Aster Medical Journal (AMJ)

www.theamj.org As I pen this message, the world is on a gentle pause to the new outbreak, viz. monkeypox. The media, since May 2022, has reported around 53000 cases of monkeypox across 102 countries, and 18 deaths from this. Notably, most of these cases have been reported in geographies where monkeypox has not been endemic. The WHO had been concerned enough to declare the current monkeypox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). This was on July 23, 2022, and the highest alarm the U.N. agency could sound. Meanwhile, the number of cases in the U.S. had crossed the 10,000 mark by mid-August 2022, and the Biden administration declared a national health emergency. During the week of 29 August to 4 September 2022, the number of cases reported…

This is my maiden editorial for Aster Medical Journal (AMJ). I know that being an editor of a scientific journal is a challenging task amidst clinical practice. I am fully conscious of the commitment of my predecessors in this office in curating each edition of the Aster Medical Journal – they have identified good science and shared it with the scientific communities responsibly. Their outstanding job over the years has set a standard of excellence that is difficult to improve. Their dedication has transformed AMJ into a journal of the highest quality, with engaging articles, wide acceptance, and an appreciative readership. I put on record my gratitude for their entrusting me with this legacy. As I am writing this editorial, I read how the head of the World Health Organization…

Reports of “tomato flu” outbreak in India are not due to new virus, say doctors BMJ has reported that a “new” virus known as tomato flu reported in India is a variant of the already endemic hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD), doctors have confirmed. A letter published in Lancet Respiratory Medicine on 17 August reported the emergence of the “new” virus in the Indian state of Kerala in children younger than 5. It said that as of 26 July, more than 82 children aged under 5 had been reported by local government hospitals, to have had the infection. One of the predominant symptoms of the disease is the presence of tomato-like red welts all over the body, particularly the hands, feet, and oral cavity. These are accompanied by symptoms…

Among the humanitarian causes that UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed has long shown a commitment to is the eradication of tropical diseases. In the fight against neglected tropical diseases, such as Guinea worm disease, a parasitic infection that mostly affects poor communities in Africa, Sheikh Mohamed has provided both advocacy and generous financial assistance. The new president’s efforts follow those of his father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan, who decades ago began supporting the Carter Centre, an organisation founded by Jimmy Carter, the former US president, that fights tropical illnesses. At the beginning of 2021, Sheikh Mohamed pledged to give $10 million to the centre to mark the 30th anniversary of its partnership with the UAE. “In the UAE, we have seen first hand the vital link between health and…

The term Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) was coined in the early 2000s, to refer to a varied group of diseases that share two separate backgrounds: a social background (poverty) and a geographical background (tropical countries). Although the term NTD first brings to mind diseases like Malaria, Dengue, and perhaps Yellow Fever, the entire list covers 20 infections and conditions under the label, as included by the WHO. The international agency for global health defines NTD as a diverse group of conditions that are prevalent in tropical areas, mostly affecting impoverished communities and disproportionately affecting women and children. NTDs are caused by bacterial, parasitic, or viral infections, and they often result in disability, cognitive damage, disfigurement, or death. Though the epidemiology of these diseases is "complex," they tend to thrive in…

*Joint senior co-authors. Dermatology Department (E J Tarín-Vicente MD, M Agud-Dios MD, J Arroyo-Andrés MD, L Calderón-Lozano MD, E Gil-Cruz MD, B González-Rodríguez MD, C Gutiérrez-Collar MD, J Montero-Menárguez MD, S I Palencia-Pérez PhD, C A Rubio-Muñiz MD, A Wang MD, Prof P L Ortiz-Romero PhD) and Microbiology Department (M D Folgueira PhD, P López-Roa PhD, M de los Ángeles Meléndez PhD, I Muñoz-Gallego PhD, A Pérez-Rivilla PhD), Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain; Skin Neglected Diseases and Sexually Transmitted Infections Section (A Alemany MD, M Ubals MD, C Suñer PhD, M Vall PhD, C Galván-Casas MD, O Mitjà PhD) and Infectious Diseases Department (R Paredes PhD, J M Cabrera MD, P Coll MD, Á Rivero MD), University Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Spain; Fight Infectious Diseases Foundation,…