NEWS

Measles Hit Minnesota Somalis Amid Low Vaccination Rates

Any outbreak of measles is cause for concern, but the current outbreak in Minneapolis, Minnesota stands out for two reasons. One, almost none of the victims were vaccinated against the disease. Two, nearly all of the victims are ethnic Somalis.

Doctors say the situation is the result of the disproven, but persistent, belief the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) can cause a child to develop autism.

Dr. Mohamed Hagi Aden, an internal medicine specialist at Regions Hospital in neighboring St. Paul, says more than 50 percent of Somali-American children in the area never get the MMR vaccine, due to autism fears.

The result is seen in the measles outbreak statistics. As of Tuesday, the Minnesota Department of Health had recorded 50 cases of measles in the state. It said 45 of those infected were confirmed to be unvaccinated against measles, and 45 of the cases were Minnesotan Somalis (or Somali Minnesotans, as the department put it).

Dr. Aden says opposition to the MMR vaccine stems from a perceived high rate of autism within the local Somali-American community. A report by the University of Minnesota showed that in 2010, about one in 32 Somali children in Minneapolis between the ages of 7 and 9 was identified as having autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

“And while parents were looking for answer, they found a study by a British researcher that linked the autism and the MMR vaccine, and that has created fear and suspicion with the community,” Dr. Aden told VOA’s Somali Service.

The study he cites is real; it was published in the British medical journal The Lancet in 1998. But the journal retracted the finding 12 years later, saying it contained errors.

In the meantime, multiple studies have failed to find any evidence to back up the original study’s claims. One study of 95,000 American children found “no harmful association between MMR vaccine receipt and ASD,” even in cases where kids’ older siblings had been diagnosed with autism.

“There is no link between the MMR vaccine and autism,” says Dr. Aden.

Making the case for vaccination

As the outbreak grows, the Minnesota Department of Health is working to win back trust in vaccines.

It’s harder than it used to be, says the department’s infectious disease director, Kris Ehresmann.

“You used to be able to get up and say, ‘I’m a scientist and X percent of people did Y, and everyone said, ‘Oh yes, OK, we need to change our behavior,'” she said. Now, she says, “It’s a different world.”

And in the case of the Somali-American community, where a large number of people are immigrants and refugees who are less assimilated, “It’s more of getting the community to own the issue and own the solutions.”

That means a lot more community outreach. In the past few years, the Department of Health has hired two Somali outreach workers. One visits mothers’ groups, day care centers and charter schools to talk about vaccines.

Another Somali worker talks to parents about autism and the resources available for special-needs children.

“The community does have very real concerns about autism,” Ehresmann said. “By saying, ‘Oh, vaccines don’t cause autism,’ that’s not sufficient.”

Some of the most important voices advocating for vaccines have been Somali doctors and other health professionals, and the imams from the hardest-hit areas, Ehresmann said.

“These folks are really stepping up to the plate and speaking out on the value of vaccines on their own. It is coming from within the community leadership. That is really important,” she said.

 
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Taiwan Rejection From WHO Assembly Further Strains Relations With China

Taiwan’s already precarious relations with old rival China took another step back this week after the self-ruled island said Beijing blocked it from the annual World Health Organization assembly, a move that may prompt Taipei to rethink how they treat the other side.

Officials in Taipei said Tuesday the deadline had lapsed to receive an invitation to the May 22-31 World Health Assembly in Geneva. They blamed China for using its clout in the World Health Organization (WHO) to block the invitation.

“If the other side overlooks our appeals and grave reminders, that is sure to severely hurt people’s feelings and spark a backlash in Taiwan public opinion, even causing cross-Strait (China-Taiwan) relations to drift further,” said Chiu Chui-cheng, spokesman for the Taiwan government’s Mainland Affairs Council.

“We want to appeal once more to the other side not to offend Taiwan public opinion,” Chiu said. “The Beijing authorities should reflect deeply on avoidance of old-fashioned, hawkish policy mentalities and actions that could cause huge harm to a resumption of cross-Strait relations.”

Beijing sees self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory rather than a state entitled to membership in international organizations. The two sides have been separately ruled since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s, when Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists fled to Taiwan.

