Health

Malaria On the Move Again Across Mekong Sub-Region

A Cambodian boy gets tested for malaria at a clinic on the Thai-Cambodian border. Three strains of drug-resistant malaria have emerged from this area. Not only are malaria parasites growing resistant to artemisinin, but mosquitoes are developing immunity.

CHIANG RAI – Across S.E. Asia millions of people who not long ago would have died after contracting malaria are instead living healthy, productive lives. Cases have been cut by 75 per cent in many countries in line with a target adopted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) at the turn of the century.

Still, malaria remains a serious threat to lives and livelihoods. Endemic in 22 countries across Asia-Pacific, it is contracted by an estimated 32 million people in the region annually and kills 47,000 of them. The poor suffer most, as the sick can’t earn an income for their families, children miss school, and households struggle with crippling medical bills.

The most deadly form of malaria is best tackled with medicine based on the drug artemisinin, and mosquito control measures such as insecticidal bed nets and insecticide spraying. Artemisinin-based therapies emerged two decades ago, averting a more severe global epidemic after resistance to existing drugs had raised the specter of a world defenseless against malaria.

These advances are now threatened by a worrying re-emergence of resistance to pesticides and drugs, particularly in the Greater Mekong Sub-region. Malaria is on the move again and decisive steps must be taken before time runs out for Mekong countries, the rest of Asia, and the world.

Not only are mosquitoes developing immunity to sprays that have until now killed them, but malaria parasites are growing resistant to artemisinin. Resistance was first reported in western Cambodia in 2005. Since then it has spread, and is now firmly established in eastern Myanmar, western Cambodia and Thailand and southern Vietnam. It is emerging in southern Laos and northeastern Cambodia.

Alarmingly, resistance may soon knock on India’s door. If it spreads on the Indian subcontinent or, worse still, in sub-Saharan Africa, all gains from the global struggle against malaria may be undone. The social, health and economic costs would be incalculable.

Why is resistance spreading again?

The main culprits are the widespread use of fake and substandard malaria drugs. Add to this the unknown numbers of people in remote, resistance affected areas who are beyond the reach of health services. These people often do not figure in population surveys and move across borders, potentially spreading resistant infections.

It’s time for a new strategy. Eliminating malaria before drug resistance can spread would get rid of malaria while it can still be treated effectively. Instead of targeting areas with resistant parasites and hoping they don’t spread elsewhere, a frontal assault would eliminate resistant parasites across the region.

Elimination is an immense task, but an achievable one. It is a disease of the past for a number of countries once plagued by malaria, including Sri Lanka which is likely to be certified as free of the disease by the WHO next year. At least 15 other countries in Asia-Pacific are also pursuing elimination, but malaria does not respect borders; their efforts will be in vain if remaining pockets of the disease are not addressed.

Eliminating malaria demands bold action well beyond health services, with strong commitment at the highest levels of government. The region’s countries have the capacity to pursue an elimination goal. To reach it, they will need to prioritise the disease and act together.

Already, some outstanding work is being done. While affected countries provide the bulk of financing for national efforts, organisations such as the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the development agencies of Australia, Britain and the United States, also provide crucial financing.

The Asian Development Bank recently started the Regional Malaria and Other Communicable Disease Threats Trust Fund, with support from Australia and the UK, to raise resources to fight malaria and other diseases. The WHO has set up the Emergency Response to Artemisinin Resistance for the Mekong nations, based in Phnom Penh.

Perhaps most encouraging is the Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance (APLMA), a heads-of-government grouping jointly established last year by Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott at the East Asia Summit in Brunei Darussalam.

APLMA is the first high-level regional alliance to tackle public health threats. It aims to work with regional leaders to accelerate progress towards a regional elimination target: a malaria-free Asia-Pacific by 2030.

The challenge of beating malaria is not technical, but political and financial. APLMA’s secretariat is urging regional heads of government to put malaria on the agenda at November’s East Asia Summit in Myanmar, giving impetus to the campaign for malaria’s elimination.

The region can beat malaria again. But this will take political breakthroughs, as well as therapeutic ones.

Patricia Moser is lead health specialist at the Asian Development Bank.

