http://www.swisstph.ch/ en http://www.swisstph.ch/typo3conf/ext/tt_news/ext_icon.gif http://www.swisstph.ch/ 18 16 TYPO3 - get.content.right http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 +0200 http://www.swisstph.ch/news-archive/news/news/one-million-us-dollar-for-an-innovative-idea-parasites-in-the-impasse.html Swiss researchers have developed a groundbreaking hypothesis which promises new strategies against... reto.brun@unibas.ch]]> Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 +0200 http://www.swisstph.ch/news-archive/news/news/april-25-world-malaria-day-2012-sustain-gains-save-lives-invest-in-malaria.html The theme for World Malaria Day 2012 - "Sustain Gains, Save Lives: Invest in Malaria" -... National Insecticides Treated Nets Programme (NATNETS) in Tanzania. In addition, the Swiss TPH acts as Local Funding Agent (LFA) for the Global Fund to fight AIDS TB and Malaria in 19 countries.
 
Investments in malaria control have created unprecedented momentum and yielded remarkable returns in the past years. In Africa, malaria deaths have been cut by one third within the last decade. Outside of Africa, 35 out of the 53 countries affected by malaria, have reduced cases by 50% during the same time period. In countries where access to malaria control interventions has improved most significantly, overall child mortality rates have fallen by over 20%.
However, these gains are fragile and will be reversed unless malaria continues to be a priority for global, regional and national decision-makers and donors. Despite the current economic climate, development aid needs to continue flowing to national malaria control programs to ensure widespread population access to life-saving and cost-effective interventions. Long-term success will also depend on investments in on-going research and development to combat emerging threats such as parasite and insecticide resistance.
Sustaining malaria control efforts is an investment in development.  Continued investment in malaria control now will propel malaria-endemic countries along the path to achieving the 2015 Millennium Development Goals, especially those relating to improving child survival and maternal health, eradicating extreme poverty and expanding access to education.
  World Malaria Day website:
http://www.worldmalariaday.org/home_en.cfm
 
Swiss TPH is co-organizer of the conference “Challenges in Malaria Research: Progress Towards Elimination” taking place in Basel, Switzerland from 10-12 October 2012.
More information: http://www.challenges-in-malaria-research.com
 
World Malaria Day Priority Messages (PDF)

]]> Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:27:00 +0200 http://www.swisstph.ch/news-archive/news/news/novel-sapaldia-results-indicate-that-household-sprays-and-scented-products-may-also-affect-cardiovas.html Adverse respiratory health outcomes including asthma have been observed to be associated with...
Significant decreases in HRV, markers of which included 24-hour standard deviation of all normal to normal intervals (24-hr SDNN) and total power (TP), were observed in association with frequent use of cleaning sprays, air freshening sprays, and scented products. Compared with study participants who never used spray or scented products, using air freshening sprays 4-7 days/week was associated with 11% (95%CI: -20, -2%) and 29% (95%CI: -46, -8%) decreases in 24-hr SDNN and TP, respectively. Inverse associations between HRV and household sprays and scented products were observed mainly in presence of symptoms or markers of obstructive lung disease.

The findings suggest that long-term frequent use of household sprays and scented products are associated with reduced HRV in a predominantly female population of older adults, and pre-existing pulmonary conditions appear to increase susceptibility. Further investigation of the potential cardiovascular health effects of household cleaning products in other study populations, particularly in longitudinal settings, is warranted.

Link to the article:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1104567

Link to SAPALDIA
http://www.sapaldia.net/en/ Contact:
Prof. Dr. Nicole Probst-Hensch
Swiss TPH
Deputy Head of Epidemiology and Public Health Department
Socinstrasse 57
Postfach
4002 Basel, Switzerland nicole.probst@unibas.ch
Phone +41 61 284 83 78 ]]> Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:12:00 +0200 http://www.swisstph.ch/news-archive/news/news/news-from-the-sapaldia-study-occupational-exposures-to-dusts-gases-and-fumes-increase-the-risk-of.html There is limited evidence from longitudinal population-based studies which demonstrate that...  
The present findings from SAPALDIA indicate that high level of occupational exposures to biological dusts, mineral dusts, gases/fumes, and either vapors, gases, dusts, or fumes (VGDF), were associated with increased incidence of COPD of at least moderate severity. Elevated risk of COPD in association with occupational exposures was generally observed in males and in ages’ ≥ 40 years, and remained elevated after restricting the analysis to non-smokers. The population attributable fractions of moderate-to-severe COPD in association with occupational exposure to VGDF were 24% and 51%, in smokers and non-smokers, respectively. The observed findings support existing evidence of a causal relationship between occupational exposures and development of COPD.
 
