Democracy, Tuberculosis, And Islam

[bitterlyclingin]

[Human infants are born with blood components that behave like antibodies to the staphylococcus bacilli, latching onto them, identifying them as foreign invaders and priming them for destruction from birth. The body adapts to other foreign invaders by fabricating antibodies to these as they are encountered throughout life. When it senses the presence of these invaders internally, the body mounts its response, the elevated body temperature, manufacture of antibodies, wholesale migration of lymphocytes, macrophages and other blood components to the site of infection occur in order to eliminate the invader.
The Tuberculosis bacillus somehow seems to be able to evade the body's defense mechanisms, setting up shop uninhibited to feed off the body's cornucopia of nutrients, reproduce more of itself, weaken and eventually kill its host. Even with the use of modern antibiotics, the body doesn't seem able to actually destroy the bacteria, but only wall it off, leaving it dormant until the hosts defenses weaken and allow it to once again spring loose out of its cocoon.]

"Hate preacher Abu Qatada issued orders to kill British and American civilians after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to a secret MI5 report seen by The Mail on Sunday.

The Security Service document has raised questions as to why Qatada – who the British Government has tried and failed to deport to Jordan – has not been put on trial in the UK for inciting murder.

The report is marked ‘secret UK eyes only’ and claims Qatada is the author of a fatwa that ‘encourages Muslims to take part in jihad against the West’.

The Qatada fatwa also gives religious justification to the 9/11 attacks in the US which killed 2,977 civilians.

The MI5 case file on Qatada was discovered abandoned in the British ambassador’s residence in Tripoli by The Mail on Sunday after the toppling of Colonel Gaddafi last year.

It says: ‘In arguing the legal case for the attacks of September 11, Abu Qatada advocates fighting jihad against America and the West.

‘However, he goes further to include not only the aggressor (the American government), but anybody associated with the aggressor (its civilians) as prospective targets.’

Qatada, who has been described as Osama Bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe, remains on bail in London after Home Secretary Theresa May lost the latest round in her battle to deport him to Jordan, where he is wanted for his alleged roles in two bomb plots against foreigners.

The court ruling – which means the extremist preacher is free to walk the streets of London for six hours a day – prompted Prime Minister David Cameron to say he was ‘completely fed up’ with the Qatada problem."

UK: Islamist Cleric Freed By EU Court Issued Orders To Kill British Citizens After 9/11… | Weasel Zippers

 

[waltky]

Lawmaker rips program promoting Islamic culture...

Lawmaker Denounces Federal Program Promoting Islamic Culture
Thursday, January 17, 2013 - Hundreds of thousands spent to “promote the rich cultural heritage of Islamic civilizations”

A North Carolina congressman is denouncing the use of federal dollars to “promote the rich cultural heritage of Islamic civilizations.” Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) told Fox News that he was appalled by the hundreds of thousands of dollars used to fund the program through a National Endowment for the Humanities grant – calling it “wasting taxpayer money.” Jones was referring to the “Bridging Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Journeys” program. The NEH program put dozens of books promoting the Islamic culture in more than 800 libraries in all 50 states. The program is funded by a $1.8 million grant.

NEH Communications director Judy Havemann told Fox News the “Muslim Journeys Bookshelf” is funded by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. It was unclear how much taxpayer money was used to facilitate the project. She said the NEH is allowed, through legislation, to explore “comparative religion.” Libraries that participate in the government program will receive 25 books about the Islam, along with films and access to the Oxford Islamic Studies Online. The libraries will also be required to host community discussions about the Muslim faith and culture.

Craven Community College, in Jones’ district, was one of the institutions to receive the NEH grant. “NEH has a long tradition of supporting large scale projects devoted to the historical, cultural, political, literary, and artistic traditions associated with the world’s faiths,” Havemann told Fox News. But Jones said it’s financially irresponsible for the federal government to spend so much money – given the economic troubles facing the nation. “It makes zero sense for the U.S. government to borrow money from China in order to promote the culture of Islamic civilizations,” said Jones – who has a history of opposing funding to the NEH and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Among the books offered are, “Muhammad”, “The Story of the Qur’an”, and “The Butterfly Mosque: A Young American Woman’s Journey to Love and Islam.” Jones’ comments drew a rebuke from the first Muslim elected to Congress, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN). “Americans should have the freedom to learn about any culture and specifically excluding any religion is un-American,” Ellison said in a statement. “Just as we have access to books on Christianity, Judaism, and atheism in our public libraries now, Americans should have access to books about Muslim culture.” Jones said the community college should give equal exposure to books about Christianity and “America’s rich Judeo-Christian heritage.”

