Hepatitis B is a devastating virus that infects around 250 million people worldwide and is endemic proportions in parts of Africa. Left untreated, it can cause cirrhosis, liver cancer and early death. Tackling the spread of this virus is essential and vaccination programmes have been started in many countries since 1990 including the Gambia, with […]
As-salamu alaykum! (“May peace be upon you” in Arabic). This is the common greeting heard here in Bokoro, a town about 300 km east of N’Djamena, the capital of Chad. Bokoro is in central Chad, in the southernmost part of the Sahal belt of Africa, so it is an extremely hot, dry, desert climate with […]
Is hepatitis B infection a problem that will gradually fizzle out over time? On initial reflection, it is easy to think it might be. We have a cheap, safe and effective vaccine, and a choice of antiviral drugs that can successfully suppress the virus. We can also intervene reliably to prevent transmission from mothers to […]
The Hope of Universal Health Coverage for People in Developing Countries. What would you do if you were detained in a hospital for not paying the bill? A month ago I met Sanaa, a 34-year-old leukemic patient who was brought to our ward by her relatives. Sanaa was detained in a private hospital for 14 […]
‘Back in 2011, my research team published the results of the largest trial of critically ill children ever undertaken in Africa (FEAST trial), a trial that examined fluid resuscitation strategies in children with severe febrile illnesses (including malaria and bacterial sepsis). Contrary to expectation, the trial showed that fluid boluses were associated with an increased mortality compared to no-bolus (control), the […]
Hepatitis B is a devastating virus that infects around 250 million people worldwide and is endemic proportions in parts of Africa. Left untreated, it can cause cirrhosis, liver cancer and early death. Tackling the spread of this virus is essential and vaccination programmes have been started in many countries since 1990 including the Gambia, with […]
At the start of my internship, a 16-year-old girl was brought into the emergency room; she was in a coma. She had been sick for a long time, and her family abandoned her as they thought she was pregnant. It was her neighbour who brought her to the hospital. The girl was very skinny for […]
Read More… from How can mobile technology contribute to the improvement of health in Africa?
In rural areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Africa’s second largest country with vast fertile lands and thousands of lakes, rivers and streams, one in ten people do not have enough food to eat. Food insecurity – the “availability and adequate access at all times to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to maintain […]
Read More… from Monitoring food security data through mobile technology
Thinking of travelling to Africa for work or pleasure this summer? Better read up schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia or snail fever, a disease caused by a parasitic worm. According to the World Health Organisation, 61.6 million people were reportedly treated for bilharzia in 2014, most of them in Africa. More cases are being reported in the […]
As a physician who started out in geriatrics, I did not expect to end up researching and developing medicine for mothers and newborns. But as many of you reading this blog will know all too well, medicine is a career that can take you in unusual and unpredictable directions. When, as a junior doctor, I […]
Read More… from From mouthwash to medicine: innovation can come from unexpected places