NEWS

Drug Companies failing African Aids sufferers, says Chancellor

Gordon Brown has called on pharmaceutical companies to make vital anti-retro viral drugs available to HIV/AIDS sufferers in Africa and other developing countries.

The Chancellor made his appeal just as George Bush pledged $15 billion dollars in aid to fight the disease, and as reports from sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 30 million people are affected, confirmed the virus is reaching epidemic proportions. The United Nations warned that Swaziland, Botswana, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, where around 40 per cent of the population are infected, were close to collapse.

Speaking out in the Guardian, Mr Brown called the drug companies' failure to supply medicine "a terrible indictment on a world that has the technology, the drugs and the resources to be able to solve these problems".

The pharmaceutical community rejected his accusations, and pointed to drug giant Pharmacia's pledge in January to allow other drug manufacturers to sell cheaper versions of its Aids drug, Rescriptor.President Bush, speaking about his aid plan, called his administration's action a "work of mercy", and said: "This comprehensive plan will prevent seven million new Aids infections... treat at least two million people with life-extending drugs... and provide humane care for millions of people suffering from Aids, and for children orphaned by Aids."

However observers warned that the plan would do little more than scratch the surface of the problem. Alan Brody of UN's children's agency, Unicef feared it was already too late to halt the spread of the virus: "I guess the worst case is that society itself falls apart. How do you deal with losing this many people? I don't know of any situation in history where we have an epidemic that hollows out society like this."

There was also controversy over a report by the United States-based International Journal of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Aids, which claimed that up to 60 per cent of new infections were caused by contaminated needles rather than sexual contact. UNaids rejected the findings, arguing that dirty syringes were responsible for only five per cent of new cases, and worried that such erroneous research could cost lives. Dr Christopher Uoma, HIV co-ordinator for ActionAid in Kenya, warned that publicising the conclusions "could lead to a serious change in terms of health behaviour with people being reluctant to enter hospitals". Catherine Hankins, chief scientific adviser to UNAids, agreed. "We're concerned that a report like this might tend to make people drop their guard and not use condoms, when it's exactly using condoms that is required at this point," she said.

CONTROVERSIAL DRUG COULD CUT SUICIDE RATE

Up to 100 people a year could be successfully prevented from committing suicide if a controversial drug was more widely prescribed, a study has found.The International Suicide Prevention Trial (Intersept) found that schizophrenic patients taking Clozapine were 25 per cent less likely to commit suicide.The trial involved nearly 1,000 people at high risk of suicide from 11 countries - the majority of whom had schizophrenia. Schizophrenics are particularly likey to attempt suicide. There are currently around half a million people living with schizophrenia in Britain. It is estimated that around half will attempt suicide as some point in their life - some 20-50 times the rates of the general population.

The findings are particularly controversial as the drug Clozapine (Clozaril) has been previously withdrawn after it was linked to a number of deaths. It is now licensed for use subject to a weekly blood test. Although extremely rare, the most serious side-effects, notes manufacturer, Novartis, are agranulocytosis "a possible fall in the white blood cell count, leading to an increased risk of infection, convulsions, fall in blood pressure and fever", heart problems and diabetes. The company also advises patients to contact their doctors "as soon as possible" should they experience a dry mouth and excessive thirst as the symptoms could be a sign of high blood sugar levels.

NICE does not recommend patients changing to one of the atypical (newer) antipsychotic drugs if older, typical, antipsychotics are adequately controlling symptoms of schizophrenia and are not causing unacceptable side effects. However it issued advice in June last year that: "If there is evidence that you have what is known as treatment-resistant schizophrenia or TRS (where the drugs you are taking are not controlling your symptoms of schizophrenia), then your doctor should prescribe you clozapine."

The Director of Public Affairs at the mental health charity, Rethink, Paul Farmer, said the research showed that life could be improved for people with schizophrenia - although there was no "magic medicine" solution for all. "But with the right help at the right time, people can recover a full and meaningful quality of life."

