Malaria progress threatened

Recent gains in the fight against malaria could be reversed because funding has stalled, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

Its latest World Malaria Report says 1.1 million lives were saved in the past decade but that the expansion in funding from 2004-09 halted in 2010-12.

Less than half of the $5.1bn (£3.1bn) needed was spent last year.

The WHO's latest figures - for 2010 - show some 219 million people were infected, with 660,000 people dying.

'Precarious situation'

The WHO said in a statement that the plateau in funds meant "that millions of people living in highly endemic areas continue to lack access to effective malaria prevention, diagnostic testing, and treatment".

Its report said the supply of "life-saving commodities" - such as long-lasting insecticidal nets and indoor spraying programmes - had slowed.

The report said 50 countries were on track to meet targets for cutting malaria cases but that these countries only represented 3% of malaria cases.

Fourteen nations account for an estimated 80% of malaria deaths and Robert Newman, director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme in Geneva, said these high-burden countries were "in a precarious situation and most of them need urgent financial assistance".

Lead report author Richard Cibulskis said: "We need to make sure that we continue the investments in the control measures that we have.

"If we don't do that, malaria will bounce back. As soon as you take bed nets away, malaria will come back. If you stop indoor residual spraying, it will come back, and with a vengeance."

READMORE:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20760235

Magnetic tongue stud warning

Young people are being warned about the dangers of magnetic tongue studs, after reports of serious medical emergencies.

The head teacher of a school in Manchester has sent out an alert to parents and spoken to pupils.

The studs give the wearer the look of a tongue piercing but without a hole.

If accidentally swallowed, the magnets - designed to be worn either side of the tongue - can stick together, trapping parts of the intestine and leading to perforation of the bowel.

While magnetic facial studs can be bought online, schoolchildren are thought to be fashioning their own tongue versions using magnetic earrings and ball bearings from toy puzzles.

In his letter to parents, head teacher Kevin Hogan from St Matthew's Roman Catholic High School said: "We have spoken to all pupils about this matter and warned them of the potentially harmful consequences of swallowing these magnets.

"If your child has accidentally swallowed one or more of these balls you should seek medical advice immediately."

Dr Anil Thomas George and Dr Sandeep Motiwale, of Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham, wrote a letter to medical journal the Lancet, asking doctors to advise parents of the dangers.

They said two young children in the East Midlands had been admitted to hospital for surgery to remove magnets that had been swallowed.

They wrote: "Parents need to be alerted to the potential risk of silent bowel perforation and fistulation from accidental ingestion of magnets in children.

"Accidental ingestion of magnetic foreign bodies, which was once rare, has become more common owing to the increasing availability of toys with magnetic elements.

"A solitary ingested magnet can pass through the gut spontaneously. However, ingestion of multiple magnets or a single magnet along with another metallic part can cause them to stick to each other with forces of up to 1,300G [gauss], compressing the intervening bowel and leading to subsequent fistulation and perforation."

READMORE:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20679904

Olympian lifespan 'possible for all

The longevity Olympians enjoy is within the reach of everyone, experts say.

Research published on the British Medical Journal (BMJ) website suggests athletes live 2.8 years longer on average than the average lifespan.

The research indicated those who took part in non-contact sports such as cycling, rowing and tennis enjoyed the longest life of all.

But the general population could have a similar "survival advantage" by doing a little more exercise, experts said.

The conclusion by two public health professors came after they reviewed two studies of Olympic athletes published by the BMJ website.

The studies looked at the lifespan and health of 25,000 athletes who competed in Games dating back to 1896.

Those taking part in contact sports such as boxing had the least advantage, while cyclists and rowers enjoyed the best health.

But the researchers also found those who played lower intensity sports such as golf enjoyed a boost.

'Public health failure'

Possible explanations put forward for the finding included genetic and lifestyle factors and the wealth and status that comes with sporting success.

However, the findings prompted public health experts Prof Adrian Bauman, from Australia's Sydney University, and Prof Steven Blair, from South Carolina University in the US, to suggest others could live as long as Olympic athletes.

The recommended level of physical activity for adults is 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each week.

Studies suggest people who manage that amount or more live for up to several years longer than those that do not.

Writing for the BMJ website, the professors said: "Although the evidence points to a small survival effect of being an Olympian, careful reflection suggests that similar health benefits and longevity could be achieved by all of us through regular physical activity.

"We could and should all award ourselves that personal gold medal."

But they said governments were still not doing enough to promote the benefits of physical activity, calling it a "public health failure".

READMORE:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20710388

Organic 'has no health benefits'

Organic food is no healthier than ordinary food, a large independent review has concluded.

There is little difference in nutritional value and no evidence of any extra health benefits from eating organic produce, UK researchers found.

The Food Standards Agency, which commissioned the report, said the findings would help people make an "informed choice".

But the Soil Association criticised the study and called for better research.

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine looked at all the evidence on nutrition and health benefits from the past 50 years.

Among the 55 of 162 studies that were included in the final analysis, there were a small number of differences in nutrition between organic and conventionally produced food but not large enough to be of any public health relevance, said study leader Dr Alan Dangour.

Overall the report, which is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found no differences in most nutrients in organically or conventionally grown crops, including in vitamin C, calcium, and iron.

The same was true for studies looking at meat, dairy and eggs.

Differences that were detected, for example in levels of nitrogen and phosphorus, were most likely to be due to differences in fertilizer use and ripeness at harvest and are unlikely to provide any health benefit, the report concluded.

READMORE:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8174482.st

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