SARS unravelled

Between March 25 and 27, 2003, two different groups of researchers in the cdc and Hong Kong University announced that a previously unrecognised coronavirus could have caused the sars epidemic. This family of viruses is the second leading cause of colds in children and premature infants but has never been perceived to be a serious health threat. Other labs in Hong Kong, Germany and Singapore proposed that another virus from the family of polymyxovirus could be a helper or a cause of co-infection in sars.

Caught off guard

sars is a stark reminder that there is no universal safeguard against infectious diseases. The syndrome has actually exposed the lack of preparedness with regard to infectious diseases -- from hospitals, public hygiene and sanitation, to access to drugs.

SARS Wars

sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) is making the world sneeze. Even as the global health community struggles to unmask a new, deadly, organism, it faces a 21st century dilemma: the speed at which its human carriers have travelled is faster than the incubation of the disease.

Database of potential bioweapons

US scientists have mooted a database containing genetic details of all types of bacteria and viruses that are potential bioweapon agents. It is felt that such a record will give scientists quick answers in the event of a major attack. The experts made this and a host of similar suggestions at the annual meeting of the American Associa-tion for the Advance-ment of Science in Boston.

Health class

• It is now evident that health risks related to consumption are on the rise. Some suffer from plenty, others from scarcity. • Among the 170 million underweight children in poor countries, over 3 million will die this year • Among the 300 million clinically obese people, half a million in only the United States and Western Europe will die this year

Drugged

it no longer makes news that infectious diseases in poor countries kill over 12 million people each year and play a significant role in keeping countries destitute. Yet, what continues to shock is that the illnesses that make up 90 per cent of the global disease burden get only 10 per cent of the research money because they primarily affect poor countries. It's a sad reflection on the global fraternity that virtually no new drugs are being researched and developed for fatal diseases that mainly affect the poor.

Containing the contagion

The foot-and-mouth disease has reared its ugly head once again in South Korea. Tens of thousands of pigs have been slaughtered in the country as the dreaded disease has shown signs of spreading. The outbreak is more pronounced in pig farms close to Seoul. Hundreds of troops have been mobilised for the mass slaughter. About 60,000 more pigs near Anseong, which is close to Seoul, were killed to check the situation.The agriculture ministry has ordered the slaughter of pigs in all farms within three kilometres of the affected ones.

Size does matter

Early childhood is the most critical period of human life. This is the phase that lays the foundation for an individual's mental, social and physical development. Early childhood is also the time when malnutrition, communicable diseases and poor health could threaten life itself, or have profound and long-term adverse effects on the development of the child.

Grim reminder

THE contagion appears to have been contained before it could assume epidemic proportions. But it has still claimed four lives.

Curative resolve

the challenge faced in the control of infectious diseases such as hiv/aids, tb and malaria is now seen more as a political and communications one than scientific and medical. Medical and technical solutions to keep major contagions in check are now available.