Diesel exhaust linked to lung cancer

WHO agency says there is compelling evidence to classify diesel fumes as deadly carcinogen along with tobacco, asbestos

One Health: FAO, UNEP, WHO and WOAH launch research agenda for antimicrobial resistance

Interface addresses global health issues necessitating multisectoral, multidisciplinary response to AMR

Coronavirus vaccines: TRIPS waiver caught in WTO labyrinth

Little change in the position of countries opposing waiver of intellectual property rights; India-South Africa proposal being through hoops …

Pasteurisation inactivates SARS-CoV-2 virus in breast milk: Study

Cold storage of human milk having the virus did not significantly impact infectious viral load over a 48-hour period, the study found 

3.3 million people died of excessive drinking in 2012: WHO report

Alcohol consumption rising in Southeast Asia and Western Pacific regions, stable in Europe, Americas and Africa

Bird flu in Kerala under control, say authorities

It was caused by H5N1 virus, confirm laboratory tests; culling to end Monday

Childhood immunisation begins to pick up post-pandemic, finds UN data

Recovery slow and unequal; coverage was 84% in 2022, down from 86% pre-pandemic

China shifts focus to variant-specific vaccines as it faces an imminent Omicron wave

XBB subvariant has potential to wreak more havoc in China as large number of people immunologically susceptible 

One in six people worldwide affected by infertility, finds WHO

Urgent need to expand access to prevention, diagnosis and treatments; rates of infertility are similar across all countries and regions

Laws alone won’t end female genital mutilation in India: Mariya Taher

 Down To Earth speaks to Mariya Taher, the co-founder and United States executive director of non-profit Sahiyo on Female Genital …

Global spread of vaccine-derived polio still a high risk: WHO

Recommends declaring transmission as a national public health emergency, ensuring vaccinations for travellers and residents

Countries don’t report disease outbreaks soon enough: WHO chief Ghebreyesus

United Nations health organisation report on IHR implementation tabled in the 73rd World Health Assembly paints a mixed picture

COVID-19: Hong Kong University ‘confirms’ first case of reinfection, WHO advises caution

Whether reinfection cases existed at a population level or the Hong Kong case was an exception had to be studied, WHO said

Ignoring WHO, ICMR to go ahead with HCQ for COVID workers

Indian studies yet to be completed; Indian Council of Medical Research says drug is safe

34% of environmental indicators under SDGs lack standards

Lack of standards means there is no benchmark from which to calculate the Sustainable Development Goals

Government bans blood test for TB

Move comes a year after WHO said the test leads to misdiagnosis

COVID-19: Is South Korea new epicentre outside China

World Health Organization hints at possible pandemic

Rapid privatisation has worsened health care services in poor and middle-income nations: study

But public sector, too. needs quality improvement, say researchers from University of California

Food standards save lives, say FAO and WHO on World Food Safety Day

An estimated 600 million or almost 1 in 10 people worldwide fall ill after eating contaminated food; 420,000 die every year

Maternal and neonatal mortality rate high despite improvement in childbirth practices

A study conducted in public health centres in Uttar Pradesh shows complying to essential childbirth practices did not significantly alter …

World Health Statistics 2015: some achievements, many concerns

Down To Earth highlights the world’s performance on health-related development goals, where our successes lie and where efforts are still a …

‘Out of control’ Ebola claims about 500 lives in west Africa

There is social stigma attached to the disease because of which people are believed to be hiding from health care workers

No health net for 3.1 bln by 2023 deadline

The World Health Organization (WHO) 13th General Programme of Work targeted universal health coverage (UHC) between 2019 and 2023

Rewind 2018: State of the air India breathes

Here are the major policies framed, studies conducted and steps taken in the last year over air and its quality

Bureau of Indian Standards failed to prescribe safety norms for mobile phones, towers: CAG report

Revised radiation limit to be in force from September 1