Health

US health experts say measles resurgence ‘unacceptable’

by Ivan Couronne Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US public health experts sounded the alarm Wednesday over a resurgence of measles in recent years, principally in communities where people reject vaccinations and obtain exemptions for religious or “personal” reasons. Six outbreaks of the disease have been reported in the United States since January 1, totalling 159 cases, in the states of Washington, Colorado and New York. Since 2000, between 50 or several […]

Nearly half of children with cancer untreated: study

PARIS, France (AFP) — Some 45 percent of children with cancer are left undiagnosed and untreated, according to an innovative study of the disease’s global footprint among under-15s, published Wednesday. Worldwide, there are some 400,000 new cases of childhood cancer each year, but barely half are logged in national health registries, researchers reported in The Lancet Oncology, a medical journal. “The patients will almost certainly die, although cancer will not be listed on a death […]

Nearly 50% of transport pollution deaths linked to diesel: study

  FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany (AFP) — Some 385,000 people worldwide died prematurely in 2015 from air pollution caused by vehicle exhaust emissions, a US study found Wednesday, which singled out diesel engines as the main culprit. Diesel vehicles were responsible for 47 percent of the deaths, it said, but the figure jumped as high as 66 percent in France, Germany, Italy and India where diesels make up a large proportion of cars on the […]

Diabetics stock up on insulin over Brexit fears

by Pauline FROISSART Agence France Presse LONDON, United States (AFP) — Diabetics and insulin providers in Britain are stockpiling the precious medicine to avoid potential shortages in case Britain leaves the European Union without a deal in just over month’s time. “I started about two months ago,” David Burns, a 37-year-old teacher living in London, told AFP. “I used to pick up insulin once a month. Now I’m picking it up about once every two […]

Ebola outbreak ‘under control’ in part of eastern DR Congo

KINSHASA, DR Congo (AFP) — An Ebola epidemic that has killed more than 500 people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been brought under control in one major area, the health ministry said late Tuesday. In a statement, it said there had been no new confirmed cases of Ebola in the Beni area for the past 21 days. “We can now consider that the Ebola epidemic is currently under control in Beni,” it said, […]

Vaccine could virtually eliminate cervical cancer: study

PARIS, France (AFP) — The rapid scale-up of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine could virtually eliminate cervical cancer in a handful of rich countries within three decades, and in most other nations by century’s end, researchers said Wednesday. Without screening and HPV vaccination, more than 44 million women will likely be diagnosed with the disease over the next 50 years, they reported in The Lancet Oncology, a medical journal. Two thirds of these cases — […]

WHO warns of ‘backsliding’ in measles fight as cases soar

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization warned Thursday that efforts to halt the spread of measles were “backsliding”, with case numbers worldwide surging around 50 percent last year. The UN health agency pointed to preliminary data showing that the disturbing trend of resurgent measles cases was happening at a global level, including in wealthy nations where vaccination coverage has historically been high. “Our data are showing that there is a substantial increase in […]

Hundred children die in DR Congo measles outbreak

KINSHASA, DR Congo (AFP) — More than a hundred children in the Democratic Republic of Congo have died of measles since the start of the year, an outbreak that has added to deadly epidemics of cholera and Ebola, the UN said on Wednesday. Health officials in the southeast provinces of Lualaba and Lomami recorded 7,175 cases of measles in January, “at least 137 of which were fatal,” the UN’s MONUSCO peacekeeping mission said. More than […]

Women’s brains appear ‘years younger’ than men’s: study

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Women tend to outlive men and stay mentally sharp longer, and a new study out Monday could explain why: female brains appear on average about three years younger. The study enrolled 121 women and 84 men, who underwent PET scans to measure brain metabolism or the flow of oxygen and glucose in their brains. Like other organs in the body, the brain uses sugar as fuel. But just how it […]

Measles outbreak growing in Washington State

WASHINGTON (Eagle News) — Only a few weeks after Washington State Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency due to a measles outbreak, the Washington State Department of Health reported that the highly contagious disease continues to spread and urges people to receive vaccination and take precautions to prevent its escalation. As of February 4, the number of confirmed cases was 50, nearly double the number from when Governor Inslee initially declared a state of […]

Obesity-linked cancers on the rise in young adults

  by Marlowe Hood Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — A sharp increase in the rate of obesity-linked cancers among young adults in the United States could foreshadow a reversal in the overall decline in cancer mortality, researchers warned Monday. In a sweeping study covering two-thirds of the US population, they showed that half a dozen cancers for which obesity is a known risk factor became more frequent from 1995 to 2015 among women […]