Taiwan is unlikely to retaliate in real terms over the WHO slight, but the flap brings a string of other China issues into sharper focus and may increase popular anger in Taiwan while prompting a new search for ways Taipei can work with Beijing without selling down local autonomy.

“Taiwan people will feel frustrated with the assertive response of China,” said Huang Kwei-bo, associate diplomacy professor at National Chengchi University in Taipei. “Beijing’s image will get worse.”

Over the past year, China sailed an aircraft carrier around Taiwan, scaled back Taiwan-bound tourism and, since March, has detained a Taiwanese activist without announcing any formal charges against him.

Under former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, Beijing let Taipei observe the World Health Assembly every year since 2009 as “Chinese Taipei,” implying a link to China.

A spokesman for the Communist government’s Taiwan Affairs Office said Monday Taiwan could not observe this year’s assembly, where the WHO sets policies and approves a budget, because current President Tsai Ing-wen has not endorsed the Beijing view that both sides belong to a single China – a term Ma accepted.

Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party takes a guarded view of relations with China. Some party members want Taiwan to declare formal independence from Beijing.

China’s actions “will definitely push Taiwan people further and further away and severely destroy peace and stability between the two sides,” Tsai’s party said in a statement Tuesday. “The authorities in Beijing must reflect and correctly see this negative outcome.”

Taiwanese see the world health assemblies as opportunities to learn from the 192 WHO member states and share their own experience in infectious disease control, and improve medical services in developing countries.

Taiwan has just 21 diplomatic allies compared to more than 170 that recognize Beijing, making it hard for Taiwan to gain access to international bodies.

“The only barrier is politics and to speak more specifically, it’s just China,” ruling party legislator Yeh Yi-chin said Monday. “But where we’d like to appeal and remind everyone is, does the whole world want to let China, one country, destroy the global medical safety net?”

Beijing periodically uses its diplomatic connections and clout as the world’s second largest economy to block Taiwan from joining the United Nations, of which the WHO is a special agency. Last year Taiwan was rejected from observing a session of the U.N. International Civil Aviation Organization and from participating in the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Those barriers would keep affecting how Taiwanese see Beijing. “We need to see what happens next time at the United Nations,” Huang said.

Some Taiwanese may pressure Tsai to find a way of negotiating with China that lets the other side open doors again internationally without making Taiwan give up autonomy. Some scholars expect Tsai to propose a new formula for China relations in the second half of 2017.

The U.S. State Department backed Taiwan’s cause of joining the World Health Assembly this year, saying it supports the island’s “meaningful participation” in international bodies that require statehood.

“The United States remains committed to supporting Taiwan as it seeks to expand its already significant contributions to addressing global challenges,” a spokesperson said this week. “We encourage authorities in Beijing and Taipei to engage in constructive dialogue, on the basis of dignity and respect.”
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US Under Increased Pressure to Remain Committed to Climate Change Efforts

Pressure is mounting on the U.S. administration to remain committed to the Paris agreement on climate change. European Union leaders, a former United Nations chief and former U.S. President Barack Obama have joined the chorus of voices emphasizing the need for action to reduce greenhouse emissions worldwide. On Tuesday, the White House announced that President Trump is postponing his decision regarding the climate treaty for the second time. Zlatica Hoke has more.
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US Medical Body Recommends Against Screening for Thyroid Cancer

Screening for thyroid cancer is no longer recommended for adults with no symptoms, a U.S. health task force says.

In a news release, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force said physicians should not screen for the disease in adults who have “no signs or symptoms.”

Thyroid cancer, which grows on the thyroid, is relatively rare in the U.S., the Task Force said, adding there likely would be 56,300 new cases in 2017 or 3.8 percent of all cancers.

The thyroid is a gland found in the neck and it produces hormones governing metabolism.

The Task Force said there was no evidence that screening boosts survival and can lead to over diagnosis and other potential complications.

“While there is very little evidence of the benefits of screening for thyroid cancer, there is considerable evidence of the serious harms of treatment, such as damage to the nerves that control speaking and breathing,” said Task Force member Karina W. Davison, Ph.D., M.A.Sc. “What limited evidence is available does not suggest that screening enables people to live longer, healthier lives.”

