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New York Times Examines Program To Help Orphans Survive 'Fragile Days Of Infancy'
The New York Times examines a program being offered at an orphanage in Tanzania that provides emotional and physical support for newborns and young children who are at a high risk of death after losing their mothers in infancy. "Africa is full of at least 50 million orphans, the legacy of AIDS and other diseases, war and high rates of death in pregnancy and childbirth," the newspaper writes. "With the numbers increasing every day, Africans are struggling to care for them, often in ways that differ strikingly from the traditional concept of an orphanage in the developed world."

New Figures Reveal Ethnic Minorities Are Not Aware Of Their Cancer Risk
Despite growing evidence that cancer is becoming more prevalent amongst ethnic minority groups, news figures out today at the start of Ethnic Minority Cancer Awareness Week show that cancer awareness levels are critically low amongst this cohort.
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Make National Labour Force Survey Compulsory
Medical practitioners should be required to participate in a new national medical labour force survey as part of their registration obligations, to assist workforce planning, according to an article published in this year"s General Practice edition of the Medical Journal of Australia.
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Probiotics Can Increase Effectiveness Of Some Antibiotic Therapies For Bacterial Vaginosis

Antimicrobial treatments for bacterial vaginosis (BV) are effective, but taking lactobacillus tablets alongside metronidazole antibiotic therapy increases effectiveness over taking this antibiotic alone, according to a Cochrane Systematic Review. The researchers also concluded that intravaginal lactobacillus was as effective as oral metronidazole, although they did note unexplained drop-outs from the trials. BV is a very common vaginal infection. Traditionally, antibiotics in tablet or gel form have been given to treat the disease, but some have unpleasant side effects. BV is usually a mild disease and can pass unnoticed but is associated with an increased risk of HIV transmission. "Treating BV could help reduce susceptibility of women to HIV. Therefore it is important, particularly in the developing world, to establish the most effective and appropriate forms of treatment," says lead researcher Oyinlola Oduyebo, of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology at the University of Lagos in Lagos Nigeria. The researchers reviewed 24 trials involving 4,422 people. The antibiotics clindamycin and metronidazole both cured BV in over 90% of cases within two to three weeks, although there was a high rate of relapse. Side effects of metronidazole included nausea and a metallic taste in the mouth. However, it is the cheaper option and therefore likely to remain the most widely used in developing countries. Lactobacillus probiotic taken alongside metronidazole and taken intravaginally both showed significant effectiveness. Hydrogen peroxide and triple sulphonamide cream were not effective. "There are a range of good treatments for BV, but the high relapse rates require more attention and indicate that we need more research into other agents that can increase their effectiveness," said Oduyebo. "We also need to understand why so many people dropped out of the Lactobacillus trials as this suggests there are unreported adverse effects." Jennifer Beal Wiley-Blackwell


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