ATLANTA—Efficacy of the RTS,S malaria vaccine for children — vaccinated between six and 12 weeks age — checked-in at around 30 per cent in preliminary findings from Africa released at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene conference by Dr John Lusingu of Tanzania’s National Institute of Medical Research. He told Sarah Maxwell that although this figure is lower than was hoped the data mean that a third of all cases of malaria are prevented among vaccinated children. Professor Sir Brian Greenwood of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine added his comment.

ATLANTA—Results from the first large study of a vaccine for dengue fever — in 4000 Thai children — show that it is safe to use and effective — raising immunity to three out of the four "serotypes" of this mosquito-borne virus. Although these findings — announced at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual meeting — show that complete protection — against all four virus types — is still not possible, Professor Jeremy Farrar of Oxford University's Unit in Ho Chi Minh city told Peter Goodwin that expectations about the vaccine were perhaps too high, and that the results just announced are encouraging, because the risk of dengue is continually rising as more people travel around the world spreading the infection.

ATLANTA—Schistosomiasis — also known as bilharzia — could be eliminated from Africa and elsewhere by using two actions together: making simple improvements in water-supply sanitation and hygiene and treating infected children with free praziquantel — recently made available by the manufacturers. At the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual conference Alan Fenwick, Professor of Tropical Parasitology at Imperial College in London, chaired a symposium reviewing the latest evidence about practical ways of achieving success against this parasitic disease. He discussed the conclusions with Peter Goodwin.

LONDON—A man with no legs and only one arm and a boy crippled by polio have been instrumental in steering a Red Cross team’s work in Afghanistan. The ICRC’s head of Orthopaedics in Kabul, Alberto Cairo, was invited by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to talk about his experience of 22 years’ work with disabled and war-wounded people. Together with Carl Blanchet of the London School’s International Centre for Evidence on Disability he explained to Peter Goodwin why we should see disabled people as a resource, not a liability.

LONDON—A case report in The Lancet has highlighted the threat of fake drugs for malaria — the subject of intensive research at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Dr Harparkash Kaur told Peter Goodwin what her laboratory is doing about the global threat of counterfeit drugs, and what happened in the recent case of the patient with malaria in Spain who had been taking anti-malarial drugs purchased in Equatorial Guinea.

LONDON—The health impact of diet and physical activity may play a part in the marked ethnic differences in type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in the UK according to research reported at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. In the Pemberton Lecture at the 2012 Meeting of the Society for Social Medicine Professor Peter Whincup of St George’s London University also said that social class has a big effect on health — but not in the same way in all ethnic groups. He explained to Peter Goodwin why the study of ethnicity and health is needed to help reduce inequalities such as a six-fold difference in the incidence of diabetes between communities in the same city.

LONDON—People are now routinely using the internet to find out about health conditions and to share their own experiences with others with similar diagnoses. This is a radical change in how people experience illness. Health professionals and policy makers have much to learn from patients experience websites such as www.healthtalkonline.org about what is important to patients. This was the clear message in the Cochrane Lecture given at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine by Dr Sue Ziebland who specialises in Qualitative Health Research at Oxford University, in the UK. She gave the talk as part of the 2012 meeting of the Society for Social Medicine, after which she told Peter Goodwin about her research findings and the implications these have for health systems everywhere.

RIO DE JANEIRO and LONDON—A call for action on global health has been made in an article published by The Lancet medical journal about the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro. Issues which degrade the planet also degrade human health, according to Professor Sir Andy Haines, OBE, of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. He talks with Peter Goodwin about the positive actions to be made to help both the planet and public health.

LONDON—One in twenty deaths in English hospitals could be prevented according to research published in the British Medical Journal Quality and Safety. Dr Helen Hogan of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and her colleagues studied the causes of preventable deaths in English hospitals during the year 2009 and estimate that 12 000 preventable deaths occur each year. She discussed the findings and their implications with Sarah Maxwell.

LONDON—Family planning is a key priority for fulfilling global development goals, according to researchers writing in a special series of The Lancet medical journal coinciding with the London Summit on Family Planning. Peter Goodwin hears from one of the Lancet authors, John Cleland, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine’s Professor of Medical Demography, about the impact family planning has on saving mothers, infants — and the planet.

The experience of pilgrims going to Mecca can help prepare London to host a healthy Olympic Games, according to Dr Ahmad Moolla the London medic and researcher who organised a special expert panel discussion on Mass Gatherings Medicine at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. He gave Sarah Maxwell his views on what the experts had to say and how London 2012 is benefiting.

Visitors and resident Londoners are at very low risk of getting ill during the 2012 Olympic Games. This is the conclusion of Dr Val Curtis Director of the Hygiene Centre at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who summed up evidence on London 2012’s health-system preparedness at an expert panel discussion on mass gatherings medicine.

LONDON—Top medical experts met at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine for an “expert panel discussion” on mass gatherings medicine — which assessed the state of knowledge about managing the health of millions of people in London during the Olympic Games. Professor David Heyman, who chaired the meeting, gave Sarah Maxwell his assessment of the main issues.

LONDON—Britain’s Health Protection Agency has been planning to make sure everybody enjoys good health in London during the Olympic Games. At a discussion forum held at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine the Agency’s London Regional Director, Dr Brian McCloskey — also head of the World Health Organisation’s Collaborating Centre on Mass Gatherings — reassured reporter Sarah Maxwell that public health organisation during the Games is excellent.

LONDON—The British Olympic team’s former doctor Richard Budgett — now chief medical officer for the 2012 Games — explained to an expert panel discussion on Mass Gatherings Medicine, held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, how every medical need of 10 000 athletes, 10 million ticket holders and untold numbers of staff, volunteers and ordinary Londoners is being taken care of to ensure a healthy London 2012.

LONDON—Double-action preventive therapy for pregnant women could prevent the large numbers of stillbirths and neonatal deaths presently being caused by malaria and sexually transmitted and reproductive tract infections in sub-Saharan Africa according to a research report from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Matthew Chico, an epidemiologist and Research Fellow at the London School, told Peter Goodwin about the hopes arising from their findings of disease prevalence that routinely treating expectant mothers could cure these infections before they can affect unborn children.

BANGKOK—Research on influenza pandemic preparedness is helping to explain how best to save lives in each country when disease breaks out. Professor Richard Coker with his colleagues at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine’s unit in Bangkok has found that there are a variety of practical ways of preparing. He told Peter Goodwin that the most important point is to conduct research in your country to identify the measures which can help if ‘flu breaks out, and distinguish these from ones which are ineffective, waste money and resources, or divert healthcare efforts from other sectors.

LONDON—Another year of distance learning has been celebrated by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Audio News hears from the School’s Dean of Studies Sharon Huttly about the continuing and increasing success of the programme in which students in more than a hundred countries outnumber those studying for postgraduate awards at the School’s London campus. Distance learners Priscilla Mulenga, Clarissa Moreira, Kamljit Kaur, Lloyd Mulenga, Mohammed Limbada, Ingeborg Oie and Adeola Oyegbite — who attended a party held at the School to give students and alumni the chance of meeting together in London — add their comments and reflect on their experiences of this form of study.

PHILADELPHIA—Instead of mass treatment of whole populations in areas affected by trachoma it is more cost-effective in many situations to check first which children are infected and treat only these. This is according to research from The Gambia conducted by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and discussed in Philadelphia at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. But whether to go for mass treatment or diagnosis depends on costs: and these are changed if the antibiotic treatment for this blindness-inducing disease is donated. Professor Robin Bailey explained to Peter Goodwin how the availability of inexpensive rapid diagnostic tests means that many unaffected children could now be spared treatment.

LONDON—The hazard of passing lethal syphilis infection from mother to unborn child is being targeted by a new partnership combining the efforts of several key health organisations: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The World Health Organisation, Save the Children, the United States Centers for Disease Control and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Professor Rosanna Peeling explained to Peter Goodwin how the new group could reduce stillbirths and deaths in early life from more than a million pregnancies around the world.

PHILADELPHIA— Scientists in Zambia have reported significant progress in tracking asymptomatic malaria infection — a pre-requisite for eliminating the disease — to the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene annual conference in Philadelphia. Gillian Stresman from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine explained to Peter Goodwin that the research involved analysing patterns of infection from blood tests among people who have no malaria symptoms and checking on other malaria risk factors such as distance from the nearest river.

PHILADELPHIA—Vaccinating populations after an outbreak of cholera has already begun could be a powerful way of controlling the growth of an epidemic according to scientists reporting to the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene here. London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine MSc graduate Rita Reyburn — who’s been researching epidemics in Zimbabwe, Zanzibar and Calcutta with the International Vaccine Institute of Korea and working with Lorenz von Seidlein from the Menzies School of Health Research, Casuarina, Australia — told Peter Goodwin about their calculations which have validated the later use of vaccination to protect those who haven’t already been infected.

PHILADELPHIA—Boiling water may not be the best policy for making it safe to drink, according to scientists who reported their research findings from Zambia to the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual conference. Rebecca Psutka of the University of Otago in New Zealand, who works with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, explained to Peter Goodwin that the problem is not the boiling but the storage of drinking water after it’s been sterilised.

PHILADEPHIA—A way of making malaria control more effective was proposed at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual conference in Philadelphia, namely: to target the most concentrated areas of infection — known as malaria hot-spots. Jacklin Mosha from Tanzania, and Teun Bousema from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine discussed the evidence for using this strategy with Peter Goodwin.

LONDON—Scientists in Britain have found that an altered gene affects oestrogen in young women and is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer before the menopause. The research could lead to a better understanding of how to prevent the disease in young women and design drugs acting on the hormonal triggers of breast cancer. Professor Isabel Dos Santos Silva of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine explained to Peter Goodwin why the findings are important.

PHILADELPHIA—Pharmaco-vigilance was being urged here — as a key part of the strategy to improve malaria control in Africa and elsewhere — in a special session devoted to malaria drug safety at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual conference. With the battle against malaria slowly being won in Africa, the safety of anti-malarial drugs is of paramount importance now they are being used more widely than ever. Session chair Professor David Schellenberg of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine told Peter Goodwin about their findings and conclusions.

