Look after your sexual health on Valentine’s Day

The day of romance is upon us, known as Valentine’s Day. A day that has its roots in a variety of legends that has found its way through the ages to the present day where people now show their love to their ‘valentine’ by giving cards, flowers or chocolates with messages of love.

If you are expecting your Valentine’s Day celebrations and the following weekend to lead to passion, especially with an underlying theme of love and desire, it could be worth considering your sexual health not just during this time, but beyond too.

If you are not careful, presents and tokens of love may not be the only thing you receive this Valentine’s Day – failing to practice safe sex with condoms and other contraceptive methods could lead to an unwanted pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI).

You may not be aware but some people who test positive for certain STIs such as Chlamydia, gonorrhoea and genital herpes may not even show any symptoms at all. Symptoms may not arise for weeks and months, or can temporarily disappear, but you will still be able to transmit the infection to another person.

Unfortunately, some STIs such as HIV, genital warts and genital herpes, will forever be in the body once there, but there are some treatments available that can reduce the symptoms and slow the growth of the virus. The widely used Valtrex for genital herpes is just one example. If you have HIV, there are some drugs that can help to slow or prevent the complications that could occur.

If STIs are left untreated, they can become extremely painful or uncomfortable, and even lead to long-term problems such as infertility.

If you show signs of any of the following symptoms, then you should seek help:

. Unusual vaginal discharge.

. Discharge from the penis.

. Pain and/or bleeding during sexual intercourse.

. Bleeding following sex.

. Bleeding between periods.

. Blisters, itches, lumps or rashes around the genitals or anus.

. Pain in the testicles.

Chlamydia self-testing

Sexually active people should test every year and when they have a new partner. If you think you might have Chlamydia, it’s important to get tested quickly, regardless if you are showing symptoms or not. The Clamelle Chlamydia Test Kit can be used in the comfort of your own home and sent off for a quick result. It is also advisable for each partner to be tested.

Antibiotic Chlamydia treatment

Over 95% of people with chlamydia can be cured providing they take antibiotics correctly. There are two antibiotics commonly prescribed for chlamydia treatment, these being a single dose of the azithromycin or doxycycline taken for one week.

UK pledge £1 billion in the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria

The UK will give £1 billion to the Geneva-based Global Fund over the next three years in the help to combat AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria, International Development Secretary Justine Greening has announced at the United Nations in New York. Ms Greening said fighting preventable diseases was “in all of our interests.”

The Global Fund was founded in 2002 and is the world’s largest donor of funds to fight the three deadly and infectious diseases, proving prevention, treatment and care programmes.

The initiative is believed to have helped to save 8.7 million lives and 5.3 million people with HIV are now benefiting from antiretroviral therapy, 11 million new TB cases have been detected and treated and 340 million insecticide treated nets have been given to families to provide protection from malaria.

Britain’s staggering £1 billion pledge will save “a life every three minutes” and now doubles the current amount of money being donated and leaves the UK only second to the United States as the biggest donor of funds.

Throughout the next three years the UK will be involved in the delivery of vital antiretroviral treatment to an additional 750,000 people who have HIV, in addition to an extra 32 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets and over a million people will receive treatment for TB.

The Department for International Development has predicted that the generous funding provided by the UK will save the lives of 590,400 people between 2014 and 2016. This equates to one life saved every three minutes.

“AIDS, TB and malaria are among the world’s biggest killers despite being entirely preventable and treatable,” Ms Greening said at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York on Monday, where spoke on the new funding.

She continued: “The Global Fund has already helped save millions of lives but we must keep up the momentum if we are to beat these diseases for good. It is in all our interests to help people live longer, healthier, more productive lives so we all need to play our part in working towards a world free of HIV/Aids, malaria and TB.”

