http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6115a7.htm?s_cid=mm6115a7_e

Announcements: World Malaria Day — April 25, 2012

Weekly

April 20, 2012 / 61(15);278

World Malaria Day is commemorated on April 25, the date in 2000 when 44 African leaders met in Abuja, Nigeria, and committed their countries to cutting malaria-related deaths in half by 2010. In the decade since, increased funding and control efforts have led to a scale-up of effective malaria interventions, resulting in decreased malaria morbidity and mortality in many countries. In 2010, an estimated 216 million cases of malaria and 655,000 deaths were reported worldwide, a 17% decrease in malaria incidence and 25% reduction in global malaria mortality since 2000 (1). World Malaria Day 2012′s theme, Sustain Gains, Save Lives: Invest in Malaria, underscores the need to consolidate these gains and continue scaling up malaria interventions.

CDC supports these efforts through the President’s Malaria Initiative, a U.S. government interagency initiative to reduce malaria incidence and mortality in 19 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in the Mekong subregion in Asia. In addition, CDC conducts multidisciplinary strategic and applied research globally to increase knowledge about malaria and develop safe, effective interventions that can lead to the elimination and eventual eradication of malaria.

As a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for Prevention and Control of Malaria, CDC works closely with WHO, which has just released new malaria surveillance manuals and launched the T3: Test, Treat, and Track initiative, urging increased investment in national capacity for diagnostic testing, diagnosis-based treatment, and surveillance. Additional information is available from WHO at http://www.who.int/malaria/en. Additional information regarding CDC’s malaria activities is available at http://www.cdc.gov/malaria.

Reference

1. World Health Organization. World malaria report 2011. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2011. Available at http://www.who.int/malaria/world_malaria_report_2011/en/index.html. Accessed April 10, 2012.

Chowell G, Viboud C, Simonsen L, et al. Impact of antiviral treatment and hospital admission delay on risk of death associated with 2009 A/H1N1 pandemic influenza in Mexico. BMC Infect Dis 2012 Apr 20 (Early online publication) [Full text]

Approximately 50% of all A/H1N1-positive patients received antiviral medication during the Spring and Summer 2009 pandemic waves in Mexico while only 9% of A/H1N1 cases received antiviral medications during the fall wave (P < 0.0001). After adjustment for age, gender, and geography, antiviral treatment significantly reduced the risk of death (OR = 0.52 (95% CI: 0.30, 0.90)) while longer hospital admission delays increased the risk of death by 2.8-fold (95% CI: 2.25, 3.41).

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http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs286/en/index.html

Key facts

• Measles is one of the leading causes of death among young children even though a safe and cost-effective vaccine is available.
• In 2010, there were 139 300 measles deaths globally – nearly 380 deaths every day or 15 deaths every hour.
• More than 95% of measles deaths occur in low-income countries with weak health infrastructures.
• Measles vaccination resulted in a 74% drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2010 worldwide.
• In 2010, about 85% of the world’s children received one dose of measles vaccine by their first birthday through routine health services – up from 72% in 2000.

Silberstein S, et al                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  “Evidence-based guideline update — pharmacologic treatment for episodic migraine prevention in adults: Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Headache Society”

Neurology 2012; 78: 1337-45.

http://www.neurology.org/content/78/17/1337.abstract

The author panel reviewed 284 abstracts, which ultimately yielded 29 Class I or Class II articles that are reviewed herein. Divalproex sodium, sodium valproate, topiramate, metoprolol, propranolol, and timolol are effective for migraine prevention and should be offered to patients with migraine to reduce migraine attack frequency and severity (Level A). Frovatriptan is effective for prevention of menstrual migraine (Level A). Lamotrigine is ineffective for migraine prevention (Level A).