The analysis is a collaboration of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), the University Hospitals Basel and Geneva and other Swiss SAPALDIA researchers with the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston (USA) and IRAS in Utrecht (The Netherlands). The analysis was supported by the Swiss Accident Insurance Fund (SUVA). SAPALDIA is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. link to the paper: doi:10.1164/rccm.201110-1917OC
link to SAPALDIA:
http://www.sapaldia.net/en/ ]]> Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0200 http://www.swisstph.ch/news-archive/news/news/24th-of-march-world-tuberculosis-day-tb-is-still-one-of-the-major-health-problems-worldwide.html On March 24th in 1882 was when Dr. Robert Koch discovered the cause of tuberculosis (TB); the... Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB is also on top of the research agenda at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) and it is our to create awareness about the disease and the fight against TB. Global tuberculosis control continues to face major challenges. In general, much effort is required to make quality care accessible without barriers of gender, age, social setting, and ability to pay. Coinfection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and HIV, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, multidrugresistant (MDR) and extensively drugresistant (XDR) TB in all regions, complicate and jeopardize current control efforts. These challenges need to be addressed urgently, and an important prerequisite will be the development of new tools and strategies to better control TB.

Our work on TB at the Swiss TPH, emphasises interdisciplinary approaches and relies on national and international partnerships. For example, Swiss TPH has been studying the molecular epidemiology of TB in Switzerland. In Tanzania, Swiss TPH is further developing its longstanding partnership with the Ifakara Health Institute to run clinical trials of new TB diagnostics, drugs and vaccines.

In addition, Swiss TPH has many ongoing collaborations with partner institutions in Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Georgia and India to study various aspects of TB, including the role of HIV and diabetes mellitus as risk factors for TB, the evolution of drug resistance, and the immunological impact of co-infections with Helminths. Building on the synergies between basic and applied research Swiss TPH hopes to contribute towards the long-term control of TB in the world.

World TB Day, falling on March 24th each year, commemorates the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch astounded the scientific community by announcing that he had discovered the cause of TB, the tubercle bacillus. At the time of Koch's announcement in Berlin, TB was raging through Europe and North-America, causing the death of one out of seven people. Koch's discovery opened the way towards diagnosing and curing TB. Besides paying a tribute to that, this day aims at building public awareness that TB today remains an epidemic in much of the world, causing the deaths of 1.5 million people each year, mostly in developing countries.

Links:

The Human Face of TB at Stop TB Partnership:
http://www.stoptb.org/assets/videos/hfotb

Swiss TPH Tuberculosis Research unit:
http://www.swisstph.ch/?id=1336 ]]> Fri, 23 Mar 2012 07:58:00 +0100 http://www.swisstph.ch/news-archive/news/news/first-genome-wide-association-study-of-lung-function-decline-in-adults.html Researchers at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute identified that genetic markers... Researchers at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute identified that genetic markers associated with annual lung function decline differ between adults free of asthma and patients with a medical history of asthma. This finding of a genetic heterogeneity of age-related lung function decline is completely novel.
Their meta-analysis across seven large European and North American population-based cohorts is the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) on longitudinal change of lung function. It was conducted under the leadership of the Swiss SAPALDIA Cohort.
None of the roughly 25’000 genes of the human genome showed evidence to drive lung function decline both, in healthy and asthmatic subjects. A small number of genes including the height-related gene DLEU7 were weakly associated with the annual rate of lung function decline across the different cohort populations suggesting that lung function decline has a complex genetic architecture.
These results do come as a surprise as there is a common view that asthma, COPD and lung function might share common biological mechanisms. The strengths of GWAS studies is their potential to identify new mechanisms of disease since they aim at unraveling genetic determinants underlying diseases or human health-related traits in a hypothesis free approach.  The field of genetics of lung disease has seen a number of GWAS investigations over the last two years and new genes predisposing to asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or low lung function level at adult age have been identified. The current study clearly shows that previously identified lung health genes are not major determinants of age-related lung function decline.
Although these new genetic findings are promising clues leading the way to better understand the development of the lung diseases, the present innovative GWAS confirms the central role of non- genetic factors in determining respiratory health. GWAS to date largely ignored gene-environment interactions. In the future researchers need to combine environmental and genetic risk factors in their analysis to reach Public Health relevant conclusions. Swiss TPH with its interdisciplinary expertise in both, environmental and genetic epidemiology, and the broadly characterized SAPALDIA Biobank are well positioned to meet the new challenges in the genetics of complex disease.