MORE

 

[Clementine]

Government has no business promoting any religion. The Muslims have not been kind to us over the years and, despite Obama's claim, they are not part of our heritage. Our history with Muslims has been one of repeated terrorist attacks.

 

[waltky]

TB vaccine doesn't pass muster...

Tuberculosis vaccine hopes dashed
4 February 2013 - Prof Helen McShane, from the University of Oxford, who developed the vaccine, said that the trial provided valuable information despite the setback.

A major trial of a new booster vaccine has ended in failure, marking a major setback in the fight against tuberculosis (TB). It was the first big study in infants since the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine was introduced in 1921. BCG is only partially effective against the bacterium that causes TB, which is why several international teams are working on new vaccines. The latest, known as MVA85A, failed to protect babies who had already had BCG. The trial, in South Africa, involved 2,794 healthy children aged four to six months, half of whom received MVA85A and the rest a placebo. They were followed up for an average of two years. The researchers, reporting in the Lancet medical journal, found 32 cases of TB in those who had received the vaccine compared with 39 in the placebo group. This gave an effectiveness of 17%, which is so low as to be statistically non-significant.

'Disappointing'

Designed to boost the immune responses that have been primed by the BCG vaccine, MVA85A has been undergoing human trials for more than a decade, showing it to be safe and to stimulate a high level of immune response in adults. Prof Helen McShane, from the University of Oxford, who developed the vaccine, said: "[It] induced modest immune responses against TB in the infants, but these were much lower than those previously seen in adults, and were insufficient to protect against the disease. "This is the first efficacy trial of a new TB vaccine since Bacille Calmette-Guérin, a significant step in itself, and there is much that we and others can learn from the study and the data it has produced." In an accompanying editorial Christopher Dye, of the World Health Organization (WHO), and Paul Fine, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said although the results were disappointing they were "not a terminal prognosis for MVA85A, or for any of the other tuberculosis vaccines in development".

They added: "Now is a key moment in tuberculosis vaccine research. "If the history of tuberculosis vaccine research teaches us anything, it is to expect surprises. We need to go on playing the high-stakes game." The MVA85A study was funded by AERAS, the Wellcome Trust and Oxford-Emergent Tuberculosis Consortium. AERAS, a not-for-profit organisation, was set up to develop new TB vaccines. MVA85A was the most advanced of six vaccine candidates it is helping develop. Dr Tom Evans, interim CEO of AERAS said: "Because of the urgency to control the global TB epidemic, and despite these trial results, we remain steadfast in our belief that an improved TB vaccine will be developed and represents the best hope for eliminating the disease." TB is a major global health problem with an estimated 8.7 million cases and 1.4 million deaths a year, according to the WHO. The disease is the leading cause of death among people with HIV in South Africa.

Historic

Dr Richard White, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Director of the TB Modelling and Analysis Consortium, said: "This is a very disappointing result, but this was just the first of around 12 new tuberculosis vaccines currently being tested in humans and around 50 vaccine candidates currently being tested in the lab. It was a historic trial, the first of a new TB vaccine for nearly a century. It will lead to much valuable knowledge to help us design effective vaccines in the future. "

BBC News - Tuberculosis vaccine hopes dashed

 

[TheOldSchool]

Another person whose existence justifies guantanamo bay

 

[Charles_Main]

Government has no business promoting any religion. The Muslims have not been kind to us over the years and, despite Obama's claim, they are not part of our heritage. Our history with Muslims has been one of repeated terrorist attacks.

Oh come on, The were just pirates back when we first got started. So the Relationship has grown some at least.

 

[waltky]

Africa, Europe to be impacted by funding shortfall...

