samples studied, will be the site of open-water and triathlon swimming events. Flamengo, which had microbes in 90 percent of the water samples, will host sailing competitions. The lagoon, which is seen by scientists as the breeding ground for the bacteria, will host rowing and canoe events, according to Reuters.

Scientists say the super bacteria can cause hard-to-treat urinary, gastrointestinal, pulmonary and bloodstream infections, which contribute to death in up to half of infected patients. Meningitis has also been linked to exposure to the superbug. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported antibiotic-resistant infections usually “require prolonged and/or costlier treatments, extend hospital stays, necessitate additional doctor visits and healthcare use and result in greater disability and death.”

et le 200 mètres nage libre des #super_bactéries

http://ecowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/rio_water_problems_3_750.jpg

#antibiorésistance #Rio #Brésil #JO #eau

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: Diseases Neglected by the Media in Espírito Santo, Brazil in 2011–2012
▻http://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0004662

Abstract

Background
The aims of the present study were to identify and analyse the Diseases Neglected by the Media (DNMs) via a comparison between the most important health issues to the population of Espírito Santo, Brazil, from the epidemiological perspective (health value) and their effective coverage by the print media, and to analyse the DNMs considering the perspective of key journalists involved in the dissemination of health topics in the state media.

Methodology
Morbidity and mortality data were collected from official documents and from Health Information Systems. In parallel, the diseases reported in the two major newspapers of Espírito Santo in 2011–2012 were identified from 10,771 news articles. Concomitantly, eight interviews were conducted with reporters from the two newspapers to understand the journalists’ reasons for the coverage or neglect of certain health/disease topics.

Principal Findings
Quantitatively, the DNMs identified diseases associated with poverty, including tuberculosis, leprosy, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, and trachoma. Apart from these, diseases with outbreaks in the period evaluated, including whooping cough and meningitis, some cancers, respiratory diseases, ischaemic heart disease, and stroke, were also seldom addressed by the media. In contrast, dengue fever, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), diabetes, breast cancer, prostate cancer, tracheal cancer, and bronchial and lung cancers were broadly covered in the period analysed, corroborating the tradition of media disclosure of these diseases. Qualitatively, the DNMs included rare diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), leishmaniasis, Down syndrome, and verminoses. The reasons for the neglect of these topics by the media included the political and economic interests of the newspapers, their editorial line, and the organizational routine of the newsrooms.

Conclusions
Media visibility acts as a strategy for legitimising priorities and contextualizing various realities. Therefore, we propose that the health problems identified should enter the public agenda and begin to be recognized as legitimate demands.

#Zika mystery deepens with evidence of nerve cell infections | Reuters
▻http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-zika-nerves-insight-idUSKCN0X22TP

Top Zika investigators now believe that the birth defect microcephaly and the paralyzing Guillain-Barre syndrome may be just the most obvious maladies caused by the mosquito-borne virus.

Fueling that suspicion are recent discoveries of serious brain and spinal cord infections - including encephalitis, meningitis and myelitis - in people exposed to Zika.

Evidence that Zika’s damage may be more varied and widespread than initially believed adds pressure on affected countries to control mosquitoes and prepare to provide intensive - and, in some cases, lifelong - care to more patients. The newly suspected disorders can cause paralysis and permanent disability - a clinical outlook that adds urgency to vaccine development efforts.

Scientists are of two minds about why these new maladies have come into view. The first is that, as the virus is spreading through such large populations, it is revealing aspects of Zika that went unnoticed in earlier outbreaks in remote and sparsely populated areas. The second is that the newly detected disorders are more evidence that the virus has evolved.

Curing multiple sclerosis
▻http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21688848-stem-cells-are-starting-prove-their-value-medical-treatments-cur

Un exemple objectif (et potentiellement très dangereux comme expliqué plus bas) d’une #vulgarisation scientifique erronée.

Stem Cell Transplant in Multiple Sclerosis : Next Steps
▻http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/859546

Benjamin Segal, MD, the Holtom-Garrett Professor of Neurology and director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center at the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, added in an interview with Medscape Medical News, “Every time I’m in clinic I am asked about stem cells. There are private companies out there that exploit desperate people.”

“One of my patients with progressive MS went to Germany to get some type of intrathecal embryonic stem cell injection,” Dr Segal said. “A few months later, her husband informed me that she developed meningitis as a complication, and she died.”

How a Childhood Vaccine Reduces Risk of a Cancer - NYTimes.com
▻http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/20/scientists-unravel-how-a-vaccine-reduces-risk-of-a-cancer

Young children are routinely vaccinated against Haemophilus influenza type B, or HiB, a bacterium that can cause meningitis and other serious problems. But the HiB vaccine has an added benefit: It reduces the risk for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL, the most common childhood cancer, and now scientists know why.

Pfizer pays out to Nigerian families of meningitis drug trial victims
►http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/11/pfizer-nigeria-meningitis-drug-compensation
“Pfizer pays compensation to families of four children after 15-year legal battle over controversial drug trial in state of Kano”