Over diagnosis, the Task Force said, “leads to an increase in new diagnoses of thyroid cancer without affecting the number of people who die from thyroid cancer.”

“Over diagnosis occurs because screening for thyroid cancer often identifies small or slow growing tumors that might never affect a person during their lifetime,” said Task Force member Seth Landefeld, M.D. “People who are treated for these small tumors are exposed to serious risks from surgery or radiation, but do not receive any real benefit.”

The Task Force’s recommendation does not include people who’ve been exposed to radiation in the head or neck area, which can lead to a higher risk of developing thyroid cancer.

The Task Force’s recommendation was published in JAMA.
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China’s President Xi Says to Uphold Global Climate Deal

Chinese President Xi Jinping told French President-elect Emmanuel Macron in a phone call on Tuesday that he would uphold the Paris Agreement on curbing climate change.

China, the world’s top emitter of greenhouse gases, and France should “protect the global governance achievements contained within the Paris Agreement on climate change”, Xi told Macron, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed skepticism China’s President Xi says to uphold global climate deal

Chinese President Xi Jinping told French President-elect Emmanuel Macron in a phone call on Tuesday that he would uphold the Paris Agreement on curbing climate change.

China, the world’s top emitter of greenhouse gases, and France should “protect the global governance achievements contained within the Paris Agreement on climate change”, Xi told Macron, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed skepticism about the deal and threatened to pull out. A meeting of his advisers that had been scheduled for Tuesday was postponed due to scheduling conflicts, a White House Official said.

Many nations want Trump to remain in the agreement, meant to rein in rising world temperatures by shifting toward cleaner energies such as wind and solar power, even though he plans to bolster the U.S. coal industry.

Macron told Trump in a phone call on Monday that he would also seek to defend the climate change deal agreed in Paris in 2015.

China has consistently reaffirmed its commitment to the Paris agreement. Climate change was widely seen as one of the few bright spots of cooperation between Beijing and the previous Obama administration in Washington.

Representatives of nearly 200 countries that are party to the agreement are meeting in Bonn from May 8-18 to discuss technical aspects of implementing the accord.

In their phone call on Tuesday, Xi congratulated Macron on his election win and emphasized China’s continued support for an integrated Europe and hopes that relations with France would “stride onto a new platform”.

The two leaders agreed to meet as soon as possible, according to the Chinese foreign ministry. about the deal and threatened to pull out. A meeting of his advisers that had been scheduled for Tuesday was postponed due to scheduling conflicts, a White House Official said.

Many nations want Trump to remain in the agreement, meant to rein in rising world temperatures by shifting toward cleaner energies such as wind and solar power, even though he plans to bolster the U.S. coal industry.

Macron told Trump in a phone call on Monday that he would also seek to defend the climate change deal agreed in Paris in 2015.

China has consistently reaffirmed its commitment to the Paris agreement. Climate change was widely seen as one of the few bright spots of cooperation between Beijing and the previous Obama administration in Washington.

Representatives of nearly 200 countries that are party to the agreement are meeting in Bonn from May 8-18 to discuss technical aspects of implementing the accord.

In their phone call on Tuesday, Xi congratulated Macron on his election win and emphasized China’s continued support for an integrated Europe and hopes that relations with France would “stride onto a new platform”.

The two leaders agreed to meet as soon as possible, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

 
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Study: Laws to Tackle Climate Change Exceed 1,200 Worldwide

Nations around the world have adopted more than 1,200 laws to curb climate change, up from about 60 two decades ago, which is a sign of widening efforts to limit rising temperatures, a study showed on Tuesday.

“Most countries have a legal basis on which future action can be built,” Patricia Espinosa, the U.N.’s climate change chief, told a webcast news conference of the findings issued at an international meeting on climate change in Bonn, Germany.

She said the findings were “cause for optimism”, adding that laws were one yardstick for tracking action on global warming alongside others such as investment in renewable energy or backing for a 2015 climate agreement, ratified by 144 nations.

The study, by the London School of Economics (LSE), reviewed laws and executive policies in 164 nations, ranging from national cuts in greenhouse gases to curbs in emissions in sectors such as transport, power generation or industry.