Original Research article:
Genome-wide association study of lung function decline in adults with and without asthma.
Medea Imboden*, Emmanuelle Bouzigon *, Ivan Curjuric, Adaikalavan Ramasamy, Ashish Kumar, , Dana B Hancock, Jemma B Wilk, Judith M Vonk, Gian A Thun, Valerie Siroux, Rachel Nadif, Florent Monier, Juan R Gonzalez, Matthias Wjst, Joachim Heinrich, Laura R Loehr, Nora Franceschini, Kari E North, Janine Altmüller, Gerard H. Koppelman, Stefano Guerra, Florian Kronenberg, Mark Lathrop, Miriam F Moffatt, George T O'Connor, David P Strachan, Dirkje S Postma, Stephanie J London, Christian Schindler, Manolis Kogevinas, Francine Kauffmann, Debbie L Jarvis, Florence Demenais, Nicole M Probst-Hensch, #.
*contributed equally
# corresponding author: Nicole.Probst@unibas.ch Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. In Press
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2012.01.074]]> Fri, 23 Mar 2012 05:59:00 +0100 http://www.swisstph.ch/news-archive/news/news/guidance-for-evidence-informed-policies-about-health-systems-what-can-policy-makers-learn-from-clin.html A series of three articles about developing health systems guidance with major contributions from... A series of three articles about developing health systems guidance with major contributions from Xavier Bosch-Capblanch from Swiss TPH will be published in PLoS Medicine over the two-week period between 6 March and 20 March. The articles address how research evidence should be translated into guidance to inform policies on health systems and improve the delivery of clinical and public health interventions. Summaries of all three articles will be linked here as soon as published in PLoS Medicine.

The articles in this series have been led by three authors from the Swiss TPH (Xavier Bosch-Capblanch), the MacMaster University (John Lavis) and the Norwegian Knowledge Centre for Health Services (Simon Lewin), together with a group of distinguished collaborators from the Task Force on Developing Health Systems Guidance, chaired by Andy Haines. These are open access articles and can be accessed here at PLoS Medicine site.

Particular attention is given to the issues raised during meetings of the Task Force on Developing Health Systems Guidance, which was grounded following a request from the WHO for advice. The first article makes a case for developing guidance to inform decisions on health systems-level questions based on an analysis of strategic health sector documents. It also explores specific challenges in producing such guidance and identifies options for addressing these challenges. The second article explores the links between health systems guidance development and policy development at global and national levels, and examines the range of factors that can influence policy development. The third paper focuses on assessing how much confidence can be placed on health systems research evidence in both guidance and policy development processes.
 

LINKS

To view the articles visit:

• http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001185
• http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001186
• http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001187

To view the Handbook visit: http://www.swisstph.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/Pdfs/SCIH/WHOHSG_Handbook_v04.pdf


SUMMARY POINTS OF THE THREE ARTICLES
1 - Summary points of article one

• Weak health systems hinder the implementation of effective interventions; policies to strengthen such systems need to draw on the best available evidence
• Health systems evidence is best delivered in the form of guidance embedded in policy formulation processes but health systems guidance is poorly developed at present
• The translation of research on problems, interventions and implementation into decisions and policies that affect how systems are organised is one challenge facing the development of health systems guidance
• The development of guidance that is timely and usable by the broad range of health systems stakeholders, and of methods to appraise the quality of health systems guidance, are additional challenges
• Further research is needed to adapt existing approaches (e.g. those used in clinical guidelines) to produce meaningful advice that accounts for the complexity of health systems, political systems, and contexts