PHILADELPHIA—Scientists in the UK and Uganda have now completed a three year study showing that young children are at continued risk of intestinal schistosomiasis — also known as bilharzia — between the ages of 6-months and five years. In fact, these children should be treated routinely with the anthelminthic praziquantel, just as in older children and adults, for it is proven both safe and efficacious. The Schistosomiasis In Mothers and Infants (SIMI) study was conducted by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine working with the Vector Control Division, Ministry of Health, in Uganda and was reported at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual conference in Philadelphia. Professor Russell Stothard discussed some of the key findings with Peter Goodwin.

PHILADELPHIA—Research findings on gene changes enabling malaria parasites to resist anti-malarial drugs were discussed at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene meeting in Philadelphia. This has come in the midst of worries about the slow rise in resistance to the most modern group of drugs — artemisinin combinations — in Cambodia and Thailand. Professor David Conway of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine gave Peter Goodwin some of the details.

PHILADELPHIA—The recently-introduced rapid diagnostic test kits for malaria are saving lives — and not just among patients with malaria. In research for the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, scientists in Tanzania have found that patients whose fevers are not caused by malaria benefit from potentially life-saving treatments sooner if the cause is recognised by doing an actual test rather than just assuming all fever is malaria. Dr Florida Muro from the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshi, Tanzania presented her findings to the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene conference here. Afterwards she told Peter Goodwin about her group’s research.

LONDON—The ‘Welfare State’ can be sustained globally — even in the rapidly ageing societies of low- and middle-income countries. Social protection should not be delayed until a country is rich, and should be a state obligation. These views came out of the Global Health Lab symposium entitled: “Is the welfare state sustainable with an ageing society?” hosted by Professor Martin McKee of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Dr Richard Horton, Editor of the Lancet. The experts presenting data to the meeting — Professor Athina Vlachantoni from Centre for Research on Ageing at Southampton University, Astrid Walker Bourne of HelpAge International and Professor Peter Lloyd-Sherlock from the School of International Development at the University of East Anglia — explained to Peter Goodwin why there is an urgent need to prioritise the welfare of older citizens.

LONDON—A massive new study of HIV/AIDS could help turn the tide of the epidemic globally. The PopART study — of 24 communities in Zambia and South Africa — is testing a powerful combination of approaches to HIV in the community: universal testing, immediate treatment for patients and a range of preventive measures. The $37 million research trial is jointly funded by the Office of the US Global AIDS Coordinator, the National Institutes of Health, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Professor Richard Hayes of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine described the rationale and the potential benefit of the PopART study to Derek Thorne.

PHILADELPHIA—How populations of mosquitoes become insensitive to insect repellents has been researched by scientists at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, in collaboration with Rothamsted Research, and discussed at the American Society of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine conference in Philadelphia. This was one of the many activities of Dr James Logan, who also runs a new service made available by the London School called: the Arthropod Control Product Test Centre, or ARCTEC. Dr Logan told Peter Goodwin about the results of an experiment in which volunteers were exposed to mosquitoes after being sprayed with the powerful insect repellent, DEET. Resistance developed among the mosquitoes with the proportion of DEET-insensitive mosquitoes rising from a normal level of 10 per cent up to 60 per cent in a single generation.

LONDON—The extent to which people infected with HIV are marginalised has been highlighted by a report from the Sigma Research Group at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine looking at black African people living in England in relationships where one partner had diagnosed HIV while the other did not. Dr Adam Bourne described the stigma and fear they face and told Peter Goodwin what needs to be done to improve this.

MOSHI, TANZANIA—New insecticides to control mosquitoes — being tested in Tanzania — promise to overcome the biggest threat to malaria control in Africa: resistance to pyrethroid insecticides. Dr Richard Oxborough from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine explained to Sarah Maxwell how his group’s research evaluating new insecticides for mosquito nets and spraying inside houses, at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshi, Tanzania, is bringing hope for sustainable control of pyrethroid-resistant malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. The development of new insecticides for malaria vector control will help continue the decline of malaria in the region when combined with other malaria-control measures including new drugs, a vaccine and better diagnostic tests.

LONDON —A new weapon in the global battle against infectious disease was recently unveiled in London. The Bloomsbury Institute for Pathogen Research has been launched as a collaboration between two big university research groups to combat pathogens — infectious agents including bacteria, viruses and parasites. The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine brings expertise in parasitic and bacterial diseases, while University College London contributes long experience and excellent facilities for researching viral illnesses. Professor Simon Croft from the London School explains to Peter Goodwin how the new institute forms an important tool to be used along with excellent health system planning to fight infections everywhere.

LONDON—Scientists in London have found that a significant proportion of mobile phones in Britain are contaminated with faecal bacteria. This news was announced on Global Handwashing Day 2011 by Dr Val Curtis, Director of the Hygiene Centre at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She talks to Peter Goodwin about the significance of the finding they’ve made — jointly with Queen Mary College — and the importance of washing hands with soap and water after going to the lavatory.

LONDON—In the new book: Good Health At Low Cost, the achievements of Bangladesh are discussed as an example of how the health of most people can improve despite adverse circumstances. Professor Carine Ronsmans of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who has lived in Bangladesh and visits frequently, explained to Peter Goodwin why she thinks it is a good example.

LONDON—The National Health Service in England has benefited from being made subject to market forces since 2002 — and it continues to serve as a good example of how ‘health for all’ can be achieved. This is according to a book published by the King’s Fund entitled: “Understanding New Labour’s Market Reforms of the English NHS” looking at the effects of a change of policy allowing competitive market practices. The book’s co-editor, Professor Nicholas Mays of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, discussed its findings and conclusions with Peter Goodwin.

LONDON—Heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases pose a looming threat to low- and middle-income countries just as in the rich world according to experts meeting in London. At the Global Health Lab symposium in London Martin McKee and Erica Richardson of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine with Richard Horton Editor of The Lancet told Peter Goodwin about the importance of the issues raised by the experts contributing to the session: Allison Beattie of the UK Department for International Development, Philip James from the International Association for the Study of Obesity and David Stuckler from the University of Cambridge.

LONDON—Why do some low and middle income countries manage to achieve good health outcomes while others fail? What factors drive improvements in the health system and in access to primary health care? How can we act on the social determinants of health in cash-strapped economies? Low and middle-income countries can achieve good health, without having to spend large amounts of money: they simply need to apply identifiable techniques and to have particular philosophies. This is the message emerging from a new book: entitled: Good Health At Low Cost just launched in London. It’s the result of painstaking research into health outcomes from different healthcare policies around the world. The book follows on from research in 1985 when the Rockefeller Foundation published what was to become a seminal report — Good Health At Low Cost — which became essential reading for health systems decision- and policy-makers alike. The new book draws on a series of up to date case studies from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Tamil Nadu and Thailand providing fresh insights into the role of effective institutions, innovation and country ownership in catalysing improvements in health. Peter Goodwin talked with the book’s authors: Anne Mills, Martin McKee and Dina Balabanova, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

STOCKHOLM—The severe lack of sanitation in urban areas worldwide was explored at “World Water Week” — the annual conference just held in Stockholm for policy-makers and researchers specialising in water and sanitation. On his return from Stockholm, Guy Collender, of the SHARE research consortium, which is led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, discussed the consortium’s conference sessions on the challenges and solutions related to urban sanitation, and small-scale finance.

LONDON— A strong relationship between the amount of funding available for Britain’s National Health Service and the survival and quality of life of the population has been reported in a study published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine looking at mortality and the NHS. Professor Martin McKee of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine discusses the implications for health system planners in the UK and globally.

LONDON—The importance of continuing to use insecticide treated bed-nets in malaria-affected regions has been emphasised by a leading expert commenting on new research from Senegal (published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases) about the effectiveness of the nets, insecticide resistance among mosquitos, and levels of immunity to malaria in the population. Professor David Schellenberg from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine discussed the latest data with Peter Goodwin.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Low Cost Screening Could Halve Stillbirths Due To Syphilis LONDON—Scientists from London and Switzerland have reported in The Lancet medical journal that a simple ante-natal screening test for syphilis and immediate treatment could halve the number of stillbirths caused by this infection — at very low cost. David Mabey, Professor of Communicable Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine — who wrote the accompanying comment article in The Lancet — talks with Peter Goodwin about the importance of this finding.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: The New Decade Of Vaccines: Avoiding Public Distrust “Public trust and public confidence in vaccines are vital to keeping immunisation rates up and keeping the value of vaccines real,” according to Heidi Larson of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine who took part in: “The New Decade of Vaccines” a scientific meeting reflecting a series of articles about vaccination in The Lancet medical journal. She explains the importance of addressing public confidence issues to Sarah Maxwell.

Smokers were twice as likely to succeed when they tried to stop smoking if they received supportive text messages while they were trying — that was in a randomised controlled trial with 5 000 volunteer quitters undertaken by scientists in London and Auckland. Dr Caroline Free of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine told Peter Goodwin about her group’s txt2stop study.

ATLANTA—Just before the successful Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) talks took place in London a British scientist was honoured by the United States in Atlanta, Georgia. Professor Brian Greenwood gave the Shepard Lecture on the subject of: Vaccination and Global Health to the Centers for Disease Control. He tells Audio News about the state of the art of vaccination for a range of diseases and the possibility, potentially, of saving millions of lives in the near future.

LONDON—Part of the success of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) talks held in London may have been the availability of new ways of funding vaccines to guarantee their affordability in low and middle-income countries. Dr James Hargreaves of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine tells Sarah Maxwell about “push” and “pull” techniques his group has been looking at to get the biggest “bang for the buck” in vaccine provision for the developing world.

LONDON—Complexity is a big hazard for a humanitarian organisation wanting to intervene in a disaster — whether natural or man-made. So is any lack of political independence. That’s according to a new book “Many Reasons To Intervene” that compares British with French Non-Governmental Organisations — or NGOs. Karl Blanchet of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Editor of the book, explains that British NGOs have a completely different culture from their French counterparts. The book’s ten contributing writer-experts hint at a hopeful role for NGOs in geopolitics, but they warn that more needs to be done to co-ordinate efforts.

