Tag Archives: Fibrosis

‘A silent crisis’: Obstetric fibrosis affects 500,000 women, yet it’s fully treatable

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16 years – that is how long Dah had to live with the agonising condition, undergoing eight different surgical procedures before finally getting the fistula repaired.

In recognition of the over 500,000 women like Dah who are forced to endure what is a highly treatable condition, the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula is being marked on Friday.

Obstetric fistula is a medical condition which refers to the development of a small hole between the birth canal and the bladder or rectum, leading to leaking urine or faeces.

This year’s theme, “Her Health, Her Right: Shaping a Future without Fistula” will seek to make progress towards the goal of eliminating fistula by 2030.

Women’s bodies become battlegrounds — not only through sexual violence but through deliberate denial of reproductive rights and health
– Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women

“Women’s bodies become battlegrounds — not only through sexual violence but through the deliberate denial of reproductive rights and health services” said Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women.

‘A silent crisis’

It is often brought on by prolonged or difficult childbirth. Most of the half million women suffering the condition live in the Global South.

Many women who have a fistula experience social isolation and exclusion brought on by leaking urine or faeces. This, in turn, can lead to depression and exacerbated poverty.

Kambiré, a small business owner who lives in Bouna, lived with obstetric fistula for 23 years. She even had another child before getting medical assistance.

“I preferred to isolate myself because of the fistula,” she said. “I couldn’t sit for long for fear of getting wet.”

She only learned that it was treatable when listening to a radio show, inspiring her to go to a UN sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA)-supported hospital for treatment. Now, she owns a small pot-making business.

Kambiré had obstetric fistula for 23 years and now owns her own pot-making business.

Entirely preventable and treatable

UNFPA set the goal of elimination by 2030 – which seems doable given that, as a medical condition, it is both completely preventable and fully treatable.

Between 2003 and 2024, UNFPA supported nearly 150,000 surgical fistula repairs, 4,400 of which alone happened in Côte d’Ivoire for women like Dah and Kambiré.

Catherine, a mother of two in Bouna, also received medical assistance from a UNFPA-supported hospital.

“Now that I’m healthy, I’m happy. I can run my business and spend time with my friends,” she said.

Nevertheless, obstetric fistula has remained stubbornly persistent throughout the world due to disparities in global health systems.

UNFPA says that midwives are key to preventing fistula, and other childbirth injuries. However, there is a global shortage of over 900,000 midwives, 500,000 of which are in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Reproductive health education and empowerment are similarly essential to addressing and preventing obstetric fistula.

“The most effective shield we can offer women and girls is their own power, voice and leadership,” Ms. Bahous said.

Networks of solidarity

After Dah received successful treatment for her obstetric fistula, she, like Kambiré, began a seasonal food business through which she prepares and sells produce.

She has also banded together with other fistula survivors from Bouna to enhance community awareness and reduce stigma.

“When women lead, they protect not only themselves but their families and communities … The impact is transformative,” Ms. Bahous said.

Manuka Honey emerges miracle drug for lung infection if combined with widely used ‘amikacin’

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A potential new treatment combining natural manuka honey with a widely used drug has been developed by scientists at Aston University to treat a potentially lethal lung infection and greatly reduce side effects of one of the current drugs used for its treatment.

Manuka honey can also be used to help treat wounds, injuries, improve oral health, soothe a sore throat and treat ulcers. The findings are published in the journal Microbiology.

The scientists in the Mycobacterial Research Group in the College of Health and Life Sciences at Aston University were able to combine manuka honey and the drug amikacin in a lab-based nebulisation formulation to treat the harmful bacterial lung infection Mycobacterium abscessus, said lead author and PhD researcher Victoria Nolan.

Manuka honey is long known to have wide ranging medicinal properties, but more recently has been identified for its broad spectrum antimicrobial activity. Now scientists have found that manuka honey has the potential to kill a number of drug resistant bacterial infections such as Mycobacterium abscessus – which usually affects patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) or bronchiectasis.

Manuka honey could help to clear deadly drug-resistant lung infection – research/Photo:Microbiology Society

According to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, CF is a genetic condition affecting around 10,800 people – one in every 2,500 babies born in the UK – and there are more than 100,000 people with the condition worldwide. The NHS defines bronchiectasis  as a long-term condition where the airways of the lungs become widened, leading to a build-up of excess mucus that can make the lungs more vulnerable to infection..

In the study, the researchers used samples of the bacteria Mycobacterium abscessus taken from 16 infected CF patients. They then tested the antibiotic amikacin, combined with manuka honey, to discover what dosage was required to kill the bacteria.

Dr Jonathan Cox, senior lecturer in microbiology, Aston University said: “By combining a totally natural ingredient such as manuka honey with amikacin, one of the most important yet toxic drugs used for treating Mycobacterium abscessus, we have found a way to potentially kill off these bacteria with eight times less drug than before.”

As part of the study the team used a lab-based lung model and nebuliser – a device that produces a fine spray of liquid often used for inhaling a medicinal drug. By nebulising manuka honey and amikacin together, it was found they could improve bacterial clearance, even when using lower doses of amikacin, which would result in less life-changing side-effects to the patient.

In the UK, of the 10,800 people living with CF, Mycobacterium abscessus infects 13% of all patients with the condition. This new approach is advantageous not only because it has the potential to kill off a highly drug resistant infection, but because of the reduced side effects, benefitting quality of life and greatly improving survival chances for infected CF patients.

Mycobacterium abscessus is a bacterial pathogen from the same family that causes tuberculosis, but this bug differs by causing serious lung infections in people (particularly children) with pre-existing lung conditions, such as CF and bronchiectasis, as well as causing skin and soft tissue infections. The bacteria is also highly drug resistant.

Currently, patients are given a cocktail of antibiotics, consisting of 12 months or more of antimicrobial chemotherapy and often doesn’t result in a cure. The dosage of amikacin usually used on a patient to kill the infection is 16 micrograms per millilitre. But the researchers found that the new combination using manuka honey, required a dosage of just 2 micrograms per millitre of amikacin – resulting in a one eighth reduction in the dosage of the drug.

Until now Mycobacterium abscessus has been virtually impossible to eradicate in people with cystic fibrosis. It can also be deadly if the patient requires a lung transplant because they are not eligible for surgery if the infection is present.