Top
Ten Epidemiology Monitor News Stories Of 2014
What very often
constitutes big news in epidemiology is not big news outside the
field. 2014 was an exception. The Ebola outbreak centered in West
Africa, the most important epidemiology story of the year, was also
the most important story in medicine, public health, and quite
possibly in world news. As of the new year, Ebola is off the front
pages but still not under control.
Other significant
headlines in epidemiology were the surprising revelations early last
year about the late Pat Buffler’s ties to industry and the
questions and concerns raised about conflicts of interest for
epidemiologists. On the lighter side, our marriage vow contest
proved to be very popular with our readers and many voted to select
the most humorous vow.
Below in rough
chronological order are the top headlines from The Epidemiology
Monitor in 2014 with a note about each story with links to each on
our website.
1. Investigative Report Raises Questions About The Late Pat Buffler’s
Multiple Relationships With Industry
A detailed report
by David Heath from the Center for Public Integrity has
revealed that the late Pat Buffler, the well-known and
much-loved University of California Berkeley epidemiologist, served as
a consultant for private industry for many years without publicly
disclosing these activities and relationships. Because of the large
number of these relationships, her failure to disclose them in journal
articles or grant applications, and the variety of tasks she performed
for industry, the article raises the possibility that Buffler rendered
opinions that were influenced by the money she received rather than
the scientific evidence itself.
Epi Monitor
Article:
http://tinyurl.com/m3er6cz
[Ed.
Note: One year later, it is still unclear what changes, if any,
have been adopted or implemented by epidemiologists, professional
associations, universities and other relevant organizations. We do
know the International Joint Policy Committee of the Societies of
Epidemiology has taken up the topic of conflicts of interest. We are
interested in learning of any changes our readers are aware of in
guidelines or in actual practice.]
2. Epidemiologic Mysteries Still Surround MERS-CoV Outbreak In The
Middle East
The mysteries
surrounding MERS-CoV have only deepened in the past few weeks as the
cases have increased dramatically. There is no convincing explanation
yet for the sudden increase in cases. According to Marjorie Pollack,
Deputy Editor of ProMED, a listserv used as an informal surveillance
system, “Two years since the first news reports, MERS remains a
mystery. With more cases reported in a single month than in the two
years combined, no one is certain how people become infected.”
Epi Monitor
Article:
http://tinyurl.com/kg8nh5d
[Ed. Note: The spike in
cases last April has suggested that MERS has a seasonality, but if so,
that observation does not square easily with the belief that camels
and bats may be the sources of exposure. Saudi Arabia reports 837
total cases and 361 deaths
to date, a case fatality rate of
43%. The latest World Health recommendations call for continued
surveillance but no travel restrictions at this time.]
3.
List of Public Health Issues Appears To Be Growing
What makes calling
an issue a public health issue so powerful? Judging from recent
articles which have appeared in the mass and medical literature on
topics as diverse as bullying and hoarding, it appears that
seeing social concerns or problems through the lens of public health
offers benefits that many advocates seek.
Epi
Monitor Article:
http://tinyurl.com/kjdyno2
[Ed.
Note: The beat goes on. Just this month we write about attempts to
look at crime as a public health problem and to further develop a
subspecialty called "epidemiological criminology".]
4. Large Gains In Life Expectancy
Reported By WHO
People everywhere are living longer, according to the
"World Health Statistics 2014" published by WHO. Based on global
averages, a girl who was born in 2012 can expect to live to around 73
years, and a boy to the age of 68. This is six years longer than the
average global life expectancy for a child born in 1990.
Epi Monitor Article:
http://tinyurl.com/ls5gg6a
[Ed. Note: The Global Burden of Disease study
published in The Lancet recently attributes the drop in death rates in
high income countries to a 15% decline in death rates from most
cancers and a 22% decline in cardiovascular diseases. In low income
countries, deaths caused by diarrhea, lower respiratory infections,
and neonatal disorders have fallen.]
5. Double Entendres Selected In
Marriage Vow Humor Contest
After months of creative thinking by epidemiologists both nationally
and internationally, we announced a winner of The Epidemiology Monitor
Marriage Vow Humor Contest.
Winning Slogan:
I vow to you that my love for you will have a 100%
survival rate over a lifetime.
1st
Runner Up:
I promise that you’ll always have the power to rule out
all my explanations.
2nd
Runner Up:
I promise that no matter how many times we are tested,
that I will never adjust our level of significance.