LONDON—A new global network of scientists has been set up with the goal of helping all countries control infectious diseases. Instead of focussing on specific illnesses the Research Network For Health Systems And Infection — based at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine — concentrates specifically on improving health-care delivery systems. Mr Greg Reilly and Professor Anne Mills of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine join Professor David Heymann, Chair of the UK Health Protection Agency (and former Representative of the Director-General for Polio Eradication – World Health Organization) to tell Sarah Maxwell about the paramount importance of organising excellent health systems as a pre-requisite for establishing health for all.

LONDON—Evidence and not just opinion and ideology could soon be at the fore of the debates concerning widespread reforms to UK health policy — and by comparison health systems globally — thanks to the new: ‘Lancet UK Policy Matters’ website produced by scientists in London. Katie Cole from The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine explains how they’re gathering evidence from experts and the public on the impact health service policies and reforms have on health outcomes.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Migrant Health: A Key Issue For Global Health LONDON—Good health care for the one billion migrants around the world is vital if global health for all is to be achieved and maintained, according to Cathy Zimmerman of the Gender Violence and Health Centre at The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine — author of the first article in a series devoted to Migration And Health in the medical journal: PLoS Medicine, for which she is one of the editors.

BRAZIL—Specialists in public health have been fascinated by the huge progress made in reducing the burden of disease in Brazil, which has now been investigated in a series of articles in the medical journal: The Lancet. Professor Sir Andy Haines of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine discusses the implications of this advance in the health of a nation brought about partly through changes in family and primary healthcare where novel low-cost options have brought big benefits.

THE GAMBIA—The fight against diarrhoeal diseases in the Gambia will soon be fought with the help of scientifically designed latrines capable of trapping and killing flies. Professor Steve Lindsay of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine talks about his group’s project which has just won a $100 000 Grand Challenges Explorations Grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

BRASILIA—Brazil is showing the world how best to improve a nation’s health. This is the impression given by findings published in a special series of articles in The Lancet medical journal documenting progress made in combating infectious disease, chronic disease, HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, and violence and trauma in Brazil. Professor Laura Rodrigues of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine — among the Lancet authors contributing to this series — explains why there’s been a massive reduction of the burden of infectious diseases in Brazil, and emphasises the paramount value of setting up well-organised, equitable health systems as the backbone of health policy.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: World Malaria Day: Experimental Vaccination Method Brings Immunity LONDON: On World Malaria Day 2011 news was released that an experimental form of vaccination for malaria has given protection against the disease and should help scientists to understand the immune processes which need to be harnessed to achieve effective vaccination. The findings are written up in an article in the medical journal The Lancet by Professor Robert Sauerwein from Nijmegen University in The Netherlands and his colleagues, who report that when volunteers were deliberately infected with malaria while being treated with the prophylactic drug chloroquine they became resistant to subsequent infection 2.5 years later. Audio News hears from Professor Brian Greenwood of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who co-wrote a comment article on this in The Lancet.

LONDON—You can take your imagination for a free journey around the world of tropical medicine and public health in a matter of minutes by visiting the Archives of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Archivists Victoria Cranna and Emma Golding tell Sarah Maxwell how everybody can use this important resource of knowledge and original documents to conduct research — on line, or in person at the School in central London —on a wide range of health matters relating to circumstances near at hand or to situations in the most remote parts of the planet.

SEATTLE—The world is becoming a healthier place — thanks to improved health systems and effective health policies, according to Professor Martin McKee of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. On his return from the Global Health Metrics and Evaluation Conference held in Seattle — simultaneously published in the medical journal The Lancet — he talked with Audio News about some of the interesting research findings discussed, and about identifying amenable areas for improving health and avoiding preventable deaths— especially in low and middle income countries and less accessible regions.

A simple cheap drug, tranexamic acid, should be given as early as possible to road traffic accident victims or to any trauma patient at risk of bleeding to death. The latest research from the CRASH-2 study— published in the medical journal: The Lancet — concludes that many more lives can be saved if the drug is given within one hour of injury. Professor Ian Roberts of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine talks about the findings.

LONDON— At the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine parties, a talk, and an exhibition on World Tuberculosis Day are commemorating the 24th of March 1882 when Robert Koch from Germany announced his discovery of the M.tuberculosis bacterium that causes tuberculosis. Sarah Maxwell hears from Ruth McNerney how the threat from TB still looms in many parts of the developing, and — surprisingly — developed world, and about the need for more research and better diagnostic tests.

LONDON—Success was celebrated at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine with a pre-Graduation Day party for students from around the world who have been working for their degrees and diplomas in the School’s Distance Learning programme. Dean of Studies Sharon Huttly discusses the importance of having 2 800 students in the programme who live in 140 countries and who outnumber those studying in London. Students and graduates Araksya Hovhannesyan, Boris Rebac, Egwuonwu Chidoziem, Enas Newire, and Colin Meghoo tell their reasons for choosing distance learning; tutor Sue Stirling gives a flavour of the tutorial process conducted between staff and students physically located in different parts of the globe; James Ransom of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission explains the reasons why his UK government-funded body is convinced of the benefits — both internationally and to the UK — of continuing to provide scholarships for able distance learners wherever they may live

HEIDELBERG—High maternal mortality rates in Africa could be reduced if all women delivered in a setting where a midwife or doctor can provide skilled care in case of complications. However, millions of women in Africa give birth at home. Two key factors influencing choice of delivery place are the distance from women’s homes to the closest health centre, and the quality of emergency obstetric care provided there, according to a study in rural Zambia published in the journal: PLoS Medicine. Sabine Gabrysch from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Institute of Public Health in Heidelberg discusses her findings and their implications for reducing maternal mortality.

LONDON—A plea for improved field-diagnostic methods for TB has been made in the scientific journal: Nature Reviews: Microbiology. Ruth McNerney of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine tells Audio News that better tests are needed because tuberculosis kills two million people every year even though it is curable. In the article she co-wrote with Peter Daley, from Memorial University, Newfoundland, Canada, she has assessed the “point of care” diagnostic tests available so far and examined what needs to be done to improve TB diagnosis — especially in resource-poor settings.

LONDON/DELHI—India’s rapid economic growth should be harnessed to provide healthcare for all by the year 2020 according to doctors and health system leaders who met together at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to launch a special “India Edition” of the medical journal The Lancet. Professor Vinod Paul from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi told Sarah Maxwell how this should be achieved and why universal healthcare in areas such as reproductive and child health is a top priority.

BUKINA FASO, MALI, THE GAMBIA—In three African countries where malaria is seasonal a big research study has shown that 80 per cent more children sleeping under bed-nets were protected from malaria infection when they received short courses of anti-malarial drugs, as compared with those who slept under nets but did not receive active drugs. This suggests that combining two strategies for malaria prevention in children: bed nets and intermittent preventive treatment, could save many lives in regions where malaria is seasonal. Professor Brian Greenwood from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine discusses his group’s findings which add up to important new knowledge to assist the World Health Organisation in it’s quest to reduce malaria deaths around the world.

LONDON—A call for action has been made in the medical journal: The Lancet that India should achieve health care for all by the year 2020. This was discussed at a symposium in the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine held to launch the Lancet’s India special edition at which the five section editors presented their views on the different means by which India can provide health for all. Vikram Patel Professor of International Mental Health at the London School talked with Peter Goodwin about the need to address issues of chronic diseases and injuries in these comprehensive healthcare plans.

LONDON & NEW DELHI—India can achieve universal healthcare for all its citizens by the year 2020 according to Dr A. K. Shiva Kumar, economist and advisor to UNICEF India in New Delhi, who is one of the editors of a special edition of The Lancet medical journal launched at a symposium in the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He explains to Peter Goodwin that the growing Indian economy can provide enough funding to give everybody access to healthcare, despite obstacles to overcome.

NEW DELHI—Although clinical studies have suggested that the cholesterol lowering drugs known as statins could benefit people who are not already ill with cardiovascular disease, this assumption may have been premature — according to the author of a new Cochrane systematic review of the effects of statins. Shah Ebrahim explains to Peter Goodwin how many of the drugs-industry sponsored trials showing statin benefits have shortcomings, and that the cautious advice is to reserve statin therapy for patients who already have heart disease and those at risk of having a heart attack since the side effects of very widespread use of these drugs among healthy low-risk people are not yet fully known.

To prevent AIDS it is essential to identify the factors driving the risk of infection in a particular community, rather than just applying a good — but un-researched — idea or a “one size fits all” approach to your strategy, according to Justin Parkhurst, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who talked at the World AIDS Day symposium held at the School. He tells Sarah Maxwell about the need for tailoring the prevention strategy to match the underlying social and other factors driving HIV infection in any particular community, and he warns that this is context specific: and can differ greatly from one community to another.

The global battle against AIDS needs a ‘Robin Hood Tax’ to raise finance: rich countries need to shoulder the cost of fighting the pandemic in poor countries — as well as at home — in the interests of the whole planet. That’s according to Alvaro Bermejo, Executive Director of the International AIDS Alliance, who talked with Sarah Maxwell about his ideas during a symposium held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on World AIDS Day.

LONDON—Fighting AIDS in the future will need strong action and continued high levels of funding according to experts meeting at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. At a symposium held on World AIDS Day, Professor Geoffrey Garnett of Imperial College, London, talked about the huge practical task facing all countries. He discussed the priorities and options with Derek Thorne.

LONDON—Despite the need for cost savings in the UK economy, the British government is committed to prioritising key strategies for fighting HIV/AIDS both at home and globally, according to Peter Colenso, Head of the Human Development Group in the UK Department for International Development (DFID). At the World AIDS Day symposium held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine he explained to Derek Thorne just how the British effort is being undertaken.

