Taliban health ministry launches annual polio vaccination drive
Kabul, Afghanistan Reuters Afghanistan has launched its annual polio inoculation campaign aimed at reaching nine million children, the health ministry said on Monday, the second year in a row the vaccination drive has taken place under Taliban rule. Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan are the last countries with endemic polio, an incurable and highly infectious disease […]
Record outbreaks: Bird flu spreads to new countries, threatens non-stop “war” on poultry
TOM POLANSEK, of Reuters, reports on the threat brd flu poses…
Essay: A global vaccine database?
Writing from London, MAL FLETCHER says there are “huge potential downsides” to Tony Blair’s proposal for a global database of the vaccinated…
Streets deserted in China’s cities as new COVID surge looms
Beijing, China Reuters Streets in major Chinese cities were eerily quiet on Sunday as people stayed home to protect themselves from a surge in COVID-19 cases that has hit urban centres from north to south. China is in the first of an expected three waves of COVID cases this winter, according to the country’s chief […]
“The only treatment is prevention”: Polio is back in Indonesia, sparking vaccination campaign
RISKA MUNAWARAH and NINIEK KARMINI, of Associated Press, report on Indonesia’s response to an outbreak of polio in the nation…
Immunisation backslide: COVID disrupted measles vaccinations in Africa and now cases are surging
EDWARD MCALLISTER and JENNIFER RIGBY, of Reuters, report on the surging cases of measles involving children around the world…
Essay: COVID pandemic created immunisation gaps in Africa. Over half a million children are at risk
In an article published on The Conversation, EDINA AMPONSAH-DACOSTA, of the Vaccines for Africa Initiative at the University of Cape Town, says COVID-19 interruptions to vaccine programs is already resulting in an increased number of disease outbreaks…
Deadly childhood diseases rise in Ethiopia’s Tigray as war hampers vaccinations
Nairobi, KenyaReuters Deadly diseases such as measles, tetanus and whooping cough are on the rise in Ethiopia’s Tigray region after vaccination rates plunged during the civil war that broke out nearly two years ago, doctors and regional health officials say. The percentage of children in Tigray receiving routine vaccines has fallen below 10 per cent […]
Zimbabwe says measles outbreak has killed 700 children
Harare, ZimbabweAP The death toll from a measles outbreak in Zimbabwe has risen to almost 700 children, the country’s health ministry has said. Some are calling for the enactment of legislation to make vaccination mandatory in a country where anti-modern medicine religious sects hold sway on large swathes of the population of 15 million people. […]
Zimbabwe measles outbreak blamed on sect gatherings kills 157 children
Harare, Zimbabwe Reuters A measles outbreak in Zimbabwe has killed 157 children with the death toll nearly doubling in just under a week, the information minister said on Tuesday. The government last week blamed apostolic church sects for the surge in infections, saying measles was largely prevalent among those who had not received vaccinations. The […]