1、New diagnostic tools are being tested that would quickly indicate whether a person has African sleeping sickness. Current methods of diagnosis are slow and cumbersome and delay life-saving treatment.Health officials say there are no clinical signs of sleeping sickness, also known as African trypanos
2、omiasis. Its often up to health workers to carefully screen those suspected of being infected. If they think a person has the illness, theyll examine the patients blood under a microscope, looking for parasites.Dr. Joseph Ndungu said it simply takes too much time.“Sleeping sickness has been endemic
3、on the continent of Africa for a long time in 36 countries. The highest epidemics that were occurring recently were 2008 to 2010. At that time it was estimated that at least 500,000 people in these countries were carrying the disease at any one time,“ he said.Ndungu is head of the Human African Tryp
4、anosomiasis and Neglected Diseases Program at FIND, the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics. Hes the former Chief Research Officer at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute.He said, “The seriousness of this disease is that any person who gets infected and does not receive treatment eventual
5、ly dies.“The infection can reach all the way to the brain. All this, from the bite of the tsetse fly.New ToolsThe new diagnostic tools were discussed at the International Scientific Council for Trypanosomiasis Research and Control in Bamako, Mali. One test would be similar to a pregnancy test and co
6、uld easily be used in the field. That may be ready in 2012.The other is called Lamp, a machine that can detect the parasites DNA within 24 hours. Its manufactured by the Japanese company Eiken, which specializes in medical diagnostics.Dr. Ndungu said not only can the blood be tested quickly and accu
7、rately, but you can see the results with the naked eye. He says if the DNA being tested has fluorescence that is, emits light then its a sure sign the person has African sleeping sickness. The fluorescence results when parasite DNA mixes with chemicals used in the Lamp device.Now what it means is th
8、at we can take a molecular diagnosis, which is normally confined to sophisticated laboratories to laboratories at the district level in the rural areas, where the disease occurs. And therefore can perform these tests closer and be able to detect individuals who are carrying the disease,“ he said.He
9、said LAMP can be also used as a follow-up to treatment to determine, if indeed, the treatment was successful. Whats more, the machine could be used to test for animal sleeping sickness said to cost African farmers over $4 billion a year. Lamp is expected to be ready for field use in 2012.Current tre
10、atment for sleeping sickness can be toxic. But recently scientists announced a safer method. They combined two chemicals, melarsoprol and cyclodextrin. The new formulation does not need to be injected. It can be taken orally, which allows slower absorption with less toxicity.Usually, melarsoprol is
11、given alone intravenously in ever increasing doses.In August, as Hurricane Irene unleashed wind and rain along the U.S. East Coast, author John Shors found himself on a book tour, promoting his new novel, “Cross Currents,“ which was inspired by the devastating tsunami that hit Thailand and other sou
12、th Asian countries in 2004.Shors connection to Thailand began back in the early 1990s, when he graduated from college and decided to pursue his dream of backpacking in Asia. He landed a teaching job in Japan and saved money to fund the adventure, which took him from India and China to Vietnam and Th
13、ailand.“In Thailand, a beautiful little island is called Kho Phi Phi. I just fell in love with this place,“ he says. “It was an absolute paradise; no roads, turquoise water, white sand, very friendly people. I just felt like I had stumbled upon one of the most beautiful places on Earth.“ Once he dis
14、covered the island, it was hard not to go back.“I had gone back to Kho Phi Phi several times. I became more connected with the island and the Thai people and the culture. I just really loved it.“On December 26, 2004, Shors was at his house in Colorado when images of the Indian Ocean tsunami engulfin
15、g the island flashed across the world.“I was horrified that the island, which is only six feet above sea level, had been very, very harmed by this tsunami. Those images got me thinking about writing a novel about that day, about the tragedies and triumphs of that day.“An estimated 230,000 people die
16、d in the tsunami, about 8,000 in Thailand. Three years later, Shors returned to the island expecting to see devastation.“I was amazed at how much had been built. People cleaned up together. I had a lot of conversations with people who talked about how they actually survived that day and how they hel
17、ped others and how they then rebuilt the island.“Those conversations inspired “Cross Currents.“The novel centers around resort owners Lek and Sarai, who are struggling to support their children. They give Patch, a friendly young American, room and board in exchange for some work. But Lek learns that
18、 Patch has an expired visa and is on the run, so his presence now endangers Leks family. Before these issues are resolved, the tsunami hits and sweeps the characters in new directions. “One of the reason this novel is called “Cross Currents“ is because its not just about the tsunami. Its about peopl
19、e of different cultures, living together and getting to know each other and how those cultures sort of mix in together,“ Shors says. In the novel, two monstrous waves hit the island from both ends, converging in the middle. They hit while Patch is on the beach playing soccer with young Thai children
20、. Shors wanted to examine peoples gut reaction when a natural disaster strikes. In order to survive, he says, people need to trust and rely on each other. “Whether its a tsunami in Japan or an earthquake in Pakistan or China or wherever, it really seems to bring out the best in people. Of course, Mo
21、ther Nature has incredible powers, destructive powers sometimes, but we also have a power within ourselves. When we put our minds and spirit together, we can obviously accomplish wonderful things.“The waves come and take things away, but Shors says the waves cant take everything because some things are stronger, even, than the sea.