On World AIDS Day, (December 1st, 2010) the Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Peter Piot — formerly head of UNAIDS — speaks out in support of a push for a co-ordinated and well-funded sustained strategic response to the challenge of AIDS. He discusses the importance of World AIDS Day, priorities for the future, and lessons learned from the fight against AIDS which could be applied to the looming confrontation with chronic non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Avoiding Blindness: Swaziland ‘VISION 2020 Links’ Project Points the Way SWAZILAND— Globally, eighty per cent of all blindness is from ‘avoidable’ causes, according to researchers working with the “VISION 2020 Links” programme, which brings together institutions in the UK with hospitals in the developing world, to promote more effective ways of preventing those at risk from going blind. Abi Smith of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine discusses a new project linking professional support staff at the School with the eye clinic team at the Good Shepherd Hospital in Swaziland, and emphasises good organisation of health service systems as one of the most important ways of improving eye health.

On World AIDS Day, (December 1st, 2010) the Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Peter Piot — formerly head of UNAIDS — speaks out in support of a push for a co-ordinated and well-funded sustained strategic response to the challenge of AIDS. He discusses the importance of World AIDS Day, priorities for the future, and lessons learned from the fight against AIDS which could be applied to the looming confrontation with chronic non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

A new book about HIV/AIDS — released for World AIDS Day (1st December, 2010) by the aids2031 group — calls for a sustained strategic response to the global threat of AIDS rather than just crisis management. This idea was originally launched in 2006 by the chief executive of UNAIDS, Professor Peter Piot — now director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Heidi Larsen, Director of aids2031, talks about the prospects for fighting the global epidemic of HIV now and in the future.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Healthy Diets In Rich Countries: Benefits, But Also Losses In Poorer Countries There can be unexpected adverse effects from introducing healthy eating all over the world, according to a leading health economist writing in the medical journal the Lancet. Richard Smith from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine explains how the introduction of healthy eating can impact jobs and industry in low and middle income countries, while in the same countries improvements in health from better eating are less clear than in affluent countries.

ATLANTA—Rapid diagnostic tests for malaria promise to distinguish accurately — and at low cost — patients with fever caused by malaria so that the only patients to receive antimalarial treatment are the ones who truly have the disease. That’s according to the findings of a symposium held to discuss the use of rapid diagnostic tests and artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual meeting held in Atlanta. Two Principal Investigators and the Director of the ACT Consortium — coordinated from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine — were among those taking part: Dr Hugh Reyburn who works in Tanzania, Dr Toby Leslie based in Afghanistan, and the Professor David Schellenberg from London who chaired the discussions. They discuss their findings about the current perceptions and actual use of malaria diagnostics and ACTs in countries where the disease is endemic.

LONDON—The potential danger of future epidemics and pandemics of influenza could be reduced thanks to an on-line survey being conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Ellen Brooks-Pollock and Ken Eames explain how their mathematical models of the spread and severity of ‘flu can help provide predictive information needed to protect the public in the future and be more prepared for emergencies such as the 2009 “swine ‘flu” pandemic.

ATLANTA—The paramount importance of diagnostic testing was highlighted at a session on malaria held at the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia (November 3-7, 2010). Researchers from around the world discussed cheap convenient rapid diagnostic tests and the latest and most sensitive laboratory methods. Clare Chandler of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine — who co-chaired a session on diagnosis in Atlanta — discusses the new tests and the improvements they have brought.

ATLANTA—A new map showing the distribution of the eye infection trachoma promises to help overcome this leading cause of blindness, according to a report at the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia (November 3-7, 2010). Jennifer Smith of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine talks about the map and discusses the practical steps that can be taken to overcome trachoma.

The survey of dengue fever — being conducted in Sri Lanka by the Ministry of Health with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine — provides much-needed data for fighting the disease, according to dengue pioneer Duane Gubler, from Duke-University NUS Medical School in Singapore, speaking at the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia (November 3-7, 2010). He explains how an accurate survey of the disease makes it possible to probe the changing nature of the mosquito-borne dengue virus, develop effective treatments, help plan for the elimination of vectors, and develop a vaccine.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Malaria Drug Resistance: Hopes, Fears and Facts The battle to stay ahead of malaria drug resistance is far from over, according to experts speaking at the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia (November 3-7, 2010). After chairing a session on drug resistance Rachel Hallett of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine summarised progress made in research from Burkina Faso, Zambia, the United States, Australia, London, and Tanzania.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: The Energy Glut: Why Fossil Fuels Are Bad For You And For The Planet Obesity is an environmental problem with fossil fuel energy use at its heart, according to Professor Ian Roberts of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who discusses data from his new book: ‘The Energy Glut’, co-written by his colleague Dr Phil Edwards. He explains why we get fatter while the planet gets hotter if we choose to travel by car instead of walking, cycling or using public transport.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Dengue Surveillance Among Children In Sri Lanka: Essential Data To Guide Policy Surveillance of dengue infection among children in Sri Lanka is providing practical assistance to the global effort to combat this neglected — but nevertheless costly and potentially fatal — disease, according to research presented at the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia (November 3-7, 2010). Hasitha Tissera from the Sri Lanka Ministry of Health and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine discusses the progress they’ve made in understanding this mosquito-borne viral disease, and urges greater international efforts to provide a vaccine and better treatments.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News Hygiene, Sanitation, Water Supply: Forgotten Foundations of Health Diarrhoeal diseases killing millions of babies around the world each year could be prevented by providing good toilets, lavatories or latrines: especially when designed with full participation of local communities so that they are suitable and get used. That’s according to Sandy Cairncross, Professor of Environmental Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine — co-author of a series of articles just published in the on-line journal: Public Library of Science – Medicine. He discusses the importance of good sanitation and water supplies.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: So You Want To Be An Expert In Global Health? How do you know if you are the right kind of person to specialise in Global Health following on from your degree or other professional qualification? According to experts from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine your background could be from any of a number of key skills: including science and medicine, but also business, economics, mathematics, diplomacy, politics, history, psychology and almost any key skill needed to help develop low and middle income countries. After taking part in a symposium on careers in Global Health Andy Haines, Brian Greenwood, Peter Godfrey-Faussett, Martin McKee, Clare Gilbert, Ian Roberts and Sharon Huttly — all key members of the London School staff — talked about their experience and gave their views on what it takes to become one of the key professionals now needed to help meet the challenge of fulfilling global development needs.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: World Celebrates Global Handwashing Day: How To Avoid Poo, Excrement, Faeces Val Curtis of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine explains how we can save millions of live by washing our hands after going to the toilet, and especially before eating food. She was talking at a party for primary school children held in London’s Science Museum to celebrate Global Handwashing Day, where Grace Mukasa chief executive of AMREF (African Medical And Research Foundation) and perfume expert Kate Williams from the Seven Scent company add their comments on how best to help children learn the habit of washing their hands.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: New Director Defines London School's Global Health Agenda Professor Peter Piot, incoming Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has announced clear objectives for tackling the world's health challenges and delivering good health for all. From his perspective as a key leader in the global fight against AIDS and former Director of UNAIDS, research scientist working in several African countries, co-discoverer of the Ebola virus, and Under-Secretary General of the United Nations, he talks about the importance to him of joining the London School.

The Lancet, The London International Development Centre and The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Meet To Discuss Goals Beyond 2015. The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) — the internationally agreed targets for reducing hunger around the world and promoting health and education — are in need of revision beyond their target date of 2015, it emerged from a symposium held at The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The meeting was held jointly by the London International Development Centre (LIDC) and the medical journal: The Lancet to launch a commission of experts to formulate future development policy. Jeff Waage, Director of the LIDC, Andrew Dorward, Professor of Development Economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, and Ricardo Uauy, Professor of Public Health Nutrition at the University of Chile in Santiago and The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, discuss their opinions about the policy directions which need to be followed. Catherine Pitt, Research Fellow in Health Economics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, reports a massive shift in the global aid architecture of maternal and child health. John Cleland Professor of Medical Demographics discusses research findings of a doubling of female education since 1970 and a consequent halving of child mortality.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News Pioneers Of Medicine? Take A Walk Around The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Ros Stanwell Smith invites you to walk around the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in Keppel Street, in the part of London's West End known as Bloomsbury. She points out the names of famous heroes of public health inscribed on the School building, as well as discussing some who have different links with the School. History professor at the School, Virginia Berridge adds her thoughts about some of the significant personalities responsible for improving health for all in Britain and all around the world.

Without better lavatories and safe water we will fail to meet the Millennium Development Goals, according to a new report published by the charity WaterAid from researchers in Zambia, Burkina Faso, Bangladesh, Uganda, East Timor, the USA and Great Britain. The authors say that millions of lives are being lost because of governments’ and aid agencies’ “blind-spots” – leading to sanitation being ignored. International expert on sanitation, Sandy Cairncross Professor of Environmental Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, discusses the report with Peter Goodwin.

Lower outdoor temperatures were associated with greater numbers of patients being admitted to British hospitals with heart attacks – according to research published in the British Medical Journal gathered from records of 84 000 patients admitted with heart attacks between 2003 and 2006. Krishnan Bhaskaran of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine discusses his group’s finding of an increase of up to 200 heart attacks per day for every one degree Celsius reduction of temperature.

A global atlas of worm infections has been launched by scientists working in London and Nairobi. Simon Brooker of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine tells Peter Goodwin about “This Wormy World”, a new on-line atlas that makes it easier for health workers to plan campaigns – such as programmes for de-worming school children – to reduce the burden of worm infections in areas most affected.

Professor John Cleland of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine talks about the central role of family planning for tackling the linked challenge of rising global populations and climate change. He tells why a reduction of unwanted pregnancies is needed – especially in sub-Saharan Africa – as the means of relieving poverty and improving health for all. Dr Alex Ezeh, Executive Director of the African Population and Health Research Centre in Nairobi discusses the central role of Africa in population strategies for the planet. Professor Paul Wilkinson of the London School examines the real hope that rising populations – which limit progress in cutting carbon emissions and which threaten basic health – can be contained to offer a better future for everybody.

Tim Nicholson of the Campaign for Greener Healthcare talks about the aims of the 10:10 Campaign conducted by organisations volunteering to reduce carbon emissions by at least 10 per cent in a 12 month period; Fiona Godlee Editor in Chief of the British Medical Journal discusses her publication’s involvement with raising awareness of climate change issues over the years and how they’ve achieved success so far as a 10:10 Campaign member; Paul Wilkinson of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine discusses the practical ways in which the School is rising to the challenge of meeting the first 12-month target and then going on to cut emissions in half by the year 2020 and 90% by 2040.

