After COVID, WHO defines disease spread “through air”
London, UK Reuters The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives. The Geneva-based UN health agency released a technical […]
WHO warns of falsified cough syrup ingredients seized in Pakistan
Reuters The World Health Organization issued an alert on Monday warning drugmakers of five contaminated batches of propylene glycol, an ingredient used in medicinal syrups, that appear to have been falsely labelled as manufactured by Dow Chemical units in Asia and Europe. The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) issued three alerts between January and […]
Mums ban outdoor fun as air pollution worsens in Vietnam capital
Hanoi, Vietnam Reuters Nga Trang has nearly stopped going out in the evening and forbids her kids to play outdoors after school because air pollution from burning trash gets worse in her neighbourhood in Hanoi in the late afternoon. A Hanoian by birth, Nga, 44, is one of many residents of Vietnam’s capital whose daily […]
Alcohol policies need sharper focus on gender, WHO says
London, UK Reuters The World Health Organization on Friday urged governments to consider gender when developing their alcohol policies, warning that industry marketing increasingly targeted women who face greater health risks than men from lower levels of drinking. The Geneva-based WHO said that there was good evidence that men, women and minority groups were affected […]
WHO warns of growing resistance to GSK’s HIV drug
Reuters The World Health Organization said on Tuesday resistance to GSK’s HIV drug dolutegravir has exceeded levels observed during its trials, citing observational and survey data received from a few countries. Resistance ranged from 3.9 per cent to 8.6 per cent and reached 19.6 per cent among people who have received and transitioned to a […]
More than a billion people worldwide are obese, WHO study finds
London, UK Reuters More than a billion people globally are now considered obese, a condition linked to an increased risk of numerous serious health problems, according to updated estimates from the World Health Organization and an international group of researchers. Obesity is so prevalent it has become more common than being underweight in most nations, […]
Palestinians describe terrifying and chaotic flight from Gaza hospital
Rafah, Gaza Strip Reuters Gunfire echoed around Palestinian medics, patients and displaced people during what they described as a terrifying and chaotic night evacuation from Gaza’s Nasser Hospital after it was stormed by Israeli forces. Survivors of last week’s assault on the second-biggest hospital in Gaza said they then faced a treacherous walk to safety […]
More than half the world faces high measles risk, WHO says
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters More than half the world’s countries will be at high or very high risk of measles outbreaks by the end of the year unless urgent preventative measures are taken, the World Health Organization warned on Tuesday. Measles cases have been increasing across most regions mainly due to missed vaccinations during the COVID-19 […]
WHO completes second Gaza hospital evacuation amid fighting
Geneva, Switzerland, Cairo, Egypt Reuters The World Health Organization said on Tuesday it had completed a second evacuation mission from Gaza’s Nasser Hospital but voiced concern for nearly 150 patients and medics who remain at the site amid continuing fighting. The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest, stopped working last week after a week-long […]
Fighting, fuel shortages knock out Gaza’s second-largest hospital
Cairo, Egypt/Jerusalem Reuters Fighting, fuel shortages and Israeli raids put the Gaza Strip’s second-largest hospital completely out of service on Sunday, local and UN health officials said, as Israeli forces battled Hamas militants in the devastated Palestinian enclave. The latest blow to Gaza’s destroyed healthcare sector came as Israel prepared for an assault of the […]