Vitamin A Treatment of Measles

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 1014-1015
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin A ◽  
Immune Modulation ◽  
Vitamin A Deficiency ◽  
Serum Vitamin ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
Bulbar Conjunctiva ◽  
Cell Integrity ◽  
The World

In spite of the availability of effective vaccines, measles continues to be a public health problem throughout the world. In 1990, the Centers for Disease Control received more than 27 672 reports of measles in the United States. Complications were reported in one third of infected children younger than 5 years of age.1 Of the 89 measles-related deaths in 1990, 55% occurred in children younger than 5 years old. Several recent investigations have indicated that vitamin A treatment of children with measles in developing countries has been associated with reductions in morbidity and mortality. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) issued a joint statement recommending that vitamin A be administered to all children diagnosed with measles in communities where vitamin A deficiency (serum vitamin A <10 µg/dL) is a recognized problem and where mortality related to measles is ≥1%. The recommended regimen is 100 000 IU by mouth at the time of diagnosis for infants younger than 12 months of age, and 200 000 IU for older children. In the presence of ophthalmologic signs of vitamin A deficiency, such as night blindness, Bitot's spots (grayish white deposits on the bulbar conjunctiva adjacent to the cornea) or xerophthalmia, the WHO recommends the dose be repeated in 24 hours and again 4 weeks later.2 Vitamin A is available in low-cost liquid formulations and is supplemented in infant formulas (2000 µ/L). RATIONALE FOR VITAMIN A Vitamin A is a necessary substrate for preserving epithelial cell integrity and in addition plays a role in immune modulation.1-3

scholarly journals Expanding the definition of noncommunicable disease

2016 ◽  
Vol 04 (02) ◽  
pp. 067-070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ranabir Salam
Keyword(s):  
Liver Disease ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
The United States ◽  
Noncommunicable Disease ◽  
World Health ◽  
Noncommunicable Diseases ◽  
World Population ◽  
The World ◽  
Definition Of

AbstractNoncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are responsible for 68% of all deaths in 2012. Eighty-two percent of these “premature” deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries. Most of the NCD deaths are caused by cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, mental health, road traffic accidents, and violence. The World Health Organization, several governments, and nongovernmental organizations have taken up numerous programs to curb the menace of NCDs. However, the present programs do not include some common chronic medical conditions which also lead to considerable morbidity and mortality. The present review highlights three important chronic disorders: chronic kidney disease (CKD), liver disease (cirrhosis and nonalcoholic fatty liver), and thyroid diseases. CKD is an internationally recognized public health problem affecting 5–10% of the world population. CKD resulted in 956,000 deaths in 2013 and proposes them to be included in the world wide accepted definition of NCD. Cirrhosis and chronic liver disease were the tenth leading cause of death for men and the twelfth for women in the United States in 2001. Moreover, 4–10% of the global population have thyroid dysfunction. This mini-review proposes to expand the definition of NCD to include these three major illnesses.

scholarly journals Use of biomarkers of sub-clinical infection, nutrition and neonatal maturity to interpret plasma retinol in Nigerian neonates

2003 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 353-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delana A. Adelekan ◽  
Christine A. Northrop-Clewes ◽  
Joshua A. Owa ◽  
Adesola O. Oyedeji ◽  
Adedayo A. Owoeye ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Birth Weight ◽  
Low Birth Weight ◽  
Vitamin A ◽  
Vitamin A Deficiency ◽  
Geometric Mean ◽  
Plasma Concentrations ◽  
Surrogate Marker ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
World Health ◽  
Plasma Retinol

