This Week in Medicine

www.thelancet.com Vol 383 April 12, 2014 i

Fukushima fallout The UN Scientifi c Committee on the Eff ects of Atomic Radiation does not expect cancer rates to increase as a result of radiation exposure after the devastation of the Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan, caused by the earthquake and tsunami in 2011. The prompt evacuation of local residents is thought to have helped reduce the risk.

Unsafe sex Findings of a 2012 survey into HIV prevalence, incidence, and behaviour in South Africa have revealed that condom use has rapidly declined since 2008. The health department is planning to launch flavoured, coloured condoms at universities to boost use. 12·2% of the population was reported to be living with HIV in 2012, an increase of almost 2% since the last survey in 2008.

No jail for drug use 67% of Americans favour a treatment-based approach over prosecution for people who use illegal drugs such as heroin and cocaine, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center. The survey of 1821 US adults also found that the majority support legalisation of marijuana use, and that most viewed marijuana as less harmful than alcohol.

Ebola update The number of people killed by the deadly Zaire strain of the Ebola virus in Guinea has risen to at least 95 according to WHO (case-fatality rate about 65%), exceeding numbers seen in 2012 outbreaks in DR Congo, in which 50 people died, and Uganda, in which 25 died. The government has outlawed funerals for patients with Ebola in a bid to control spread.

Plain sailing The UK Government is to publish draft regulations about plain packaging for cigarettes in England and Wales, after an independent report concluded that measures to remove branding from tobacco products would have a small but important eff ect on smoking rates, particularly in children, and would not increase the illicit market. Scotland already plans to introduce plain packaging.

Future of nursing A panel of international nurse leaders, the Global Advisory Panel on the Future of Nursing (GAPFON), has been created to advance global health. A series of regional meetings held by GAPFON will obtain knowledge and social, economic, cultural, and political insight into global health outcomes to provide the basis for an action plan.

Syrian refugees The number of refugees that have fled the conflict in Syria for Lebanon has reached 1 million. Lebanon now has the highest per-head concentration of refugees worldwide, severely stretching health services in the country. Half the refugee population are children, often living in poor unsanitary conditions. The Syrian confl ict is now thought to have killed more than 150 000 people, including 8000 children, since it began in 2011.

Trial transparency The European Parliament has voted in favour of draft legislation that would force pharmaceutical companies to publish clinical trial data in a public database within 2 years of completion. Currently, harmful eff ects or negative results of trials do not have to be made available to the public. The proposed legislation is expected to take eff ect in 2016.

Third gender A transgender person in Australia known as Norrie has won the right to be registered as neither a man nor a woman with the New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages. Australia’s high court ruled that New South Wales must recognise a third, non-specific gender, and declared that “not all human beings can be classifi ed by sex as either male or female”.

Fund links with China The Global Fund is strengthening its partnership with China by making use of Chinese pharmaceutical companies’ expertise to develop and market drugs for AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. An agreement on planning, purchasing, and delivering drugs was drawn up at a meeting with Chinese drug suppliers in Shanghai at the end of March.

Social Progress Index New Zealand has come fi rst in a global index that focuses on social and environmental performance rather than economic output. Of 132 countries rated for more than 50 indicators such as health and sanitation, the country received high scores for personal rights, internet access, and school enrolment. Also in the top ten were Switzerland, Iceland, and the Netherlands, whereas the UK came 13th and the USA came 16th.

Global youth wellbeing The Global Youth Wellbeing Index, which will assess and compare how young people are doing worldwide, has been developed to advance policy agenda and guide strategic investments in youth. It gathers data from 30 countries and all income categories, representing nearly 70% of the world’s youth population.

For The Lancet News podcast see http://www.thelancet.com/lancet-news-audio/

For the UN report on the eff ects of radiation in east Japan see http://www.unscear.org/docs/reports/2013/13-85418_Report_2013_Annex_A.pdf

For the South African HIV survey see http://www.hsrc.ac.za/uploads/pageContent/ 4565/SABSSM%20IV%20LEO%20fi nal.pdf

For the US survey on drug policy see http://www.people-press.org/fi les/legacy-pdf/04-02-14%20Drug%20Policy%20Release.pdf

For more on the panel of international nurses see http://www.nursingsociety.org/Media/Pages/GAPFON_2014.aspx

For more on the partnership between the Global Fund and China see http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/mediacenter/newsreleases/ 2014-04-02_Global_Fund_Taps_Pharmaceutical_Expertise_in_China/

For more on the Social Progress Index see http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/data/spi

For more on the Global Youth Wellbeing Index see https://csis.org/publication/global-youth-wellbeing-index

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