Bono, frontman for rock band U2 co-founder of the One foundation, said: “The UK’s pledge of up to a billion pounds for the fight against Aids, TB and malaria means what once seemed impossible could now be within our grasp. Through this smart investment in one of the most effective disease-fighting funds in history, we could witness the defeat of these global killers in our lifetime. David Cameron and Justine Greening have given us a billion reasons to believe we can do it, but Britain’s pledge will only be delivered if others step up too. Australia, Canada, Germany: your move.”

Prevention of malaria has improved significantly in recent times. The World Health Organisation’s World Malaria Report for 2012 stated that 50 countries were on target for lowering malaria incidence by 75% between 2000 and 2015. Moreover, 30 million insecticide-treated nets were given out during January and July of 2013 through Global Fund-supported programmes.

TB, the world’s second biggest infectious killer after HIV/AIDS, is slowly declining, albeit slowly. Funding from the Global Fund has resulted in detection and treatment of 11 million smear-positive cases of TB, up from 9.7 million at the end of 2012.

It was calculated that as of 1 July the Global Fund had helped to pioneer programmes resulting in 5.3 million people with HIV to receive antiretroviral therapy, up from 4.2 million at the end of 2012.
If you are travelling abroad and require malaria medication for prevention and treatment, Doxycycline, Malarone, Paludrine, and Jungle Formula Maximum Pump Spray are options worth considering.  In addition, don’t forget to check the NHS Fit For Travel website where you will find the recommended malaria medication for your destination.

Huge breakthrough in the quest for a malaria vaccine

A vaccine for one of the world’s biggest killers – malaria – has become a step closer after researchers in the U.S.  made a breakthrough in a small early-stage clinical trial.

The new malaria vaccine is being tentatively named ‘PfSPZ’ and is unique as it contains sporozoites (SPZ) – a life cycle stage of live but weakened malaria Plasmodium falciparum parasites.

Details of the Phase-1 clinical trial were published yesterday in the journal Science. Developers of the vaccine say that the weakened, early stage parasites can actually help a person build up an immunity following an injection of a high enough dosage into the bloodstream.

Lead author Dr Robert Seder, from the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institutes of Health, in Maryland, said: “We were excited and thrilled by the result, but it is important that we repeat it, extend it and do it in larger numbers.”

It has been common knowledge amongst health experts for several decades that exposure to mosquitoes treated with radiation is highly effective as a malaria prevention method.

Unfortunately, evidence shows that roughly 1,000 mosquito bites are required over a time period to gradually develop a sufficient level of immunity.  Therefore, it is simply an unfeasible way to protect people.

Dr Seder added: “Based on the history, we knew dose was important because you needed 1,000 mosquito bites to get protection – this validates that. It allows us in future studies to increase the dose and alter the schedule of the vaccine to further optimise it. The next critical questions will be whether the vaccine is durable over a long period of time and can the vaccine protect against other strains of malaria.”

The new vaccine is being developed by a biotech company called Sanaria, based in Maryland, U.S., who irradiated lab-grown mosquitoes before extracting the malaria-causing parasite Plasmodium falciparum.

Their Phase-1 clinical trial of PfSPZ involved 57 volunteers aged 18 to 45 who had no previous history of the malaria disease. The researchers administered varying strengths of PfSPZ to 40 of the participants and the other 17 received no vaccine whatsoever.

After a week’s analysis, no severe side effects were noted in any of the participants in the study. However, to determine how effective the malaria vaccine actually was, each person – including those who didn’t receive the vaccine – was exposed to bites from five malaria infected mosquitoes.

A week later everybody was analysed for infection and those not given the vaccine received treatment for malaria. It was found that those given high doses were significantly less likely to contract malaria in comparison to the others in the study.

Just three of the 15 participants who received higher doses actually became infected. However, 16 of 17 participants in the lower dosage group became infected and 11 of the 12 participants who were not vaccinated then became infected.

The study, conducted between October 2011 and October 2012, was hugely promising due to the fact none of the participants experienced any side effects from the vaccine. However, the researchers admit it could be years before the vaccine is available in communities where it is needed.

