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Problematic internet use in children and adolescents: Associations with psychiatric disorders and impairment
Children today seem like they were born with an iPad in hand. Toddlers might not be potty trained yet, but they know how to switch from one app to the other, Facetime their grandparents and even change WiFi networks. Researchers are still unsure as to what effects this precocious use of technology, particularly increased use…
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What’s age got to do with it? Age gaps in schistosomiasis control
A typical lakeshore scene at an intestinal schistosomiasis hotspot. Preschool-aged children, school-aged children, and adults all contact infested water daily. Image credit: Poppy Lamberton The World Health Organization has just updated their Road Map for Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) 2021-2030. This draft document was developed with stakeholders and outlines key actions for the control and…
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BMC Series Highlights – April
BMC Public Health – The NHS visitor and migrant cost recovery programme – a threat to health? In April 2014 the UK government launched the ‘NHS Visitor and Migrant Cost Recovery Programme Implementation Plan’ which set out a series of policy changes to recoup costs from ‘chargeable’ (largely non-UK born) patients. In England alone roughly…
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Quadrivalent HPV vaccine is protective against genital warts
What is HPV? Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted infectious agent and is increasingly common in young people. HPV is linked to several cancers – especially cervical cancer – and genital warts (GW). How high is the burden of HPV related diseases? Every year, a large number of women and men are affected by…
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Does where we live make us lonely?
Loneliness is not a twenty first century creation. Nor is it the result of the physical distancing, self-isolation and distant and remote social relationships we are experiencing as a result of COVID-19. Like joy or sorrow, loneliness can be seen as part of being human. It has been described and experienced by people of different…
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COVID-19 and Tuberculosis: Pandemics on Collision Course
We seem to have short memories for pandemics. Outbreaks of SARS, MERS, Ebola and new influenza strains didn’t appear to have raised the fear of a new true pandemic into the global consciousness. That was certainly true for me, and I was an infectious diseases professional, albeit working on one of our older and more…
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Celebrating Clinical Trials Day: Building the evidence base for the best public involvement in clinical trials
On 20th May 2020 we mark International Clinical Trials Day, an opportunity to recognize the people who carry out clinical trials and thank them for their efforts in improving public health. This of course includes the patients who participate in those trials, without whom the trials simply would not happen. It also includes the patient…
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A microsporidian impairs Plasmodium falciparum transmission
Sporoblast of the the microsporidian Fibrillanosema crangonycis. Electron micrograph taken by Leon White. Source; Wikipedia. The mosquito Anopheles arabiensis (a member of the Anopheles gambiae species complex) is an efficient vector of malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its habits are versatile, feeding indoors and outdoors on both humans and animals. Larval habitats are also varied. These…
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Free sugar intake and micronutrient dilution: Q&A with Dr Esther González-Padilla
Q1. There are many studies that look at the health risks associated with sugary snacks and beverages. Why did you decide to look at the impact on micronutrient status? Has it got something to do with dietary habits in the population studied? Vitamin and mineral deficiencies are considered diseases in their own right. However, the…
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Added sugar intake and micronutrient dilution: Q&A with Dr Esther González-Padilla
Q1. There are many studies that look at the health risks associated with sugary snacks and beverages. Why did you decide to look at the impact on micronutrient status? Has it got something to do with dietary habits in the population studied? Vitamin and mineral deficiencies are considered diseases in their own right. However, the…