I regret my weight loss surgery: It was a miracle at first - but no one talks about the nightmare that can happen to your body just a few years later
The primary school principal was three months from undergoing a gastric sleeve, which she hoped would finally solve her decades-long struggle with weight.
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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Labour's decision to close the Fleming Fund is a false economy that puts our national security at risk
Health emergencies rarely respect borders or budgets. As I write, the world is facing an antibiotic emergency, with bacteria rapidly evolving resistance to the treatments we depend on to counter infectious diseases. Without effective antibiotic treatments, global health and the global economy are defenceless against the likes of pneumonia and sepsis. Antibiotics are the infrastructure of modern medicine, making chemotherapy, caesarean sections and hip replacements possible. More than 1.1million people die across the world every year because of antibiotic resistance, including 35,000 in the UK alone. These trends are increasing and inter-generational, with deaths in children tripling in the last three years. For the last decade, the UK has been at the forefront of global efforts to tackle the wider threat posed by antimicrobial resistance (AMR). While antibiotic resistance poses the single biggest threat to modern medicine, AMR points to a serious problem for all types of antimicrobial agents – antifungals, antivirals, and antiparasitics – threatening to reverse all the significant gains we've made against HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis. The UK's Fleming Fund has been a bulwark against such threats: building laboratory capacity in 25 low- and-middle-countries to detect emerging AMR outbreaks, allowing for proactive, data-driven responses before they escalate into global crises. Among many other things, the Fleming Fund has tripled the genomic sequencing capacity across the entire African continent – which even pivoted to detect Covid-19 variants. The UK government's decision to shut down the Fleming Fund is a false economy and directly puts our national security at risk. It will cost lives, as well as precious GDP that could be spent on frontline NHS services. If we are to learn any lessons at all from Covid-19, it should be that we cannot afford to cut corners when it comes to preventing and preparing for inevitable pathogenic threats. Bold investment to protect against AMR Decisions made today will directly impact our ability to counter and contain AMR pandemics in the very near future. When I was Chancellor in 2023, the Treasury recognised the economic health ramifications of AMR, and the UK government commissioned economic studies to better understand the risks and opportunities. The Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation found that if AMR resistance accelerates in line with poorer-performing countries, the world faces an additional seven million deaths globally by 2050. The Center for Global Development then estimated that economically, this would wipe $1.7 trillion annually off global GDP by 2050 and it will cost $175 billion extra a year for health systems to treat people. Country-level estimates released recently estimate that the British economy would be $59 billion smaller in this scenario and the UK would spend an additional $2.8 billion a year treating superbugs. $296 billion and $188 billion would be wiped off the US and EU economies respectively. In contrast, this research shows that there would be large economic benefits to the UK and elsewhere if we invest in improving the treatment of infections. With the UK economy facing significant challenges and the NHS workforce facing rising pressures, now is the time to act boldly and invest proactively to protect against AMR. Whilst the UK alone cannot solve AMR, the UK can and should leverage its world-leading technical expertise and diplomatic leadership through the Fleming Fund, its Special Envoy on AMR, Dame Sally Davies, and other global investments in AMR. Even in a world where only 0.3 per cent of gross national income (GNI) is earmarked for international aid funding, there must be a budget line for AMR. If we are to drive economic growth and build resilience against health threats at home and abroad, we need decisive action with investments that put health security first. With an evolved Fleming Fund, we can mitigate against the worst effects of AMR by supporting research and development of new antibiotics, increasing access to treatments in countries where lack of access accelerates resistance, embedding large-scale education and training programmes to ensure the sustainable and responsible use of existing antibiotics, and harnessing AI for diagnostic tests and surveillance for the UK and the countries most severely impacted by AMR. A world without the Fleming Fund puts even greater pressure on UK government and the life sciences sector to find new ways to prepare for the pandemics we already detect and those we are yet to detect, to safeguard UK health and economic security. Now is the time for the government to step up.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
It's winter and respiratory illnesses are everywhere. Will going out underdressed in cold weather make me sick?
