Cuba Produces Key Synthetic Vaccine for Children

[Judi Lynn]

Cuba Produces Key Synthetic Vaccine for Children
46 minutes ago


By Anthony Boadle

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban researchers have developed the first synthetic vaccine against a bacteria that causes pneumonia and meningitis, a breakthrough aimed at lowering the cost of immunizing children in poorer countries.


The vaccine protects against haemophilus influenzae type b, a bacteria that causes upper respiratory infections, mainly in children up to five years of age. The disease is a leading cause of meningitis, an infection of the brain and spinal cord coverings that can cause brain damage, deafness or death.


The research on the new vaccine, which has already been tested and put into production in Cuba, will be presented on Wednesday to experts from the world over at a biotechnology congress in Havana.


This is the first vaccine for humans made with a chemically produced antigen, Cuba says. The available, conventional vaccine is made using a difficult and more costly process of growing antigens in a bacterial culture. (snip/...)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20031123/hl_nm/health_cuba_vaccine_dc

[Nlighten1]

1. WMD! WMD! WMD!

This is going to hurt the US Pharm companies we must invade Cuba immediately!

[J B]

2. 'course it's just a cover for Cuba's biowarfare program.

Feith will tell us soon enough anyway

[Mika]

3. Damn Cuban commies are at it again (protecting children). Invade now!

Health care and education for all citizens must be stopped at once. Off with their heads!

Don't those damn Cuban commies know that murica has a "transition program" already plotted out for them?



"I will be a uniter" - _{G W Bush}

[donsu]

6. isn't it odd how americas's cops all look alike - black outfits

you can see a pic from Miami or Seattle or where ever and they look interchangeable. and their tactics are the same. wonder if they all had the same training manuals/videos provided (for a price) from the bushgang?

[Mokito]

4. Of Course, It's So Obvious!

Cuba wants to annihilate all of the world's children...invade Cuba!


...Sigh...

[cosmicdot]

5. Merck's eyebrow just went up

Monsanto pauses counting its money upon hearing the word synthetic ...

other Big Pharm reflect: maybe we should bring Freedom to Cuban researchers ... have a Freedom Cigar

FTAA, WTO will have to rule that such Cuban research violates the license clause or just anything ... gotta nip this in the bud

/sarcasm off

[Mika]

7. Cuba is not a signatory of the FTA, FTAA, or the WTO

Viva Cuba!

[BurntIceCubeTray]

13. Cuba should give it away for free

Think of the positive press.

[SpiralHawk]

8. Wait, isn't Cuba evil? I do think Chimp has declared this to be a TRUTH

YOU KNOW, I mean, you are either for us or against us, and we know that it has been profitable to be against Cuba, so they are obviously all evil.

Maybe this vaccine only works on evil children? Have Barbara and Jenna been tested yet? Is evil just a clever anagram for live? Hmmmm?

This whole scienece/discovery thing raises questions. Therefore, it must really be evil.

[Ellen Forradalom]

9. Glad to hear some good news from Cuba

It's a troubled place but they do manage to do some interesting things with very few resources. Admirable.

[9215]

10. The benefit of non-corporate medical research

Here is an area where Cuba has excelled. Their research is not incumbered or, as happens in the US sometimes, derailed, by corporate profiteers.

Ironically they "compete" very well with the capitalist medical industry. Even when their funding is so much less.

Thanks for posting this Judilyn.


Does anybody know of where I can get info on Cuba's medical research history? I wonder about their drug treatment, detox records. I know they have produced good results in the past and I want to keep track of this.



Thanks.

[Judi Lynn]

11. Don't know much about that aspect of their labors, 9215

I'll be keeping an eye out when I have some time to start looking around later on.

I do know they have produced an excellent "cocktail" for their AIDS patients, and are providing it for a lot of other countries.

It has been their goal to create far less expensive drugs equal to the ones produced in wealthy countries to allow the third world countries to treat their own citizens, when they SURELY can't afford the prices of drugs sold in the U.S., Canada, Europe, etc.

See ya later. Thanks.

[BurntIceCubeTray]

12. Will Cuba give away the formula and production rights for free.

Let's hope so. It would set a good example.

[Gman]

14. Whatever Cuba does, as long as it costs the pharmaceuticals

potential profits, I'm happy.

[LastTime2BeFree]

15. Yes!

Selective collective punishment is good!

[Judi Lynn]

16. Here's an article concerning a tour by American medical people

through the Cuban health system. It's quite different from ours:

(snip) The Cuban health care system is organized in the shape of a pyramid. At the base are the consultorios, which are clinics staffed by a physician and nurse team who provide primary and preventive care within specific communities. Patients can visit the consultorio during morning hours, while afternoons are usually reserved for patient home visits. Typically, a consultorio team can provide health care for 500 to 700 people. For testing and specific medical needs, a patient is referred to a polyclinic and often accompanied by the community physician. A polyclinic can host patients from as many as 30 or more consultorios, thus providing care to about 20,000 people.

The team also visited the National Institute of Oncology and Radiation, an organization that maintains a national cancer registry, helps to establish standards for cancer care in Cuba and directs investigations to new treatments and therapies.

For Cuban males, the most common cancers included prostate, lung and bladder, according to one entry submitted in the group's Cuban delegation Journal. For women, breast and cervical are most common. Cancer screening guidelines were unconfirmed. However, women are taught to conduct a monthly self-breast exams. For women past age 40, physicians conduct a risk factor assessment to determine if a patient needs early mammography or an ultrasound evaluation. Mammograms are conducted every three years for women between the ages of 50 to 65. Within one specific polyclinic area, the incidence of breast cancer is 64/20,000 women.

“The affection and respect that the members of the health care team had for each other were obvious in the way they interacted,” Corish said. “It appeared to us that they enjoyed their work and truly cared for the welfare of their patients. They believe strongly that communication with the patient and family members is a key component to holistic health care.” (snip)

(snip) “I feel so fortunate that I was able to participate in such an experience,” Corish said. “This opportunity made me feel very grateful for what we have in the U.S...for the freedoms and resources that we enjoy. But it also taught me to respect a culture that demonstrates the ability to do so much with so few resources and money. This experience had a major impact on me both personally and professionally.” (snip/)

~~~~ link ~~~~

[tkmorris]

17. That was a very good read Judilyn

Thanks much. It seems to me a given that devout capitalists hate places like Cuba, mainly because profit isn't the primary motive in such a culture. The fact that they inundate us, the American consumers, with propaganda which demonizes Cuba seems blatantly obvious. And yet, so many of us eat it up nonetheless.

It is good to see something different for a change, an article that takes an honest look at the Cuban approach to social structure and evaluates it's effectiveness without bias.