 2 - Summary points of article 2

• Contextual factors are extremely important in shaping decisions about health systems and policy makers need to work through all the pros and cons of different options before adopting specific health systems guidance
• Division of labour between global guidance developers, global policy developers, national guidance developers and national policy developers is needed to support evidence-informed policymaking about health systems
• A panel charged with developing health systems guidance at the global level could best add value by ensuring that its output can be used for policy development at the global and national level, and for guidance development at the national level
• Rigorous health systems analyses and political systems analyses are needed at the global and national level to support guideline and policy development
• Further research is needed into the division of labour in guideline development and policy development and on frameworks for supporting system and political analyses

 
3 - Summary points of article 3

• Assessing how much confidence to place in different types of research evidence is key to informing judgements regarding policy options to address health systems problems
• Systematic and transparent approaches to such assessments are particularly important given the complexity of many health systems interventions
• Useful tools are available to assess how much confidence to place in the different types of research evidence needed to support different steps in the policymaking process; those for assessing evidence of effectiveness are most developed
• Tools need to be developed to assist judgements regarding evidence from systematic reviews on other key factors such as the acceptability of policy options to stakeholders, implementation feasibility and equity
• Research is also needed on ways to develop, structure and present policy options within global health systems guidance

]]> Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:31:00 +0100 http://www.swisstph.ch/news-archive/news/news/experts-call-for-cleaner-air-to-tackle-invisible-killer.html 10 Principles for Clean Air were released in light of the upcoming review of European air quality... 10 Principles for Clean Air were released in light of the upcoming review of European air quality legislation. Decisive action is needed to reduce the high concentrations of unhealthy ambient air pollutants in Europe, according to Prof. Nino Künzli from Swiss TPH and President of the Federal Commission for Air Hygiene, and other international experts writing in the European Respiratory Journal 1 March 2012. The European Respiratory Society’s (ERS) Environment and Health Committee are urging policymakers in Europe to introduce changes that will ensure citizens have air that is safe to breathe. The call to action comes ahead of the upcoming review of the European Union’s (EU) air quality legislation. In the editorial, the ERS committee argues that any new legislation must strive to ultimately bring air pollution levels in Europe down to the already adopted World Health Organization (WHO) limits and international commitments made by EU leaders.

The upcoming review of EU air policies is an important opportunity for policy makers to take substantial steps needed to reduce the high concentrations of unhealthy air pollutants such as fine particles and ozone. EU limit values must be strengthend to safeguard public health. Many benefits would be realised including increased life expectancy, increased productivity, and improved health for all.

As guidance for public health policy, Prof. Dr. Bert Brunekreef, from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, Prof. Dr. Nino Künzli from Swiss TPH, and colleagues have devised ‘10 principles for clean air.’ These principles include:

The need to significantly reduce concentrations of fine particles and ozone – the most health-threatening of all air pollutants
The current limit values for major air pollutants in Europe offer little protection from the damage that can be caused to a person’s health. The limit values for particles far exceed the WHO advice and do not match the standards adopted by other countries.

Reducing the damage caused by living close to or attending schools near busy roads
Policy makers should consider enacting further legislation with the aim to reduce or eliminate ultrafine particle and other toxic emissions from motor vehicles. Ultrafine particles and black carbon should also be considered as possible indicators for further studies and research.

The need for more awareness of hot temperatures and air pollutants that act in synergy to produce more serious health effects than heat or pollution alone.
Heat waves and high summer temperatures produce higher ozone concentrations which will lead to increased burden of disease and premature deaths particularly in the elderly or patients with chronic respiratory diseases.

Enhance the key message that outdoor air pollution is one of the biggest environmental health threats in Europe today
An analysis carried out by the WHO estimated that current exposure to particulate matter leads to an average loss of 8.6 months of life expectancy in Europe.

List of all 10 principles:

1) Citizens are entitled to clean air, just like clean water and safe food

2) Outdoor air pollution is one of the biggest environmental health threats in Europe today, leading to significant reductions of life expectancy and productivity.

3) Fine particles and ozone are the most serious pollutants. There is an urgent need to reduce their concentrations significantly.

4) Roadside pollution poses serious health threats that cannot be adequately addressed by regulating fine particle mass or ozone. Other metrics such as ultrafine particles and black carbon need to be considered in future research and so inform further regulation.

5) Non-tailpipe emissions (from brakes, tires and road surfaces, etc.) pose a health threat for road users and subjects living close to busy roads.

