Suchergebnisse

Examines modern factors in the spread of disease, confronting bioterrorism, poverty and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, access to medicines in poor countries, global aging, and the challenge of disease eradication; 6 articles.

In 1942 life expectancy at birth was 66 for women and 60 for men. Death was usually due to degenerative and infectious diseases. The greatest postwar success in the fight against disease was the establishment of the NHS and care that was free at the point of delivery. Life expectancy rose dramatically, but since 2011 incremental improvements have stalled and even, in some regions, begun to reverse. Infant mortality rates have crept up and the postcode lottery of health provision underscores the level of social inequality in the UK.Good health is not simply the absence of disease. It is the collective of physical, social and mental well-being. It is the product of nutrition and genetics, of healthy lifestyles and preventative health interventions. It is the interaction between the conditions in which we live, work, play and age. Yet access to many of the things that make and keep us healthy are not evenly distributed in the population. Achieving good health is then deeply entwined with all aspects of society and cannot simply be solved by policies in one area alone.In our rediscovery of Beveridge, the shadow of the pandemic looms large. It has never been more urgent to address the underlying causes of disease. And it has never been clearer that these determinants are not only social or physiological, but also political.

AbstractThis article examines the significance of the Beveridge report in the light of subsequent developments in health policy and the National Health Service, and considers Beveridge's vision and principles in the context of current and future health challenges. In exploring the post‐war history of health policy and services, it focuses on key themes in the Beveridge report such as prevention, coordination, comprehensive health coverage, funding and the role of the private and voluntary sectors. It argues that in the face of current and future challenges, public health, healthcare and social care should have equal status and an effective system of funding is needed across these three subsystems not only to provide appropriate resources but to ensure that prevention and coordination are prioritised and voluntary action encouraged. In the light of experience, the role of commercial organisations in health and care is more open to challenge. It is also argued that there must also be better coordination of health policy with other spheres of policy making—not just welfare and social policies but economic and environmental policies as well. This agenda requires the kind of joined‐up thinking that Beveridge himself would have applauded.

Global health is in a dire state. Annually, almost ten million children die before the age of five. The top four child killers are diarrheal disease, malaria, malnutrition, & upper respiratory infection. In the next 24 hours diarrhea, caused by unclean water & poor sanitation, will claim the lives of four thousand children. Two & a half billion people still have no access to even the most rudimentary latrine. More than one billion have no source of drinking water. It only costs $1 to vaccine against measles, yet one child dies of the disease every minute in Africa. Measles infects thirty to forty million children each year & kills over 410,000. Who is leading globally to address these problems? Adapted from the source document.

Diseases have taken a major role in making us humans, and probably determine the way we run our lives. History is full of the great epidemics of plague, smallpox and anthrax, but we survived because of our genetic variation and immune system. Disease continues to have a profound effect, selecting the course of the world just as much as nature has.

Includes index. ; Includes bibliographical references. ; v. 4. Communicable diseases transmitted chiefly through respiratory and alimentary tracts -- v. 5. Communicable disease transmitted through contact or by unknown means -- v. 6. Malaria -- v. 7. Anthropodbourne diseases other than malaria. ; Mode of access: Internet.

Gaucher disease is the commonest lysosomal storage disease seen in India and worldwide. It should be considered in any child or adult with an unexplained splenohepatomegaly and cytopenia which are seen in the three types of Gaucher disease. Type 1 is the non-neuronopathic form and type 2 and 3 are the neuronopathic forms. Type 2 is a more severe neuronopathic form leading to mortality by 2 years of age. Definitive diagnosis is made by a blood test–the glucocerebrosidase assay. There is no role for histological examination of the bone marrow, liver or spleen for diagnosis of the disease. Molecular studies for mutations are useful for confirming diagnosis, screening family members and prognosticating the disease. A splenectomy should not be performed except for palliation or when there is no response to enzyme replacement treatment or no possibility of getting any definitive treatment. Splenectomy may worsen skeletal and lung manifestations in Gaucher disease. Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) has completely revolutionized the prognosis and is now the standard of care for patients with this disease. Best results are seen in type 1 disease with good resolution of splenohepatomegaly, cytopenia and bone symptoms. Neurological symptoms in type 3 disease need supportive care. ERT is of no benefit in type 2 disease. Monitoring of patients on ERT involves evaluation of growth, blood counts, liver and spleen size and biomarkers such as chitotriosidase which reflect the disease burden. Therapy with ERT is very expensive and though patients in India have so far got the drug through a charitable access programme, there is a need for the government to facilitate access to treatment for this potentially curable disease. Bone marrow transplantation is an inferior option but may be considered when access to expensive ERT is not possible.

"Prepared and published under the direction of Lieutentant General Leonard D. Heaton, the Surgeon General, United States Army." ; Includes bibliographical references and index. ; Mode of access: Internet.