Dr William Schaffner, head of the preventive medicine department at Vanderbilt University’s medical school, said although it was a ‘scientific advance’, it could be as long as a 10 year wait before the malaria vaccine is scientifically proved, given approval, and made available for distribution.

He told CCN: “This is not a vaccine that’s ready for travellers to the developing world anytime soon. However, from the point of view of science dealing with one of the big-three infectious causes of death around the world, it’s a notable advance. And everybody will be holding their breath, watching to see whether this next trial works and how well it works.”

Of course, if you are travelling abroad in the next 10 years and need malaria prevention and treatment, there are other medications available right now. These include Doxycycline, Malarone, Paludrine, and Jungle Formula Maximum Pump Spray.  In addition, don’t forget to check the NHS Fit For Travel website where you will find the recommended malaria medication for your destination.

Andy Murray and Lionel Messi join campaigns to combat malaria

Famous sporting figures from around the world have offered their help in the battle against the potentially-deadly disease malaria.

Tennis star Andy Murray, who yesterday defeated Russian Mikhail Youzhny to reach the quarter finals of Wimbledon, has lent his support to charity Malaria No More UK.

Since their inception in 2009, Malaria No More UK have successfully pushed the coalition government to guarantee malaria is one of the key factors of its international development agenda and have secured a major coup in getting Andy Murray on board for their ‘Be The Net’ campaign – an interactive digital campaign to raise awareness about fighting the disease.

Murray, 26, spoke about malaria to the Huffington Post, saying: "In the past year I’ve won some of the biggest matches of my career but I’m still striving for the world to win the fight against malaria. Every minute a child dies unnecessarily from this disease, yet it is easy to prevent and costs less than a pack of tennis balls to treat. Be The Net is an easy way for us to come together and show our support for this winnable fight, something I am proud to support."

Members of the public are able to insert their face onto a virtual mosquito net via social networking sites Twitter and Facebook, or email and share the activity with their friends or family. Users can also develop their understanding about malaria and the huge challenges there are in combating the disease, in addition to being able email their local MP to show support in the UK’s help in battling malaria and decreasing the risks and deaths caused by it.

Arabella Gilchrist, Director of Communications for Malaria No More UK says: “This campaign is all about getting the public involved and empowered in a democratic movement to fight malaria – one of the best humanitarian investments on the planet. Andy’s the perfect fit for this campaign, he’s tenacious and persistent – Be The Net promotes the message that united we can win.”


However the tennis superstar is not the only sporting figure who is united in fighting malaria. On Thursday 27^th June, Barcelona and Argentina footballer and current FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi arrived for a humanitarian trip to the West African country Senegal.

Messi, 26, was there in conjunction with Qatari football academy ASPIRE Football Dreams to help promote mosquito nets for a new anti-malaria program.

The organisations new initiative – Football Combating Malaria – hopes to distribute an initial 400,000 medicated bed nets across 10 countries in Africa, but aims to have over 1,000,000 to people across the continent each year in the very near future. Nearly 1,000,000 people are thought to have cheated death over the past 12 years by sleeping under nets coated with insecticide.

Despite this, according to the World Health Organization, during 2010 malaria was still responsible for an estimated 660,000 deaths around the world.  The 660,000 deaths emanated from a staggering approximate 219 million cases of the disease, which is preventable and treatable through medicines such as Doxycycline, Malarone and Paludrine.

Around 91% of those fatalities occur in Africa, where most of the deaths are children under the age of 5. Tragically, about 180 children die because of malaria every 90 minutes – the same time duration as a football match.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Messi opened up about the plight of malaria, saying: “I am really delighted to come to Senegal. My commitment to be part of this battle against malaria is relentless. Whenever I have the opportunity to help, I will not hesitate. There is no doubt that I’ll co-operate with organisations involved in this initiative to trim out the pernicious effects of malaria.”

