The swift spread of a new virulent strain of the mpox virus across Africa triggered the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare it once again a public health emergency of international concern last week.
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: Mpox Emergency Escalates; Polio in Gaza; and The 鈥楢merican Arms Race鈥
Mpox cases have reached ~16,000, but the DRC has no vaccines.
August 19, 2024
A doctor talks with people outside an mpox treatment center at Nyiragongo General Referral Hospital, north of Goma, DRC, on August 17. Guerchom Ndebo/AFP via Getty
Mpox Emergency Escalates
Since the the mpox outbreak in the DRC to be a public health emergency of international concern last week, the threat continues to grow.
Related:
Doctors across India have launched a national strike, turning away non-emergency patients and canceling elective procedures as protests intensify over the the rape and murder of a 31-year-old female trainee doctor at a medical college in Kolkata.
Acute malnutrition in Yemen is worsening, , with high food insecurity and disease leading to malnutrition now affecting 600,000 children鈥攊ncluding 120,000 who are 鈥渟everely malnourished.鈥
The U.S. CDC warned doctors to be on the lookout for parvovirus infections after reporting an uptick in people with signs of infection last week; public health authorities in 14 European countries have also reported a higher number of cases than usual this year. INFECTIOUS DISEASES Polio Confirmed in Gaza A polio infection has been confirmed in a 10-month old child in Gaza鈥攁nd more children have presented with symptoms, the Gaza Health Ministry announced on Friday, .
The UN is pushing for an urgent cease-fire to allow for two mass vaccination campaigns鈥攁iming to cover 640,000+ children.
At the height of the pandemic, millions more Americans acquired guns as 鈥渁 grim kind of logic鈥 drove them into a self-protective 鈥渁rms race,鈥 writes Marin Cogan in a must-read report about the long-term ramifications of that shift.
ICYMI: NEGLECTED DISEASES Overlooked, Underinvestigated
In sub-Saharan Africa, 40 million+ men may be affected by male genital schistosomiasis鈥揳 disease that can cause disability, infertility, and death, yet remains under the radar.
Barriers: Limited diagnostic techniques and poor access to treatment hinder efforts to combat the disease caused by a parasite transmitted by freshwater snails.
Diagnostics get a boost: PCR diagnostics found 26.6% of fishermen tested near Lake Malawi had MGS, compared to 10.4% detected by microscopy, .
What鈥檚 needed next:
The Taliban 鈥榯ook my life鈥 鈥 scientists who fled takeover speak out 鈥
Texas Gov. Abbott orders hospitals to collect and send state data on patients鈥 immigration status 鈥
Co-pays block inmates from accessing health care: study 鈥 Thanks for the tip, Cecilia Meisner!
Study exposes the dangerous 鈥榟idden鈥 mental burden of cancer on patients鈥 spouses 鈥
Meth addiction, HIV and a struggling health system are causing a perfect storm in Fiji 鈥
FDA Approves First Nasal Spray for Treatment of Anaphylaxis 鈥
A Logo on a Prosthesis Is Like a Tattoo You Didn鈥檛 Ask For 鈥
Some bats eat a ton of sugar and have no health woes. Are there lessons for diabetes? 鈥 Issue No. 2766
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2024 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Bloomberg School.
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You can or .
Since the the mpox outbreak in the DRC to be a public health emergency of international concern last week, the threat continues to grow.
- On Thursday, Sweden reported the first mpox clade 1 case outside Africa, after an infected person returned from visiting an area in Africa experiencing a 鈥渕ajor outbreak鈥 of the new clade 1 variant, .
- As of last week, the DRC has recorded ~16,000 total cases in all its provinces, with children especially at risk, .
- While the country has requested doses from the U.S. and Japan, it has not yet formally requested vaccines from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
Related:
- The untold story of how Nigeria鈥檚 mpox outbreak sparked a worldwide epidemic 鈥
- How we got here with mpox 鈥
Doctors across India have launched a national strike, turning away non-emergency patients and canceling elective procedures as protests intensify over the the rape and murder of a 31-year-old female trainee doctor at a medical college in Kolkata.
