Medical Experts To Carry Out Further Research On Nodding Syndrome

A World Health Organization official has described the recently concluded international scientific conference on the mysterious nodding syndrome as a great achievement in the fight against the disease.
  
Dr. Joaquim Saweka, the World Health Organization’s country representative in Uganda, told VOA that the conference held in Kampala aimed at bringing together everyone interested in the study of the disease, in order to gauge what knowledge currently exists, and to identify critical gaps in that knowledge.

“We also agreed to have a common designation,” he said. “It is now nodding syndrome,” unlike in the past, when the disease has gone by different names.

Another achievement of the conference, he said, is the “agreement on a common case definition.” He explained that in the past the elements that led one to declare a diagnosis of nodding syndrome were different from country to country.

The conference also came up with a platform for future research, and a network of people who are interested in research on nodding syndrome.

The conference, which was organized by WHO, drew international and local medical experts in a bid to find new strategies to respond to the disease.

The disease affects only children, and gradually devastates its victims through debilitating seizures, stunted growth, wasted limbs, mental disabilities and sometimes starvation.

So far the disease has claimed the lives of over 200 children in northern Uganda, and has affected many families.

Although the cause of the disease is not known, Dr. Seweka said, “at least we agreed on case management, so it will be a symptomatic treatment, what should be prioritized, and all the other determinants that should be considered during treatment.”

He said there are commonalities in South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania, where the disease is concentrated among children, such as an   environment infested with a parasite that causes river blindness.

Another common feature, he added, is that most of the children are in the age range of 5 to 15 years, and have some form of nutritional deficiency.

Health experts and researchers from the Center for Disease Control, the UK Department for International Development, UNICEF and global health institutions and universities attended the conference.

They agreed to carry out a comprehensive research study in Uganda, South Sudan and Tanzania to, among other goals, identify the characteristics of the syndrome, and to determine if the disease presents itself with similar symptoms in the three countries.

Surveys Show Tight US Presidential Race

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. public opinion surveys show a close race for president between the incumbent Democrat, President Barack Obama, and his presumptive Republican opponent, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. The polls also show voters tend to personally like the president more but give a slight edge to Romney on handling the economy, which is by far the most important issue in the campaign.

The latest Gallup daily tracking poll gives President Obama a narrow 47 to 46 percent lead over Mitt Romney with about 90 days until the election in November. There has been little fluctuation in the Gallup daily tracking poll since April, and analysts say that could mean the race will remain close until Election Day.

“Mr. Obama seems to be slightly ahead nationally and seems to be slightly ahead in more of the swing states than not," says Peter Brown of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "But it is not a huge lead.”

Brown’s latest polls in three competitive or so-called swing states also show a tight race. Romney holds a five point lead in Colorado, while the president is ahead by four points in Virginia and six points in Wisconsin.  Obama won all three states in 2008 and they are among about a dozen or so battleground states this year, where the presidential campaigns will focus their organizing and advertising activities.

Brown says the race for the White House will intensify shortly with Romney’s expected announcement of a vice presidential running mate and the two party nominating conventions that will be held the last week in August and the first week in September.

“There are several events that will really determine this election -- Mr. Romney’s choice of a running mate and the Republican convention and the Democratic convention and how the two people come across," says Brown. "And then, obviously, the debates will be the crowning events of the campaign.”

Three presidential debates will be held beginning in early October plus one debate between the two vice presidential candidates.

Longtime political analyst Tom DeFrank of the New York Daily News says Mitt Romney will try to use the Republican Party convention to reintroduce himself to American voters.

“I think Romney is going to get a bounce [i.e., a boost in his public opinion ratings] when he announces his vice presidential candidate and he is going to get a bounce from his acceptance speech at the convention," says DeFrank, who appeared on VOA’s Issues in the News program. "And I suspect that Romney will come out of that convention a few points ahead.”

DeFrank also notes that the polls show most voters have already decided which candidate they will support, with a relatively small pool of undecided voters left for the campaigns to try to persuade ahead of November 6.