Using the World Health Organization criterion, the prevalence of sub-clinical vitamin A deficiency can be assessed using plasma retinol concentrations <0·7 μmol/l. However, plasma retinol can be depressed by infection; thus, the use of this criterion alone may overestimate deficiency. In the present study, we investigated the usefulness of the acute-phase proteins (APP) α1-antichymotrypsin (ACT) and α1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), plasma carotenoids and anthropometric and gestational indices to interpret plasma retinol in the blood of 192 apparently healthy Nigerian neonates collected randomly during days 1–20 postpartum. The mean weight (2·64 kg) and length (0·458 m) of the neonates and plasma concentrations (geometric mean, μmol/l) of retinol (0·54), α-carotene (0·072), ß-carotene (0·076) and lutein (0·080) were low. The prevalence of vitamin A deficiency was 72 %, indicating a severe public health problem. Babies who were of low birth weight (P<0·003) or premature and low birth weight (P<0·023) had significantly lower retinol concentrations than full-term normal weight babies. Thirty-two neonates had abnormal ACT and forty-four abnormal AGP concentrations. Positive correlations between retinol and ACT (r0·186,P=0·05) and AGP (r0·31,P=0·0001) during days 1–5 may be due to the increasing plasma retinol from maternal milk and a coincidental increasing capacity to synthesise APP. Subsequently, negative correlations between retinol and ACT (r−0·28,P=0·02) and AGP (r−0·29,P=0·018) from day 6 onwards reflected the continuing increase in plasma retinol, but no further increase in the APP. Overall, weight, ACT, lutein and age explained 30 % of the variance in retinol, but lutein was the most significant (r20·18,P<0·0001). Hence, the distribution of plasma retinol concentrations in this group of neonates was more strongly linked with nutrition (via the surrogate marker lutein) than infection.

scholarly journals An Accidental Nutritionist

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Alfred Sommer
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin A ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
Vitamin A Deficiency ◽  
World Health ◽  
Formal Training ◽  
Global Control ◽  
Treatment And Prevention ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Unnecessary Death

My career as an accidental nutritionist began with my immersion in cholera control, a cyclone disaster, a smallpox epidemic, and formal training in ophthalmology and epidemiology. Interest in blindness prevention inexplicably led me to (re)pioneer the effects, treatment, and prevention of vitamin A deficiency, while faced with intense criticism by many leading scientists in the nutrition community. The resulting efforts by the World Health Organization and UNICEF in support of programs for the global control of vitamin A deficiency still face vocal opposition by some senior scientists, despite having been estimated to have saved tens of millions of children from unnecessary death and blindness. This entire journey was largely an accident!

The Ethics of COVID-19 Vaccine Passports

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Joseph Meaney ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
The United States ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
World Health ◽  
Medical Decisions ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Divided Society ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

COVID-19 vaccine passports run the risk of creating a divided society where social privileges or restrictions based on “fitness” lead to discrimination based on immunization status. Individuals have a strong right to be free of coercion to take a COVID-19 vaccine, and we should be very leery of further invasion of private medical decisions. These concerns are shared both internationally and in the United States, and the World Health Organization, the Biden administration, and many US governors oppose COVID-19 vaccine credentials. In addition, regulations for COVID-19 vaccine credentials face practical barriers, including lack of access globally, especially among the poor; and lack of scientific data on the efficacy of these vaccines.

(Mis)Information on Digital Platforms: Lessons from Twitter and Sina Weibo in the COVID-19 Pandemic (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Kreps
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
Sina Weibo ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Relative Prevalence

BACKGROUND Misinformation about COVID-19 has presented challenges to public health authorities during pandemics. Understanding the prevalence and type of misinformation across contexts offers a way to understand the discourse around COVID-19 while informing potential countermeasures. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to study COVID-19 content on two prominent microblogging platform, Twitter, based in the United States, and Sina Weibo, based in China, and compare the content and relative prevalence of misinformation to better understand public discourse of public health issues across social media and cultural contexts. METHODS A total of 3,579,575 posts were scraped from both Weibo and Twitter, focusing on content from January 30th, 2020, when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” and February 6th, 2020. A 1% random sample of tweets that contained both the English keywords “coronavirus” and “covid-19” and the equivalent Chinese characters was extracted and analyzed based on changes in the frequencies of keywords and hashtags. Misinformation on each platform was compared by manually coding and comparing posts using the World Health Organization fact-check page to adjudicate accuracy of content. RESULTS Both platforms posted about the outbreak and transmission but posts on Sina Weibo were less likely to reference controversial topics such as the World Health Organization and death and more likely to cite themes of resisting, fighting, and cheering against the coronavirus. Misinformation constituted 1.1% of Twitter content and 0.3% of Weibo content. CONCLUSIONS Quantitative and qualitative analysis of content on both platforms points to cross-platform differences in public discourse surrounding the pandemic and informs potential countermeasures for online misinformation.

