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This Week in Medicine www.thelancet.com Vol 381 May 4, 2013 i Fresh air The American Lung Association has released a report assessing levels of air pollution across the USA in 2009–11. Overall air quality has improved in the past decade, but more than 42% of Americans still live in cities in which pollution reaches dangerously high concentrations. Merced, CA, and Bakersfield, CA, had the highest levels of year-round particle pollution. End transmission The spread of HIV in England could be halted within a generation, according to a new HIV prevention campaign. It Starts With Me, created by the Terrence Higgins Trust and funded by the Department of Health, promotes regular screening for high-risk groups in addition to condom use and taking antiretroviral drugs when indicated. H7N9 On April 28, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang urged authorities to be vigilant against avian influenza A (H7N9) virus, and prepare themselves for new developments. As of April 29, a total of 126 laboratory-confirmed cases of human infection with H7N9 virus, including 24 deaths, have been reported to WHO. Counterfeit drugs The US Food and Drug Administration has announced a public–private partnership to identify counterfeit or substandard malaria drugs using a handheld, battery-operated device. Drugs that have little or no active ingredient are ineffective and can lead to resistance, making treatment difficult. Malaria kills more than 660 000 people worldwide each year, mostly children. Syrian refugees A recent UN Refugee Agency report states that of the 1·39 million Syrian refugees fleeing to neighbouring countries, 76% are women and children. Refugees in the two largest camps in Iraq and Jordan need access to primary health care for communicable diseases, mainly acute respiratory tract infection and diarrhoea. A working group has been established in Lebanon to improve data collection. Sexual assault The US Department of Justice has released updated guidelines for suggested practices during forensic examinations of victims of sexual assault. The revised version has been updated to put more emphasis on victim support. It also recommends that rape victims be given access to emergency contraception. Russian fire 38 patients and staff have died in a fire in a Russian psych- iatric hospital, leading to calls for the country to improve its public safety record. Only one nurse and two patients escaped the blaze, though the government says that patients were not restrained or sedated. Organ donation The number of people in Germany who are volunteering to donate their organs after they die is falling. According to the German Foundation for Organ Transplantation, between January and March, 2013, only 230 people donated their organs compared with 281 in the same period in 2012. 12 000 people are on the donor list in Germany, and every 8 h someone dies who could have been saved by a transplant. All preventable Roughly 87 000 children younger than 5 years die every year in Pakistan from diseases preventable by vaccination, says the Pakistan Paediatrics Association. Vaccines against nine deadly diseases, including measles and pneumococcal pneumonia, are provided for free at government-funded centres but awareness of the facilities among the population is low. White phosphorus White phos- phorus shells will no longer be used as smokescreens by the Israeli military. Their use in the 2008–09 offensive in the densely populated Gaza strip drew international criticism. Human Rights Watch said that Palestinian civilians “needlessly suffered and died” because of Israel’s use of incendiary munitions in Gaza. Global health Funded by the Government of Canada, Grand Challenges Canada has announced 102 grants of CAN$100 000 each to fund breakthrough and afford- able ideas to improve health in poor countries. 59 grants went to innovators in 13 countries, while 43 Canada-based projects will be implemented in 49 countries in low- income regions. Unhappy meals Fast-food chain McDonalds has been fined US$1·6 million by Brazilian authorities for using toys and advertising to market its Happy Meals to children. Although McDonalds has introduced healthier food options to its children’s meals, public-health campaigners say that the use of toys and cartoons to market unhealthy products increases childhood obesity. For The Lancet News podcast see http://www.thelancet.com/ lancet-news-audio/ For the report on air quality in the USA see http://www. stateoftheair.org/ For more on the It Starts With Me campaign see http://www. startswithme.org.uk/en/ For more on the Syria refugee regional response see http:// data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/ regional.php For the updated guidelines for victims of sexual assault see https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ ovw/241903.pdf For more about Grand Challenges Canada see http:// www.grandchallenges.ca/ Corbis Science Photo Library Associated Press
