Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0024530 (malaria)
 44,886 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

From the moment WHO was established in 1948, the control of venereal diseases was felt to deserve highest priority, together with activities to control malaria and tuberculosis. International action was needed in view of the high morbidity and mortality from venereal diseases, their serious human and social consequences, and the prevalence of congenital syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases (gonorrhoea, chancroid, venereal lymphogranulomatosis, granuloma inguinale). WHO immediately set up a global programme for the control of STDs and, with the participation of other agencies, especially UNICEF, furnished countries with assistance in the form of personnel, equipment and funds for the operation of programmes to assess the extent and impact of STDs and to plan and implement practical measure of control. The 1950s witnessed a steady and considerable decline in syphilis and gonorrhoea and many health authorities relaxed their control activities and efforts to maintain public awareness of the problem. In contrast to the prevailing optimism, WHO repeatedly stressed the possibility of a renewed upsurge of STDs. In the 1960s and 1970s, there was a sharp rise in STDs, both in the "classic" diseases (the five venereal diseases mentioned above) and also in the "second generation" STDs (chlamydial infection, genital herpes, human papillomavirus and other infections). Through its programme for the control of STDs, WHO put forward suitably designed control strategies, essentially based on information and education for health, screening for STDs, diagnosis and treatment of cases, contact tracing, and the training of health personnel. By the end of the 1970s, the bacterial, but not the viral STDs, had been contained in the industrialized countries. In many of the developing countries, STDs remained a priority public health problem, above all on account of the seriousness of their sequelae. In 1981, a new sexually transmitted disease-the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-was identified. As of 1982, the WHO Programme on STDs organized meetings to define the extent of the problem, compare experience, promote and coordinate research and propose strategies for prevention. In 1987, WHO established a Global Programme on AIDS. It is clear that the control of STDs is now more than ever a priority. We have strategies for the prevention and control of STDs and the WHO Programme will continue to collaborate closely with countries in strengthening their national control programmes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:[The campaign against sexually transmissible diseases and endemic treponematoses]. 245 57

The epidemiologic and social aspects of AIDS are different in developed and developing countries. In Africa, where there are several tens of thousands of cases, the ratio of female to male cases is 1:1. The highest incidence in men is at age 37.4 and in women 30 years. In Haiti the female to male ratio is 1:1.8. In Rwanda and Zambia the incidence is higher among educated people. In most of Africa AIDS is predominantly urban. Also, in Africa the time between diagnosis and death is shorter. Seroprevalence rates in Africa and the Caribbean are between .5 and 18% for the population at large. In Zaire seroprevalence peaks between ages 16-20 and at under 1 year. Both in the US and in Africa the epidemic appears to have begun around 1980. In West Africa a related virus, HIV-2, has been identified. Progression rates from seropositivity to AIDS or AIDS-related complex in Africa are similar to those in the US. However, in Africa, and recently in Haiti, transmission has been heterosexual. In Africa female prostitutes have the highest incidence of HIV seropositivity, and there is much female to male transmission via this route. Genital ulcers, especially chancroid, increase the risk of AIDS, and condom use may protect women from infection. The 2nd most important route of AIDS transmission in Africa and Haiti is blood transfusion. Blood transfusion are common in treatment of children with anemia from malaria and with sickle cell anemia, and many children have been infected via this route in Africa. Medical injections, scarification and circumcision also account for HIV transmission. Perinatal transmission from seropositive mothers is also common in Africa. Among patrilineal African societies premarital or extramarital sex is rare among girls, but young men and husbands of nursing mothers often visit prostitutes. In the cities there are varying degrees of promiscuity. In couples where the husband is seropositive, he usually has a history of sex with prostitutes, but in couples where the wife is seropositive, she usually has a history of blood transfusion.
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PMID:Epidemiological and sociological aspects of HIV-infection in developing countries. 305 51