scholarly journals SEANUTS: the nutritional status and dietary intakes of 0.5–12-year-old Thai children

2013 ◽  
Vol 110 (S3) ◽  
pp. S36-S44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nipa Rojroongwasinkul ◽  
Kallaya Kijboonchoo ◽  
Wanphen Wimonpeerapattana ◽  
Sasiumphai Purttiponthanee ◽  
Uruwan Yamborisut ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin D ◽  
Vitamin A ◽  
Nutritional Status ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Vitamin A Deficiency ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Rural Children ◽  
Major Public Health Problem ◽  
Serum Retinol

In the present study, we investigated nutritional status and health-related factors in a multistage cluster sample of 3119 Thai urban and rural children aged 0·5–12·9 years. In a subsample, blood samples were collected for the measurement of Hb, transferrin receptor, vitamin A and vitamin D concentrations. The prevalence of stunting and underweight was higher in rural children than in urban children, whereas the wasting rate was similar in both rural and urban areas. Among children aged 3·0–5·9 years, the prevalence of overweight was significantly higher in urban areas than in rural areas and so was the obesity rate in children aged 6·0–12·9 years. Protein intakes of all age groups were relatively high in both the areas. Intakes of Ca, Fe, Zn and vitamin C were significantly higher in urban areas than in rural areas. The prevalence of anaemia in rural areas was twice as high as that in urban areas, particularly in infants and young children. However, the prevalence of Fe-deficiency anaemia was similar in both urban and rural areas. While the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency (by serum retinol cut-off < 0·7 μmol/l) seemed to be very low, vitamin A insufficiency (by serum retinol cut-off < 1·05 μmol/l) was more prevalent (29·4–31·7 %) in both the areas. The prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency ranged between 27·7 and 45·6 % among the children. The present study indicates that the double burden of malnutrition is still a major public health problem in Thailand. Further studies need to explore the associated risk factors for these nutrient deficiencies. Effective strategies and actions are needed to tackle the nutritional problems in Thai children.

scholarly journals Vitamin A Concentration in Cord and Maternal Serum and its Relation to Birth Weight

1970 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-12
Author(s):  
Dipi Barua ◽  
TA Chowdhury ◽  
Ashim Ranjan Barua
Keyword(s):  
Birth Weight ◽  
Child Health ◽  
Vitamin A ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Vitamin A Deficiency ◽  
Serum Vitamin ◽  
Maternal Serum ◽  
Poor Survival ◽  
And Child Health ◽  
Training Institute

Low birth weight (LBW) is a common problem in Bangladesh associated with poor survival, growth and development. Among many factors, Vitamin A deficiency is thought to be associated with LBW. To investigate this relation a study was conducted at Maternity and Child Health Training Institute at Azimpur, Dhaka during January 2000 - July 2002. One hundred pregnant women (38-40 wks of gestation) with their newborns were included. Weights of the newborns were recorded within 20 - 30 minutes of delivery. Vitamin A level was estimated in maternal and cord serum. The newborns having weight <2500gm showed Vitamin A level of 49.40 ± 3.04μg/dl in their maternal serum while those weighing ≥2500gm had a Vitamin A level of 60.18 ± 2.03μg/dl in their maternal serum. A trend of increased maternal serum Vitamin A level was observed with increasing birth weight. Thus neonates with higher birth weights were found to be associated with higher values of maternal serum Vitamin A, though not being statistically significant. Ibrahim Med. Coll. J. 2009; 3(1): 9-12 Key words: LBW, Vitamin A, cord blood, neonates     doi: 10.3329/imcj.v3i1.2911

scholarly journals The Quality Life of Renal Failure Patient Undergo Hemodialysis

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-122
Author(s):  
Rizky Firman ◽  
Sri Mugianti ◽  
Imam Sunarno ◽  
Sri Winarni
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Renal Failure ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
World Health ◽  
Psychological State ◽  
World Health Organization Quality ◽  
Renal Failure Patient ◽  
Quality Life ◽  
The World

