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NASA scientists report on new technology to help protect US troops from infectious diseases
December 11, 2008News announced today at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
New Orleans, LA - Representatives from NASA convened in New Orleans today to report at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Meeting the results from a NASA-enhanced computerized system to assess environmental and health concerns for deployed U.S. forces. The Global Situational Awareness Tool (GSAT), developed and operated by the Air Force Special Operations Command, is a computerized set of linkable databases that characterizes and predicts health risks and other dangers to U.S. troops and multi-national forces in Afghanistan and other areas.
The enhanced GSAT will monitor malaria prevalence and estimate future outbreaks by using epidemiological time series and meteorological and environmental factors measured from NASA earth-observing satellites. A prototype spatial compartmental model has been developed to simulate disease transmission among individuals and households under the influence of meteorological and environmental factors. As testing is done and data are collected, results will be provided to NASA's partners at the Department of Defense and Afghan public health organizations. Previously, NASA conducted similar work with the GSAT system in Southeast Asia in collaboration with the Department of Defense and local authorities.
"An accurate characterization of malaria risk is critical when U.S. personnel are deployed overseas. For example, during the 2003 Liberia peace-keeping operation ("Operation Shining Express"), approximately one-third of U.S. military personnel were affected by malaria," says John Haynes, Program Manager of Public Health applications for the NASA Applied Sciences Program. "Conversely, over-prescribing malaria chemo-prophylaxis in areas of low malaria risk is harmful due to the medication's side effects."
With an enhanced GSAT program in place, the U.S. Air Force gains a computerized environmental and medical planning capability. The combined capabilities of the malaria assessments with GSAT provides the Air Force, the Department of Defense, and its partners with a decision support tool valuable to the U.S. military and civilian sectors. Because U.S. overseas forces generally assist the local public health organizations in disease prevention and control, the enhanced GSAT also benefits the local populations.
American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
"An accurate characterization of malaria risk is critical when U.S. personnel are deployed overseas. For example, during the 2003 Liberia peace-keeping operation ("Operation Shining Express"), approximately one-third of U.S. military personnel were affected by malaria," says John Haynes, Program Manager of Public Health applications for the NASA Applied Sciences Program. "Conversely, over-prescribing malaria chemo-prophylaxis in areas of low malaria risk is harmful due to the medication's side effects."
With an enhanced GSAT program in place, the U.S. Air Force gains a computerized environmental and medical planning capability. The combined capabilities of the malaria assessments with GSAT provides the Air Force, the Department of Defense, and its partners with a decision support tool valuable to the U.S. military and civilian sectors. Because U.S. overseas forces generally assist the local public health organizations in disease prevention and control, the enhanced GSAT also benefits the local populations.
American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Tropical Medicine Current Events and Tropical Medicine News RSSIneffective monotherapies common in high-burden malarious countries
ACTwatch, a research project led by PSI, in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, released evidence today that indicates that artemisinin combination therapy, the most effective medicines for treating malaria, continue to have a significantly low presence on the market among populations considered to be most at risk.
Review: Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines effective at preventing child deaths
A study published in The Cochrane Review this month concludes that pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV), already known to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and x-ray defined pneumonia, was also effective against child deaths.
Fighting flu: Stricter hand hygiene in schools only a short-term measure
Increased hand hygiene in primary schools is only a short-term measure in preventing infections such as H1N1 from spreading.
UNC study: Insecticide-treated bed nets reduce infant deaths in Democratic Republic of Congo
Giving insecticide-treated bed nets to nearly 18,000 mothers at prenatal clinics in the Democratic Republic of Congo prevented an estimated 414 infant deaths from malaria, a study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers concludes.
Organic food not nutritionally better than conventionally-produced food
There is no evidence that organically produced foods are nutritionally superior to conventionally produced foodstuffs, according to a study published today in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Scientists decode genome of deadly parasitic worm
Scientists have sequenced the genome of the parasite that causes intestinal schistosomiasis (also known as bilharzia or snail fever), a devastating tropical disease that afflicts more than 200 million people in the developing world.
Government-backed youth program pilot didn't reduce teenage pregnancies
A government-backed youth development pilot programme in England, aimed at reducing teenage pregnancies, drunkenness or cannabis use, didn't reduce teenage pregnancies and other outcomes and might have increased pregnancies.
Preventing spread of infectious diseases is everyone's responsibility
According to a report published today, we must all share responsibility for preventing the spread of diseases such as swine flu, SARS, avian influenza, diarrhoeal and skin diseases, and even the common cold.
Old Stain in a New Combination
New combinations of agents based on the oldest synthetic malaria drug, the methylene blue stain, can curb the spread of malaria parasites and make a significant contribution to the long-term eradication called for by the international "Roll Back Malaria Initiative."
Dengue fever costs billions in health care, lost productivity and absenteeism
Researchers at Brandeis, in collaboration with several other institutions worldwide, have pinpointed for the first time the multi-country economic costs of dengue fever, the endemic and epidemic mosquito-borne illness that is a rapidly growing public health problem in tropical and sub-tropical countries.
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