THE TRUE COST OF A NUCLEAR DETERRENT
This month’s editorial covers the recent leaked report from the US Department of Health and Disease Control, showing the patterns of nuclear fallout across the US resulting from Cold War testing. The editorial discusses the impact of these data on cancer incidence and the worldwide effects of nuclear testing on the general population and military personnel. It concludes: 'It is easy to say that lessons should be learnt from the history of the nuclear deterrent, but unfortunately, with the escalation of the nuclear race in India and Pakistan, and the possibility of terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda acquiring materials to create crude nuclear devices, it is likely that the same mistakes will be repeated. We may never fully realise the true human cost of military advancement.'
REVIEWS
THE LANCET INFECTIOUS DISEASES
ENOUGH TIME WASTED IN SOUTH AFRICA
This month’s Leading Edge editorial discusses the South African Government’s reluctance to provide the antiretroviral drug nevirapine to pregnant women with HIV. The drug has been shown to be effective in preventing mother-to-child HIV-1 transmission; however the South African Government have recently launched an appeal to a March 11 court hearing which instructed them to make the drug available in state facilities offering HIV-1 counselling and testing.
The Lancet