The “London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s Got Talent” competition has generated a glittering array of ideas for promoting public health. It’s been funded from the Gates Award made to the School in 2009. The organiser, Professor Hazel Dockrell discusses some of the winning entries and explains how the School’s global network of students and alumni have been able to work together to create the original projects submitted to the competition.

Scientists in London have made important progress in the global battle against leprosy. This ancient disease – still a scourge today – can be avoided, treated, or cured if psychological and educational barriers can be overcome. That’s according Diana Lockwood who recently gave her inaugural lecture as Professor of Tropical Medicine at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The lecture was entitled: “Leprosy: Puzzles, Perils and Prejudices in the 21st Century”. Diana Lockwood talks with Anna Lacey.

When young mothers die, their children up to the age of ten have a very high risk of dying too. This has been found from research in an area of Bangladesh where around 150,000 births were monitored and followed up between 1982 and 2005. Three out of four children died before reaching 10 years of age among those whose mothers had died, compared with one in ten dying by age ten with a mother still living. Professor Carine Ronsmans discusses her study – published in The Lancet medical journal – which also found that losing a father made no difference to the child’s chances of survival. Carine Ronsmans talks with Peter Goodwin.

Tens of thousands of injury victims could be saved each year from bleeding to death, according to research just released in the medical journal: The Lancet. Scientist studying 20 000 patients taking part in the CRASH-2 trial in 274 hospitals in 40 countries have found that a simple, cheap, drug – normally used to stem the flow of blood during surgery – could save as many as 100 000 lives each year among the more than half a million victims of injury around the world. Scientists Ian Roberts from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Tim Coats from Leicester University, gave a press briefing in London – together with anaesthetist Jorge Mejia from Colombia and the Director of the World Health Organisation’s Department for Violence and Injury Prevention and Disability, Etienne Krug – to discuss the importance of the CRASH-2 findings in terms of saving lives at low cost around the world. Ian Roberts tells Peter Goodwin more about why these findings are important for emergency medicine around the world.

British children of Indian ethnic origin have fewer mental health problems than the white children they grow up with, according to new research from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Anna Goodman tells Peter Goodwin more about why these findings might be important for increasing well-being among children of all ethnic groups.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Vitamin A Supplements Do Not Reduce Maternal Mortality Vitamin A supplements given to women of childbearing age do not reduce their risks of dying as a result of pregnancy or childbirth, according to a research study conducted in seven districts of Ghana over a period of 10 years with more than 200 000 women, half of whom received a low regular dose of vitamin A, the other half taking an identical-looking placebo containing no vitamin A. Professor Betty Kirkwood of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine talks about her research findings with Peter Goodwin and explains how health system planners can now consider alternative ways of protecting mothers.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Avoiding A Silent Killer: Simple Blood And Urine Test To Detect Early Kidney Disease A simple, affordable, test for kidney disease could save lives according to a massive study combining research from among more than a million people in Europe, Asia, North America and Australia. Dorothea Nitsch from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine tells Peter Goodwin about their findings.

The meeting of world experts on malaria — held at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine — heard about fighting the global battle against malaria with well-organised health systems to deliver drug cures to those who need them and about the importance of communicating knowledge to the public. Sarah Maxwell hears a world-wide perspective from David Bell, Medical Officer of the WHO Global Malaria Programme; from Shunmay Yeung of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine on techniques being developed to help cope with the threat of drug resistance; and from Sarah Kline about:”Malaria No More UK” an organisation tackling malaria in Africa by raising funds and awareness in the United Kingdom and beyond.

A special meeting of leading world experts on malaria — held at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine — heard that eradication of the disease is a viable global goal and that the challenge of using the effective known drugs and developing new ones can be met. Brian Greenwood, Professor of Tropical Medicine at the School, told Sarah Maxwell about recent developments which are bringing so much hope.

An international group of scientists has found that one of the common types of malaria parasite — plasmodium ovale — is actually two completely different species, but living side by side in the same human communities. One of the researchers involved with the discovery (just published in the Journal of Infectious Disease), Colin Sutherland of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, explains to Sarah Maxwell how this finding is not only interesting scientifically but could also help in the global fight against malaria.

New ways of delivering healthcare — discussed at a conference in London — promise to save millions of lives in poor countries. The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine conference entitled; “Delivering Effective Health Care For All; New Evidence” held a workshop on the topic of: “Patient Centred Care” chaired by Kamran Siddiqi, from Leeds University. He explained to Peter Goodwin how scientifically tailoring care systems to patients’ needs is more effective — and saves more lives — than simply building impressive hospitals and health centres and hoping that patients can adapt to them.

New evidence on how to deliver health care for all — particularly in poor countries — was presented at a conference held in London. Kara Hanson of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine explained how improving the health systems which deliver care to ordinary people is needed if the health improvements made possible by new treatments and diagnostic tests are to be achieved. She discusses the findings of the research group she directs: the Consortium for Research on Equitable Health Systems (CREHS), funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

When breakthrough discoveries are made in health science — which could save many lives — they are often not put into routine practice around the world until many years later, according to Andy Haines, Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. He explained why this can happen and how it can be overcome at the 5th International Conference on Primary Health Care held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Targeted Approach To Home Hygiene: Best For Preventing Deadly Infections A report just published by the UK-based International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene has highlighted three key measures for preventing the transmission of life-threatening infections such as diarrhoea. Chair of the Forum Professor Sally Bloomfield, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, explains how a family-orientated approach to hygiene targeting "infection super-highways" around the home can give protection without over-exposing the environment to chemicals.

The huge success of the Distance Learning Programme from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine was celebrated recently at the School building in Keppel Street with a party, followed the next day by the graduation ceremony. The School's Dean of Studies Sharon Huttly explains what all the excitement was about, while LSHTM Director, Andy Haines, discusses the need for effective distance learning to fulfil global goals for public health. The guest speaker, Professor Fred Binka, Dean of the University of Ghana School of Public Health — and recipient the same weekend of the prestigious Ronald Ross Medal awarded in recognition of his distinguished contributions to tropical medicine — adds his reflections on the importance of having a method of learning which does not require students to leave their jobs or their countries.

Chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes are now so common in poor countries that they threaten the Millennium Development Goals for achieving significant progress on infectious diseases, and on child and maternal mortality by 2015. According to a report by scientists from London, Oxford and San Francisco, published in the journal PLoS Medicine, non–communicable diseases — common in rich countries — are now also taking their toll in poor countries, and — along with HIV — undermining the goals. Co-author, Martin McKee of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, discusses the findings.

Health workers in the developing world may need to test adolescents routinely for HIV acquired "vertically" — through mother-to-child transmission, following findings published in the medical journal; Public Library of Science – Medicine. Nearly half of a group of three hundred patients between the ages of 10 and 18, admitted to hospital in Zimbabwe for any reason, tested positive for HIV. And the absence of herpes simplex infection in the majority of these — along with other factors — clearly indicates that sex was not the principal means of transmission. Rashida Ferrand discusses the findings of her London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine team working jointly with the Biomedical Research Institute in Harrare.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Surviving Heatwaves: Shower, Drink Water...And Perhaps Have A Beer! With hundreds of thousands of people at risk of dying in unexpected heat-waves the latest advice on protecting yourself has been reviewed by a joint Canadian/British team in The Lancet medical journal. Shakoor Hajat of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine tells Peter Goodwin that showering and drinking plenty of fluids is good, but — contrary to the usual advice — you could also allow yourself the occasional light beer in very hot weather.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Finding The London School Expert You Need: Rockefeller Grant Awarded For Global Tracking It will soon be easier to track the public health expert you need in around 190 different countries thanks to a Rockefeller Foundation grant awarded to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to strengthen its network of more than 12 000 former students and staff all over the world. Alice Perry tells Peter Goodwin about their aims to improve the availability of public health experts particularly in low-income countries.

Professor Polly Roy discusses her team’s new vaccines for bluetongue: a lethal midge-borne disease of sheep, which is related to human diseases, including rotavirus infection. The vaccines — one already under development by a pharmaceutical company, the other at an advanced stage of laboratory testing — have been designed at the molecular level following clarification of the gene structures within the bluetongue virus. This makes them intrinsically safe to use, avoiding the need to use weakened forms of the actual virus for inoculation.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Darfur Conflict: Infections Were More Lethal Than The Violence Infectious disease such as diarrhoea and pneumonia have killed 80 per cent of around 300 000 people dying as a direct result of the war in Darfur, according to study published in The Lancet from a Belgian group led by Olivier Degomme. An editorial comment on this research was written by Francesco Checchi of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who specialises in infectious diseases. He discusses the implications with Peter Goodwin.

Professor Anne Mills of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine explains to Peter Goodwin how health systems development in Thailand has achieved healthcare coverage for all citizens, irrespective of ability to pay. Following her award of the Prince Mahidol Prize for Medicine — and in the light of the work she has done in Asia and Africa — she discusses how the Thai experience could give lessons for developing health systems in low and middle income countries in other parts of the world.

Peter Godfrey-Faussett of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, co-chair of a session on tuberculosis control at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 58th Annual Meeting, describes the Zamstar Intervention in Southern Africa with 24 communities and 1.2 million people. He talks with Peter Goodwin about the need to involve and support local communities and local teams in order to have success in controlling TB by applying known methods systematically through good organisation.

Albert Picado of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on his goups findings presented at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 58th Annual Meeting, Washington DC, that insecticide-treated bed-nets did not prevent infection with leishmania donovani parasites—cause of the deadly visceral leishmaniasis—transmitted by the bite of the sandfly. He told Peter Goodwin about the study in India and Nepal in which they compared villages with and without bednets.

Carlton Evans of the Universidad Peruana-Cayetana-Heredia in Lima, Peru and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine talked with Peter Goodwin about his group’s finding—presented at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Meeting—that women are just as likely to have TB as men: contrary to popular belief. He probes the reasons for this and emphasises the importance of prioritising the position of women in the poor communities where TB is prevalent.

