Marguarita Tyne and James Edmondson of our Clinical Negligence team were proud to attend a presentation from Encephalitis International on a Technical Brief published by the World Health Organisation (WHO), to engage policymakers and public health officials and raise better awareness, research and support worldwide of this terrible disease.
Timed to Coincide with the charity’s annual high profile Go #Red4WED campaign, and World Encephalitis Day on 22 February, eminent speakers from around the globe gave a clear reminder that the fight against this disease is very challenging. However, now with the backing of the WHO the impact of the work will be increased.
Marguarita Tyne said
“Professor Solomon, world renowned Encephalitis expert, spoke about common causes of the disease including Herpes Simplex Virus and Japanese Encephalitis. It was fascinating to hear him comment about how Climate Change is increasing the spread of mosquito-borne disease. As global warming intensifies, regions that were previously unaffected are now at risk of Japanese Encephalitis.
“We heard about how ensuring that doctors know about the early signs of the disease, enables them to use the anti viral treatment acyclovir (an established treatment for years).
“The Technical Briefing and work of both Encephalitis International and WHO are fully supported by us and many of the cases that are referred to my team involve clear, early features of the illness that with better understanding, by clinicians, could be successfully treated, thus avoiding the profound future burden of brain injury or death that the illness causes.”
The introduction to the Technical Brief points out that
“The consequences of encephalitis can be devastating, requiring long-term comprehensive support in the community, including access to rehabilitation, and financial and social assistance”,
That is precisely where James, Marguarita and the Clinical Negligence team can step in to secure support for those impacted by poor treatment.
Anyone wishing to discuss concerns around treatment they have received can contact us directly at Marguarita.Tyne@clarkewillmott.com or James.Edmondson@clarkewillmott.com.
Prioritising encephalitis within global and national health agendas and promoting collaboration among stakeholders can significantly reduce the potential global threat and disease burden of encephalitis