Ben Rolfe is deputy executive secretary at the Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance.

Health

Report Causes Pfizer Stock to Climb Approximately $1 Billion Acquired by Starboard

(VOR News) – According to a rumor that activist investor Pfizer Starboard Value has taken a holding in the struggling pharmaceutical business that is expected to be worth around one billion dollars, the stock of Pfizer (PFE) is on the increase in premarket trading on Monday.

This comes after the report was made public. The report was made available to the general public following this. Starboard Value was successful in moving forward with the acquisition of the position.

Starboard is said to have approached Ian Read, a former chief executive officer of Pfizer, and Frank D’Amelio, a former chief financial officer, in order to seek assistance with its goals of boosting the performance of the company, according to the Wall Street Journal. Read and D’Amelio are both former Pfizer executives.

The purpose of this is to facilitate the accomplishment of its objectives, which include enhancing the overall performance of the firm.

In their previous jobs, D’Amelio and Read were chief financial officers.

It is stated in the report that the hedge fund is of the opinion that Pfizer, which is currently being managed by Albert Bourla, who succeeded Read as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 2019, does not demonstrate the same level of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) discipline that Read did. Bourla took over for Read in 2019. Read was succeeded by Bourla in the year 2019.

Pfizer, a multinational pharmaceutical conglomerate, has made substantial investments in the acquisition of more companies that are involved in the research and development of cancer medicines.

These businesses have been acquired for billions of dollars. The biotechnology company Seagen, which was acquired by Pfizer in the previous year for a price of $43 billion, is included in this category. One of the businesses that can be classified as belonging to this category is Seagen.

In spite of the fact that the S&P 500 Index experienced a 21% increase in 2024.

No major trading occurred in Pfizer stock that year.

Due to the fact that the demand for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines fell after the firm reached its pandemic peak in 2021, the share price of the corporation has decreased by over fifty percent since that time.

This drop has occurred ever since the company’s shares reached their maximum peak, which was during the time that this decline occurred. Not only have they not changed at all, but they have also remained essentially stable. This is in contrast to the S&P 500, which has gained 21% since the beginning of this year.

Recently, the corporation was forced to take a hit when it decided to recall all of the sickle cell illness medications that it had distributed all over the world.

Fears that the prescription could lead patients to experience severe agony and possibly even death were the impetus for the decision to recall the product. In spite of the fact that Pfizer’s stock is increasing by almost three percent as a result of the news that followed the company’s decision, this is the circumstance that has come about.

SOURCE: IPN

Health

New Study Reveals Drinking Soda Pop Increases the Risk of Stroke

If you drink too much soda, fruit juice and coffee, beware!

A recent report from global research indicates that excessive consumption of coffee or soda pop is associated with an increased risk of stroke, although the intake of black and green tea is correlated with a reduced risk. Excessive consumption of soda pop or coffee warrants caution!

Recent research indicates that it may substantially elevate the risk of stroke.

Consuming four cups of coffee daily elevates the risk of stroke, according to studies, although ingesting 3-4 cups of black or green tea daily typically offers protection against stroke. Additionally, consume more coffee; it may reduce your risk of mortality.

Recent findings from global research studies co-led by the University of Galway and McMaster University, alongside an international consortium of stroke researchers, indicate that soda, encompassing both sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened variants such as diet or zero sugar, is associated with a 22 percent heightened risk of stroke. The risk escalated significantly with the consumption of two or more of these beverages daily.

Stroke Risk Fizzy Drinks and Soda Pop

The correlation between fizzy drinks consumption and stroke risk was most pronounced in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. Women exhibit the most elevated risk of stroke from bleeding (intracranial hemorrhage) associated with fruit juice beverages. Consuming over 7 cups of water daily diminishes the likelihood of stroke due to a clot.

Researchers observed that numerous items advertised as fruit juice are derived from concentrates and have added sugars and preservatives, potentially negating the advantages often associated with fresh fruit and instead elevating stroke risk.

Fruit juice beverages were associated with a 37 percent heightened risk of stroke resulting from bleeding (intracranial hemorrhage). Consuming two of these beverages daily increases the risk thrice.