Malaria-infected mosquitoes more enticed by human odour

Malaria-carrying mosquitoes are more drawn to human scent compared with mosquitoes that do not carry the parasite, suggests the findings of a new study.

For the study, led by Dr James Logan of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, mosquitoes carrying the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum were exposed to nylon socks that had been worn by one of the study authors (Renate Smallegange from Wageningen University in the Netherlands) for about 20 hours previously.

Ms Smallegange state the socks were used as ‘bait’ for the 176 mosquitoes that were analysed in the laboratory. She says: “Volatiles emitted by human feet are known to be highly attractive to Anopheles gambiae females.”

It was estimated that the infected mosquitoes were approximately three times more likely to land and try and bite on the worn socks compared to the mosquitoes without any parasite. For study purposes, the species of mosquito analysed was the Anopheles gambiae – the cause of high transmission rates of malaria in Africa. Both infected and healthier mosquitoes were not particularly keen on unworn socks that were also tested.

Experts are already aware that Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes have certain odour receptors which are effective at picking out specific human scents. The scientists involved in the study are convinced that it is the parasites which are creating a heightened craving for human smells, ergo increasing a risk of UK holiday makers being bitten in the dangerous areas for malaria.

Dr Logan was interviewed by BBC News and explained the findings in the study, commenting: “We think the parasite is giving them a heightened sense of smell. We are hypothesizing there is an alteration somewhere in their olfactory system that allows them to find us quicker,” which would make it more likely that the parasite enters the blood stream, ensuring its survival and the spread of the disease.”

The researchers conclude they are unsure how precisely the parasite alters mosquitoes’ sense of smell, in addition to which component(s) of human odour is the most is deemed most appealing to the mosquitoes as human skin emits over 350 different odour molecules. If this information could be attained from future studies, effective traps could be devised to catch the infected mosquitoes and hopefully lessen the risk of a disease that infects around 200,000 million people around the world each year, killing over 600,000.

If you are about to travel abroad and are unsure of what potential health risks there are or which medications are suitable for your area of travel, Medical Specialists Pharmacy recommend visiting the NHS Fit For Travel website.

Here you can click onto the continent and country you are about to travel to, see a highly detailed list of preventative measures to take before and during travel, what diseases are prominent in that particular country as well as a list of the symptoms of each, and also what medications/immunisations are advisable – i.e. Malarone, Paludrine and Doxycycline are all prescription medications to prevent malaria, with Malarone also able to treat the disease if you contract it. All three are available now from the Medical Specialists Holiday and Travel area of the website, where you can also find treatments for the prevention and control of travel sickness; Kwells, Kwells Kids and Avomine.

Dismay at the effectiveness of GSK’s malaria vaccine

The expectations and anticipation regarding the world’s first potential malaria vaccine have been dealt a blow after trial results demonstrated that the protection the vaccine offers, can significantly diminish and disappear altogether over time, disappointing researchers who had high hopes for it.

Developed by British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the new vaccine is currently only referred to as ‘RTS,S’. Scientists state that full data from final-stage trials which include 15,000 children, are expected by the end of 2014. However, early results from the vaccine are not encouraging and expose the difficulties in creating a vaccine that offers full protection from a deadly disease such as malaria that claims the lives of more than 650,000 children every year – the most ‘at risk’ group in regards to mosquito bites.

The vaccine has been primarily engineered to help babies aged between six to 12 weeks and in a large-scale phase III trial that was carried out last year, only a third of babies aged within this range were prevented from becoming ill after being administered the new vaccine. Moreover, the protection was lower than what was evident in older children.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, worth an estimated £40bn, was one of the backers behind the research, and after those results emerged last year he commented: “The efficacy came back lower than we had hoped, but developing a vaccine against a parasite is a very hard thing to do.”

Christopher Plowe, a malaria researcher at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in the United States, who was not involved in the RTS,S trial, also spoke on the findings last year, saying: “The results are kind of disappointing because we’d all like to see a malaria vaccine that has closer to 80 percent or 100 percent efficacy.”