Major Funding Gap Exists in Battle Against TB
March 18, 2013 — Strains of tuberculosis that are resistant to multiple drugs present a major threat and could spread widely, the World Health Organization and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria said Monday. The organizations are campaigning for funds to tackle the world's second deadliest infectious disease.

Tackling the TB epidemic is one of the eight Millennium Development Goals that U.N. member states agreed to achieve by 2015. Annually, the number of new TB cases has declined since 2006 and the number of TB-related deaths is on track to reach a 50-percent reduction by 2015. But in 2011, according to the World Health Organization, there were still 8.7 million new cases and 1.4 million people died from TB.

Drug-resistant TB on rise

Additionally, multidrug-resistant TB is posing an increasing threat. Mario Raviglione, director of the World Health Organization's Stop TB Department, said there has been a two-percent yearly decline in people falling ill from TB. It's good that the numbers are going down, he said, but the progress is too slow. "We are not seeing a dent in making the numbers of cases of TB reduced year by year in an accelerated way," said Raviglione. Two regions, Europe and Africa, are not on track to halve the TB death rate by 2015, which is the goal laid out by the U.N.

Africa, Europe in spotlight

Raviglione said that in Western Europe and North America there are, on average, about five or six TB cases per 100,000 people. The numbers in Africa, which has the greatest per capita TB death rate, are much higher. "In Africa you find peaks, especially in southern Africa, like South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, etcetera, of 1,000 cases per 100,000 - so, many times higher than what you find in rich countries," he said. The two Geneva-based organizations held a press conference Monday highlighting the urgent need for funds to combat the TB crisis.

They say an extra $1.6 billion in international funding is needed annually for the treatment and prevention of the disease. By filling the gap, it says treatment could be provided to 17 million TB and multidrug-resistant TB patients, and save 6 million lives between 2014-2016. Raviglione said about 60 percent of the $1.6 billion would be for WHO’s Africa region.

Source

 

[waltky]

New TB markers found based on proteins released as lung tissue breaks down...

UK Researchers Identify New TB Markers
August 09, 2013 > Researchers have found a new way to screen people for tuberculosis by identifying proteins released as diseased lungs break down.

TB bacteria typically attack the lungs, and the damage they do causes transmission of the disease to others and can lead to the death of the patient. About one and a half million people die of tuberculosis each year.

Researchers from Britain's University of Southampton, led by Paul Elkington, found increased amounts of collagen and elastin — key proteins in the lungs — in TB patients' sputum and blood. Elkington says these markers of the disease may help in the development of new diagnostic tests and treatments. "This may permit population screening to find and treat highly infectious individuals to break the cycle of transmission, especially in developing world countries where TB is most prominent," he said.

His team is now studying all the lung fragments released as the disease progresses, hoping to develop new tests that can be performed at the patient's bedside. The research team's findings were published August 6 in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Health: UK Researchers Identify New TB Markers

 

[waltky]

TB gonna get costly to treat in Europe...

Tuberculosis 'Time Bomb' Costs Europe Billions Annually
August 15, 2013 — Europe is facing a multi-billion-euro time bomb of rising costs to control tuberculosis (TB) as drug-resistant forms of the lung disease spread, a pioneering study found.

Often thought of as a disease of the past or one restricted to marginalized communities, TB is already inflicting annual direct costs of more than 500 million euros on the region and another 5.3 billion euros in productivity losses. The study, by health economists based in Germany, also suggests the economic burden of TB far outweighs the likely costs of investing in much-needed research to develop more effective medicines and vaccines — something they said governments and the drug industry should do urgently. "We know that new drugs and vaccines are very expensive [to develop], but if you take these costs into consideration, then everything is justified," said Roland Diel, a health economics professor at Germany's University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel, who led the study. The emergence of strains of that can't be treated with even the most powerful of drugs has turned TB into one of the world's most pressing health problems.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), TB infected 8.7 million people worldwide in 2011 and killed 1.4 million. As many as two million people may have drug-resistant strains by 2015, the Geneva-based health agency says. Treating even typical TB is a long process. Patients need to take a cocktail of antibiotics for six months and many fail to complete the treatment. That, alongside overuse and misuse of antibiotics, has fuelled the emergence of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug resistant (XDR-TB). For this study, published online in the European Respiratory Journal on Friday and the first of its kind, researchers used a systematic review of literature and institutional websites for the 27 EU member states to summarize data on TB treatment costs in 2011. They split the countries into two groups based on gross domestic product (GDP) per person.

