Another COVID rerun: WHO and Africa CDC officials lament the complete lack of access to monkeypox vaccines on the continent where the virus is endemic – as well as often more deadly than elsewhere. Meanwhile, Mozambique and Malawi have seen a total of six wild poliovirus cases, although WHO officials continue to insist that since […] Continue reading ->
The global number of weekly new cases of monkeypox reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) declined by 21% for the first time since the infection that has been endemic to central and west Africa began to appear around the world earlier this year. Cases continued rising sharply in the Americas, however, in contrast to […] Continue reading ->
Ministers and government officials took on noncommunicable diseases, sickle cell disease, health system reforms in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and measures to fight tuberculosis among children in Africa during their meeting of the 72nd WHO Regional Committee for Africa this week. In an effort to curb Africa’s chronic disease crisis, African health ministers adopted […] Continue reading ->
Pfizer’s COVID-19 oral antiviral Paxlovid was found to reduce the mortality rate among people over the age of 65 by 81% in a new Israeli study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. However, the study also found no significant benefit of the drug in patients aged 64 and younger. It is the […] Continue reading ->
The Omicron-targeted boosters are coming. Almost 250 days since Omicron became the dominant variant in the US, Pfizer and BioNTech on Monday officially announced that they’ve requested an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration for their booster dose of an Omicron BA.4/BA.5-adapted bivalent vaccine for those 12 and older. The […] Continue reading ->
A new case of Ebola has been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s eastern province of North Kivu, prompting health authorities to declare a resurgence of the deadly virus, World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Tuesday. WHO announced that health authorities confirmed a 46-year-old woman died of the disease on 15 August […] Continue reading ->
African nations need to pivot to prevention in their fight against disease by “addressing its root causes” through a greater focus on improved diets, healthier environments, and better road safety, among other factors, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the 72nd WHO Regional Committee for Africa meeting, at the opening of the weeklong session of […] Continue reading ->
A first-of-its-kind survey examining the side effects of the monkeypox vaccine in Israel found that the majority of recipients had no general symptoms. “Most of the side effects reported by the vaccinated are local and mild, which in most cases pass within one to three days,” said Miri Mizrahi Reuveni, Deputy CEO and Head of […] Continue reading ->
To mark World Mosquito Day, 20 August, the Global Health Priority Box has been launched to provide free access to 240 compounds to stimulate research into new drugs and insecticides. The initiative, launched by the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC), provides scientists with starting points to advance the […] Continue reading ->
In its first guidelines ever for Ebola treatment, the World Health Organization (WHO) advises using two monoclonal antibodies — mAb114 (Ansuvimab®, also known as Ebanga®) and REGN-EB3 (Inmazeb®) — that were first approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use against the Zaire ebolavirus species in 2020. WHO says its “strong recommendations” for […] Continue reading ->