HEALTH
Because no cure or v ccin yet
exi , public edu tion i th only
ay th AIDS epid mlc can be con­
troll d. This que tion- 00- nswer
guid - fi t publi hed in 1 7-
been produced nd upd ted with
help from the World He lth Or­
g nizalion.
-Wh t
I te tage of n infection ca ed by
HIV, or hum n immunodeficency
virus. Th virus slowly d troy th
body' immune y tern, leaving the
per on incre ingly defen ele
g inst oth r infectio nd orne
cancers.
- How Ion doe AIDS take to
I
Diptheria, a disease which attacks
the pulmonary and nelVOUS systems
of its victims, killed about 20,000.
Am�ricans in the early 1920's. In
1990, it killed two people in this
country.
By the year 2000 the disease could
be eradicatcc1 worldwide.
But � achieving that goal will re­
quire immunization drives in the
world's poorest regions, where more
than 21,000 cases of diptheria were
reported last year.
" or tile eentury," ys Dr.
William Atkinson of the Centers for
Disease Control Division of Im­
munization, "there were mom than
10 million reported cases of diph­
theria worldwide."
"PEOPLE FORGET that diphtheria
was common at the beginning of this
century," says Maly Beth Powers,
who manages health programs for
CARE, the world's largest private
mlief and development otganization.
"It was the scourge of Bur�pe
throughout the 1800's."
Diphtheria often begins with a bac­
terial throat infection, which
produces toxins that damage the pul­
monary and nelVous system, cause
encephalitis, angina and mythmic
heartbeat
In the early 1940's, a diphtheria vac­
cine was combined with vacdnea
against tetan and pertusis. This
DPT vacdDc was used to immunize
allied troops during Wodd War n,
saving countless soldiers' lives.
When the war ended, and American
immunization program went into full
swing among infants and young
childIen.
Despite these su�cess s, th� i�
cidence of diphthena remains highm
Africa and in some of the poorer
Latin American and Asian nations.
According to CARE, each year more
than two million unvaccinated Third
World children are at risk from diph­
theria and other life-threatening dis­
eases such as whooping cough and
tetanus.
"BUT," POWERS says, "we do have
reason to be optimistic.
DUring the last decade, we have seen
a 30 percent rise in the numbe! of
DPT immunizatiom among African
chi1dren."
- Ho can you protect your-
w
I
•
n
THE PICTURE OF GOOD HEALTH - The e happy chlldr n from Lesotho, a outhern African
country beset by poverty, hunger' and di ea e, are up-to-date in all their hots again t killer
childhood di ease. According to CARE, the world's largest private relief and development
organization, the number of Lesothoan children immunized with the OPT vaccine that guard.
against diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus has risen in the last decade from only 14 percent
to more thin 40 percent. CARE's health expert say that the e deadly health threat. could be
eradicate by. th Y ar 2000.
In some countries, uch as Rwanda,
the percentages 8l'C even higher. In
1980, fewer than 20 'percent of
Rwan an choolchildren had
received their DPT shots. By 1990,
mom than 80 percent had been fully
immunized.
"Each year," �rding to Powers,
"CARE immunizes more than
400,000 children against diphtheria,
tetanus and whooping cough."
Despite a I ck of doctom in may
remote Third World regions, CARE
makes it possible to vaccinate 1m-
povcrished childIen by identifying
and training tens of thousands of'
local community leaders in im­
munization and other basic health
services.
penicillin needed to knock out the
infection are too expensive for im­
poverished Third World nations,
where there is often less than one
doctor available for every 40,000
people.
"this means that the best and most
cost-effective treatment," says
Powers, "is early prevention through
immunization. It's encouraging to
know that we can halt diphtheria and
other diseases which take the lives of
millions of children and adults each
year."
IT IS THESE tatistica that cause
experts to postulate that the disease
could disappear in less than 10 years,
provided immunization programs
continue in the world's poorest
countries. .
Although diphtheria is curable, the
massive doses of �rythromycin or
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PO.FACA
Pre.ldent
Childhood Poisonings: What Should You Do?
According to a recent article in P atient Care, 65 percent of all reported
poi oning affect children younger than 5 years of age. The tirele
curio ity of children from age nine month to five yean makes thi age
group e pecially vulnerable to household poisoning . During the late
afternoon hour, ju t before dinner. is the time when a large number of
poi oning .in small children tend to occur. Try to w tch children closer
during thi time of the day, and follow good poi on-prevention habits. If
you u pect that a child h wallowed a poisonous material:
(1) Quickly attempt to locate the material or m terial that caused the
u peeted poi oning. Determine the amount of material the child could
have inge ted.
(2) If the material i corro ive, uch drain or oven cleaner, give the child
milk or water if consciou and able to drink the liquid on hi or her own.
(3) If the material i in the child' eye or on their skin, flush the area with
water for bout 20 minute . If you u peer the poison i a , remove the
child from the area.
(4) Call the area poi on control center or ho pita! emergency room. Be
prepared to provide the age. weight. and condition of the child and your
phone, number. Follow in truction provided carefully.