Tag: Communicable diseases

Rethinking Rabies: A Breakthrough in Management? – My comments on the literature
Rabies is a vaccine-preventable, zoonotic disease of global concern, resulting in over 55 000 deaths annually. Whilst standard post-exposure treatments are estimated to prevent hundreds of thousands of fatalities, these are not without shortcomings. Recent immunological research into novel treatments has revealed promising results. Published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, the research paper this article comments on has been described as groundbreaking. (I dare say, most notably by those enchanted by the spell of the [magical] monoclonal antibody: still one of the coolest cocktail party topics in immunology.)

The Basics: The Paradox of the Dual Burden – NCDs and CDs
Here’s a fictional allegory: Thelma lives in a rural area in Tanzania. At age 5, she contracted malaria. Due to broadened availability of health services, Thelma received an artemisinin based treatment and, unlike many before her, she survived. In fact, she lived a long, healthy life. Long enough to reach the age of 55; at ...