Consuming over four cups of coffee daily elevates the risk of stroke by 37 percent, although lower consumption levels do not correlate with stroke risk. Conversely, tea consumption was associated with an 18-20 percent reduction in stroke risk. Additionally, consuming 3-4 cups daily of black tea, such as Breakfast and Earl Grey varieties, excluding green and herbal teas, was associated with a 29 percent reduced risk of stroke.

Consuming 3-4 cups of green tea daily was associated with a 27 percent reduction in stroke risk. Notably, the addition of milk may diminish or inhibit the advantageous effects of antioxidants present in tea. The lower risk of stroke associated with tea consumption was negated for individuals who added milk.

Disclaimer: This article is intended solely for informational reasons and should not be considered a replacement for professional medical counsel. Consistently consult your physician regarding any inquiries pertaining to a medical problem.

Starbucks Faces Sales Decline Amid Price Fatigue and Rising Competition

Starbucks Faces Sales Decline Amid Price Fatigue and Rising Competition

Health

Following a Diagnosis of Breast Cancer, What Else Should You Know?

(VOR News) – Even though breast cancer affects one in eight American women, receiving a diagnosis can make a woman feel isolated.

Experts in breast cancer from the American College of Physicians (ACS) advise patients on how to manage their disease so that they may better cope with this awful information.

First, the kind and stage of breast cancer dictates the course of your care.

In addition to immunotherapy and chemotherapy, there are various surgical options available for the treatment of breast cancer.

Women of African descent are disproportionately affected by triple-negative breast cancer, an extremely aggressive form of the disease that has never proven easy to treat.

According to the American Cancer Society, pembrolizumab (Keytruda), an immunotherapy, has been shown to be helpful when combined with chemotherapy and is currently the recommended course of treatment for certain combinations of triple-negative breast cancer.

In her presentation, Dr. Katharine Yao said, “It’s really important that the patient and physician discuss the patient’s preferences and values when deciding what type of treatment to pursue and that they have an honest, individualized discussion with their care team.”

She is currently responsible for developing breast cancer treatment recommendations for more than 575 hospitals and institutions nationwide in her role as chair of the American College of Surgeons’ National Accreditation Program for Breast Institutions (NAPBC).

Yao, vice chair of research at Endeavor Health NorthShore Hospitals in New York, pointed out that each decision made about a patient’s treatment plan should take her preferences and diagnosis into consideration.

She ought to think about whether she would prefer a mastectomy—a surgical procedure that involves removing the entire breast with or without reconstruction—or a lumpectomy, which involves a surgical procedure that spares part of the breast tissue.

She stated that “the breast cancer you have may be very different from the breast cancer you hear about in your neighbor, colleague, or friend” in a press release issued by the American Cancer Society (ACS).

“Consider that while discussing breast cancer with others.”

Throughout your journey, it is critical that you look after your emotional health because having breast cancer may have a detrimental impact on your mental health.

“Getting a cancer diagnosis does not mean that everything in your life stops to be normal.” Director of the Fellowship in the Diseases of the Breast program at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas and state head of the American Cancer Society Commission on Cancer for Arkansas, Dr. Daniela Ochoa She thinks adding the burden of a cancer diagnosis and treatment to all the other pressures in life may be taxing.

“Managing stress and emotional health is vital component of a treatment plan.”

Ochoa recommends clinically trained psychologists and social workers who have assisted people in coping with cancer to anyone receiving treatment. Learning coping techniques might also be facilitated by joining cancer support groups or cancer wellness initiatives.

Breast cancer specialists say your care team is crucial.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) defines comprehensive care as having support at every stage of the procedure from surgeons, oncologists, patient navigators, nurses, social workers, psychologists, and other specialists.

After receiving a breast cancer diagnosis, women should see a surgeon or medical oncologist to explore their options; nevertheless, treatment shouldn’t be discontinued after just one appointment or after surgery is over.

Additionally, you can ask trustworthy friends or family members to accompany you to appointments and aid you with research or notes. They could serve as a network of support for you.

Yao stated in his talk that “one of the most important things is that patients should search out a team they have confidence in, that they trust will have their back when they need it, and a team they feel they can get access to and that will help them when they are in need.”

SOURCE: MP