Tag: epidemic

Humanity suffering from ‘extreme heat epidemic,’ UN chief warns

By Amélie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS UNITED NATIONS, United States, July 25, 2024 (AFP) – Humanity is suffering from an “extreme heat epidemic,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Thursday, calling for action to limit the impacts of heat waves intensified by climate change. “Billions of people are facing an extreme heat epidemic — wilting under increasingly deadly heat waves, with temperatures topping 50 degrees Celsius around the world,” he said. “That’s 122 degrees Fahrenheit. And halfway to boiling.” […]

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The age of outbreaks: Experts warn of more animal disease threats

  by Daniel Lawler and Isabelle Tourne Agence France Presse With the spread of monkeypox across the world coming hot on the heels of Covid-19, there are fears that increasing outbreaks of diseases that jump from animals to humans could spark another pandemic. While such diseases — called zoonoses — have been around for millennia, they have become more common in recent decades due to deforestation, mass livestock cultivation, climate change and other human-induced upheavals […]

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Three members of K-pop sensation BTS test positive for Covid-19

  Three members of K-pop sensation BTS have tested positive for Covid-19 since returning from the US, where they held their first in-person concerts since the pandemic began, the group’s management said Saturday. Rapper RM and vocalist Jin tested positive for the virus Saturday evening, according to Big Hit Music. The announcement came a day after the agency confirmed that Suga, another member of the septet, was “administering self-care at home” following a positive test. […]

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Guinea Ebola death toll rises to five

by Carol VALADE, with Philippe SIUBERSKI in Dakar CONAKRY, Guinea (AFP) —  Five people have died of Ebola virus in Guinea, the health agency said on Monday, as the government and aid groups began to roll out their response to the outbreak. Guinea announced the outbreak on Saturday — the first in West Africa since a 2013-2016 epidemic that left more than 11,300 dead in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. According to an epidemiological report […]

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Ebola: profile of a prolific killer

  PARIS, France (AFP) — A factfile on the Ebola virus that has plunged Guinea into an “epidemic situation” according to a senior health official, and which has killed more than 15,000 people since 1976. – Origins – Ebola was first identified in central Africa in 1976. The tropical virus was named after a river in the Democratic Republic of Congo — then known as Zaire. Five of the virus species are known to cause […]

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Guinea health chief calls Ebola outbreak ‘epidemic’, 7 cases confirmed

  CONAKRY, Guinea (AFP) — The head of Guinea’s health agency said Sunday that the country was in the midst of an Ebola “epidemic situation” with seven cases confirmed in the West African nation, including three deaths. “Very early this morning, the Conakry laboratory confirmed the presence of the Ebola virus,” Sakoba Keita said after an emergency meeting in the capital. Health Minister Remy Lamah had earlier spoken of four deaths. It was not immediately […]

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Seoul launches Covid tests for pets

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Pet cats and dogs with a fever, cough or breathing difficulties will be offered coronavirus tests if they have been exposed to carriers, the Seoul metropolitan government said Monday. The programme in the sprawling South Korean capital comes weeks after the country reported its first case of Covid-19 infection in an animal, involving a kitten. “Starting today, the Seoul metropolitan government will offer coronavirus tests for pet dogs and […]

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Frontrunners emerge in race for Covid-19 vaccine

PARIS, France (AFP) — Dozens of companies, from biotech start-ups to Big Pharma, are racing to develop a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine, both to meet urgent medical need and for the potential payday. Here’s an update on the quest for a magic bullet against the coronavirus that has already killed more than a million people worldwide. How many in the pipeline? The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified 42 “candidate vaccines” at the stage […]

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South Korea eases virus curbs in Seoul region

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea will temporarily ease coronavirus curbs in the greater Seoul area after a decline in cases, officials said Sunday. The country largely overcame an early Covid-19 surge with extensive tracing and testing, but has battled several spikes in recent weeks raising concerns of a second wave of infections. The new cases — mainly in the greater Seoul region, home to half the country’s 52 million population — prompted authorities […]

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Two South Koreans recover from coronavirus after plasma therapy

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Two elderly South Korean coronavirus patients recovered from severe pneumonia after being treated with plasma from survivors, researchers said Tuesday, offering hope in the face of the global pandemic. Scientists have pointed to the potential benefits of plasma — a blood fluid — from recovered individuals who have developed antibodies to the virus enabling the body’s defenses to attack it. Since emerging in China in December, the coronavirus has killed […]

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As world battles virus, governments under fire

  by Pierre DONADIEU Agence France Presse As the world battles the coronavirus pandemic, the main question for most is simply: “When will it end?”. But other, troubling questions are starting to be asked of governments. Why did Western governments not predict the risk of an epidemic in their territories after the novel coronavirus first emerged in China? Were sufficient preparations made to secure masks and test kits? Did lockdowns to slow the spread of […]

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Iran shuts schools, cultural centers as coronavirus kills five

  by David VUJANOVIC Agence France Presse TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran on Saturday ordered the closure of schools, universities and cultural centres after a coronavirus outbreak that has killed five people in the Islamic republic — the most outside the Far East. The moves came as Iranian authorities reported one more death among 10 new cases of the virus. Since it emerged in December, the new coronavirus has killed 2,345 people in China, the […]

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