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A programme using artificial intelligence to test inmates in a high security Mozambican jail for tuberculosis has spawned hope that the new tech can help eradicate the disease. Teeming prisons are a hotbed of TB, the world’s second deadliest communicable disease after Covid, according to the World Health Organization. Mozambique, a country of 32 million people, recorded about 120,000 infections last year. Caused by a bacteria that most often affects the lungs, it infected more […]
US health authorities on Thursday approved the world’s first vaccine for chikungunya, a virus spread by infected mosquitoes that the Food and Drug Administration called “an emerging global health threat.” The vaccine, developed by Europe’s Valneva which will be marketed under the name Ixchiq, was approved for people 18 and over who are at increased risk of exposure, the FDA said. Ixchiq’s green-light by the US drug regulator is expected to speed the vaccine’s rollout […]
A rare delivery of emergency medical supplies and medicines on Wednesday reached Al-Shifa hospital in the war-ravaged north of the Gaza Strip, the UN said, warning though that far more was needed. In a joint statement, the heads of the United Nations agency supporting Palestinian refugees and the World Health Organization said the aid had reached Gaza’s largest hospital “despite huge risks to our staff and health partners due to the relentless bombardments”. They highlighted […]
Cases of syphilis among newborns have grown tenfold in the United States over the past 10 years, health officials warned Tuesday, part of a broader rise in sexually transmitted diseases in America. Over 3,700 infants were born with congenital syphilis in 2022, more than 10 times the number in 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. However, in nine out of 10 cases the disease could have been prevented with […]
GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Nov 7, 2023 (AFP) – Sweden is poised to become Europe’s first smoke-free country largely thanks to the popularity of snus, a kind of moist snuff which is placed under the upper lip. But some are worried the tobacco industry is peddling a “fairytale” that is too good to be true. Used by one in seven Swedes, snus has, according to the government, helped slash the number of smokers from 15 percent of […]
By Hayder Indhar with Laure Al-Khoury in Baghdad AL-AYYACH, Iraq, Oct 25, 2023 (AFP) – A worried Iraqi father points at a blister on the face of his one-year-old daughter, the result of a parasitic infection carried by sandflies in her remote village. “It’s a skin disease, the ‘Baghdad boil’,” Najeh Farhan said of the pustule on Tiba’s mouth as the toddler played with a pacifier at their home in the drought-hit province of Al-Diwaniyah. […]
By Glenn CHAPMAN SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 24, 2023 (AFP) – Dozens of US states on Tuesday accused Facebook and Instagram owner Meta of profiting “from children’s pain,” damaging their mental health and misleading people about the safety of its platforms. “In seeking to maximize its financial gains, Meta has repeatedly misled the public about the substantial dangers of its Social Media Platforms,” argued a joint lawsuit filed in federal court in California. In total more […]
PARIS, Oct 24, 2023 (AFP) – Bird flu has been detected in the Antarctica region for the first time, according to British experts, raising concerns the deadly virus could pose a threat to penguins and other local species. Scientists had been fearing that the worst outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in history would reach Antarctica, a key breeding ground for many birds. The British Antarctic Survey said its staff took samples from brown […]
By Pam Castro, with Qasim Nauman in Seoul MANILA, Oct 9, 2023 (AFP) – Hackers have stolen the personal data of potentially millions of people from the Philippines’s national health insurer, which has urged members to change their passwords after the “staggering” cyberattack. The hackers have started releasing files including confidential memos from the stolen data to pressure the government into paying a $300,000 ransom. Here is what we know so far about the attack, […]
WASHINGTON, Oct 5, 2023 (AFP) – Drugs like Ozempic, which have become increasingly popular for losing weight, heighten the risk of certain severe gastrointestinal problems including stomach paralysis, according to a large study published Thursday. The paper, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), looked at a class of drugs called GLP-1 agonists that includes the brands Wegovy, Ozempic, Rybelsus and Saxenda. It then compared the rate of serious side effects to […]
Every year, millions of babies are born prematurely. In 2020, an estimated 13.4 million babies were born early, with nearly one million dying from preterm complications. This is equivalent to around 1 in 10 babies born worldwide, UN agencies and partners said in a new report on Thursday. The highest rates of preterm birth occur in sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia, where over 13% of babies are born preterm. The rates in the worst affected […]
By Shafiqul ALAM DHAKA, Oct 5, 2023 (AFP) – In the crowded fever ward in Bangladesh’s Mugda hospital, every bed is taken, as the country struggles in the grip of its deadliest dengue outbreak. More than 1,000 people have died this year in the nation’s worst recorded spate of the mosquito-borne disease, which scientists say is increasing in frequency due to climate change. In the worst cases, intense viral fevers trigger bleeding, internally or from […]
