The first mpox test that enables health facilities to test people and get results onsite has been given Emergency Use List (EUL) approval by the World Health Organization (WHO). Abbott’s Alinity m MPXV assay is a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test that can give an mpox diagnosis within around two hours from a swab of […] Continue reading ->
The first two people with Marburg also had malaria, which slowed down their diagnosis, Rwandan Health Minister Dr Sabin Nsanzimana told a media briefing on Thursday hosted by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). This follows the revelation that the suspected index case died on 8 September, according to Dr Brian […] Continue reading ->
HIV activists have hailed the announcement by Gilead on Wednesday that it has authorised six generic manufacturers to sell its breakthrough HIV treatment, lenacapavir, in 120 low- and middle-income countries. However, they have urged Gilead to expand the deal to include countries such as Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. Lenacapavir is a long-acting injectable drug that […] Continue reading ->
Twenty-nine people in Rwanda have been diagnosed with Marburg, the deadly haemorrhagic virus, and 10 have already died, according to the country’s health ministry on Tuesday. This is three more cases and four more deaths since the outbreak was announced last Friday. The Rwandan Ministry of Education suspended visits to students in boarding schools on […] Continue reading ->
For the first time ever, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that pregnant women be vaccinated against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), or that their newborns receive a dose of monoclonal antibodies to protect them against severe RSV disease, which has seen a global resurgence as the COVID-19 pandemic waned. In 2022-2023, RSV was the […] Continue reading ->
UNAIDS expressed “deep concern” Wednesday over Georgia’s newly adopted anti-LGBTQ+ law, saying that it could threaten progress made over the past decade to end AIDS in the former Soviet republic of 3.7 million people at the crossroads between Europe and Asia. The new legislation exacerbates stigma and hinders “LGBTQ+ people’s access to essential health services” […] Continue reading ->
The establishment of an “mRNA hub” in South Africa to build the capacity of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to develop vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic was widely hailed as a solution to Africa’s lack of manufacturing ability. But three years after its launch in June 2021, the hub faces uncertainties, risks and shortfalls – […] Continue reading ->
BAD HOFGASTEIN, Austria — Strokes in children are now common in Ukraine as Russian air strikes rain down death, stress and trauma on civilians for a 947th day, Ukrainian Health Minister Viktor Liashko said on Wednesday. “We see strokes in children aged 12 to 13,” Liashko said. “Before the war, such cases were really unique. […] Continue reading ->
Specific health actions need to be included in countries’ climate targets – officially called the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – according to several health advocates speaking at the UN Climate Week in New York City over the past week. “Our agenda should be health-centric,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health […] Continue reading ->
Governments and donors have pledged around $1 billion to combat Africa’s mpox outbreak in the past few weeks, with the US pledging $500 million this week, said Dr Jean Kaseya, Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. But the continent’s response is confounded by poor surveillance, problems with testingm virtually non-existant contact […] Continue reading ->