Europe Health World

Europe OKs 1st one-dose drug to protect babies against RSV

Editorial Bureau November 5, 2022

 The European Commission has authorized the world’s first one-dose drug against a respiratory virus that sickens millions of babies and children globally every year. In a statement Friday, drugmakers Sanofi and AstraZeneca said the European Commission had given the green light to

Health IN UK 01 UK

Bird flu fear in various parts of the UK

Editorial Bureau November 5, 2022

92 confirmed cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza, bird flu (HPAI) H5N1 in England since 1 October 2022. There have been 226 cases of (HPAI) H5N1 in England since the H5N1 outbreak started in October 2021. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 was confirmed in commercial poultry on 4 November 2022 at a second premise near Kirkham, […]

Africa Health

Uganda’s Ebola responders fret as some people fight measures

Editorial Bureau November 3, 2022

 The recent explosion of Ebola virus cases in a Ugandan rural community began when defiant residents exhumed a body at night, undoing the work of a safe burial team to give the deceased man a proper Islamic funeral. Within days, at least 23 of the mourners had contracted Ebola and three were dead, prompting Uganda’s […]

Asia Health World

China imposes Covid lockdown on area around iPhone factory

Editorial Bureau November 2, 2022

Chinese authorities on Wednesday locked down the area surrounding the world’s largest iPhone factory after workers fled the facility to avoid a covid outbreak and the resulting restrictions. All people except Covid-prevention volunteers and essential workers “must not leave their residences except to receive Covid tests and emergency medical treatment”,

Africa Health

Antibody treatment tested as new tool against malaria

Editorial Bureau November 1, 2022

Research in Africa found a one-time dose of an experimental drug protected adults against malaria for at least six months, the latest approach in the fight against the mosquito-borne disease. Malaria killed more than 620,000 people in 2020 and sickened 241 million, mainly children under 5 in Africa. The World Health Organization is rolling out the […]

Africa Health

Cholera overwhelms Haiti as cases, deaths spike amid crisis

Editorial Bureau October 29, 2022

 The sun shone down on Stanley Joliva as medical staff at an open-air clinic hovered around him, pumping air into his lungs and giving him chest compressions until he died. Nearby, his mother watched.“Only God knows my pain,” said Viliene Enfant. Less than an hour later, the body of her 22-year-old son lay on the […]

Health

TB cases rise after years of decline: WHO

Editorial Bureau October 28, 2022

TB cases increased last year for the first time in more than 20 years, fuelled by the Covid-19 pandemic, which disrupted access to diagnosis and treatment, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday. TB has rebounded after years of decline, killing an estimated 1.6 million people in 2021 — up 14 percent in two years. […]

Africa Health

For struggling Haiti, return of cholera is a ‘catastrophe’

Editorial Bureau October 24, 2022

When humanitarian officials in Haiti try to describe their concerns over a new, fast-spreading cholera epidemic, they struggle to find words strong enough: “alarming,” “chaotic,” even “a catastrophe.” A sizable part of the island’s population has been isolated — and unable to access health care — either by serious fuel

Asia Health World

As leaders meet, Chinese hope for end to ‘zero-COVID’ limits

Editorial Bureau October 21, 2022

As China’s ruling Communist Party holds a congress this week, many Beijing residents are focused on an issue not on the formal agenda: Will the end of the meeting bring an easing of China’s at times draconian “zero-COVID” policies that are disrupting lives and the economy? It appears to be wishful thinking. As the world moves to a […]

Health

High hopes for nasal Covid vaccines despite ‘disappointing’ trial

Editorial Bureau October 18, 2022

Nasal vaccines could still be a powerful future weapon in the fight against Covid-19 despite “disappointing” recent trial results for an AstraZeneca spray, experts say. By entering the body the same way as the virus, nasal vaccines aim to build immunity in the mucous membrane that lines the nose and mouth. This could block people […]