HS Newsbeat: What Causes Child Stunting? Steps Toward Understanding

By Ashlie Chandler

About 162 million children worldwide under age 5 are considered too short for their age, a growth failure called stunting. Despite efforts to improve child growth, stunting has been difficult to prevent and treat, negatively impacting child health and development.

Researchers from the University of Washington School of Public Health studied what causes child stunting and developed a framework to help deliver effective interventions in low-resource settings.

Department Part of Major Study to Test Antibiotics as a Treatment for Diarrheal Disease in High-Risk Children in Low Resource Settings

By Amelia Vader

Researchers at the University of Washington and Kenya Medical Research Institute are working to determine if antibiotics could help save thousands of children from dying of diarrheal disease thanks to a four-year $2.5 million grant from the World Health Organization.

The Antibiotics for Children with Severe Diarrhea (ABCD) Trial is the largest clinical trial addressing diarrhea management to date; and it will not only answer the question of the potential benefits of antibiotics it will also address any potential harm, such as antibiotic resistance.

New DEWORM3 Project Will Explore Integrated Approaches

Over 1.45 billion people, including 845 million children, in the world’s poorest communities are infected with soil-transmitted helminths (STH), commonly known as intestinal worms. Associate Professor Judd Walson, in collaboration with the Natural History Museum London and the University of Washington, has been awarded funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to test the feasibility of eliminating soil-transmitted helminths using intensified mass drug administration strategies.

NPR: The Debate is On: To Deworm or Not to Deworm?

By Susan Brink

..."There's evidence that children treated with deworming medication grow better and have better cognitive performance," says Judd Walson, associate professor at the University of Washington. Walson wrote an editorial in the Oct. 22 issue of PLOS: Neglected Tropical Diseases. "A study from Kenya showed better school performance and even better job performance.“

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