Dengue surging in Mexico Latin America
Sat, 31 Mar 2007 02:57:37 GMTBy MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Writer
MEXICO CITY - The deadly hemorrhagic form of dengue fever is increasing dramatically in Mexico, and experts predict a surge throughout Latin America fueled by climate change, migration and faltering mosquito eradication efforts.
Overall dengue cases have increased by more than 600 percent in Mexico since 2001, and worried officials are sending special teams to tourist resorts to spray pesticides and remove garbage and standing water where mosquitoes breed ahead of the peak Easter Week vacation season.
Even classic dengue — known as "bonebreak fever" — can cause severe flu-like symptoms, excruciating joint pain, high fever, nausea and rashes.
More alarming is that a deadly hemorrhagic form of the disease, which adds internal and external bleeding to the symptoms — is becoming more common. It accounts for one in four cases in Mexico, compared with one in 50 seven years ago, according to Mexico's Public Health Department.
While hemorrhagic dengue is increasing around the developing world, the problem is most dramatic in the Americas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Like a poster child for the downside of humanity's impact on the planet, dengue is driven by longer rainy seasons some blame on climate change, as well as disposable plastic packaging and other trash that collects water. Migrants and tourists — including the many thousands of Americans expected for spring break this year — carry new strains of the virus across national borders, where mosquitoes can spread the disease.
The http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/dengue/
Sales halted for constipation drug
Fri, 30 Mar 2007 22:50:32 GMTWASHINGTON - Swiss pharmaceutical maker Novartis AG will stop selling a drug to relieve constipation after it was linked to a higher chance of heart attack, stroke and worsening chest pain that can become a heart attack, federal health officials said Friday.
Novartis agreed to withdraw Zelnorm at the FDA's request, the agency said in a public health advisory.
Zelnorm, also called tegaserod maleate, is a prescription medication approved for short-term treatment of women with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and for patients younger than 65 with chronic constipation, the FDA said.
Doctors who prescribe Zelnorm should work with their patients and transition them to other therapies as appropriate, the FDA added.
Earlier this year, Novartis gave the FDA the results of 29 clinical studies of Zelnorm for treatment of a variety of gastrointestinal tract conditions. The analyses showed 13 of 11,614 patients given Zelnorm had serious and life-threatening cardiovascular side effects, while just one of the 7,031 patients given dummy pills did, the FDA and Novartis said in separate statements.
FDA officials described the cardiovascular side effects as "a very rare event." Still, "we concluded the benefits of this drug no longer outweighed the risks for patients," said Dr. John K. Jenkins, director of the FDA's Office of New Drugs.
The FDA has told Novartis it would consider allowing a limited reintroduction of Zelnorm "if a population of patients can be identified in whom the benefits of the drug outweigh the risks," the agency said.
Novartis said it believes the drug provides unique benefits.
"Although we have complied with the FDA's request and are collaborating with the agency, we continue to believe that Zelnorm provides important benefits for appropriate patients," said Dr. Stephen Cunningham, vice president and head of U.S. clinical development and medical affairs for Novartis.
The FDA first approved Zelnorm in 2002. The agency did not have data concerning how often it's prescribed in the U.S.
However, Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, said that there were 2.13 million prescriptions issued for Zelnorm in 2005 alone, making it one of the top 200 drugs in the country. The organization also said that it had warned the FDA in 2001 not to approve the drug for safety reasons.
"Once again, the FDA has approved a drug with marginal effectiveness in the face of serious questions about its safety — putting at risk the millions of people who have already used it," said Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's health research group.
Jenkins said that Novartis first informed the FDA on Feb. 22 about the data it had accumulated. The agency asked for more information for a review. On Wednesday, FDA asked the company to discontinue marketing the drug. The company agreed to do so on Thursday.
Agency AIDS fight should be sustained
Fri, 30 Mar 2007 22:50:19 GMTBy RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON - The U.S. global http://www.iom.edu
Emergency AIDS program: http://www.pepfar.gov
WHO says organ demand outstrips supply
Fri, 30 Mar 2007 22:51:11 GMTBy ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS, Associated Press Writer
GENEVA - Demand for human organ transplants far exceeds supply, fueling a growth in "transplant tourism" to developing nations where organs can be bought, the World Health Organization said Friday.
The kidney is the most-sought organ, with the 66,000 transplanted in 2005 covering just 10 percent of the estimated need, WHO said.
The agency held a meeting of experts from around the world this week to discuss how to reduce organ-buying. WHO encouraged countries to use the organs of the deceased rather than letting wealthier citizens buy them in developing countries.
Because a person can live with only one kidney, people in poor nations may be lured into selling one of them.
In Pakistan, 40 percent to 50 percent of the residents of some villages have only one kidney because they have sold the other for a transplant into a wealthy person, probably from another country, said Dr. Farhat Moazam of Pakistan, one of the participants in the meeting.
Moazam said Pakistani donors are offered $2,500 for a kidney but receive only about half of that because middlemen take so much.
In Western countries, package deals are advertised on the Internet ranging from $12,000 to $20,000 to receive a kidney and seven days of hospitalization in a transplant country, Moazam said.
"It would be far more expensive to have it done in North America," she said.
WHO's Dr. Luc Noel said that of the total number of kidneys transplanted in 2005, about 6,000 involved either the donor or the recipient traveling, usually to avoid legal problems in their country.
"Live donations are not without risk, whether the organ is paid for or not," Noel said. "The donor must receive proper medical follow-up but this is often lacking when he or she is seen as a means to making a profit. Donations from deceased persons eliminate the problem of donor safety and can help reduce organ trafficking."
Dr. Jeremy Chapman of Australia, another participant in the meeting, said the factors driving transplant tourism are hard to combat.
"The driving instinct for survival amongst people who face almost certain death. Their heart is failing, their kidney is failing, their liver is failing," Chapman said, adding that on the other side, potential donors may need money.
"The result is that in far too many communities of the world the rich prey on the poor," he said.
