Venoms of 26 deadly snakes in sub-Saharan Africa classified

Snakes considered most important medically; Classification to help develop effective anti-venoms

COP27: Africa desperately needs a ‘loss and damage’ finance facility; here is why

The continent has limited socio-economic capacity and is ill-prepared to adequately respond to climatic disasters, build resilience and adapt …

Deluged Pakistan faces significant health threats, WHO warns

Threats include malaria, dengue fever, polio, diarrhoea, COVID-19 and cholera; Maternal health to be affected and domestic violence will rise, UN says

African health ministers adopt PEN-PLUS strategy against non-communicable diseases

Stretegy will help bridge access gap in treatment, care of patients with chronic & severe NCD

How African countries coordinated the response to COVID-19: lessons for public health

Decentralisation strategies and innovation played key roles in coordination. Financing was a challenge to coordination

Ghana reports first-ever suspected cases of Marburg virus disease

Second time the disease with high fatality rate has been detected in western Africa; WHO confirmation awaited

COVID-19 update: Deltacron & omicron subvariant — 2 looming threats?

COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the United States, countries in Europe and Southeast Asia

Merck signs deal with UN-backed MPP for global access to COVID-19 drug

The agreement will help create broad access for the drug use in 105 low- and middle-income countries, including India, subject to regulatory approval

West Africa records 1st death from ‘highly infectious’ Marburg virus 

Case fatality rate of the infection is 24-88% 

Handbook to assess foodborne disease burden: WHO shows the way

The handbook aims to develop framework for routine updating estimates; provide baseline against which food safety interventions can be evaluated

Why India should prepare for COVID-19 recovered patients as ‘next big health crisis’

A recent study says besides other long-term health risks, patients face higher chance of death even after six months of recovery  

Measles campaigns suspended in most countries; 140 million lives at stake, mostly children

In many countries the regular measles vaccine campaigns are delayed by over a year due to the pandemic disruptions  

It’s taken roots: COVID-19 may soon turn endemic in many countries

India may be among endemic places; risk of the number of immune inidividuals dropping below a threshhold will remain

Impact of environment on health: Africa adopts strategy for better synergy between sectors

New strategy also integrates recommendations for healthy recovery from COVID-19 pandemic

World Health Assembly approves resolution that calls for mental health support to be included in emergency responses

Authors of the draft expressed concern at the continued discrimination and stigma suffered by victims of armed conflicts and natural disasters

High-efficacy malaria vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute passes WHO quality checks

R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine added to the WHO's list of prequalified vaccines

43% increase in measles deaths from 2021-2022: WHO

Number of cases rose by 18% in a year; 15 more countries reported measles outbreaks in 2022

India, Indonesia and the Philippines account for over 60% drop in tuberculosis reporting in 2020 and 2021

WHO report finds TB still world’s second leading cause of death from a single infectious agent

WHO has ended the COVID-19 global health emergency — what happens now?

The ‘end of the pandemic’ might have several ramifications

World Cancer Day: Southeast Asia should strengthen diagnosis, treatment, palliative care tools

Cervical cancer is the second-most prevalent in southeast Asia

The missing piece in Omicron’s family tree: Where did the variant originate?

There are currently 3 thoeries being considereed by the medical fraternity

In-depth: What ails India’s coronavirus genome sequencing system

The country sequenced only 0.2% samples till date, one of the lowest in the world

WHO approves Tocilizumab for COVID-19 treatment

Extremely high price, poor availability bottlenecks in drug usage

What is killing people in India: A complete picture

Disease of the Respiratory System has been the major cause of death since 2000

ICMR: Post-Covid dyspnoea, fatigue, and mental health issues were reported among 18.6%, 10.5%, and 9.3% respectively

Researchers say their findings may have certain limitations as they are prone to both underestimation and overestimation due to considerable loss …