The first clinical trial of a vaccine for Nipah, a deadly communicable disease mostly found in South-East Asia, is about to start, the Oxford Vaccine Group announced. Despite 25 years of outbreaks and its WHO status of a priority disease, there is no treatment or vaccine for Nipah up to this date.  “This vaccine trial […] Continue reading ->
Pakistan Senator Dr Sania Nishtar  has been appointed new CEO of the global vaccine alliance, Gavi, and will take up the position on 18 March. This follows the previous appointee, Dr Muhammad Pate, pulling out last June – six weeks before he was due to take office, in order to serve as health minister of […] Continue reading ->
Cabo Verde was certified as malaria-free on Friday by the World Health Organization (WHO), only the third African country to have achieved this milestone. The country, an archipelago of 10 islands off the West African coast near Senegal, joins 43 countries including African countries Mauritius and Algeria in eliminating malaria.  Its last indigenous malaria case […] Continue reading ->
The rising number of US citizens declining vaccinations is threatening population immunity to certain diseases, according to two US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) leaders. “The situation has now deteriorated to the point that population immunity against some vaccine-preventable infectious diseases is at risk, and thousands of excess deaths are likely to occur this season […] Continue reading ->
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and two other international relief agencies all said that they are withdrawing emergency medical teams from Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza after intensified fighting around the hospital area made it impossible for staff to continue emergency care functions.  “After days of artillery fighting in Gaza’s Middle Area, Israeli forces […] Continue reading ->