Belarusians queue for X-rays to detect tuberculosis during Belarusian Red Cross screening, Minsk

For the old EU 15 countries plus Cyprus, Malta and Slovenia, the average direct cost per case of typical TB was 10,282 euros ($13,600), but was more than 57,200 euros for MDR cases and more than 170,700 euros for XDR cases. For the remaining EU states, average costs were 3,427 euros for standard treatable TB and around 24,100 euros for drug-resistant cases. The total treatment cost of all TB cases in 2011 was 536,890,315 euros ($712.26 million). While the number of drug-resistant TB cases in Europe is currently only a tiny fraction of the total of around 70,000 cases per year, Diel said that would swiftly change. "It's a time bomb in terms of drug-resistant cases," he said in a telephone interview. "They are just a small fraction right now, but that will increase... so the costs will also rise."

Beyond the direct costs, Diel's team also calculated TB's impact in terms of the monetary value of lost productivity. Using disability-adjusted life years, or DALYs — a measure of disease burden that looks at the number of years lost due to ill-health, disability or early death — they found the total years lost was 103,104 in 2011. In monetary terms, this amounted to more than 5.3 billion euros. Diel said this was the figure that shocked him the most. "People assume that in most parts of Europe, TB doesn't play much of a role in comparison to other diseases. But, in fact, the costs of it are very high," he said. "It's billions, and nobody realized that before." Responding to the findings, Francesco Blasi, President of the European Respiratory Society, said they showed the huge burden of TB on both the economy and on society in Europe. "It is critical that healthcare professionals and policymakers take note," he said in a statement.

Tuberculosis 'Time Bomb' Costs Europe Billions Annually

 

[Sunshine]

I have worked with many patients who had active TB. That is just how it is for the population that I had because some of them were street people, some were HIV patients who were susceptible to TB, and others were in conglomerate living settings. In 25 years of practice, and with trips to China and Egypt, I have never tested positive. If people would just remember to be clean the way they are taught from childhood, they will not catch things like TB.

TB is out there. In abundance. If you think that one man walking around with it in the UK is your biggest concern, then you are seriously deluded.

 

[waltky]

Data suggest that Britain will top the US in TB infections...

Britain leading Western Europe in TB infections
Thu, Aug 22, 2013 - SCARY STATISTICS: Data suggest that Britain will top the US in infections. Public Health England says controlling the disease is now one of its priorities

Rates of tuberculosis (TB) in Britain are among the highest in western Europe and London is struggling to shed its status as the “TB capital” of the region, according to data released yesterday. If trends of infection continue, within two years Britain is likely to have more new cases of TB each year than the US, according a report from the government’s health agency, Public Health England (PHE). More than 8,750 TB cases were reported in Britain last year, or around 14 per 100,000 population, slightly fewer than in 2011 but still enough to put it among the worst-hit countries in its region. “TB remains a critical public health problem, particularly in parts of London and among people from vulnerable communities, said Paul Cosford, PHE’s director for health protection.

He said controlling the contagious and often drug-resistant lung disease was now one of the key priorities for PHE, which is developing a stronger national approach to be implemented in a few months’ time. “We are determined to see a sustained reduction in TB and will work tirelessly to support local partners in those areas where the burden is greatest,” he said in a statement. Often misconstrued as a disease of the past or one restricted only to marginalized communities, TB in fact inflicts annual direct health costs of more than 500 million euros (US$670 million) on European governments, and costs another 5.3 billion euros in productivity losses.

The bacterial infection usually affects the lungs, and s spreads when someone who has TB coughs or sneezes. According to the PHE report, London had the main burden of TB infections in Britain last year with 3,426 cases — almost 40 percent of the national total. “Despite considerable efforts to improve prevention, treatment and control, TB incidence in the UK remains high compared to most other Western European countries,” it said.

