Infectious Diseases News Brief - August 6, 2010

[Current Issue -Table of contents]

East Africa Declared Polio-Free Again After Outbreak

Eastern Africa is free of polio again, with four countries - Ethiopia , Kenya, Sudan and Uganda - having reported no cases of the crippling disease for more than a year, U.N. and other aid agencies said. The WHO said the region had responded fast to the outbreak. The article reports that the four countries now join neighbouring Somalia which has been polio free for the last three years. The outbreak in the region began in 2008, following the reappearance of wild poliovirus type 1 in the border area of southern Sudan and Ethiopia, and spread in early 2009 to the northern Sudanese city of Port Sudan and to Kenya and Uganda.

Source: Medical News Today 3 August 2010
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/196612.php

Study Finds Vaccination Strategies Could Help Slow Spread Of Infectious Disease In Rural Areas

The best way to prevent the spread of disease in rural areas may be by targeting select popular hangouts, according to a new study by the Kansas State University EpiCenter research team. The team published "Efficient Mitigation Strategies for Epidemics in Rural Regions" in the July edition of the journal PLoS ONE. The study looks at mitigation strategies based on a contact network model developed using information collected from residents in Clay County, Kan. The team used surveys, both mailed and conducted in person, to get data on people who have a high rate of contact with other people and to find the most frequently visited locations in Clay County. The survey had a 65 percent response rate. The study found that random vaccine distribution in selected popular locations in a rural community can reach the people who play active roles in spreading a disease like H1N1, said team member Caterina Scoglio, K-State associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. The survey identified four measures of risk factors important to the spread of epidemics in rural regions: health risk -- people with existing health conditions; contact risk the number of people one person comes in contact with; prevention risk -- people who have not been vaccinated for a particular disease; and compliance risk -- people who continue social contacts even during an epidemic.

Source: Medical News Today 30 July 2010
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/196269.php

Study Identifies Effective, Inexpensive Test For Tuberculosis In Children

An international team of researchers comparing recently-developed methods for diagnosing tuberculosis in children in resource-poor countries has concluded that the best test for high-risk children is the microscopic-observation drug-susceptibility (MODS) technique using two gastric aspirate specimens from each child tested. MODS detects the presence of bacteria causing tuberculosis using microscopes to detect typical growth patterns in culture broth. The team, led by Dr. Richard Oberhelman, Professor of Tropical Medicine, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, published results of the study online and in the August issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The availability of inexpensive and updated diagnostic technology is crucial for reducing the incidence of tuberculosis in developing countries. Children account for an estimated 20 percent of cases in high-incidence communities, but the outdated diagnostic tools available to physicians in such settings, including skin tests, chest x-rays and physical examinations, make it difficult to confirm cases of pediatric tuberculosis. The team's goal was to identify the most accurate and rapid test for tuberculosis in children in resource-poor areas with limited laboratory capabilities. The study was carried out in two hospitals in Lima, Peru, from 2002 to 2007, with 456 children of age 12 or younger enrolled as subjects. The team compared results of several different tests on specimens from each subject: MODS, Lowenstein-Jensen culture, auramine stain testing and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a genetic testing method. The study evaluated the sensitivity and speed of each method. The authors concluded that PCR testing was not specific or sensitive enough for routine diagnosis, although duplicate PCR was useful to identify which high-risk children were most likely to have positive TB cultures. Compared with the Lowenstein-Jensen bacteria culturing method, MODS almost doubled the sensitivity of detecting tuberculosis, diagnosing 20 of 22 patients compared with 13, and in less than half the time (10 days versus 25 days).

Source: Medical News Today 27 July 2010
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/195901.php