E23: Al Sommer on Vitamin A, Blindness and Global Politics

We speak today with someone whose work is credited with preventing 400,000 cases of blindness and saving as many as 1 million deaths per year. Dr. Alfred Sommer has earned this place in global history. He discovered that Vitamin A deficiency reduces immune responsiveness and resistance to infectious diseases such as diarrhea and measles. He proved that vaccination for smallpox as late as six days after infection can prevent the disease. And, he demonstrated the effectiveness of a simple and effective tool for monitoring the nutritional health of children at high risk of dying from malnutrition.