COVID-19: Cities become hotspots again
54% daily cases since October recorded in urban districts; rural districts had a larger caseload in August, September
India’s mysterious diseases: ‘We need a public health system’
Human health management is dismally low in India, says T Jacob John, virologist and former professor at Christian Medical College, Vellore
WHO member states agree on $6.83 billion funding for 2 years; most ambitious yet
Historic 20% increase in assessed contributions after deliberations at 75th World Health Assembly
Run-up to pandemic treaty: WHO’s 10 proposals call for high-level council, changes to health regulations
Observers had earlier criticised the absence of independent monitoring for ensuring compliance with the pandemic accord
How temperature & rainfall are complicating Africa’s fight against malaria
Six countries — Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Mozambique, Angola and Burkina Faso — accounted for about 55% …
Can nasal vaccines shield against breakthrough infections?
New study argues that nasal vaccines may be necessary to achieve more robust immunity and protection from reinfection by future variants
Clever coronavirus: Spike mutations help Omicron dodge antibodies
Research findings can help developers of vaccines, treatments understand what part of novel coronavirus to target
WHO’s urgent call: World needs new antimicrobial resistance vaccines
Urges equitable and global access to existing vaccines as well
Monkeypox is endemic in Nigeria. But surveillance isn’t what it should be
Virologist Oyewale Tomori explains what Nigeria, where the virus is endemic, should be doing to prepare for an outbreak
Mosquitoes in a warming world: Aedes the menace
Latest Zika outbreaks indicate mosquito-borne diseases are fast spreading to new populations and regions & are no longer restricted to monsoon.…
COVID-19 vaccines: Did a delayed second dose give the delta variant an evolutionary helping hand?
Those with a single dose of the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine less-protected than those with 2 doses: Public Health England
Behind the curve: How COVID-19 exposed India’s apathetic rural health infrastructure
It should not have taken a pandemic for the government to realise the importance of the rural healthcare infrastructure and of universal free …
Governance matters: COVID-19 pandemic shows how
India’s shame is not the virus but the fact that we do so little to provide healthcare even in normal times
First ever national survey shows the extent of South Africa’s TB problem
In 2019, 58,000 people died of TB in South Africa and 1.4 million people died from TB globally
Remdesivir: Predatory pricing of an unproven drug
Gilead Science’s price for the remdesivir drug reveals a faulty patents system and skewed policies of the United States
Iraq eliminates trachoma as a public health problem
Becomes 50th country globally to eliminate at least one neglected tropical disease
Health system in Africa functions at just 53% of expected performance: WHO
WHO highlighted Africa’s high burden of public health emergencies arising from epidemics, extreme weather events, humanitarian crises and …
Guillain-Barre: What is this neurological disorder — and how is it linked to COVID-19
Ninety-day national health emergency in Peru after 182 GBS cases reported since June 2023
COVID is officially no longer a global health emergency — here’s what that means
COVID will still have pandemic status, and countries will continue to have their own authority as to whether to treat COVID as an emergency …
A new invasive mosquito has been found in Kenya — what this means for malaria control
Anopheles stephensi can breed in cisterns, jerrycans, tyres, open tanks, sewers, overhead tanks, underground tanks and polluted environments
Extreme climate events fuel cholera outbreaks in Mozambique, Madagascar: WHO
Measures to deal with such outbreaks must be a key agenda of the governments across southern Africa, say experts
Anganwadi centres rush to verify children beneficiaries’ Aadhaar
Only 1/3rd of children have cards; Expert worries it may lead to millions losing access to food and nutrition
COVID-19 second wave throws up unique problems in Arunachal Pradesh
The sparsely populated state of various tribal lineage across a challenging topography stretches administration even as …
New research shows South Africa’s levy on sugar-sweetened drinks is having an impact
Carbonated sugary drinks play a major role in making these numbers hard to attain. A 250 ml cooldrink contains upwards of 26 g of sugar &…
World AIDS Day: Battles won and lost hold valuable lessons for managing COVID-19
Resources have helped reduce morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income regions. AIDS-related deaths have declined worldwide by 39% since …