Posts by Katy Lenard
Introducing Burness 30 for 30
To celebrate Burness' 30th anniversary, we're committing to raising $30,000 for a new computer lab for the the African Education Project, a Zambia-based non-profit founded and led by a former Burnesser.
A “Down Payment” to Save Lives
A new report warns that political inaction in Washington could leave the world unprepared and unprotected against emerging health problems like Zika or antimicrobial resistance.
An Africa Without Meningitis A?
Five years after the introduction of an affordable meningitis A vaccine in sub-Saharan Africa, mass immunization campaigns have led to the control and near elimination of the deadly disease in the region formerly known as the “meningitis belt.”
Vaccinating Against TB: At Home and Abroad
Recently Burness’ hometown of Bethesda, Maryland, became home to a disease most of us don’t associate with this part of the world: tuberculosis. The extensively drug-resistant kind.
Tools for “Forgotten Diseases” of “Forgotten People”
Nearly half of our world’s population are at risk of malaria, TB and neglected tropical diseases—diseases caused by worms, parasites, viruses and bacteria like Chagas disease, river blindness, elephantiasis, sleeping sickness, and many others. Six out of 10 of the world’s poorest people die from these diseases every year. And for those who manage to survive, they endure repeated bouts of serious illness.
A Wake-Up Call to Invest in Global Health R&D
The sudden outbreak of Ebola in West Africa last summer was widely and rightly perceived as awakening the rest of the world to a reality many health experts have long understood: infectious diseases that prey disproportionately on the poor are not just a problem for low-income countries. They are a threat to us all. And the world needs to be much better prepared for future challenges, which could involve Ebola or any of a number of other diseases.
Scientists Make iPhone into Low-Cost Microscope to Diagnose Intestinal Worm Infections in African Children
Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at Toronto General Hospital has shown that you can turn everyday items: iPhone, a cheap lens, some double-sided tape and a flashlight, into a field microscope that successfully detects intestinal worms, also known as soil-transmitted helminths—which infect 2 billion people around the world.
Trial Signals Major Milestone in Hunt for New TB Drugs
A study by the Lancet reveals a neglected side of the fight against HIV - the battle to help people who have tuberculosis and the incredible lack of good drugs needed to cure them. Today, TB remains the largest killer of people with AIDS.
10 Tips for Successful Malaria Vaccine Advocacy
A group of senior malaria vaccine researchers from all over Africa recently collaborated with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative and Burness Communications to publish a guide of best practices called “10 tips for successful malaria vaccine advocacy.” Helping these scientists get their message from the lab to Parliament could mean the difference between a child dying from a preventable disease and a child receiving a vaccine that could save her life.
