Fears of cholera have emerged in the ruined and Russian-occupied Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. Exiled local officials have voiced concern over the drinking supply in the city, which has been contaminated as a result of decomposing bodies and garbage. “The city has really turned into one with corpses everywhere,” said mayoral aide Petro Andryushchenko […] Continue reading ->
Confirmed cases of monkeypox reported to WHO outside of Africa’s endemic zone have doubled once again since last week, 1 June – with more than 1000 cases now having been reported in some 29 countries that don’t usually see the disease. So far, no deaths have been reported in those countries. But some 66 deaths […] Continue reading ->
As the World Hepatitis Summit 2022 takes place this week, some 354 million people are still living with viral hepatitis, despite the fact that vaccines, treatments and even cures are now available, says Finn Jarle Rode is Executive Director at the Hepatitis Fund. Until now, viral hepatitis elimination has been the neglected child of global […] Continue reading ->
World Trade Organization (WTO) leaders are hopeful that an agreement could be reached on a waiver on intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines at the Ministerial Council starting on Sunday – but the People’s Vaccine Alliance has organised global protests to demand “a real TRIPS waiver” ahead of the meeting. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has […] Continue reading ->
Moderna announced Tuesday that the first participants have been vaccinated in a Phase 3 study of its influenza (flu) vaccine, which is based on mRNA technology used in its COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine, mRNA-1010, encodes for hemagglutinin (HA) glycoproteins of the four influenza strains recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the prevention of […] Continue reading ->
The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970, yet the viral disease is only getting international attention since it has spread outside Africa to 27 non-endemic countries. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Dr Ebrahima Socé Fall described monkeypox as a “neglected tropical disease” when he opened a two-day meeting called by the WHO’s […] Continue reading ->
In a world where health workers are scarce, self-care practices can drastically improve people’s quality of life and alleviate strain on health systems, but depend on a range of factors including patient literacy, fair prices and government stewardship. This is according to a one-of-a-kind global study demonstrating the value of self-care that was launched on […] Continue reading ->
Scientists and doctors are beginning to eye Paxlovid, the antiviral medicine developed by Pfizer to protect vulnerable people from severe disease, as a potential treatment for lingering COVID-19 symptoms after single patients report that the medicine has helped to reduce their symptoms. Long COVID affects as many as one in five people infected by the […] Continue reading ->
Climate change poses serious risks to mental health and well-being, concluded a new World Health Organization policy brief, launched on Friday at the Stockholm+50 conference. Natural disasters such as floods, heatwaves, storms, and drought can pose a threat to mental health and psychosocial well-being, exacerbating emotional distress, anxiety, depression, grief, and suicidal behavior. WHO is […] Continue reading ->
Countries have failed miserably to halt rising obesity, despite goals set by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2018. Instead, obesity continues to rise apace. Now, however, a new WHO strategy for accelerating action against obesity, endorsed last week by the World Health Assembly, calls for much tougher policies on food packaging, pricing and marketing […] Continue reading ->