Chronic renal failure (CRF) is a public health problem in the world and is now recognized ascommon diseases with risk of hemodialysis therapy. Hemodialysis can have an impact to the patientquality of life. The aim of the research was to describe the patient quality of life with renal failure underghemodialysis at Mardi Waluyo Blitar hospital. The research used a descriptive research design. Thepopulation was all patients with renal failure which registered in Hemodialysis of Mardi Waluyo Blitarhospital on October-December 2014 as many as 84 patients. The sample was 34 patients selected byaccidental sampling. The data collection was conducted on March 30th – April 4th, 2015. The datacollecting used questionnaires of The World Health Organization Quality of Life (QoL WHO) whichdescribed physical health, psychological, social relationships, and environment. In general the qualitylife of renal failure patient underrgo hemodialysis in bad category was 55.9% (19 patients). Thiscondition was due to a chronic disease and its complications potentially stressors including renalfailure patient. Stressors that arise caused by environmental conditions, psychological state, and physicalhealth. The study recommended that health services were expected to provide comfortability, improvemaintenance functions, improve interpersonal relationships, and counseling.

scholarly journals Measles Distribution Map according to Measles Immunization and Vitamin A Coverage

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Vika Gress Vio Dilita ◽  
Lucia Yovita Hendrati
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin A ◽  
Immunization Coverage ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Study Data ◽  
World Health ◽  
Sample Population ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Measles Incidence

Background: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Indonesia is one of the ten countries with the most significant number of measles cases in the world. Immunization coverage in Trenggalek Regency has reached the target of prevention of measles in the elimination stage, namely measles immunization coverage> 95%, the incidence of measles persists and increases in the last three years, from 2013 to 2015. Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the trends between measles immunization status and the provision of vitamin A with the incidence of measles in Trenggalek Regency. Methods: This type of research is an observational study with a cross-sectional study design. The sample population is consist of 14 sub-districts in Trenggalek Regency. Data was taken from the health profile of Trenggalek Regency in 2013, 2014, and 2015. In this study, data processing were analysed by Health Mapper application version 4.3.0.0 with product version 4.03 to determine data descriptively. Results: Distribution of measles incidence with immunization coverage in Trenggalek Regency in 2013, 2014, and 2015 showed that measles incidence tended to increase followed with the decreasing number of measles immunization coverage each year. Ironically, the distribution of measles incidence with vitamin A administration in 2013, 2014, and 2015 showed the incidence of measles had increased because of the inconsistent amount of vitamin A administration. Conclusion: Measles incidence tends to occur in low immunization coverage areas and has decreased from the previous year. Giving vitamin A does not prevent the occurrence of measles, but serves to reduce compilation.

scholarly journals Quality Evaluation of Ethambutol Hydrochloride Tablet Batches Available in Governmental Health Facilities of Jimma Town, Southwest Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Meseret Yirdaw ◽  
Belachew Umeta ◽  
Yimer Mokennen
Keyword(s):  
World Health Organization ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Facilities ◽  
World Health ◽  
Southwest Ethiopia ◽  
Weight Variation ◽  
The World ◽  
Storage Area ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Jimma Town

Background. The availability of poor-quality drugs on the drug market might favor the ineffectiveness of the drug and/antimicrobial resistance. Aim. To evaluate the quality of similar batches of ethambutol hydrochloride tablets available in different governmental health facilities of Jimma town, southwest Ethiopia. Methods. The World Health Organization checklist was used to inspect the storage area of health facilities and check medicines for the sign of counterfeit. The test was conducted as per the United States Pharmacopeia on six similar batches of ethambutol hydrochloride sampled from different governmental health facilities. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20, and one-way ANOVA was used for comparing the dissolution profile and weight variation of batches. Results. Three health facilities did not comply with the storage area specifications for pharmaceuticals. No batches have shown any sign of counterfeit. All of the tablet batches tested complied with USP specifications for weight variation, percentage purity, and dissolution test. Conclusions and Recommendation. The entire tablet batches complied with the World Health Organization specification for packaging and labelling of pharmaceuticals. All tablet batches complied with the test for weight variation, purity of drug substance, and dissolution. Since some health facilities did not comply with at least one specification for storage of pharmaceuticals, regulatory agencies and stack holders are advised to inspect the health facilities to ensure appropriate storage of pharmaceuticals in health facilities.

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