“The bottom line to me is that President Obama has not convinced the majority of the American people that he deserves to be reelected," he says. "Neither has Governor Romney convinced a majority of the American people that he is up to the job of being president either.”

Both presidential campaigns and their allied fundraising groups, known as super PACs, or political action committees, have spent tens of millions of dollars running attack ads during the past several weeks trying to influence those undecided voters.  And experts say we can expect that to continue into November.

Obama Announces Another $30 Million in US Drought Aid

WHITE HOUSE — President Barack Obama is authorizing an additional $30 million in federal government help for drought-stricken U.S. farmers and ranchers. America’s continued dry weather will likely affect food and fuel prices worldwide.

The president met Tuesday with officials from several government departments to find ways to help U.S. food producers, who have been hit by a drought he calls “devastating” and “historic.”

Among the steps he is taking is to direct the Agriculture Department to spend $30 million to help provide more water to livestock and to restore land affected by the drought. Obama is also allowing more emergency low-interest loans to crop and livestock producers, and more lending to related small businesses.  He also ordered a program to help commercial truck drivers deliver supplies to the stricken areas.

The president said further steps are likely.

“We are going to continue to solicit ideas from state and local organizations, faith-based organizations, not-for-profit groups, the private sector, and most of all, the farmers and ranchers that are directly impacted, to find additional ways that we can help.  Because when there is a disaster like this, everyone needs to pull together,” Obama said.

Obama said he has already declared disaster areas in parts of 32 states.

The president also called on Congress to pass the five-year, $500 billion comprehensive farm bill that has passed the Senate, but not the House of Representatives.

“Congress needs to pass a farm bill that will not only provide important disaster relief tools, but also make necessary reforms and give farmers the certainty that they deserve,” Obama said.

Officials say this is one of America’s worst droughts in decades.

Agricultural economist Chris Hurt of Purdue University in Indiana says parched Midwestern cornfields are suffering one of their worst years since the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression.

“Corn yield is one we can track very far back, that we have already passed 1988 as one of the worst droughts in more modern history.  Then we really go back to 1934 and 1936,” Hurt said.

Hurt says the shortage of corn and other U.S. farm exports will be felt around the world.

“Since the United States is the largest exporter of basic agricultural goods to the world, that means these higher prices and higher costs for food and fuel will be exported to the world as well,” Hurt said.

Experts say rain and cooler temperatures forecast for this week in parts of the Midwest could help soybean crops, but are too late for the corn.

Andrew Luck is being sued just before the draft

Getty ImagesIt's a big week in the life of Andrew Luck, who will be the No. 1 draft pick, but it won't be 100 percent pleasant. Amidst the pre-draft publicity tour, the draft night celebration and all the upcoming press obligations in Indianapolis, he'll also have to worry about a lawsuit. He's being sued by Leaf Trading Cards.

The Leaf people produced a few Andrew Luck cards, using a picture of him at the 2008 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, a high school All-Star game. Luck's people sent them a cease-and-desist letter, saying that they don't have the legal right to profit from an image of Luck. The Leaf people say they do indeed have the right to use images from the All-American Bowl. Now they're suing Luck.

Here's a snippet of a press release from Leaf, via PFT:

"Leaf Trading Cards is disappointed that it was forced to submit this matter to the judicial system," lawyer O. Luke Davis, III said in a press release. "We are confident, however, that the court will find that Leaf has the right to produce and sell the Andrew Luck trading cards."

I still don't get why they're suing Luck. Couldn't they just ignore the cease-and-desist and keep doing what they're doing, and if they eventually have to defend themselves from a Luck lawsuit, then just do that? Isn't that how this typically works? If anything, I think Andrew Luck should sue them for putting his name in the same sentence as "Leaf" so close to the NFL draft.

Perhaps it's the case that the Leaf people saw an opportunity to get their name in the newspaper and pounced on it. There's more than one way to make money off of Andrew Luck's name, I guess. One just hopes that they pay closer attention to their spelling in their legal documents than they do with their trading cards. Oof. That's embarrassing. Call more attention to that, Leaf Company.