Monday, November 26, 2012
The Likely Expansion of AIDS in India
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/world/asia/indian-prostitutes-new-autonomy-imperils-aids-fight.html?ref=health
In this article from the New York Times, India is about to have a large increase in the number of people that are afflicted with HIV/AIDS. Over the years, India has made excellent progress with their anti-AIDS efforts, mostly by shutting down brothels that could potentially infect people in the future. However, prostitutes in India are finding new ways to find money with the help of cheap cell phones. Cell phones allow them to keep in contact with customers from many different areas, as opposed to having the same customers come to the same brothel each time. This is dangerous because it increases the chances that people contract HIV/AIDS.
In addition, the Gates Foundation is about to cut funding to this program. It is critical to maintain this assistance because it is so important to the nation's growth and development. This is the wrong time to drop funding with this issue because there is an impending outbreak that can ruin many people's lives. A potential outbreak of this magnitude could catch us off guard and it could end up costing more resources to maintain properly.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Pregnancy Test Identifies Testicular Cancer
http://blogs.webmd.com/breaking-news/2012/11/pregnancy-test-reveals-testicular-cancer.html
In this article posted on WebMD, a regular pregnancy test can be used to test for testicular cancer. Both tests share a protein that triggers the test kit to indicate a positive result. That protein is hCG.
This was discovered by a user on the website Reddit. A man used his wife's pregnancy test kit as a joke, but it ended up being positive. After Reddit users indicated that hCG could possibly lead to testicular cancer, he checked for it and learned that he in fact tested positive for testicular cancer as the pregnancy test had indicated.
This is very beneficial because it is a cheap and easy way of finding cancer in men. These are tests that we should continue to improve upon in the future: cheap and easy to use.
In this article posted on WebMD, a regular pregnancy test can be used to test for testicular cancer. Both tests share a protein that triggers the test kit to indicate a positive result. That protein is hCG.
This was discovered by a user on the website Reddit. A man used his wife's pregnancy test kit as a joke, but it ended up being positive. After Reddit users indicated that hCG could possibly lead to testicular cancer, he checked for it and learned that he in fact tested positive for testicular cancer as the pregnancy test had indicated.
This is very beneficial because it is a cheap and easy way of finding cancer in men. These are tests that we should continue to improve upon in the future: cheap and easy to use.
Monday, November 5, 2012
SARS Strikes Again
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/11/05/saudi-arabia-virus/1683151/
In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a Coronavirus has been discovered in three patients in recent weeks which has been linked to the SARS virus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). Patients afflicted with SARS initially appear to have a cold, but later on the disease develops similarly to influenza.
This is a major issue because this virus has not made an appearance since 2003 when it nearly grew into a global pandemic. During that time, it infected roughly 800 people in 37 different countries and had an average mortality rate of 10.9%. Extreme measures had to be taken quickly in order to ensure that the disease would not spread to more patients. Patients were isolated in "bubble rooms" designed to contain the virus. Medicine/other treatment would be administered through the safety barrier so that they might better protect other people from getting SARS.
Had we not implemented our current health policies, we could be living in a very different situation. Many lives would be lost. The reemergence of SARS should not last very long if we act quickly. A quick response would save many people's lives.
In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a Coronavirus has been discovered in three patients in recent weeks which has been linked to the SARS virus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). Patients afflicted with SARS initially appear to have a cold, but later on the disease develops similarly to influenza.
This is a major issue because this virus has not made an appearance since 2003 when it nearly grew into a global pandemic. During that time, it infected roughly 800 people in 37 different countries and had an average mortality rate of 10.9%. Extreme measures had to be taken quickly in order to ensure that the disease would not spread to more patients. Patients were isolated in "bubble rooms" designed to contain the virus. Medicine/other treatment would be administered through the safety barrier so that they might better protect other people from getting SARS.
Had we not implemented our current health policies, we could be living in a very different situation. Many lives would be lost. The reemergence of SARS should not last very long if we act quickly. A quick response would save many people's lives.
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