How did vaccines, once hailed as essential tools for global peace, security and international cooperation, become something that some now fear could kill them? This is the focus of the latest episode of the Global Health Matters podcast, hosted by Garry Aslnyan. In an interview with author Peter Hotez, the discussion delves into how misinformation […] Continue reading ->
With the number of new mpox cases continuing to rise, and many more potentially undetected, African countries affected by the latest outbreak are racing to mobilize funds and urgently deploy medical countermeasures, including vaccines. But as the current epidemic unfolds, there is an undeniable feeling of déjà vu. Global efforts are falling short of what […] Continue reading ->
United Nations officials are expressing concern that a new cholera outbreak in conflict-ridden Sudan, declared 10 days ago, could widen dramatically in the wake of increased rainfall and flooding. Some 658 cases of cholera have been reported since 12 August, with 28 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed in its latest situation report, published […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) this week recommended three new regimens for multidrug-resistant or rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB) tuberculosis (TB) that are far shorter than the current regimens and can be taken orally. The new regimens can cure patients in six to nine months rather than the usual 18 months and dispense with the painful injections […] Continue reading ->
As evidence mounts of the health harms of excessive social media use on children, governments and academics are mulling how to regulate and contain these harms – notably anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy recently appealed to his country’s Congress to compel social media sites to carry warning labels about […] Continue reading ->
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is in talks with Bavarian Nordic, the only global producer of an mpox vaccine, about technology transfer to enable African manufacturers to make the vaccine on the continent. “I want to recognise and thank Bavarian Nordic for accepting to do the tech transfer in Africa, […] Continue reading ->
A little known, but potentially lethal virus is spreading throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, prompting the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other health agencies to issue warnings for travelers and clinicians. Oropouche virus, an arbovirus like dengue, Zika, and chikungunya, is spread through certain midge or mosquito bites. Oropouche symptoms are similar […] Continue reading ->
The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to consider a “time-limited moratorium of active recruitment of nurses” from countries on the WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguard List. This follows a “dramatic surge” in the recruitment of nurses from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) by wealthy countries, according […] Continue reading ->
Indian doctors held a 24-hour national strike over the weekend to protest the rape and murder of a young female doctor in a hospital in Kolkata, demanding better protection for health workers. Around one million health workers were estimated to have supported the strike. Some junior doctors remain on strike, saying that they will not […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization and UNICEF have appealed for ‘humanitarian pauses’ in the grinding Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip in August and September to facilitate a massive polio booster campaign – as three suspected polio cases were being investigated by a Jordanian laboratory. The appeal came as the entire region see-saws between the possibility […] Continue reading ->