Results of the latest data were published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine. Although the RTS,S vaccine was found to have a rate of protecting peaking at 53%, after an average of merely eight months, the level of protection had declined at an alarming rate.

Ally Olotu of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kenya, who led the follow-up study, said: “It was a bit surprising to see the efficacy waned so significantly over time. In the fourth year, the vaccine did not show any protection.”

A GSK spokesperson commented on the latest results, stating that because they were derived from a small, mid-stage trial, they did not “provide definitive answers about the duration of protection or how the vaccine candidate works in different malaria transmission settings.”

Phillip Bejon, a researcher at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust programme, was involved with the study and he said in spite of the decreasing effectiveness, “there is still a clear benefit to the vaccine.”

Bejon added: “Many of the children (in Africa) will experience multiple episodes of clinical malaria infection, but overall we found that 65 cases of malaria were averted over the four-year period for every 100 children vaccinated. We now need to look at whether offering a vaccine booster can sustain efficacy for longer.”

Travellers need strong vigilance against malaria and typhoid fever

In recent years more and more Brits have become fed up of the freezing cold temperatures over the winter season and many even decide to jet off to sunnier climates and areas such as the Tropics, where necessities to stave off the cold such as electric blankets, hot water bottles and a piping hot brew are simply not required!

Upon arriving back in the UK though, what would you do if you begin to feel unwell after a week or two of being back? In these instances, symptoms such as muscular aches/pains, diarrhoea, vomiting and a high temperature are commonly (and usually incorrectly) blamed on simple problems such as seasonal flu or food poisoning from out-of-date food or a dodgy takeaway meal. In fact, some of these symptoms are not too dis-similar to those suffered by over a million Brits recently with the norovirus epidemic which is still rife in many areas.

However, if you are feeling slightly under the weather after a visit to tropical regions such as West Africa, Southeast Asia, India, the Caribbean, etc., then it could be a cause for concern and something more serious than just a seasonal flu or food poisoning.

The findings of one particular study, published online yesterday in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, have suggested that travel illnesses such as malaria and typhoid ought to be discussed with your GP following a visit to a tropical climate. In addition though, Medical Specialists Pharmacy strongly advise that these and many other travel illnesses such as traveller’s diarrhoea and dengue also be discussed, before travelling to your destination where there may be a high risk of such diseases.  To prevent contracting malaria, there are numerous antimalarial medications available from Medical Specialists for anybody visiting a country of risk. These include Doxycycline, Paludrine and Malarone – with the latter also able to treat the disease if you should get it.

University of Oslo researcher Mogens Jensenius, MD, PhD, and his team looked at the GeoSentinel surveillance network database to attain an incredible 15 years worth of information; this comprising of data contained on 82,825 returning travellers from Europe, North America, Israel, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. All had requested treatment for different health problems from June 1996 through to August 2011. It was ascertained that 4.4% (3,655) of these people had contracted either malaria, typhoid fever, or another type of deadly tropical disease. In total, 13 deaths were documented from the 3,655 patients and 10 of these were due to malaria.

Malaria was actually the most prevalent of the tropical diseases, seen in 76.9% of the diagnoses. The disease is caused by the Plasmodium parasite. The parasite is passed on to humans through the bites of infected female mosquitoes. Symptoms include muscular pain, headaches, diarrhoea, vomiting, severe sweats and chills and a fever of 38C (100.4F) or more.  

The second most common tropical disease was typhoid fever. Caused by the Salmonella typhi bacterium, it is an infection that may spread through the body after the person consumes food or water that has been contaminated with a small amount of infected faeces or urine. Symptoms include stomach pain and rashes in the first week of illness. During the second week, the sufferer will likely experience a worsening of symptoms that can include abdominal pain, weight loss and a fever that increases in temperature to about 39–40C (103–104F).

Both conditions are fatal without a prompt diagnosis and treatment; however those who contract malaria are more likely to die than those who contract typhoid fever, which can be treated in merely a few days with antibiotics.