Acute malnutrition in Yemen is worsening, , with high food insecurity and disease leading to malnutrition now affecting 600,000 children鈥攊ncluding 120,000 who are 鈥渟everely malnourished.鈥
The U.S. CDC warned doctors to be on the lookout for parvovirus infections after reporting an uptick in people with signs of infection last week; public health authorities in 14 European countries have also reported a higher number of cases than usual this year. INFECTIOUS DISEASES Polio Confirmed in Gaza A polio infection has been confirmed in a 10-month old child in Gaza鈥攁nd more children have presented with symptoms, the Gaza Health Ministry announced on Friday, .
The UN is pushing for an urgent cease-fire to allow for two mass vaccination campaigns鈥攁iming to cover 640,000+ children.
- The type 2 vaccine-derived variant of the virus was detected in wastewater last month in areas hosting the majority of displaced Gazans.
- Routine immunization coverage (for the second dose of inactivated polio vaccine) dipped from 99% in 2022 to less than 90% in the first quarter of 2024, .
- ~50,000 babies born since the war began have not been immunized against polio, Mercy Corps estimates, .
At the height of the pandemic, millions more Americans acquired guns as 鈥渁 grim kind of logic鈥 drove them into a self-protective 鈥渁rms race,鈥 writes Marin Cogan in a must-read report about the long-term ramifications of that shift.
- One in 20 American adults bought a gun for the first time between March 2020 and March 2022, .
ICYMI: NEGLECTED DISEASES Overlooked, Underinvestigated
In sub-Saharan Africa, 40 million+ men may be affected by male genital schistosomiasis鈥揳 disease that can cause disability, infertility, and death, yet remains under the radar.
Barriers: Limited diagnostic techniques and poor access to treatment hinder efforts to combat the disease caused by a parasite transmitted by freshwater snails.
Diagnostics get a boost: PCR diagnostics found 26.6% of fishermen tested near Lake Malawi had MGS, compared to 10.4% detected by microscopy, .
What鈥檚 needed next:
- Expand PCR testing, research, and access to key treatment drugs.
- Integrate MGS into broader public health awareness programs, particularly those targeting HIV.
The Taliban 鈥榯ook my life鈥 鈥 scientists who fled takeover speak out 鈥
Texas Gov. Abbott orders hospitals to collect and send state data on patients鈥 immigration status 鈥
Co-pays block inmates from accessing health care: study 鈥 Thanks for the tip, Cecilia Meisner!
Study exposes the dangerous 鈥榟idden鈥 mental burden of cancer on patients鈥 spouses 鈥
Meth addiction, HIV and a struggling health system are causing a perfect storm in Fiji 鈥
FDA Approves First Nasal Spray for Treatment of Anaphylaxis 鈥
A Logo on a Prosthesis Is Like a Tattoo You Didn鈥檛 Ask For 鈥
Some bats eat a ton of sugar and have no health woes. Are there lessons for diabetes? 鈥 Issue No. 2766
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2024 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Bloomberg School.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
Categories: Global Health Feed
Acute malnutrition is escalating among children in Government-controlled areas in Yemen, UN agencies and partners said in a report published on Sunday.
Categories: Global Health Feed
The dual-rotor helicopter touching down on Fada N鈥檊ourma鈥檚 dusty airstrip is a game changer for the hungry communities in eastern Burkina Faso.
Categories: Global Health Feed
UN Secretary-General Ant贸nio Guterres called on Friday for warring parties in Gaza to lay down their arms so that humanitarians can safely vaccinate more than half a million children against polio.
Categories: Global Health Feed
The World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting African countries to scale up response to curb mpox, which is now an international global health emergency.
Categories: Global Health Feed
The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the rise in mpox cases constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), following advice from members at Wednesday鈥檚 International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee meeting.
