Mobile phones: defence against epidemics
There has been a great deal of controversy about the health risks of mobile phones. Now mobile phone technology is helping developing nations prepare for disease threats such as swine flu, an outbreak of measles or the spread of HIV. More than half the world's 4 billion mobile phones are in developing countries and disease-control software is being added to mobile phones to help the spread of disease. What are the implications of this for Our Future Planet?
In 2007 thousands of Somalis fled to Kenya to avoid violence in their homeland, this exodus sparked a serious health crisis as one confirmed case of polio put the lives of 100,000 non-immunized children at risk.Kenyan health officials needed a way to quickly survey the situation and initiate a massive immunization campaign. They used EpiSurveyor funded by Vodafone Foundation.
Dr Joel Selanikio, a physician and epidemiologist invented EpiSurveyor in 2003, after he and American Red Cross technologist Rose Donna began searching for a more efficient way to gather data on emerging diseases. Downloading the software to mobile phones enabled officials to gather data directly from the site of the outbreak and send it electronically to headquarters for faster analysis. This cut down on the time officials would have had to spend collecting paper surveys and analyzing them individually before they can begin treating people. The information gave health workers useful feedback not only on the affected area but on the neighboring ones as well and helped them put plans and measures in place to stop the spread of the virus.
Selanikio predicts that within a year, health officials will be using the technology to track other threats in developing nations, such as the recent Mexican swine flu outbreak.
Information exchange can be immensely slow in the developing countries. If there was an outbreak of measles it may take up to three months for central health officials to receive this information. So, by the time they could respond many lives would have been lost. This latest technology enables information to be exchanged in a day or half a day to enable a quick response.
With the help of the U.N.'s World Health Organization and government health officials in more than 20 African countries, more than 800 health care workers are now trained to use this cell phone software, revolutionizing the way health care data can be collected, monitored and assessed.
This technology has many health applications, such as text messaging programs to improve public awareness about diseases like HIV/AIDS or malaria. Mobile phones could also be used to strengthen public health campaigns. Other software programmes can be used to facilitate consultation and remote diagnosis in rural areas, as well as enabling communication with health workers.
There are over 51 software programs being used by health workers in the field in some 26 developing countries. In Uganda text messages were sent to 15,000 mobile phones to quiz people in rural areas about HIV/AIDS. People were invited to participate in the quiz to receive free air time for correct answers. The final message of the quiz motivated participants to be tested for HIV at a local health centre. This subsequently led to an increase in the number of people being tested for HIV from 1,000 to 1,400 during a six-week period. This text messaging provided a new form of access that addresses concerns about stigmatization and privacy relating to HIV.
There are other uses of mobile phones. California-based FrontlineSMS:Medic has developed modified camera phones which can analyze blood and sputum samples and perform critical diagnostics for conditions including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Clearly, there are lots of benefits of mobile phones to health support in the developing world. What about the health risks of mobile phones and mobile phone masts?
In April 2009, the EU agreed in the European Parliament in that antennas, mobile phone masts and other electromagnetic emitting devices should be set within a specific distance from schools and health institutions because of the continuing uncertainties about possible health risks. This refers to the risk of cancers, including brain, auditory and parotid gland tumours, from electromagnetic forces transmitted by mobile phones and mobile phone masts.
Children and young people aged 10 to 20 are amongst the highest users of mobile phones and are most at risk of developing tumours as their brains are still developing. MEPs called for stricter regulation and protection for residents and consumers in order to minimise health risks and legal action cases.
What about health concerns in the developing world? In Africa 100 000 mobile phone masts are being set up every year. In Nigeria it is believed that mobile phone masts are triggering many electro-sensitivity health symptoms including anxiety, nausea and tiredness.
Animals are also being affected by mobile phones. According to scientists bee populations around the world are in decline due to mobile phones. For example, the West Coast of USA has lost 60 per cent of its commercial bee population, with 70 per cent missing on the East Coast. Scientists claim radiation from handsets are to blame for mysterious 'colony collapse disorder' of bees whereby a hive's inhabitants suddenly disappear. A study at Landau University has found that bees refuse to return to their hives when mobile phones are placed nearby. Colony collapse disorder has since spread to Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. And John Chapple, one of London's biggest bee-keepers, announced that 23 of his 40 hives have been abruptly abandoned.
The implications of the spread are alarming. Most of the world's agricultural crops depend on pollination by bees. Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left".
The costs and benefits of using mobile phones in Our Future Planet need to be weighed up. Mobile phones are clearly immensely useful for monitoring and treating people with diseases such malaria, measles or HIV living in rural communities in the developing world. The other side of the coin is that mobile phones can cause ill health and may be causing Colony Collapse Disorder in bees. So, are mobile phones essential or are there other ways of helping the sick in Africa and India? What are your thoughts? Have your say. We welcome your thoughts and proposals. Add your comment below. Have your say. We welcome your thoughts and proposals. Add your comment below. Not a Citizen? Sign up
