Also in global health news: NTD study; false cholera cases in Zimbabwe; contaminated water in Kenya; doctor's strike ends

Aug 28 2009

Study Examines Toll Of Neglected Tropical Diseases On Populations In Sub-Saharan Africa

UPI reports on a recent review article in the journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases that analyzed the toll of neglected tropical diseases on populations in sub-Saharan Africa. "Researchers said helminth (parasitic worm) infections account for approximately 85 percent of the neglected tropical diseases, which overall might be equivalent to more than double that caused by tuberculosis and as much as half of the area's malaria disease burden," the news service writes (8/26).

Suspected Cases of Cholera In Zimbabwe Confirmed To Be False

According to Zimbabwean government officials, the tests of 12 patients in Zimbabwe feared to have been sickened by cholera have come back negative for vibrio cholerae, the bacterium that causes the disease, the Herald reports. Health officials are continuing to investigate the cause of what has now been determined to be watery diarrhea (8/27).

Contaminated Water Is A Major Cause Of Death In Kenya, Report Says

More people in Kenya die as a result of contaminated water than malaria and HIV/AIDS combined - according to a report, which was discussed at an international workshop in Nairobi, Kenya - the Daily Nation reports. The report said that 5,000 children younger than age five die everyday in Africa due to dirty water. In addition, "only 49 percent of Kenya's rural areas had sustainable access to improved drinking water while 85 percent in the urban areas has access to improved drinking water sources," according to the Daily Nation (8/26).

Zimbabwe Doctors End Strike

"A three-week strike by doctors in Zimbabwe's state hospitals officially ended Wednesday with a letter from their bargaining unit to the Ministry of Health declaring an end to the action," VOA News reports (Nyaira/Manika, 8/26). Brighton Chizhande, president of the country's Hospital Doctors Association, said the strike was called off on "humanitarian grounds and after receiving reassurances from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai that the government understood their plight and would listen to their demands," according to SW Radio Africa (Gonda, 8/26).