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Healthwrap: Gates Takes A Swat At Malaria
Washington DC (UPI) Nov 01, 2005 AIDS is bad, avian flu could become bad - but 2,000 children a day dying from malaria is very bad indeed. That's why Bill Gates, through the foundation set up by him and his wife, Melinda, has just given $258.3 million to help prevent and control malaria. "For far too long, malaria has been a forgotten epidemic," said Gates, the bizillionaire founder of Microsoft who is pouring money into worldwide disease control. "It's a disgrace that the world has allowed malaria deaths to double in the last 20 years, when so much more could be done to stop the disease." The money will be split three ways: - $107.6 million to the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI). The money will allow GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals to work with African investigators to complete tests and apply for approval of an anti-malaria vaccine. - $100 million to the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) to help move promising drugs through the approval process. - $50.7 million to the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC), led by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. That money will go to developing better insecticides and other mosquito-control measures. "Millions of children have died from malaria because they were not protected by an insecticide-treated bed net, or did not receive effective treatment," Gates said. "If we expand malaria control programs, and invest what's needed in R&D, we can stop this tragedy." Malaria claims 2.7 million lives a year, three-fourths of them African children. On the bird-flu front, bad news keeps rolling in along with efforts to prevent a human-to-human pandemic that could kills millions. Thailand confirmed its 20th case of bird flu in a suburban Bangkok woman. China said it was increasing surveillance of migratory birds and poultry and had canceled pigeon races. In Australia, the foreign minister warned Asian countries not to cover up bird-flu cases. Alexander Downer spoke at a forum on bird flu in Brisbane Monday. While they are unrelated, concerns about the good old-fashioned flu are increasing as well as winter looms. USA Today reports that "vaccine experts are considering recommending annual flu vaccine not just for those at highest risk of serious illness, but for everyone." Before that happens, kinks in the supply chain will need to be worked out and production jacked up considerably. "Some doctors say the real question is getting vaccine, even for their high risk patients," the newspaper said. One plant in France, shut down last year after concerns about contamination, is up and running but now is dealing with production delays. Where there's anxiety, there's a chance to capitalize on it. The Baytown (Texas) Sun reported that the owner of a Houston healthcare company is in jail "after his company issued more than 1,000 fake flu shots to local Exxon Mobil workers during a safety fair last week." Let's hope the placebo effect kicks in. All rights reserved. Copyright 2004 by United Press International. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by United Press International. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of by United Press International. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Epidemics on Earth - Bird Flu, HIV/AIDS, Ebola
Less Threatening Bird Flu
Washington (UPI) Jan 11, 2006Talk about good news and bad news: While more cases of avian flu are identified in both birds and humans in Turkey, the first possible signs emerged that the virus itself might not be as lethal as feared. |
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