WHO Declares Global Public Health Emergency Over Monkeypox Virus Outbreak

23/07/2022 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

WHO has declared a new global public health emergency over the Monkeypox outbreak which has now spread to more than 16,000 people in over 75 countries and territories – in what some public health experts described as a “bold decision” by Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, overriding a divided group of expert advisors. The […] Continue reading ->

WHO Issues Stiff Warnings as COVID Cases Double and Monkeypox Expands Reach

21/07/2022 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

WHO has issued stiff, dual warnings over a surging global rate of COVID infections alongside a still-expanding outbreak of Monkeypox. The latter is set to be the focus of a discussion by a WHO Emergency Committee meeting Thursday, as the committee reconvenes to decide if a public health emergency should be declared over the virus […] Continue reading ->

European Medicines Agency Considers Extension of Smallpox Vaccine Use for Monkeypox

28/06/2022 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

The European Medicines Agency is considering the extension of the use of the smallpox vaccine Imvanex to include people at risk of Monkeypox disease, the agency said on Tuesday. Imvanex is a modified form of the vaccinia virus, which is related to smallpox and currently authorised in the European Union (EU) for the prevention of […] Continue reading ->

Effective Treatment and Potential Cure for Hepatitis D – Results Disclosed at International Liver Congress

23/06/2022 Editorial team

The drug Bulevirtide can successfully treat and even potentially cure Hepatitis D – the most acute diseases of the hepatitis family and hardest to treat until now, according to the results of a Phase III trial of the drug announced on Thursday, the opening day of the International Liver Congress 2022 (ILC 2022). An estimated 12 […] Continue reading ->

From Davos to Geneva: Taking Hepatitis Seriously

08/06/2022 Finn Jarle Rode

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 ->

Sex, War, Sustainability and the World Health Assembly – Last Week in Review

02/06/2022 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

Health and peace, sex and war, money and management. Whether in chorus or cacophony – last week’s World Health Assembly of WHO member states played most of the notes in the symphony of global debate over strategies to tackle disease, epidemics and pandemics and bolster health systems. But the root causes of emerging disease threats […] Continue reading ->

Scientists Might Never Determine Cause for Mysterious Acute Hepatitis Cases

31/05/2022 Maayan Hoffman

Just days after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that 650 total cases – and another 99 suspected cases – of mysterious acute hepatitis have been discovered in 33 countries worldwide, a top virologist has told Health Policy Watch that doctors and scientists may fail to ever find the root cause of the illness. “There […] Continue reading ->

WHA Approves New Strategy After Sexual Health Debate

28/05/2022 John Heilprin & Elaine Ruth Fletcher

On its final day of a session dominated by discussions of sexual health and the war in Ukraine, the World Health Assembly (WHA) voted 61-2 to adopt a new global strategy on HIV, hepatitis B and Sexually Transmitted Infections 2022-2030 (GHSS) 30 absentions and 90 delegations skipping the vote altogether. The vote Saturday evening, after […] Continue reading ->

Dispute Over ‘Sexual Orientation’ Delays Adoption of HIV Strategy at World Health Assembly

27/05/2022 Kerry Cullinan

Despite significant compromises to a draft strategy on HIV, hepatitis B and STIs, conservative World Health Organization (WHO) member states used a debate at the World Health Assembly on Friday to object to the inclusion of such as “sexual orientation”, “sexuality” and “men who have sex with men”. The objections were led by Nigeria, Egypt, […] Continue reading ->

Monkeypox Case in US as Reported Infections Outside Africa Increase Seven-Fold Within Days

19/05/2022 Elaine Ruth Fletcher & Raisa Santos

Within a matter of days, over 50 cases of suspected and confirmed infection with the monkeypox virus have now been reported across Europe and North America, including the first reported case in the United States yesterday, said Massachusetts state officials; the case involved a man who had recently traveled to Quebec, Canada. That adds the […] Continue reading ->