It was inevitable that I would, as Oscar Wilde quipped, become like my mother. After decades of being told to 'Put on more clothes! You'll catch a cold!' I now, despite knowing better, insist the same for my daughter. 'Another layer!' I demand of my partner, who begrudgingly bundles up a toddler already as puffy as the Michelin Man. The scientifically literate part of my brain understands that no jacket will shield her from the onslaught of daycare viruses. And yet I cling to the conviction that underdressing or stepping out the door with wet hair in winter must be avoided at all costs. Are the cries about catching one's death just old wives' tales passed down like family heirlooms, or is there a hint of truth in the warnings? 'People get more colds when the weather is cold,' Hassan Vally, an associate professor of epidemiology at Deakin University, says. 'It's a very natural thing for humans to look for patterns,' he says, but points out that correlation is not causation. 'You're not going to catch a cold by just going out in the cold,' says Dr Larisa Labzin of the University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience. To develop cold symptoms, you need to be infected by a virus, whether that be one of the rhinoviruses, coronaviruses, adenoviruses, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) or any other of the more than 200 strains that cause the common cold. Though the flu may present with similar symptoms, influenza viruses can cause much more severe disease. However, Labzin says, the weather does have a substantial impact on the spread of these viruses. 'Humidity really drops a lot in the winter – it gets really dry, your skin gets really dry – and that actually helps the viruses.' Moisture in the air hinders the airborne transmission of viruses, which means if 'there's low humidity and someone around you has the flu, it is going to transmit better at a further distance', Labzin says. Respiratory illnesses peak in winter in temperate regions, but Vally points out the tropics – where temperatures vary less year-round – don't see the same seasonal spikes. The rainy season in many tropical areas has been linked to greater activity of influenza and RSV – which may seem counterintuitive as ambient humidity is higher then. One hypothesis that may explain both winter epidemics in temperate regions and rainy season outbreaks in the tropics is behavioural: people spend more time indoors to avoid the cold and wet. 'Cooler temperatures certainly encourage people to gather indoors which increases transmission,' Prof Nathan Bartlett of the University of Newcastle says. A cold day keeps us inside for about one to two hours more on average, and rainy weather 30 minutes more, according to one estimate. Though being cold won't necessarily result in catching a cold, there is evidence that chillier temperatures affect immunity, Vally says. 'Not only is there more opportunity to catch a virus, but our immune response is also a bit diminished,' Labzin agrees. 'Cooler, dryer air allows viruses to be transmitted more efficiently and suppresses innate immune defences in the nasal passages – which is where these viruses get in,' Bartlett says. In dry winter weather, the mucus lining our airways – which plays an important role in trapping noxious inhaled substances – becomes thicker, making it more difficult for hair-like cells in the airways to remove trapped particles and pathogens. Less exposure to sunlight – necessary for our skin to produce vitamin D – in the colder months may also have an impact on immunity. 'There is evidence that vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for increased respiratory infections during winter,' Bartlett says. While a systematic review – the strongest form of scientific evidence – has found vitamin D supplements can help protect against respiratory infections, other findings suggest that supplementation is 'unlikely to have a clinically relevant effect' in Australia, given that severe deficiency is not common here. Cold exposure can also be a physical stressor. 'Whenever your body is under stress you can get transient suppression of your immune responses,' Vally says. 'If you're in -20C without a coat, your body is going to be hugely stressed, just like it would be hugely stressed if it ran a marathon.' Paradoxically, some small studies have found the stress of repeated cold water exposure activates the immune system slightly, suggesting the bodies of habitual winter swimmers develop adaptive changes. Ultimately, catching a cold results from a 'complex interaction between virus, host and environment', Bartlett says. 'All three are in a constant state of flux – and winter coincides with changes in all of these factors.' 'For flu, for Covid, there are obviously vaccines available,' Labzin says, noting that an RSV jab is now recommended for immunocompromised groups. 'The best protection … is getting vaccinated.' Flu vaccination rates in Australia, across all age groups, are significantly down from 2020 figures. 'It's important for people to not take antibiotics for a viral infection, because antibiotics won't do anything,' Labzin says, citing the growing issue of antimicrobial resistance. Minimising transmission by practising good hygiene, wearing a respirator mask and staying home while sick is familiar to most from the Covid pandemic – and the same advice applies to the common cold. Donna Lu is an assistant news editor at Guardian Australia Antiviral is a fortnightly column that interrogates the evidence behind the health headlines and factchecks popular wellness claims What health trend do you want examined? Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Covid cases rising in US as officials plan to restrict booster vaccines