GULF TROOPS REJECT ANTHRAX JAB

Half of British service personnel heading for the Gulf have refused their anthrax vaccinations, a Lib Dem MP has revealed.In a letter to Paul Keetch, the MoD said that out of 16,538 service personnel offered voluntary anthrax jabs, only 8,103 had accepted.Defence Minister, Lewis Moonie, said that anthrax represented a "real threat to our armed services" and despite having "no reservation about recommending it", immunisation will remain voluntary "in accordance with long-standing medical practice".

Keetch, however, accused the government of "sowing confusion and exhibiting a lack of leadership over the anthrax vaccine"."Over half our servicemen and women in the Gulf will now not be protected against the possibility of an anthrax attack. By making immunisation voluntary, the government has sown confusion among service personnel. Soldiers are being asked to judge for themselves the possibility of anthrax infection in the Gulf. If the vaccine is safe and the threat real, why pass the buck to our troops to decide?"

Labour MP Dr Ian Gibson described the situation as the "triple MMR all over again", saying that once public confidence was gone it was "lost altogether"."I don't think that the government has acknowledged the scepticism or taken real steps to convince the troops that there is no risk attached," he said.It was also vital he said, that the government keep proper records this time of what the troops are given in terms of drugs and vaccines. So many of the records were lost or incomplete after the last Gulf conflict, it made it impossible for doctors and scientists to assess claims that some soldiers had developed a "Gulf War Syndrome" as a result of a "toxic overload" caused by a cocktail of vaccines.

Despite these concerns, troops continue to receive multiple jabs simultaneously, said Dr Gibson. "A young soldier I recently spoke to said she had recently been given five separate injections at the same time including Hepatitis C, malaria, anthrax and smallpox. She said that discussions over Gulf War Syndrome are common and soldiers are very sceptical over advice they take."

The Gulf War Veterans and Families Association (GWVFA) said it its advice line was already receiving phone calls from concerned troops.

VICTORY FOR ENGLISH HAEMOPHILIACS

English haemophiliacs are finally to receive synthetic blood clotting products on the NHS, ending the long-standing disparity with the rest of Britain.

The Prime Minister made the announcement in response to a question from the Chairman of the All Party Group, Michael Connarty MP, during a session of Prime Ministers Questions in February.

The Labour MP for Falkirk East welcomed the decision. "Our priority now is to see adults with haemophilia getting recombinant treatment as quickly as possible," Connarty said.The government has committed an extra £88 million over the next three years to ensure that all English haemophilic patients have access to synthetic clotting factors by March 2006.

Patients in Scotland and Wales have been in receipt of recombinant for the last five years, although synthetic clotting factors have also been available to English patients under 16 years of age since 1998.There are currently around 5,000 haemophiliacs in England, who need regular injections to replace the missing factor which helps their blood to clot. Synthetic recombinant is believed to be safer than that made with human blood factors because of the risk of blood borne infections. The 1970s saw a series of contaminated blood disasters when many haemophiliacs were infected with hepatitis and HIV. Although still theoretical, the risk of contracting CJD is partly behind the decision to change, although plasma from UK donors is no longer used to make these products.

NICARAGUAN CHILDREN STARVE IN COFFEE CRISIS

The UN World Food Programme is distributing food aid in Nicaragua for the first time following a collapse in coffee prices on the world market place.It is estimated that in the coffee-growing regions of the country, 45 per cent of under-fives are chronically malnourished, and one in eight children are starving.

Despite being the second largest commodity after crude oil many farmers are now earning less than $1 a day.

LARGER REWARD TO COMBAT PRESCRIPTION FRAUD

Pharmacists in England and Wales are to receive an increased reward for reporting prescription fraud.As an added incentive, the reward will now rise to £70 for identifying a fraudulent prescription or providing information that leads to an investigation into pharmaceutical patient fraud.

The Pharmacy Reward Scheme (PRS), originally introduced in June 1999, is one of a series of measures believed to have cut pharmaceutical patient fraud by 41 per cent from £117 to £69 million.