Donald Trump has named Robert F Kennedy Jr as his choice for US health secretary, putting the controversial anti-vaccine activist and environmental lawyer in line to control some of the world’s most influential health agencies. Kennedy shot to political prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic when his organisation, Children’s Health Defense, became a leading global voice […] Continue reading ->
In a breakthrough for patients with multi-drug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB), researchers shared positive trial results for a shorter, tailored alternative at the World Conference on Lung Health in Bali, Indonesia. The insights came from the endTB-Q trial aimed at finding a simpler, less toxic, shorter regimen for fluoroquinolone-resistant MDR-TB. Fluoroquinolone is a common class of […] Continue reading ->
BAKU, Azerbaijan — Global and Indian experts at COP29 produced new evidence Thursday calling for clean air standards to become part of nations’ climate commitments, as cities across South Asia’s heavily polluted air corridor battled record-breaking smog. In Delhi, authorities closed schools up to grade 5 and halted construction as pollution levels soared to almost […] Continue reading ->
With plans underway for a new “Independent Panel” on Antimicrobial Resistance, endorsed at September’s UN High-Level AMR Meeting, the new body must become a strong scientific authority. It should have the power to “challenge” the agencies that create it and address both human and animal health factors driving drug-resistant pathogens. That was a key message […] Continue reading ->
Inadequate immunisation is driving the global surge in measles cases, with an estimated 10.3 million cases in 2023 – a jump of 20% since 2022. This is according to new estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A total of 57 countries experienced large outbreaks […] Continue reading ->
The death toll in Sudan’s civil war is likely far higher than reported as violence, hunger and disease devastate Africa’s third-largest nation, a new study shows. More than 61,000 people have died in Khartoum state, the capital region where fighting began 14 months ago, according to research from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical […] Continue reading ->
African countries will soon use a PCR test for mpox developed by Moroccan company Moldiag that is cheaper than the Gene Xpert tests currently being used, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Infection (Africa CDC). “This test was approved after a number of tests were done in the [Democratic Republic of Congo] […] Continue reading ->
ISLAMABAD – Muhammad Waqas is an engineer at a private telecom company. He still remembers the day six years ago in 2018 when he was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 30. It completely changed his life. The diagnosis was particularly shocking for Waqas as neither of his parents had the disease, and he […] Continue reading ->
BAKU – The World Health Organization and United Nations Climate Conference (COP29) host, Azerbaijan, issued a joint call to countries on Wednesday to adopt more “healthy'” Nationally Determined Commitments (NDCs) in their next set of plans for climate action. The next NCDs are due to be submitted in early 2025. But as carbon dioxide (CO2) […] Continue reading ->
Dozens of tuberculosis (TB) activists took to the stage during the opening of the annual World Conference on Lung Health in Bali, Indonesia, to demand that the price of GeneXpert tests to detect TB is slashed to $5 in low- and middle-income countries. Medical test maker Cepheid and its parent corporation Danaher were asked […] Continue reading ->