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Haiti Cholera Mutations Could Lead to More Severe Disease: Strain is evolving to be more like virulent 1800s cholera

April 16, 2013. The cholera strain that transferred to Haiti in 2010 has multiple toxin gene mutations that may account for the severity of disease and is evolving to be more like an 1800s version of cholera, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study. The strain, “altered El Tor,” which emerged around 2000, is known to be more virulent and to cause more severe diarrhea and dehydration than earlier strains that had been circulating since the 1960s. This study reports the altered El Tor strain has acquired two additional signature mutations during the past decade that may further increase virulence. In addition, these newly discovered signature mutations documented in the study further link the Haitian cholera epidemic to the strain from Nepal.

The paper was published April 16 in the journal mBio. The new Northwestern study suggests the strain with multi-signature toxin gene mutations may trigger a unique pattern of infection accounting for the severity of disease noted during the Haiti cholera outbreak. “The cholera strain from the 1800s epidemic did the same thing,” said Karla Satchell, the senior author of the paper and an associate professor of microbiology-immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “That strain also modified its toxin genes and the cholera got worse.” Full Story

Source: Northwestern News

Northwestern Medical Student Fundraising Efforts Send Ultrasound to Largest Hospital in Uganda

March 25, 2013. Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine medical students have shipped an ultra sound machine to Makerere University’s Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. It is the hospital’s first and only ultrasound machine. 

A gift from student organization Unite for Uganda, students raised about $5,000 over six months to pay for the shipping costs of the machine.

“Feinberg has had a formal relationship with Makerere University for several years,” said Daniel Young, MPA, deputy director of the Center for Global Health. “On average we send 15 to 18 medical trainees each academic year to Uganda for clinical rotations at their teaching hospitals. Makerere is the flagship state university there and trains their very best clinicians and medical scientists, but the public teaching hospitals in Kampala are often overcrowded and poorly funded. Unite for Uganda is a wonderful effort by medical students to support in a small but meaningful way the clinics and hospitals where they train.” Full Story

Source: Feinberg News Center

Current HIV Screenings Guidelines are too Conservative

March 13, 2013. More frequent screenings would be cost-effective for high- and low-risk groups

Early HIV treatment can save lives as well as have profound prevention benefits. But those infected with the virus first must be identified before they can be helped.

In a new study, two Northwestern University researchers report that current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) HIV screening guidelines are too conservative and that more frequent testing would be cost-effective in the long run for both high- and low-risk groups.

The Northwestern team performed a mathematical modeling study to assess “optimal testing frequencies” for HIV screening in different risk groups. They concluded screening should be done up to every three months for the highest-risk individuals and low-risk groups should be tested every three years.

The CDC currently recommends annual testing for high-risk groups, such as people with HIV-positive sexual partners, people with multiple sexual partners, injection drug users and sex workers, and once-in-a-lifetime testing for low-risk groups (whose annual risk of acquiring HIV is only one-hundredth of one percent).

“Our results should encourage policymakers and medical professionals to reconsider how often adolescents and adults should be tested for HIV,” said Benjamin Armbruster, an assistant professor of industrial engineering and management sciences at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. Full Story

Source: Northwestern News

Northwestern Medicine Trauma Team Travels to Bolivia

March 4, 2013. A group of surgeons, nurses, medical students and staff seek to improve pre-hospital and trauma care in South America’s most impoverished nation

North Yungas Road is the main passageway connecting Bolivia’s capital city of La Paz to the country’s Amazon rainforest region in the north. The 35 mile stretch of road winds through mountains and rainforest and in most spots is so narrow that only one-way traffic can pass through. The roadway’s steep cliffs, sharp curves and unpredictable weather has resulted in an incredibly high number of fatal traffic incidents. With 200 to 300 fatalities each year, it has become known as “Death Road” and was given the dubious distinction of being the most dangerous roadway in the world. Faced with the enormous burden of caring for the countless injured motorists, the hospitals in La Paz are ill-equipped to handle critically wounded patients. As the poorest country in South America, Bolivia lacks a trauma system and most hospitals are inadequately prepared to handle the serious injuries that result from automobile accidents and other traumas. A Northwestern Medicine® team is seeking to change this by traveling to La Paz with a goal of creating long-term partnerships between Bolivian and American hospitals to improve the pre-hospital and hospital trauma care throughout the country. Full Story

Source: NMH Press Release

Award Shines Light on Global Health Studies: Northwestern receives Paul Simon award for program's international scope

March 1, 2013. A key goal of Northwestern University’s Strategic Plan is engagement with the world. This week, the University’s success in promoting global engagement was underscored when NAFSA: the Association of International Educators named Northwestern one of three winners of its 2013 Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award

The prestigious award put a spotlight on Global Health Studies, one of Northwestern’s fastest-growing programs of study.

“The Global Health Studies program embodies the interdisciplinary spirit of the most successful programs at Northwestern and is training the next generation of global health leaders in every area of health policy and healthcare,” says Dévora Grynspan, director of International Program Development (IPD). Home to the Minor in Global Health, IPD works with all Northwestern schools to promote internationalization and cross-school collaborations. Full Story

Source: Northwestern News

EVANSTON, Ill. --- A key goal of Northwestern University’s Strategic Plan is engagement with the world. This week, the University’s success in promoting global engagement was underscored when NAFSA: the Association of International Educators named Northwestern one of three winners of its 2013 Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award

The prestigious award put a spotlight on Global Health Studies, one of Northwestern’s fastest-growing programs of study.

“The Global Health Studies program embodies the interdisciplinary spirit of the most successful programs at Northwestern and is training the next generation of global health leaders in every area of health policy and healthcare,” says Dévora Grynspan, director of International Program Development (IPD). Home to the Minor in Global Health, IPD works with all Northwestern schools to promote internationalization and cross-school collaborations.

- See more at: http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2013/03/northwestern-wins-2013-paul-simon-spotlight-award.html#sthash.731d9Oc5.dpuf

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