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PIH Founder Farmer Discussing Possible Appointment To Coordinate U.S. Global Health Initiatives, Boston Globe Reports
Paul Farmer -- founder of Partners in Health and vice chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School -- said he is in discussions with the State Department about a possible Obama administration appointment to coordinate U.S. global health initiatives, the Boston Globe reports. Farmer made the announcement Monday during a meeting with HMS faculty. Farmer said that he has not decided whether he will accept the appointment if he receives a formal offer but that he is considering it, according to the Globe. The Globe reports that it was unable to confirm whether Farmer is being considered for a full-time policy position or for an advisory role or if the appointment would be a new or existing position. Several top positions at USAID -- including administrator, deputy administrator and the assistant administrator in charge of global health are vacant, the Globe reports. These positions are presidential appointments and would require Senate confirmation. In addition, Farmer could be discussing health policy positions with the State Department. Farmer did not respond for requests seeking comment. PIH and HMS also declined comment. A spokesperson at the State Department would not discuss personnel discussions that are in progress or possible new positions. Laurie Garrett, a global health policy specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the administration"s announcement last week of a $63 billion, six-year initiative that aims to address HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other illnesses could allow new appointees the opportunity to make a significant impact in U.S. global health policy. Garrett, who has known Farmer for several years, added that she would be surprised if he is considering a government position in part because of his extensive involvement with PIH (Smith, Boston Globe, 5/15).
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Tolerx Presents Data At 69th Scientific Sessions Of The American Diabetes Association
Tolerx, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of novel therapies for immune-mediated diseases, presented results from a pre-clinical dose-optimization study conducted with a surrogate of its Phase 3 anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody, otelixizumab, at the 69th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), which is continuing until June 9, 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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The Difficulties Of Early Identification Of Dementia
If grandma seems to forget things, will she end up demented? These days, memory loss is one of the very few symptoms that may signal which 70-year-olds risk developing dementia. This is shown in a doctoral thesis at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
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NHS Instructed To Plan For Up To 65,000 Swine Flu Deaths, UK

In a week that has seen the British swine flu death toll reach 29 and it is estimated that 55,000 people have caught the virus, hospitalizing 652 of them, the National Health Service (NHS) has received instructions to plan for the death toll reaching up to 65,000. On Thursday, the UK"s Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, who is also the professional head of all medical staff in England, told the NHS to plan for between 19,000 and 65,000 swine flu deaths occuring this winter. He stressed that the figures are not predictions but "worst case scenarios" to enable health authorities to plan. He explained that there haven"t been enough cases to produce proper estimates. According to a report in the Telegraph yesterday, some GPs are seeing up to 60 cases of suspected swine flu a day, and leading doctors have suggested putting routine operations on hold in order to give priority to swine flu patients. The Department of Health said in its weekly flu update yesterday that GPs are seeing flu patients at a rate that is "above the threshold level for normal seasonal flu activity and higher than the peak activity in winter 08/09". The number of deaths to swine flu in the UK has doubled in a week, from 14 to 29. The latest victim was a six-year-old boy from Kent who died on Wednesday. According to the Department of Health, the swine flu is affecting predominantly the under 5s and 5-14 year olds. A BBC report said that in the worst hit areas, hospitals are reporting having wards full of children with swine flu. Half of all children could be infected during the first major pandemic wave, said Sir Liam. Meanwhile the police authorities in the West Midlands have said that the pandemic poses a greater threat to the country than terrorism. The death toll due to seasonal flu usually reaches between 6,000 and 10,000 people every year, and can reach 20,000 in a bad year. Most of the deaths are in the elderly. Pandemic flu last hit the UK in 1958 and then again in 1968/70, killing around 30,000 people each time. Experts thought that the swine flu would abate during the summer months and then resurge in the winter, but the numbers of infections and deaths continue to rise, with reports coming in that in some parts of Britain it is reaching epidemic proportions. The NHS will be expected to treat up to 360,000 swine flu patients in hospital, with around 90,000 of them expected to need critical care. The World Health Organization said that this global pandemic is the fastest moving one ever. The new H1N1 virus has "spread internationally with unprecedented speed", they said in a briefing yesterday, explaining it has spread as widely in 6 weeks as past pandemics have spread in 6 months. The UK government has brought forward its plan to launch the pandemic flu service which was not expected to go live until the autumn. The service will only be available in England as the health service in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will not be under as great a pressure, said health officials. According to a BBC report, the rate of calls to NHS Direct in England is running at four times the level expected in winter. Sir Liam told the BBC that: "The flu service will mean the pressure will get taken off front-line staff to allow them to concentrate on the most serious cases." The service will give people access to a call centre and a website that will help them decide if they have swine flu and through which they can obtain vouchers for antiviral drugs without having to go through their GP. The call centre goes live next week and will be manned with 2,000 staff at any one time. Although not medically trained, they will use a checklist to help diagnose whether callers have swine flu and will give them a voucher number with which they can obtain anti-viral drugs. The website also has a checklist that people can fill in themselves and get a voucher number. The government has stressed that people can still go to their GP without having to contact the help line or use the website, and if they have underlying medical conditions they should make sure their doctor knows if they also think they have swine flu. Sir Liam said that UK was expecting its first batches of vaccine by the end of August, with a total of 60 million doses by the end of the year. Although the pandemic flu service phone number and website address are not yet announced, the Department of Health site is giving out this information to anyone who suspects they may have swine flu: "Until the National Pandemic Flu Service is in place, if you think you or anyone in your family has swine flu, to avoid spreading the virus, do not go to A&E and do not go to your doctor"s surgery. Go online and check your symptoms on www.nhs.uk, or call the swine flu information line on 0800 1 513 513. If you still think you have swine flu call your GP." s: Telegraph, BBC, WHO, DH, MNT archives. Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD Copyright: Medical News Today Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today


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