Forty-seven laws had been added since world leaders adopted a Paris Agreement to combat climate change in late 2015, a slowdown from a previous peak of about 100 a year around 2009-13 when many developed nations passed laws.

U.S. President Donald Trump doubts that climate change has a human cause and is considering pulling out of the Paris Agreement but legislation is often complicated to undo.

“If you have that big body of 1,200 laws it is hard to reverse,” Samuel Fankhauser, co-director of the LSE’s Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, told the news conference.

The study said that developing nations were legislating more but there were many gaps. Nations including Comoros, Sudan and Somalia had no climate laws.

“We don’t want weaklings in the chain,” said Martin Chungong, secretary- general of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. He urged all countries to adopt laws that help limit downpours, heatwaves and rising sea levels.
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CERN Launches New Accelerator to Help Boost Data Output

Scientists at the world’s biggest atom smasher have inaugurated their newest particle accelerator, a key step toward churning out greater amounts of data that could help explain many lingering mysteries of the universe.

The European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, announced Tuesday the completion of Linac 4, a 90-meter-long (295-foot-long) underground machine that took nearly a decade to build and will deliver proton beams for many experiments.

Linac 4 is CERN’s largest accelerator developed since the 2008 startup of the Large Hadron Collider that helped confirm the Higgs boson particle five years ago.

Director-General Fabiola Gianotti said it’s the first key element in a multi-year program to “increase the potential of the LHC experiments for discovering new physics and measuring the properties of the Higgs particle in more detail.”

 
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New S. Africa Fossil Discoveries Could Shift Evolutionary Theories

The scientific team that made headlines in 2015 by unearthing a previously unknown ancient human relative says its latest discoveries could change the way we look at human evolution.

The findings, which are being published this week in the scientific journal ELife, include the discovery of a second chamber of fossils of the small-brained hominin Homo Naledi  — and the surprisingly young age of the fossils.

‘Young’ bones

The bones found in these fossil-rich caves northeast of Johannesburg were originally thought to be more than 2 million years old, making them a candidate as a possible human ancestor — maybe even, some in the scientific community mused, the elusive “missing link” between higher apes and humans.

However, independent tests of the first group of fossils put them between 236,000 and 335,000 years old, which means that they lived at the same time as ancient humans. Scientists say they believe this species originated much earlier, and survived for more than 2 million years.

The team’s leader, paleoanthropologist Lee Berger of Johannesburg’s University of the Witwatersrand, said that could mean some artifacts and actions attributed only to early humans — things like tools, adornments and burial of the dead — might not be our work after all.

 “That date corresponds with when most archeologists and paleoanthropologists — and genetics — is suggesting we see the rise of modern humans,” he said. “And a lot of people argue that that rise was right here in southern Africa. But now there’s another species here. Everything is very complex from this moment onward.”

The ‘Chamber of Secrets’

Scientists also hailed the discovery, just 100 meters from the original cave where fossils were found, of a similar narrow, hard-to-access chamber containing remains — raising the tantalizing possibility that Naledi may have methodically disposed of its dead.

“This likely adds weight to the hypothesis that Homo naledi was using dark, remote places to cache its dead,” said anthropologist John Hawks of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “What are the odds of a second, almost identical, occurrence happening by chance?”

Among the cache of fossils in the second chamber, Berger says, is a nearly complete adult skull, which scientists nicknamed Neo — the SeSotho word for “gift.”  

“Neo gives us a real look at what the body and face of this incredible new species looks like. It tells us we were a little bit wrong,” he said. “We had guessed there was a little bit more nose. Actually Homo Naledi has a little flatter, even more primitive face than we thought, which is one of the reasons we placed it further back in the family tree of relatedness to early hominids. It’s clear that parts of Homo Naledi from Neo are very, very, very primitive, amongst the most primitive we’ve seen in hominids. And other parts are surprisingly advanced. They, in fact, are comparable mostly with us, as humans.”

A ‘Golden Age’

Hawks, an author on all three of this week’s scientific papers, says this discovery could start a new era in his field.

“There is so much unexplored territory out there; there are so many discoveries yet to be made that we’re now just beginning what I think is the golden age,” he told VOA. “We’re going to see more chambers like this, more fossil discoveries, and they’re going to tell us things we don’t expect to see now.”
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