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Single Pill Can Halt Diarrhea's Deadly Reign

By Drew Nelles,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 9, 2009 2:09 PM CDT

(Newser) – Diarrhea kills 1.6 million children under 5 every year—more than AIDS or malaria—and gets a fraction of the funding. But a deceptively simple new treatment may mark a breakthrough, Time reports. Zinc supplements appear to dramatically decrease diarrhea-related deaths—one afflicted village in Mali hasn’t had a single death since the pills arrived. Zinc “has totally taken off,” a researcher says. “It looks like real medicine and is not given out for free.”

The entire treatment costs less than 30 cents, and a single dose lasts an entire season. It’s still not clear how exactly zinc fights diarrhea; the researcher suggests that zinc boosts the immune system, helping the body fight off diarrhea’s worst effects. Still, the people in charge are paying attention: several African governments have started zinc programs, and some 20 companies worldwide are manufacturing the pills.

A child suffering from severe diarrhea is treated at a clinic of the International Medical Corps in a displaced people's camp, Monday, Nov. 3, 2008 in Kibati north of Goma in eastern Congo.
A child suffering from severe diarrhea is treated at a clinic of the International Medical Corps in a displaced people's camp, Monday, Nov. 3, 2008 in Kibati north of Goma in eastern Congo.   (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo)
A mother feeds oral saline to her child at a hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh. According to International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, the number of diarrhea patients is increasing everyday.
A mother feeds oral saline to her child at a hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh. According to International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, the number of diarrhea patients is increasing everyday.   (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman)
A young diarrhea patient is administered water at a hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday, Aug. 19, 2007.
A young diarrhea patient is administered water at a hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday, Aug. 19, 2007.   (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 6 comments
binarypower
Aug 10, 2009 10:54 AM CDT
That's a giant fucking pill... http://img2.newser.com/image/2...
riffran
Aug 10, 2009 2:24 AM CDT
there is a packet you can add to water that binds with foreign particle in the water to purify it....the inventor actually put dog shit in a big bucket and used it to clean, and then drink the water...omg
Serenity
Aug 10, 2009 1:55 AM CDT
I think its a small cup on its side. The caption says that the child is getting water. But I did think that was the pill when I first looked.

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