Surprisingly, not one of the 80,000 had caught the often-fatal Ebola virus – one of the top-feared diseases in travellers due to its 90% fatality rate. ‘Ebola haemorrhagic fever’ as it is also known, occurs mainly via outbreaks within remote villages in Central and West Africa that are close to tropical rainforests.

Researcher Mogens Jensenius commented on the findings in the study, stressing just how serious the issue of tropical diseases is. He said: “While diagnosis and treatment of malaria and typhoid fever and many other tropical diseases have improved greatly over the years, people still can die from them if they are not treated quickly after their symptoms begin. Doctors and nurses in Western countries need to be vigilant in considering these potentially life-threatening tropical infections in recently-returned travellers with fevers, and identify and treat them quickly.”

Health experts predict rise in stomach bugs and STIs during the Olympics

With the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games set to begin in just over three weeks, the capital is bracing itself for thousands of people descending into the city to catch a glimpse of the action. With this is mind, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) have begun steps to ensure people stay safe from such conditions as sexually transmitted infections (STI’s) and stomach problems. The HPA is an organisation set-up by the UK government back in 2003 and they aim to reduce the dangers to health from infections, chemicals and radiation hazards as set out in the HPA Act.

The HPA spoke on Tuesday and said they were ‘Games ready’ in their attempts to control any infections and limit their impact on the event itself. They are expecting a slight increased risk of stomach bugs and chest infections and some reports suggested that the capital could be ‘flooded with prostitutes’.

Justin McCracken, chief executive of the HPA, said in a statement, “We want everyone to enjoy the Games safely and by taking practical steps like ensuring good hand hygiene, being up-to-date with routine vaccinations and practising safe sex, it will help to ensure everyone stays healthy during this worldwide spectacle.”

The core of the HPA’s actions include three systems; rapid laboratory testing, enhanced syndromic surveillance and undiagnosed serious infections illness surveillance. They aim to diagnose infections such as Salmonella in just 24 hours whereas usually it would take 48. Symptom patterns will be analysed from anybody unwell who contacts the NHS direct, goes to an NHS walk-in centre, or simply visits their own GP. In addition, doctors have been informed they must make aware any emerging infections or symptoms of any exotic diseases.

Dr Brian McCloskey the HPA Olympics lead and director for London, explained how the organisation are prepared for the Games, “In preparation for London 2012 we have put in place world class systems to monitor and respond rapidly to any outbreaks of infectious diseases or environmental hazards. These new and enhanced systems will provide the first indication of emerging infections in the community and hospitals if they are to occur. Our experts will analyse surveillance data daily to identify issues of public health significance that could have implications for the Games.”

The HPA have stressed the importance of always carrying with you any medications for existing conditions (such as asthma) and having enough of the medication to span the duration of the Games.  If you do unfortunately suffer from any stomach or bowel problems now, during the Games, or anytime after – Medical Specialists Pharmacy can help you. Visit our brand new ‘stomach and bowel’ section of the website to browse through the huge range of products we have recently added. These include Mebeverine, Buscopan IBS relief, Doxycyline and many more!

We also note that the HPA advise to practice safe sex during the games? We argue you should be doing this all the time anyway! Sexually transmitted infections have shown to be on the increase due to alarming careless behaviour in both teens and even the ‘baby boomers’.

Men should ideally always wear a condom when engaging in sexual intercourse. If you do suspect you may have chlamydia, we now offer the Clamelle chlamydia test kit from just £24.85, which can be used in the privacy of your own home to avoid an embarrassing visit to your doctor. Or, if you have been confirmed as having this or gonorrhoea, the antibiotic Azithromycin can prevent the spread of the bacteria so that your body’s natural defences can fight back and remove the infection from your system. We also have Valtrex which helps to slow the spread of the herpes virus, and many more medications such as asthma inhalers cheaper than the NHS.