Covid is on the rise again in the US, as children begin returning to school and as officials plan to restrict booster shots. While cases are increasing less quickly than at the start of other surges, it is too soon to tell how big the current late-summer wave could get – and with highly varied immune responses from prior infections and vaccinations, it is difficult to know how severe illness could be, experts said. The risks of a wave are compounded by new vaccine restrictions from the Trump administration. 'If you're vaccinated against Covid-19, you're less likely to get infected,' said Andrew Pekosz, a virologist at Johns Hopkins University. 'But we haven't gotten a lot of people vaccinated for the past few years, and with the current recommendations changing, it's even less likely.' Future waves could become more severe as vaccination lags and immunity drops, Pekosz said. Several key measurements – including wastewater data, test positivity and emergency room visits – indicate a new rise in infections. In the past, Covid has surged about twice a year, usually in the summer and the winter. But the pattern can change, as it does with other respiratory viruses – with late or early starts to the season and curveballs like double peaks. 'Each year has been different, so in some ways, this is more of the same,' said Sam Scarpino, a professor of health sciences at Northeastern University. Cases are increasing or probably increasing in 26 US states, especially in the south and midwest, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 'In the snapshot that we're seeing right now, increases are happening at a relatively low rate, and that would indicate that we probably aren't going to peak at a very high level. But again, this is early in this summer surge, so we really have to keep monitoring the data and paying attention to what it's telling us,' Pekosz said. The variants currently spreading around the globe have known immune-evasion properties, Scarpino said. 'You can look at the rise that we're seeing, the fact that we know it's an immune-escape variant, and I think we can be pretty confident that there's some kind of wave coming,' Scarpino said. 'Whether it's going to be large or small, I don't think we could really say one way or the other.' But 'the vaccines are still providing some protection,' he said. 'It's never too late to get the booster.' Yet officials softened the recommendation for children on Covid vaccines, and they removed the suggestion entirely for pregnant people, despite the clear benefits of the shot in reducing the risk of severe illness and death during pregnancy. A new, more effective Covid shot from Moderna and the Covid shot from Novavax were approved only for people over 65 or people over the age of 12 with health conditions. The independent advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended that vaccine manufacturers once again update booster shots this fall to a more recent variant. Covid boosters are usually recommended for all adults. But this fall, the boosters may be limited to older people and those with health conditions, FDA officials wrote in May. 'So it's a big question mark, going into the fall, is who it's going to be approved for,' Scarpino said. 'If it's not approved, can you still pay out of pocket for it? How much is it going to cost? And then are there going to be supply chain issues?' Health officials have also called for placebo trials for the boosters to judge their benefit to people without pre-existing conditions – but such trials would be unethical and extremely difficult to conduct, experts say. 'Clearly, the guidelines right now are focused on the populations that are more prone to have severe disease and severe outcomes. It's always been good to vaccinate that population,' Pekosz said. But the Trump administration is moving away from the approach of immunizing broad swaths of the population – especially those most likely to get and pass the virus on, like children, he said. 'If you vaccinate broadly, you can reduce the spread of Covid-19 in the population,' Pekosz said. 'The benefit, to me, is very clearly on the side of getting vaccinated.' Some of the pre-existing conditions proposed by FDA officials include asthma, diabetes, depression and physical inactivity. According to that list, 'basically everybody's eligible for one of the vaccines,' Scarpino said. And doctors, including pediatricians, may also prescribe vaccines for off-label use. Yet the more restrictions are placed on vaccination, the harder it is to reach even the people who need it most, Pekosz noted. Antivirals like Paxlovid could also see wider use, the experts said. 'We shouldn't forget about the antivirals,' Pekosz said. 'Those don't seem to be the target of more restrictive use by the CDC or the FDA, so those will be available for people if they do get infected.' A program to make Paxlovid more affordable to those who need it is slated to end in December. 'The benefits of antiviral treatment are very clear with respect to hospitalization and mortality decreases,' Pekosz said. Paxlovid is still highly effective against current variants, Scarpino said. 'There's a whole bunch of good reasons to get it.' Rates of hospitalizations and deaths in recent waves have dropped among adults compared with earlier Covid waves, but the virus remains deadly. An estimated 35,000 to 54,000 people in the US have died of Covid since October. Children continue to see hospitalizations rates from Covid similar to previous years. Covid cases can be less severe because of immunity – from prior infection or from vaccination. 'It's not so much that the virus has become less dangerous, it's that we have immunity, so we fight off the virus more efficiently than we did early in the pandemic,' Pekosz said. That's why vaccinations remain a key part of controlling Covid, he said. Without boosters, people become more susceptible to severe illness and death. About 23% of adults had received updated Covid boosters as of April. About 5.6% of children aged six months to four years are vaccinated against Covid, and about 15% of children aged five to 17 are vaccinated, according to the CDC. 'Children's cases are always surging, because children don't have much immunity to Covid,' Pekosz said. 'Covid cases are really occurring in children at a very high level right now. It's not nearly as dangerous in children as it is in adults, but it still causes a lot of hospitalizations in children.' Hospitalizations and deaths are not the only ways to measure the damage and disruption wrought by Covid. While the Trump administration has not released updated data on long Covid, an estimated 5.3% of all adults in the US said they were currently experiencing long-term Covid symptoms as of September. Even in times of lower transmission, Covid still circulates, with 149 deaths in the week ending 28 June, the last week for which the CDC shares full mortality data. 'It's still a little surprising that it's around all year,' said Pekosz. During lull times, 'we're not seeing it disappear completely, like we do with other respiratory viruses.' When it comes to keeping rates of Covid low, 'it's all the same stuff we usually go over,' Pekosz said – getting vaccinated, taking precautions like masking and using air purifiers, and staying home if you're sick. 'But it's just a very different environment these days. When the government doesn't use the science to drive their decision making, you can see the confusion that it puts into the general public.'
