WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
Did you know that...• The eradication of smallpox has allowed the world to save up to $1 billion every year in vaccination expenses.
• Each year, 17 million people, equivalent to the combined population of Switzerland and Belgium, die of infectious diseases.
• Poliomyelitis is expected to be totally eradicated within the next three years.
• Immunizing a child against the six deadliest diseases costs less than $15.
• Twenty-four million people die every year of cancer, diabetes or cardiovascular diseases.
• Thirty new diseases have emerged over the last 20 years.Three days in the life of Dr. Maria Neira
5:00 a.m., Northern Uganda. A small aircraft takes off from a rural airport near Entebbe carrying Dr. Maria Neira, a WHO epidemiologist in charge of the WHO Task Force on Cholera to a refugee camp in Adjumani. In the past, cholera vaccines provided little but a false sense of security. After years of extensive field trials, WHO eventually found two new oral vaccines that show promise.
"We are still in the very early days with the new cholera vaccine which potentially could be used in similar settings. But we seem to be moving in the right direction" says Dr. Neira. "Cholera is not only a feared killer disease. It wreaks havoc on economies of developing countries seriously hurting trade and tourism. Cholera vaccine is a welcome development, but fighting the disease with medications only is an uphill battle. The root causes of the virtually global cholera outreach go much deeper and poverty is by far the most important one."
After three days of efforts by Dr. Neira and her colleagues, 38,000 Sudanese refugees have made history: they were part of the first large-scale trial involving the new cholera oral vaccine.
The search for Ebola
In 1994, an epidemic of a fatal illness struck chimpanzees being studied by a team of researchers in the Taï Forest in Côte d'Ivoire, and a scientist got infected performing an autopsy on one of them. It was the first time ever that the Ebola virus had been isolated in the wild. Realizing the possibility of identifying the natural host or "reservoir" of Ebola, WHO, working with the Pasteur Institute and the government of Côte d'Ivoire, has established a laboratory and camp in the Taï Forest, including the construction of platforms at the edge of the forest canopy, some at heights of 35 metres, to enable scientists to capture animals and undertake sampling of vertebrates and arthropods in the various strata of the tropical forest.
"I have seen with my own eyes the impact of the disease, and the wide swath of death that it leaves behind, scarring families and entire communities" says Dr. Pierre Formenty, the man in charge of the project. "Finding the reservoir requires a substantial investment in time and money, because the source could be any of the millions of plants or animals in the jungle. So, the mystery remains."
If and when they find the natural reservoir of Ebola, the scientists hope that it will help predict when and where outbreaks of Ebola infection are most likely.
Chemicals... to be taken with a pinch of salt
We live in a century of chemicals. Consider the facts. The total number of chemicals on the market has snowballed now close to 100,000. Out of thousands of chemicals that are produced experimentally each year, a staggering one thousand eventually make it to the marketplace. Is there an international watchdog agency to keep an eye on all these newcomers?
The answer is yes. The International Programme on Chemical Safety was established in 1980 jointly by WHO, the International Labour Office and the United Nations Environmental Programme. "We are here to help our Member States to build up sound management of chemicals," says Dr. Michel Mercier, in charge of the programme. "We are realistic enough to realize that proper sifting through 100,000 chemicals will require more than a lifetime. It is a bit like climbing Mount Everest in slow motion. However, slowly but surely, we're getting there. Among many other things, we have already published 190 risk-assessments of so-called priority chemicals from arsenic to xylene."
There is one WHO publication in particular which concerns all of us. It is the Guidelines for drinking-water quality, a three-volume publication examining microbiological, biological, chemical and radiological aspects of drinking-water. It certainly makes one stop and wonder at the amount of science involved in the supply of safe drinking water.
WHO in brief...
WHO was established in 1948 to :
• Direct and coordinate international health work and promote technical cooperation in this field;
• Assist Governments, upon request, in strengthening health services;
• Provide appropriate technical assistance and, in emergencies, necessary aid at the governments' request;
• Stimulate and advance work on the prevention and control of epidemic, endemic and other diseases;
• Promote and coordinate biomedical and health services research.World Health Organization (WHO)
20 Avenue Appia
1211 Geneva 27
Switzerland
Tel.: (41-22) 791 2111
Website: http://www.who.org
E-mail: Inf@who.org