At a briefing held simultaneously in London and Washington DC Richard Horton, Editor of The Lancet, Andy Haines, Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Anil Markandya from the Basque Centre for Climate Change in Bilbao, Spain, and Paul Wilkinson, James Woodcock and Alan Dangour from the London School tell Sarah Maxwell and Peter Goodwin about their findings, just published in a special edition of the Lancet, on the consequences to human health of mitigating the effects of greenhouse gas emissions. In agriculture and food, urban transportation, electricity generation and home energy use the Lancet data showed large positive effects on human health over the next few decades if we choose the right strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

NAIROBI, KENYA: Diadier Diallo of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, co-ordinator of a trial of intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) for children in Burkina Faso and Mali, told Peter Goodwin about the success of his group’s study using full dose malaria treatment among children for prophylaxis, as reported at the 5th MIM Pan African Malaria Conference, Nairobi.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News Malaria Elimination Prospects Are Good In Many Regions NAIROBI, KENYA:Geoffrey Targett Professor of Parasitology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and member of the international Malaria Elimination Group, told the 5th Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Pan African Malaria Conference in Nairobi why there are good prospects for eliminating malaria altogether from some regions in the near future in the quest ultimately for global eradication. He outlined his reasons for optimism to Peter Goodwin.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Consortium To Optimise World Use Of Artemisinin Combination Treatments For Malaria During the 5th Multilateral Initiative On Malaria Pan African Malaria Conference held in Nairobi, Kenya, Bianca D'Souza, Manager of the "ACT Consortium", explained to Peter Goodwin how this newly formed international group of experts is working to help make sure the WHO-recommended artemisinin combination treatments (ACTs) for malaria are reaching the people who need them, and that problems associated with their distribution, quality and availability are addressed.

The problem of artemisinin combination treatments (ACTs) in malaria which are ineffective because of poor storage, manufacture, or criminal counterfeiting was addressed in Nairobi at the 5th Multilateral Initiative On Malaria Pan African Malaria Conference by Harparkash Kaur of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine—a member of the recently-formed: ACT Consortium. After her talk she discussed her data and the efforts the consortium is making to resolve the issue with Peter Goodwin.

Ugandan Health Ministry Commissioner Dr Anthony Mbonye and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine scientist Professor David Schellenberg are just two of the multinational members of the recently-formed ACT consortium set up to pool the expertise of leading scientists and public health movers and shakers in both the developed and developing world to fight malaria with optimal use of the best drugs: artemisinin combination treatments, or ACTs. After a symposium devoted to the work of the new consortium—held at the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Pan African Malaria Conference held in Nairobi—they talked about their current programme and the goals in sight.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Intermittent Preventive Treatment On Top of "Home Management" Cuts Malaria In Under Fives Dr Harry Tagbor, of The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana, presented results at the 5th Multilateral Initiative On Malaria Pan African Malaria Conference, held in Nairobi, Kenya, in which intermittent preventive treatment with malarial drugs was given to children under five. Afterwards he talked with Peter Goodwin about his team's promising finding of a reduction of malaria infection.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Preventive Malaria Treatment For Infants Reduces Infection Rates Ilona Carneiro and David Schellenberg from The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine presented data at the 5th Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM) Pan African Malaria Conference, Nairobi, Kenya showing how the technique called intermittent preventive treatment (ITP) for infants has reduced malaria infections in a region of Tanzania. After their symposium they talked with Peter Goodwin about the advantages and cost-savings this brings through combining drug treatment with routine infant vaccinations.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: New Ways Of Using Malaria Drugs Bring Promise For Control Brian Greenwood, Professor of Tropical Medicine at The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, discusses the presentation he gave to the 5th Multilateral Initiative On Malaria (MIM) Pan African Malaria Conference, Nairobi, Kenya, held 2-6 November, 2009, in which he explained that combining prophylactic with therapeutic use of malarial drugs can play an important part in programmes to control of malaria.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Organic Foods And Health: Scientific Evidence Versus Emotional Belief Even though organically produced foods were shown recently by a systematic and comprehensive scientific review to have no nutritional or heath-benefit related differences from conventionally-farmed foods, a debate has raged about this finding which was revealed by Alan Dangour of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in his group's publication in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. In one of the prestigious Bloomsbury International Nutritional Seminars in London recently he discussed the evidence on organic food, and he commented to Peter Goodwin on the emotions that this has stirred up.

The scandal of millions of children dying in the developing world because they accidentally eat traces of human faeces was brought to public attention at the Golden Poo Awards—the “Oscars” of the world of Health Education—held on Global Handwashing Day 2009 at the Prince Charles cinema in London. Co-organiser of the event, Val Curtis from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and the TV star and family doctor Phil Hammond, who helped present the awards, told Karen Regester how handwashing with soap can save millions of lives by cutting the numbers of child infected with diarrhoea caused by faecal contamination.

LONDON—More than seventy years after he began work in public health, and just a few months short of his 100th birthday, Professor Jerry Morris—one of the 1930s pioneers of the British National Health Service—is hard at work in the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine investigating factors which keep ordinary people in the community alive longer. His research team has already established that a threshold of income is needed for a minimum standard of health. In discussions with Peter Goodwin he urged the need for acceptance of minimum wages around the world on the basis of the health criteria which he and his co-workers have defined.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Scientists Call For Urgent Attention To The Global Burden Of Mental Disease LONDON—The new Centre For Global Mental Health has been inaugurated at a meeting in London. It's been formed through a partnership between two academic institutions: The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and King's Health Partners—a consortium of top London teaching hospitals and King's College, London. It focuses on improving the treatment and prevention of mental illness world-wide, but with a particular priority on low and middle income countries. The co-directors, Vikram Patel of the London School and Martin Prince from The Institute of Psychiatry, together with Benedetto Saraceno, Director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at the World Health Organisation and Pamela Collins of the US National Institute of Mental Health discuss the issues being addressed by this new research organisation.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Malaria In The Gambia: Insect Screens Cut Mosquito Numbers And Anaemia By Half In research involving hundreds of houses in the town of Farafenni in The Gambia insect screens covering windows and openings were found to cut the numbers of mosquitoes indoors by 59 per cent. In addition the rates of childhood anaemia related to malaria in the houses being screened were halved in comparison to other homes not screened, according to findings recently published in the journal: The Lancet. Professor Steve Lindsay from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine discussed the role of such screens for malaria control with Sarah Maxwell.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: No Shame No Blame: TB Stigma Removal "Toolkit" Launched in Zambia A new "tool-kit" for tackling TB in Zambia is being introduced by researchers working with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of Zambia. Ginny Bond tells Peter Goodwin how they are tackling the problem of stigma and TB around Zambia, and how the new "took-kit" brings hope of reducing the pool of TB infection.

LONDON—Inequalities in cancer care delivery and overall spending have had a big impact on cancer survival rates in Europe, according to Michel Coleman, Professor of Epidemiology and Vital Statistics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He gives Peter Goodwin his analysis of data emerging from the Eurocare 4 study in 23 different countries, recently published in the European Journal of Cancer.

Carlton Evans of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine explains to Peter Goodwin how his research project, supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), has succeeded in reducing risk factors for TB in households living on less than a dollar a day in the Ventanilla district of Lima, Peru. A microfinance scheme—providing small loans to help people use their skills to earn a living—has resulted in big reductions of adverse factors associated with causing tuberculosis.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Poor Nutrition Due To Poverty: Biggest Tuberculosis Risk Factor Delia Boccia of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine tells Peter Goodwin about her research findings in Zambia which have revealed that the factor within impoverised communities which has the strongest link with TB infection is poor nutrition. She explains what should be the priorities for improving nutrition as a powerful means of cutting rates of TB.

With a growing threat from tuberculosis around the world—made worse by the spread of HIV/AIDS—there is an urgent need for new diagnostic tests for TB which are more appropriate for use in communities and small clinics rather than big hospitals. Peter Goodwin interviewed Ruth McNerney of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, organiser of a symposium on “Point-of-Care” tests for TB, held in the city of Porto, Portugal during the annual meeting of the European Society of Mycobacteriology (July 5-8, 2009).

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Organic Foods: No Evidence Of Nutritional Benefit Researchers from London have found no evidence that the nutritional content of organically produced foods is any better than in conventionally farmed products. Alan Dangour of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine told Peter Goodwin about their findings just published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Murder And Suicide: Study Finds Link With Economic Crises, Unemployment David Stuckler of Oxford University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine tells Peter Goodwin about the findings of his study, just published in the Lancet, showing that increasing economic stresses and loss of employment across a wide range of countries in Europe has increased rates of suicide and murder, while reducing deaths from road traffic accidents, during the last 30 years. One of the study's co-authors, Martin McKee, from the London School, explains what may be causing this and how government policies can reduce the impact of economic crises.

