Day: April 13, 2019

Experts meeting in emergency session at the World Health Organization agree the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo does not constitute a public health emergency of international concern.

The experts say the Ebola outbreak does not pose a global threat since the deadly virus has not crossed any international borders.  But they warn this is no time to sit back as the epidemic continues to spread.  It says efforts to contain the disease must be redoubled.

The assessment follows a warning issued Friday by top Red Cross official Emanuele Capobianco who expressed concern about a possible regional spread of the Ebola virus after a recent spike in cases in the DRC.

The recent spike in Ebola infections has seen the number of cases rise to 1206, including 764 deaths. The current upsurge has occurred in remaining epicenters of the disease in conflict-ridden North Kivu province, notably in Butembo, Katwa, Vuhove and Mandima.  

The WHO says these areas have been off limits because of insecurity, seriously hindering the Ebola response.  Because of the lack of access, Executive Director of WHO Health Emergency Program, Mike Ryan, says the WHO has fallen behind in starting vaccination rings.

“Vaccination is proving to be a highly effective way of stopping this virus.   But if we cannot vaccinate people, we cannot protect them.  We can also not get people out to Ebola treatment units.  If someone stays in the community with Ebola and begins to have diarrhea or bleeding, they will infect their families.  So, getting an Ebola patient to safe and effective treatment center is also very important,” Ryan said.

In the last few days, Ryan says aid workers have been able to get back into these Ebola-affected communities. He says they have been able to begin vaccinations and implement other crucial Ebola-control measures.

The current Ebola outbreak is the worst ever in DRC and the second largest recorded after the 2014 epidemic in West Africa, which killed more than 11,000 people.

The WHO expert committee recommends scaling up community dialogue and participation of traditional healers to lessen community mistrust and gain its acceptance.

Because of the high risk of regional spread, the committee advises neighboring countries to accelerate current preparedness and surveillance efforts.

The WHO is appealing to the international community to support its Ebola-control operation.  It says it desperately needs $148 million to keep the operation running until July.  It warns it will not be able to end the epidemic if it does not have the money to implement essential programs.

 
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For months, New York City has been fighting a measles outbreak in the Orthodox Jewish community. The mayor finally declared a public health emergency April 9 because measles continue to spread among unvaccinated children. Parents who refuse to vaccinate now face heavy fines.

Brooklyn is a borough in New York City known for its tight-knit, ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. Women wear long, modest dresses, and the men are recognizable in large-brimmed hats and long black coats.

Vaccine mandatory

About 100,000 Orthodox Jews live in Brooklyn. It’s in this community where measles has been spreading since an unvaccinated child brought the virus back from a visit to Israel last October. The inability to contain the outbreak prompted Mayor Bill de Blasio to declare a public health emergency.

“We have a situation now where children are in danger,” de Blasio said.

De Blasio ordered mandatory vaccinations in the Orthodox neighborhoods. Unvaccinated children will not be allowed to attend school, and their parents may face steep fines.

WATCH: Anti-Vaccine Parents Fuel Worst Measles Outbreak in 30 Years

Their religion does not prohibit immunization, and city health commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot says the duration of this outbreak is alarming.

“We’ve worked closely with the community religious leaders and schools to make sure that vulnerable people are kept safe during this outbreak and to challenge the dangerous misinformation that is being spread by a group of anti-vaxxers,” she said.

Schools honor emergency

The ParCare Community Health Network caters to Orthodox families. Gary Schlesinger is its chief executive. He told VOA that the private, religious schools these children attend will honor the terms of the emergency declaration.

“They were very clear that they will unequivocally deny any parent who does not vaccinate their children,” he said.

Schlesinger says about 100 families are solidly against vaccines because they mistakenly believe vaccines cause autism or even death. These are some of the same beliefs people in other, secular communities hold.

Safe vaccine

Dr. Camille Sabella at the Cleveland Clinic says multiple studies involving hundreds of thousands of children prove that the measles vaccine is safe.

“It really is an incredibly safe vaccine. We’ve been using it since the 1960s in this country, and it has an outstanding safety record,” he said.

There have been more than 400 measles cases in 19 states just this year, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health officials are concerned because measles outbreaks can also be a sign that children aren’t being vaccinated against other deadly diseases, as well.
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New York City has declared a public health emergency amid an alarming spike in the number of measles cases among largely unvaccinated children. VOA’s Carol Pearson looks at why these parents are reluctant to vaccinate in the face of a serious measles outbreak.
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Johnson & Johnson’s drug Balversa won U.S. approval as the first targeted therapy for advanced bladder cancer, the Food and Drug Administration 

announced Friday. 

The list price of the drug, known chemically as erdafitinib, will range between $10,080 and $22,680 for a 28-day supply, depending on the dosage, J&J said. 

Balversa is the first approved drug in a class known as FGFR inhibitors that targets growth factor receptors involved in cell growth and division.

The drug is approved for use in patients whose cancer has progressed during or after chemotherapy and have specific genetic alterations known as FGFR3 or FGFR2. Patients will be selected for therapy with Balversa using an FDA-approved companion diagnostic device that will identify the genetic 

mutations, the agency said. 

Bladder cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the United States, with the FGFR alterations present in about one in five patients. 

“We’re in an era of more personalized or precision medicine, and the ability to target cancer treatment to a patient’s specific genetic mutation or biomarker is becoming the standard,” Richard Pazdur, head of the FDA’s oncology products division, said in a statement. 

J&J shares closed up 0.5 percent at $135.98. Shares of Incyte Corp., which is also developing a FGFR inhibitor, closed down 2 percent at $79.40. 

The approval was based on a small 87-patient trial in which about a third of subjects experienced tumor shrinkage. The median duration before disease progression was 5.4 months. 

Common side effects of the drug include high phosphate levels, mouth sores and fatigue. The drug may cause serious eye problems, including inflamed eyes, the FDA said. 
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