6. New Field Of “Energy Epidemiology”
Emerging In Response To The Threats Of Climate Change
Non-health
researchers with broader interests have conceived of health as only
one part of what epidemiology is capable of addressing. A striking
example of this thinking is the adoption of epidemiology and the
epidemiologic approach by engineers, sociologists, physicists, and
other scientists interested in studying end-user demand for energy in
built environments. Their goal, as stated by the new Centre for Energy
Epidemiology (CEE) at University College London is to adapt the full
range of experience of 150+ years of medical epidemiology to provide
an overarching structure to “energy end-use demand research”, and to
provide
a stream of insight to guide policy formation and
evaluation.
Epi Monitor Article:
http://tinyurl.com/oche2mb
[Ed. Note: The stated goal says it all and reminds us of the
power of epidemiology.]
7. Lancet Issue Highlights The State
Of Health Of Americans
“Americans deserve better health, particularly given the amount of
money they spend on health care. We have made progress, but can do
much better.” That’s how CDC Director Tom Frieden and Associate
Director for Science Harold Jaffe conclude their commentary on
the state of health in the US. They were writing at the invitation of
The Lancet as part of a set of review papers on US health published in
the July 5, 2014 issue by CDC authors.
Epi Monitor Article"
http://tinyurl.com/l79yqoe
[Ed.
Note: Writing about challenges in 2014, CDC focused on
cardiovascular diseases, smoking, and an impressive list of new and
old infectious disease threats such as AIDS, Ebola, and antibiotic
resistance.]
8. From Containment To Crisis In 5
Minutes---Ebola “Out Of Control” In West Africa Says Doctors Without
Borders
“Given that surveillance and response measures have held this [Ebola]
disease in check for the past decade, why has the situation gotten so
far out of hand this time?”
This is the complex question for epidemiologists and public health
officials raised by the West African Ebola outbreak in Guinea,
Liberia, and Sierra Leone and posed so clearly by Dick Thompson,
a former WHO communications official who specialized in outbreak
communications during his tenure at WHO, writing recently in National
Geographic News. Several epidemiologists and health officials close to
the outbreak have shared their insights in trying to answer this
question.
Epi Monitor Article"
http://tinyurl.com/o7soz4t
[Ed. Note: A special report from WHO this month seeks to
pinpoint the causes of failure to control Ebola in West Africa (see
article this issue). In our opinion, blame “delayed recognition” for
entrenching the disease, “business as usual thinking” for
underestimating the disease, and then factors too numerous to count
among poor West African countries for amplifying disease spread.]
9. More Than 1,000 Epidemiologists
Converge On Anchorage for Triennial Meeting Of The International
Epidemiological Association
The scenery did not
disappoint, nor did the summer weather. More than 1,000
epidemiologists from more than 30 different countries made their way
to cool, sunny, and beautiful Anchorage Alaska in mid-August to
participate in the 20th triennial meeting of the
International Epidemiological Association. The meeting was bookended
by an opening Cruickshank Lecture on climate change by Australia’s
Tony (AJ) McMichael and a closing Richard Doll lecture on halving
premature mortality given by Oxford University’s Richard Peto.
Indigenous dancers also helped to entertain participants and kick off
the meeting on the theme of Global Epidemiology in a Changing
Environment: The Circumpolar Perspective”.
Epi Monitor Article"
http://tinyurl.com/owpqvza
[Ed. Note:
Sadly, Tony McMichael passed away shortly after his Alaska keynote
address. Called a “gentle giant” in epidemiology, a video of his
memorial event in Australia is available on You Tube at:
http://tinyurl.com/o6wbcd4
]
10. Researchers Call For Setting
Quantitative Health Target Of Preventing 40% Of Under Age- 70
(Premature) Deaths By 2030
Inspired by the value of setting plausible goals and
the fact that death in old age in inevitable but death before old age
is not, researchers writing in The Lancet in September provide
analyses of decreasing national mortality trends which they hope will
influence the United Nations in setting disease and death
reduction
targets for the next round of international development goals. The
current set of goals, called the Millenium Development Goals are set
to expire in 2015 and will be replaced by a new set of Sustainable
Development Goals.
Epi Monitor
Article :
http://tinyurl.com/lk5kkpn
[Ed.
Note: The sustainable development goals are a new, universal set
of goals, targets and indicators that UN member states will be
expected to use to frame their agendas and political policies over the
next 15 years. The SDGs follow, and expand on the millennium
development goals which were agreed by governments in 2000, and are
due to expire at the end of this year. For a clear and graphic
explanation of the goals, visit:
http://tinyurl.com/kfn6uau
] ■
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