Our homes are full of potential ways of getting ill, or even dying—according to a report published by the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene. Peter Goodwin hears from one of the authors, Sally Bloomfield of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, how all of us—especially together with our families and in our homes—need better advice on how to avoid hazards of infections that surround us.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: WHO-lead Report Urges Health Systems Priorities For Global Health Initiatives The global health initiatives set up in the last decade to fight killer diseases like AIDS, TB and Malaria are not investing enough in efforts made locally in countries around the world to deliver health through effective health systems. That's the upshot of a report published in the Lancet led by the World Health Organization which criticizes the otherwise high-achieving programmes like the Global Fund, The President's Emergency Plan, and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. One of the authors, Peter Godfrey-Faussett, talked with Peter Goodwin after speaking at a symposium on this held to discuss the Lancet report at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: June 4th 2009 WASHINGTON—International Global Health Conference Identifies Priorities For Poor Communities; Gates Award Endorses London School Of Hygiene And Tropical Medicine The poorest members of the global community—not necessarily geographically defined—are those who need to be targeted in healthcare development rather than countries labelled as "developing". Peter Goodwin hears the views of Hans Rosling of the Karonlinska Institute during the Annual International Conference on Global Health held in Washington DC. He also talks with the outgoing president of the Global Health Council (which hosts the conference), Nils Daulaire, with the London School of Hygiene's Director, Andy Haines, and alumni, James Hospedales, Ariella Bock, Cherie Carter and Khizer Husain about the relevance of their education in their work in global health all over the world, and about the significance of the Gates Award to the London School's Distance Learning programme and efforts to strengthen healthcare institutions.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: H1N1 Influenza: "Be Flexible," warns United Nations Representive For Pandemic Preparedness The preparations being made for a possible pandemic of the new H1N1 influenza were explained recently in London by the Secretary General's Representative, Dr David Nabarro, during the inaugural lecture for the journal: Health Policy and Planning held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He told Peter Goodwin more about pandemic preparedness.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Million Dollar Global Health Award For London School Of Hygiene And Tropical Medicine Sharon Huttly, Dean of Studies of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and the School's Director, Andy Haines tell Peter Goodwin about their plans for expanding "distance learning" following news that they've received the prestigious Gates Award For Global Health for outstanding achievements over a sustained period of time particularly in resource-poor settings. One of the 2,500 students currently enrolled from 120 countries, David Githanga, a consultant paediatric cardiologist in Nairobi, explains how his studies can feed directly into government plans for improving public health.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: Home Diagnosis And Treatment: Not Always Best For Malaria In Africa Peter Goodwin talks with Sarah Staedke of London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who's based in Kampala, Uganda, about her new research findings that giving parents and carers supplies of anti-malaria medicines at home to treat feverish children didn't have much impact on malaria in an urban setting and could have some risks.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News: H1N1 Influenza Pandemic: How Good Are Existing Preparations? Peter Goodwin asks Sandra Mounier-Jack, expert in Health Policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, if the preparations taking place all over the world in the face of the threat from "swine 'flu" are sufficient to protect us; and what further advice she has to offer coming out of her research on the preparedness of countries all over the world to face a possible wave of influenza.

AUDIO NEWS LSHTM March 24th, 2009 In this edition of Audio News…… AIDS expert, writer, and epidemiologist Elizabeth Pisani recently returned to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine—where she trained and did research for her MSc and PhD to tell Peter Goodwin about her new book: The Wisdom of Whores, which delivers home truths about the 'business of AIDS' which could—potentially—prevent millions of people from dying. Andrew Prentice discusses the 'experiment of Nature' being harnessed by his group in a research effort spearheaded by his colleague Branwen Hennig in The Gambia where seasonal variations in the availability of crops create altering nutritional environments for mothers around the time of conception. The scientist are hoping to reveal effects that maternal diet can have on gene expression, and how this in turn could affect the future health of newly-conceived babies. Adam Fletcher tells Audio News about 'detached' youth programmes to help avoid problems with drugs and alcohol among young people. Social workers go to the young people—wherever they are—joining in their social networks, rather than trying to persuade them to drop into special centres.

Peter Goodwin and Sarah Maxwell take part in the discussions held in London on the controversial role of the corporate sector in tackling the looming threat to global health of obesity around the world. They also hear how drastic economic changes in the former Soviet Union have caused an increase in mortality—largely driven by alcohol; about the unexpected down-side free trade can have in worsening health—rather than improving it—in some situations; about the health benefits to the world of the new American president, and how good national health can boost the economy just as the other way around. Controversies in Global Health—What role should the corporate sector play in tackling the global obesity pandemic? Philip James, Director, International Obesity Task Force Derek Yach, Director, Pepsico Global Health Policy Andy Haines, Director, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Patti Rundall, Policy Director, Baby Milk Action, Cambridge Drastic Economic Changes Increase Mortality Martin McKee, Director, European Centre for Health Of Societies in Transition, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Free Trade Brings Health Benefits? —Think Again! Richard Smith, Professor of Health System Economics, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Kelley Lee, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Obama And Global Health? National Health and Wealth—Reciprocal Relationship Martin McKee, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News November 5th, 2008 Big Fall in Malaria in The Gambia: Eradication in Sight? High Birth Weight Increases Breast Cancer Risk; Eat Fruit And Vegetables To Protect Your Vision! Brian Greenwood and David Conway tell Peter Goodwin how the incidence of malaria has fallen dramatically in The Gambia following the use of simple interventions such as insecticide-treated bed nets, and resistance-free drugs. The question now being asked is: Can malaria be eradicated? Isobel dos Santos Silva explains how birth-weight affects your risk of developing breast cancer later in life; Astrid Fletcher describes the way anti-oxidants from fruit and vegetables in a normal diet (as reported in the EUREYE study conducted in seven centres in Europe from Bergen in Norway to Alicante in Spain) may be protecting our eyes against macular degeneration and possible blindness caused by strong sunlight.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News October 1st, 2008 Health For All 30 Years After Alma Ata? Mental Health And War Reporting from: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Symposia: The Future of Primary Health Care: Alma Ata 30 Years On September 11-12, 2008 Mental Health in Fragile States September 8-9, 2008 Two important symposia have been held in London to discuss healthcare issues posing significant dilemmas to world leaders in the 21st Century. "The Future of Primary Health Care" was attended by public health experts from around the Globe to assess the best options for improving primary health care in the future. It was held on the 30th anniversary of the Alma Ata Declaration made in 1977 which was intended as a blueprint for health provision and identified primary health care as the means through which the global goal of "Health for All" could be achieved. The second meeting, on "Mental Health in Fragile States", was held to raise the profile of mental health care in zones where conflict has taken place or is still happening. Analyses of the key issues and how to deal with them effectively were discussed by top experts from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and associated organisations. Peter Goodwin attended both meetings and talked with some of the key speakers.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News October 15th, 2008 Global Handwashing Day! Sex and Health More Prisoners: More TB How to Survive Cancer Global Handwashing Day is October 15th, 2008: an opportunity to remind everybody that millions of lives, especially children's lives, can be saved by avoiding diarrhoea and other diseases spread when mothers, fathers, family members and friends fail to wash their hands with both soap and water. Derek Thorne hears from Val Curtis and Robert Aunger at the London School who are spearheading initiatives all over the world to reduce this loss of life by persuading people to get into the habit of washing their hands after using the toilet. PPeter Goodwin learns from Kaye Wellings of the School about the latest phase of her massive study of sexual attitudes, behaviour and health which for the first time are looking at over 60s, and also at positive, as well as negative sexual health outcomes. Also: Martin McKee talks about the way TB has spread in the community at large as prison populations have increased in countries of the former Soviet Union. And Michel Coleman discusses with Peter Goodwin (during the NCRI Cancer Conference in Birmingham) his data showing that organisation and resources in cancer care are more significant determinants of survival than specific drugs used on patients.

LSHTM Audio News: September10th, 2008 BRITISH ASSOCIATION SPECIAL EDITION Peter Goodwin hears from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine experts speaking at the annual science festival of the British Association for the Advancement of Science held in Liverpool, September 6-10, 2008, and from recent scientific publications on: the health impact of global warming, a tropical virus reaching temperate zones, inequalities in cancer outcomes, how eating oily fish can save your eyesight, and free internet publishing scientific journals. INTERVIEWS: Astrid Fletcher: Eating Oily Fish Protects Your Eyesight Jo Lines: Chikungunya Virus Danger Beyond The Tropics Sari Kovats: Global Warming's Heatwave Health Hazard Colin Sutherland: Open Access Publishing: Fair Play For Scientists Michel Coleman: Cancer Survival: Big International Differences

Derek Thorne and Peter Goodwin talk with Bayard Roberts, Siân Clarke, Sandy Cairncross, Claire Bertschinger and Virginia Berridge of The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine about: - depression and post traumatic stress disorder in war-torn northern Uganda and the lessons to be drawn from a research project there; - the unexpected additional value of using malaria drugs at regular intervals among school children in Kenya; - the key role of sanitation in preventing infant deaths all over the world and what is being done to improve it; - the life and work of the nurse who inspired Band Aid and Live Aid, as she receives an honorary doctorate; - the “marketing” of health to the British public, as illustrated by the way attitudes to smoking have changed over the years.

LSHTM Audio News British National Health Service is 60! July 5th, 2008 is the 60th birthday of the British National Health Service. Peter Goodwin talks to four experts at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to find out how it achieved the almost universal approval it enjoys in the UK, while asking what the future holds in store.

Peter Goodwin questions Phil Edwards of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine about "competition between stomachs and petrol tanks" discussed in a letter he and his colleague Ian Roberts have written to the medical magazine: The Lancet.

Hessom Razavi, Puneet Sayal, Claire Gilbert, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Eye doctor Hessom Razavi volunteered to go about his usual studies at the London School blindfold for 24 hours to give publicity to the need to prevent childhood blindness all over the world, especially in developing countries. The “Blind For Blindness” initiative was taken as part of the “Vision 2020″ project at the London School, with the help of Goodenough College, London.

Brian Greenwood has won the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize for his numerous achievements in tropical disease research. He talked with Derek Thorne about his work, including the pivotal research proving that bed nets can help prevent malaria.

In this edition of Audio News, presented by Peter Goodwin, Giovanni Apolone (Mario Negri Institute, Milan) and Stuart Pocock (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine), talk about: Risks From Stopping Cancer Trials Early! - A report from Annals of Oncology, April 9th, 2008. A new publication highlights the danger of stopping cancer clinical trials early following interim analysis before originally planned sample-sizes have been reached.

In this edition of Audio News, presented by Peter Goodwin, Sandy Cairncross (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine), Maggie Black (Earthscan), and Girish Menon (Water Aid) talk about: The Last Taboo: Opening The Door On The Global Sanitation Crisis - a book by Maggie Black and Ben Fawcett, published by Earthscan with UNICEF. A massive improvement in health and wealth in developing countries could be achieved by providing systems to dispose of human excreta safely. A new book: “The Last Taboo” was launched at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine by the Professor of Environmental Health, Sandy Cairncross.

LSHTM Audio News - February 8th, 2008 Europe's Surge Against Cancer Source: "Responding to the Challenge of Cancer in Europe" (Slovenia's European Union Presidency Report on Cancer) 1. Michel Coleman (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) explains how cancer will become a new priority in the EU. 2. Oncologist Karol Sikora (Hammersmith Hospital, London) told the meeting at London's Royal Institution that Europe is a natural laboratory for investigating cancer with different populations and varying healthcare systems. 3. Martin McKee (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) discussed the role of the "European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies" in fulfilling the new aims. 4. Lynn Faulds Wood (European Cancer Patient Coalition) talked about her experience of having cancer discusses the priorities for patients. 5. Richard Sullivan (London School of Economics) described areas of biggest need, including neglected "orphan" areas of research.

