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 ->
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 ->
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) will sign an official memorandum of understanding with its Japanese counterpart next month, the director of Europe’s largest public health agency announced Wednesday. “Next month I will sign a cooperation agreement with the Japanese Center for Disease Control,” said Pamela Rendi-Wagner, who took over the agency […] Continue reading ->
Geneva, Switzerland—The 2024 World Cancer Congress opened Tuesday in Geneva, bringing together more than 2,000 delegates from more than 120 countries. Its convener said the congress underscores a global commitment to combating the growing burden of cancer. Hosted by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), the congress aims to foster collaboration amongst cancer and […] Continue reading ->
Bavarian Nordic’s MVA-BN vaccine, has become the first mpox vaccine to be added to the World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification (PQ) list, enabling its use globally. The WHO has also recommended that single doses be given in supply-constrained outbreak situations instead of the usual two doses, and “off label” use for children as the vaccine […] Continue reading ->