Number 3, Trachoma Treatment Saves Sight & Saves Lives

Maybe an unexpected highlight, but I’m impressed at these findings… A recent study proved that application of azithromycin (Zithromax) to treat trachoma saved sight in Ethiopia and saved lives too. Chlamydia trachomatis is the leading cause of preventable blindness. Left untreated, chronic and repeated trachoma infections in children can lead to irreversible adult blindness; there are an estimated 8 million irreversible visual impairments attributed to trachoma.  Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial cleanliness and Environmental…

Number 5, Disease Outbreaks You May Not Have Heard About…

2009 began with Ebola in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); cases were recorded on 2^nd January. The outbreak came to an end in February, after causing 32 cases and 15 deaths.

From February to April, meningococcal disease outbreaks occurred first in Nigeria, then in ‘the African belt’, and finally in Chad; there were around 1600 deaths.

Notable also were cholera outbreaks in Zimbabwe between…

Two billion people, or one third of the world’s population, are estimated to be infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria which cause tuberculosis (TB). According to WHO’s Global Tuberculosis Control 2009 update report, in 2008 there were approximately 1.3 million TB deaths, and an additional 520,000 TB deaths among HIV positive individuals ¹.

TB is an airborne pathogen, transmitted after prolonged, close contact with coughing and sneezing infectious…