LSHTM Audio News - January 17th, 2008 With one child in three killed by it, childhood and maternal undernutrition are discussed in a special series of articles in the Lancet. Sarah Maxwell spoke with Zulfiqar Bhutta about his group's massive study, and in particular about the risks of not breastfeeding optimally. The interval from conception to age 24 months has been named as the critical period for child nutrition, with big health effects in adult life. Caroline Fall spoke with Karen Regester about the evidence her group has published in The Lancet on five key studies on maternal and infant nutrition. Simon Cousens talked with Peter Goodwin about a new study of interventions, including promoting breast feeding, and vitamin supplements for combating maternal and child undernutrition. Bruce Cogill gave Peter Goodwin his assessment of the chances of success in the global battle to save the lives of a third of the world's children. Lancet Editor, Richard Horton, explained the importance of these new findings to Sarah Maxwell.

LSHTM Audio News Review - October 24th, 2007 A supplement to LSHTM Audio News reviewing this year's important medical developments. Reduce Maternal Deaths! There are half a million maternal deaths each year, according to the Lancet's "Women Deliver" conference held in London. Ann Starrs, Carine Ronsman and Veronique Filippi discuss with Anna Lacey how to reduce unsafe abortions and obstetric complications all over the world to bring this startling figure down HIV Treatment And Leprosy Diana Lockwood told the Chicago ICAAC conference how ‘hidden’ leprosy can be triggered in some patients who are receiving HIV antiretroviral therapy Polio Eradication Possible? D. A. Henderson, who led the global smallpox eradication programme, said in a meeting held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine that we now need to readdress health priorities to eradicate polio

Audio News Special: Global Mental Health Mental Health is a major part of the global disease burden, but more needs to be done to make sure support, treatments and policies are in place. That's according to a series of articles, published in The Lancet, which have looked at this very topic. The audio news team went to meet some of the authors: Graham Thornicroft, of Kings College London, who talked about the size of the problem; Vikram Patel, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who discussed measures to take and choices that need to be made; and Shekhar Saxena, from the World Health Organisation, who has calculated the costs involved.

Audio News Special: Energy and Health, September 13th, 2007 In this programme, Derek Thorne speaks to the authors of a new series of papers in the Lancet, which focus on the important links between energy and health. Featuring: Paul Wilkinson on the ways energy use impacts on health around the world; John Powles from the University of Cambridge on livestock production; James Woodcock on how transport in cities will have to change; Richard Horton on what health professionals can do to address energy and health; and Andy Haines on the policy changes being called for.

LSHTM Audio News Review - September 12th, 2007 A supplement to LSHTM Audio News reviewing this year's important medical developments. Road-Side Tranexamic Acid Therapy to Reduce Mortality and Blood Transfusions after Trauma? The multi-national CRASH trial investigates whether the antifibrinolytic agent, tranexamic acid normally used to reduce bleeding during surgery can also be used as a first-aid to cut mortality and the need of blood transfusion immediately after trauma. Jaime Miranda, based in Lima, Peru, described to Peter Goodwin how the trial could benefit the developing world in particular. Growth Hormones: Slimming Aid for Patients Receiving HAART? Daily administration of the growth hormone releasing factor, TH9507, to patients with HIV receiving Highly Active Anti Retroviral Therapy (HAART) can help to reduce cardiovascular risk factors, according to Steven Grinspoon, who presented a paper on this at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, held in Los Angeles. He talked about his study with Dan Keller, who discussed the paper with Judith Currier. Raltegravir Doubled Antiviral Response Rates in Treatment-Experienced HIV-Infected Patients The integrase inhibitor raltegravir (one of a new class of anti-retroviral agents) blocks enzymes that allow HIV's nuclei acid to integrate into the DNA of host cells. The BENCHMRK study found that patients with HIV who are resistant to at least one drug in each of the nucleoside, non-nucleoside, and protease inhibitor classes, have doubled antiviral response rates and increased CD4 cells when taking raltegravir. Roy Steigbigel explained the study to Dan Keller in Los Angeles. John Mellors commented on the findings. Non-Perfect HIV Vaccine: Major Benefits There is good hope that a useful vaccine for HIV will be developed soon. Anthony Fauci wrote in the New England Journal Medicine (and explained to Derek Thorne for Audio News) that although a perfect vaccine may not emerge, a non-perfect vaccine will nevertheless be of great use, by slowing disease progression and also reducing the spread of disease.

LSHTM Audio News Review - August 31st, 2007 A supplement to LSHTM Audio News reviewing this year's important medical developments. Herpes Simplex Therapy Reduces HIV Activity in Co-Infected Patients It is possible to reduce HIV activity in patients who are co-infected with HIV and herpes simplex type 2. Philippe Mayaud tells us about the study which showed reduced HIV concentration in the blood and vagina when co-infected patients underwent continuous treatment with anti-herpes agent valacyclovir. Entecavir Helps Combat HIV but Also Selects Antiretroviral Resistant Mutation Entecavir, used to treat HBV can lower levels of HIV in co-infected patients. In spite of entecavirs success, Chloe Thio reveals that the drug selects a mutation that makes HIV resistant to entecavir as well as antiretroviral drugs, and calls for a revision of guidelines that recommend its use for co-infected patients as. Breastfeeding Reduces Transmission Rates From Mothers with HIV While early cessation of breastfeeding reduces HIV transmission to the baby, studies show it increase morbidity and mortality in infants. Hoosen Coovadia found that exclusive breastfeeding (as opposed to 'mixed' breastfeeding with formula or supplements) for the first six months of life reduces transmission rates.

LSHTM Audio News Review - August 28th, 2007 A supplement to LSHTM Audio News reviewing this year's important medical developments. Increased Miscarriage Risk in Women with Low Body Mass Index Underweight women with a BMI below 18.5 have a 70 per cent increase in their risk of miscarriage according to a study published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Pat Doyle gave us the details. Microfinance Helps Cut Domestic Violence in Rural South Africa A large and groundbreaking study published in the Lancet has shown that microfinance, combined with a gender and HIV training scheme, can help reduce domestic violence among poor women living in rural South Africa. Charlotte Watts talks about the study and its findings. "Three-Class" Anti-Retroviral Therapy Is Not Appropriate For HIV It is not necessary to use so-called "three-class" antiretroviral therapy to treat patients with HIV according to an article in the Lancet. Rodger MacArthur talks about the study results. Folate Supplements Improve Cognitive Function Folic acid supplements improved cognitive function in older patients in a study from the Netherlands. Investigator Jane Durga wrote in The Lancet that supplementation was associated with better scores in a battery of cognitive tests measuring factors typically known to worsen with age.

LSHTM Audio News Review A supplement to LSHTM Audio News reviewing this year's important medical developments. Seven-Day Low-Cost Tuberculosis Diagnosis A new test for TB (reported in the New England Journal of Medicine) has proved more powerful, faster and yet cheaper than any alternative. David Moore explains how the Microscopic-Observation Drug-Susceptibility (MODS) Assay is highly sensitive and specific, and also yields drug susceptibility data. Improved TB Detection in Women Improving on notoriously low TB detection rates in resource-limited parts of the world may be easily achieved, according to Mishal Khan. The effectiveness of screening can be strengthened by giving comprehensive instructions to women before they produce sputum for testing. Ultimate Eradication of Polio? A monovalent vaccine for type 1 polio has been tested in India where the virus persists, Nicholas Grassly explains why he thinks the vaccine will be much more effective than the trivalent vaccine. Pneumonia Treatment Guidelines Should Change! With pneumonia the leading cause of child mortality, treatment needs to be flawless. But recent research reveals that current WHO guidelines need to be revised, according to investigator, Lisa McNally.

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Audio News, August 16th, 2007 1. Adherence to TB Medication SIMON LEWIN, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine REFERENCE: PLoS Med 4(7):e238. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0040238 A new systematic review has shown that we don’t understand well enough the reasons for poor adherence to tuberculosis medication. Simon Lewin calls for a better approach in the area. 2. Where Now for HIV Prevention Trials? REFERENCE: The Lancet 2007; 370:251-261 NANCY PADIAN, University of California, San Francisco A major study testing a latex diaphragm for HIV prevention found no additional benefit. This adds to a growing number of HIV prevention trials that have failed to find a positive result. So what do we do now? Nancy Padian of the University of California, San Francisco, explains the trial’s results, while David Mabey of LSHTM suggests the field needs greater funding. 3. COMMENT: Where Now for HIV Prevention Trials? DAVID MABEY, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Audio News, July 26th, 2007 1. Malaria Nets Should be Mass Distributed CHRIS CURTIS, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The current method of distributing insecticidal nets for malaria isn’t working well enough. Chris Curtis explains what needs to be done. 2. Renewed Battle Against Chagas Disease JEAN JANNIN, World Health Organisation MICHAEL MILES, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Jean Jannin of the WHO discusses the organisation’s new push to eliminate Chagas Disease; and Michael Mills explains how London School research will contribute. 3. Quiet Progress for the Dengue Vaccine REFERENCE: www.pdvi.org HAROLD MARGOLIS, Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative, Seoul Harold Margolis, director of the Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative, describes current progress in the development of a vaccine for dengue fever.

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Audio News, July 1st, 2007 1. The Threat of Oral Tobacco Martin McKee, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Martin McKee on the smoking ban – and how the tobacco industry is now looking to promote oral tobacco. Is it an effort to keep people addicted? 2. Health Politics Must Involve History REFERENCE: The Guardian, 20th June http://politics.guardian.co.uk/politicspast/comment/0,,2106590,00.html Virginia Berridge, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Virginia Berridge on how the past holds important lessons for public health in the present. 3. Alcohol Consumption in Russian Men REFERENCE: The Lancet 2007; 369:2001-2009 Martin McKee, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Martin McKee also discusses the new study on alcohol and mortality in working-age Russian men, and evidence that non-beverage alcohol is a major cause of early death.