The development of vaccines has undoubtedly been one of the greatest achievements of the medical profession. Vaccines have collectively saved millions of lives and allowed a much-needed escape from many of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. However, vaccines have been so effective in eliminating diseases that some now doubt their utility, believing that they now […]
One hundred people reported dead, countless others infected. Madagascar is in the midst of its most deadly plague outbreak in recent memory. Schools, universities and public buildings have closed. The government has forbidden public gatherings. The WHO has already shipped 1.5 million doses of antibiotics, as well as designated US $1.5 million from its emergency […]
Lancet pricks the finger and blood streams out. A tiny glass pipette sucks a drop – 5 microliters to be exact. Blood is dropped in the sample well and two drops of solution in the buffer well. Now begins the twenty minute wait. This is the Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test (mRDT). The lab technicians at […]
It was on the 4th of July, 2017, two days after landing in Zanzibar, that the PGHT team first visited Mnazi Mmoja Hospital (MMH), the only tertiary government hospital serving the entire island. The focus for the day was a visit to the maternity ward and a meeting local clinicians. A big white board with […]
Multiple teams of virus hunters have been on a mission, scouring our planet’s rainforests to discover previously unknown viruses that carry the potential of transforming into pandemics. It is all part of a $200 million project called PREDICT, part of USAID’s Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) program. The PREDICT program was launched 2009 in an effort […]