Articles by Dr. Melvin Sanicas
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Guest Articles
Sunday
December 25
2016What We Know – and Don’t Know – About Zika and Its Treatment
Researchers all over the world are working on a vaccine for Zika but it will probably be next year, and possibly much longer, before health officials can determine whether a vaccine works or not. Meanwhile, with pathogens and their vectors moving farther and faster than ever before, it’s just a matter of time before Zika reaches many more parts of the world.
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- Health Care
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Wednesday
September 7
2016Stopping the Spread of ‘Superbugs’: Six Promising Solutions
The use, overuse and misuse of antimicrobial drugs has created resistant strains of bacteria that could be a greater threat in poorer nations than in richer ones, due to the absence of monitoring and surveillance systems for drug resistance and lack of regulation. And if new antibiotics become available, they are likely to be expensive and unaffordable in the developing world. Here are six ways the global health community can respond.
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Wednesday
July 13
2016Swine Flu Adds to Brazil’s Zika Worries
Brazil, which will host the Olympics beginning Aug. 5, was already beset by economic problems, a political crisis and the Zika outbreak. Now it's experiencing its worst swine flu outbreak since 2009. Dr. Melvin Sanicas, a program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, wonders if this will be the crisis that forces a change to the Olympic schedule.
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- Health Care
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Wednesday
June 8
2016With Another Pandemic Looming, Let’s Change Perspective
We cannot prevent the emergence of new viruses, according to Dr. Melvin Sanicas, a Global Health Fellow and program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, but we can take measures to prevent small epidemics from becoming big ones, including investing in infrastructures for preparedness.
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- Health Care
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Thursday
March 17
2016Cancer Vaccines Move From ‘Far-fetched’ to Reality
The significant differences in cost of treatment versus vaccination make the HPV and hepatitis B vaccines highly cost effective in the developing world. And while there have been improvements in global vaccine coverage in the past decade, disparities still result from competing health priorities, limited resources, poor health systems, inadequate monitoring and supervision, among other things.
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