Almost three-quarters of cases were in migrants from places such as South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where TB is common. Although the proportion of TB cases resistant to one of several drugs was low at under 2 percent, drug-resistant TB “remains a problem”, the report added. “TB is a preventable and treatable condition, but, if left untreated, can be life-threatening,” said Lucy Thomas, PHE’s head of TB surveillance. She said good access to TB screening and diagnostic services for new immigrants was essential to stem the spread of the disease.

Britain leading Western Europe in TB infections - Taipei Times

 

[Saigon]

I agree with Sunshine on this one.

I am in contact with TB carriers and suffers very often. I sit on buses with them, stand in lines in shops behind them, and ride in taxis they drive.

I am not at risk, before the contact is not particularly prolonged, and I pay attention to hygiene and food safety.

 

[Sunshine]

I agree with Sunshine on this one.

I am in contact with TB carriers and suffers very often. I sit on buses with them, stand in lines in shops behind them, and ride in taxis they drive.

I am not at risk, before the contact is not particularly prolonged, and I pay attention to hygiene and food safety.

I remember the year we ran short of flue vaccine here in the US. There was nothing to be done except the old Florence Nightingale strategy, good hand washing and cleanliness. That year there were fewer cases of flu than the years we had all the vaccine we could use. Since then an entire business has sprung up around keeping hands clean. Think Prell hand sanitizer. I carry a bottle in my purse at all times and use it frequently. The stores where I shop have he little wet sanitizer sheets to clean the handles of shopping carts and I use them. They have bottles of Prell hand sanitizer in pretty much every place large crowds gather, even the funeral homes around here. Funny Huh? Right now, it is very important for me not to get some lung infection along with the pulmonary hypertension.

Interesting side note: Florence Nightingale, the creator of modern nursing, proved that cleanliness made a big difference in the health of humans. But she did not believe in Germ Theory.

 

[Sunshine]

Data suggest that Britain will top the US in TB infections...

Britain leading Western Europe in TB infections
Thu, Aug 22, 2013 - SCARY STATISTICS: Data suggest that Britain will top the US in infections. Public Health England says controlling the disease is now one of its priorities

Rates of tuberculosis (TB) in Britain are among the highest in western Europe and London is struggling to shed its status as the “TB capital” of the region, according to data released yesterday. If trends of infection continue, within two years Britain is likely to have more new cases of TB each year than the US, according a report from the government’s health agency, Public Health England (PHE). More than 8,750 TB cases were reported in Britain last year, or around 14 per 100,000 population, slightly fewer than in 2011 but still enough to put it among the worst-hit countries in its region. “TB remains a critical public health problem, particularly in parts of London and among people from vulnerable communities, said Paul Cosford, PHE’s director for health protection.

He said controlling the contagious and often drug-resistant lung disease was now one of the key priorities for PHE, which is developing a stronger national approach to be implemented in a few months’ time. “We are determined to see a sustained reduction in TB and will work tirelessly to support local partners in those areas where the burden is greatest,” he said in a statement. Often misconstrued as a disease of the past or one restricted only to marginalized communities, TB in fact inflicts annual direct health costs of more than 500 million euros (US$670 million) on European governments, and costs another 5.3 billion euros in productivity losses.

The bacterial infection usually affects the lungs, and s spreads when someone who has TB coughs or sneezes. According to the PHE report, London had the main burden of TB infections in Britain last year with 3,426 cases — almost 40 percent of the national total. “Despite considerable efforts to improve prevention, treatment and control, TB incidence in the UK remains high compared to most other Western European countries,” it said.

Almost three-quarters of cases were in migrants from places such as South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where TB is common. Although the proportion of TB cases resistant to one of several drugs was low at under 2 percent, drug-resistant TB “remains a problem”, the report added. “TB is a preventable and treatable condition, but, if left untreated, can be life-threatening,” said Lucy Thomas, PHE’s head of TB surveillance. She said good access to TB screening and diagnostic services for new immigrants was essential to stem the spread of the disease.

Britain leading Western Europe in TB infections - Taipei Times

Good information. Something about resistant strains: Resistant strains develop when people who have TB do not complete their course of Isoniazid before it becomes active. Some cities here have nurses who meet people on the street and give them their INH in an effort to prevent the development of resistant strains.