6) Real-world emissions of nitrogen dioxide from modern diesel engines are much higher than anticipated. This may expose many road users, and subjects living on busy roads, to short-term peak concentrations during rush hours and periods of stagnating weather that may impact on health, although to what extent requires further research.

7) Global warming will lead to more heat waves, during which air pollution concentrations are also elevated and during which hot temperatures and air pollutants act in synergy to produce more serious health effects than expected from heat or pollution alone.

8) Combustion of biomass fuel produces toxic pollutants. This is true for controlled fires, such as in fireplaces, woodstoves and agricultural burning, as well as for uncontrolled wildfires. There is a need to assess the real health impacts of air pollution from these sources in many areas in Europe to inform on the need for better control.

9) Compliance with current limit values for major air pollutants in Europe confers no protection for public health. In fact, very serious health effects occur at concentrations well below current limit values, especially those for fine particles.

10) EU policies to reduce air pollution are needed that ultimately lead to air that is clean and no longer associated with significant adverse effects on the health of European citizens. The benefits of such policies outweigh the costs by a large amount.

Notes to editors:
Title: Editorial: Ten principles for clean air
Authors: B. Brunekreef, I. Annesi-Maesano, J.G. Ayres, F. Forastiere, B. Forsberg, N. Künzli, J. Pekkanen and T. Sigsgaard doi: 10.1183/09031936.00001112 Links:

• Swiss Federal Commission for Air Hygiene
•  More about air pollution and Health: 'Air Quality and Health’

]]> Fri, 02 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.swisstph.ch/news-archive/news/news/global-risk-forum-on-one-health.html From 20 to 22 February 2012, the Global Risk Forum on "One Health" will take place in... GRF One Health Summit 2012 ]]> Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:01:00 +0100 http://www.swisstph.ch/news-archive/news/news/experts-warn-cost-of-asthma-caused-by-traffic-related-air-pollution-is-much-higher-than-previous-est.html The total cost of asthma due to traffic-related air pollution is much higher than previous...
The researchers studied Long Beach and Riverside; two communities in Southern California that have high levels of regional air pollution and where there are large roads close to residential neighbourhoods. They analysed previous estimates of the number of asthma cases attributable to pollution exposure and multiple surveys on healthcare visits by children with asthma to estimate the yearly costs of childhood asthma.

Traditional methods of assessing the risks and costs of air pollution have not taken into account the causal relationship between pollution exposure and developing asthma, nor have they included the broader costs associated with the disease.

Instead, previous studies have been limited to pollution-related exacerbations (such as hospitalisations) of existing asthma cases. In this study, the research team used a new method of calculating costs that took into account asthma cases attributable to pollution and a broad range of costs including morbidity associated with asthma (such as sinus and ear infections) and the cost of regular care (such as daily control medication). This ‘asthma career cost’ estimates the lifelong costs incurred throughout the ‘career’ of the disease.

To estimate this cost, the researchers assessed the typical volume of health services (such as doctor visits) and number of school absences for a child with asthma each year. They then calculated costs using the average amount charged (for health services) and the average wage rate for parents or guardians (for school absences or attending medical appointments).

The total economic burden of asthma cases and asthma exacerbations due to pollution in the two communities is approximately $18 million a year, almost half of which is due to new asthma cases caused by pollution. The results also revealed that the total annual cost associated with a case of asthma was approximately 7–8% of average household income in both communities, which exceeds the 5% level that is widely considered sustainable for a family’s healthcare expenses.

Sylvia Brandt, lead author of the study, said: “Traditional risk assessment methods for air pollution have underestimated both the overall burden of asthma and the cost of the disease associated with air pollution. Our research allows us to view the true cost of asthma attributable to air pollution as a ‘career’ cost.

“Our findings suggest the cost has been substantially underestimated and steps must be taken to reduce the burden of traffic-related pollution. While our study is specific to two communities in Southern California, its approach is applicable and relevant to other urban areas, especially since previous research suggests that over 50% of the population in 10 major European cities live within 150 metres of major roads.”

Sylvia Brandt, Laura Perez, Nino Künzli, Fred Lurmann, Rob McConnell Costs of childhood asthma due to traffic-related pollution in two California communities
DOI: 10.1183/09031936.00157811 ]]> Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:32:00 +0100