Neglected Diseases in the News: A Content Analysis of Recent International Media Coverage Focussing on Leishmaniasis and Trypanosomiasis

In recent years, there has been a flurry of activity to reverse the neglect that has characterised NTDs, mostly focussed on drug development. The drug gap may be explained by market failure, yet other forces also conspire to cause the neglect of NTDs. One problem is the low visibility of these diseases. By comparison, the high-profile “big three” infectious diseases of AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria have received increased donor attention and funding with greater visibility. Efforts to remove the “neglect” from NTDs must involve raising their profile. This study, focussing on three of the most neglected diseases, aims to provide a context of the current media situation—the what, where, and why of NTD coverage—to support future advocacy work

Influence of river influx on phytoplankton community during fall inter – monsoon in the coastal waters off Kakinada, east coast of India

550-558Significant changes in phytoplankton community structure were observed in the coastal waters off Kakinada (Bay of Bengal) during fall intermonsoon (October) of 2006 and 2007. River influx was more in October 2007 compared to those in October 2006. Phytoplankton showed marked changes in composition and abundance between the two periods of observation. Abundance was considerably higher in October 2007 (av. 150.9 ± 54.8 X 103 cells l-1) compared to that of October 2006 (av.7.9 ± 4.8 X 103 cells l-1). Phytoplankton community was formed by larger diatoms in October 2007, dominated by Hemidiscus hardmannianus and Ditylum brightwellii (300-500 μm in diameter) whereas in October 2006 smaller diatoms such as Lioloma elongatum (2 - 4 μm), Thalassiossira subtilis (15 - 32 μm) and T. favus (60 - 140 μm) dominated. Both H. hardmannianus and D. brightwellii occurred in bloom density throughout the study area (av.> 50´103 cells l-1). Agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis of phytoplankton species abundance showed two well separated clusters (similarity ≤ 10 %) for 2006 and 2007. It reveals the variation in community structure between the two periods of observation. Multidimensional scaling of species abundance superimposed on scaled values of salinity and nitrate has shown that the community shift was directly related to environmental factors. Coastal waters of western Bay of Bengal receive high freshwater inputs, particularly during the southwest monsoon and the internal variations observed in the Coastal waters of Kakinada could as well be relevant to the entire east coast of India