Categories: Global Health Feed
One in five children 鈥 or 466 million 鈥 live in areas that experience at least double the number of extremely hot days every year compared with their grandparents鈥 generation, according to a new UNICEF analysis released on Wednesday.
Categories: Global Health Feed
The risk of polio spreading in Gaza remains high unless there is an urgent and comprehensive response to the serious health threat, UN humanitarians said on Wednesday.
Categories: Global Health Feed
Mpox has been confirmed in Burundi, one of four countries in Eastern Africa where the disease has surfaced for the first time, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, as the continent's top health body declared a public health emergency.
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: Racing to Prevent Polio in Gaza; Digital Health Tools Are Too Slow and Hard to Use; and Failure to Launch (an Olympic Career)
August 8, 2024
A young Palestinian boy stands barefoot near stagnant wastewater in Deir el-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on July 19. Bashar Taleb/AFP via Getty
Racing to Prevent Polio in Gaza
The WHO is undertaking a 鈥渉uge logistical challenge鈥 to deliver 1.2 million polio vaccines to Gaza, amid mounting fears of an outbreak, .
Outbreak fears: Polio virus was detected last month in sewage samples collected from two areas of Gaza, 鈥攚ith experts saying it could have been circulating for months.
The GHN team is taking a break from publishing, starting tomorrow, Aug. 9, through Friday, Aug. 16. We will be back with more news on Monday, Aug.19! Thanks for reading. 鈥The Editors The Latest One-Liners
An emergency committee to assess continued mpox spread in Africa will be convened by the WHO, director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced yesterday.
A new overdose-reversal medication has won FDA approval, amid widespread criticism that the drug鈥檚 maker鈥擯urdue Pharma鈥攊s continuing to 鈥減lay a role in addressing a crisis it helped create.鈥
IUD insertion pain management should be addressed by doctors with their patients before the procedure is undertaken, new advises.
The EPA issued a rare emergency ban on a weed-killing pesticide, used on broccoli, cabbage, and other vegetables, that harms fetal development. GHN EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY Sun Yi, a village doctor, helps a villager register health information in Qianyang Village, Donggang City, China. April 6, 2021. Cai Xiangxin/Xinhua via Getty Digital Health Tools Are Too Slow and Hard to Use A nurse in northern Bangladesh sees 100+ patients a day鈥攃onsulting, taking vitals, administering meds and, finally, recording data鈥攕pending just per patient. That鈥檚 a common scene in many countries.
Even in the U.S., where providers might have more than 15 minutes per patient, electronic health records take too much time鈥攄etracting from patient interactions, writes Daniel Burka, the Resolve to Save Lives digital team鈥檚 director of design.
The bottom line: Digital health software is often too slow and hard to use.
Health officials and epidemiologists in Native American communities say they are regularly denied access to state and federal health data鈥攈ampering their ability to respond to public health concerns.
Background: The 2010 reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act requires federal health officials to grant tribal epidemiology centers access to data that鈥檚 regularly distributed to state and local officials.
LABOR Global South Gets a Bad Deal
Workers in the Global South provide 90% of the labor to power the world economy鈥攁nd yet receive only 21% of global income, a new published in Nature Communications has found.
Findings: In 2021 alone, wealthier countries imported 906 billion hours of 鈥渆mbodied labor鈥濃攖he amount of time required for a particular service鈥攆rom poorer countries. In return, wealthier nations exported just 80 billion hours of labor.
THURSDAY DIVERSION Failure to Launch (an Olympic Career)
鈥淎t the next 100-metre final they should have one lane with a normal person running, to add some context,鈥 comedian Amelia Dimoldenberg .
It鈥檚 a suggestion that arises every Olympics season. And this year, a viral TikTok trend is providing the much-requested contrast.
A pair of flips, flopped: Social media users have been posting old videos of themselves attempting athletic feats鈥攁nd failing brilliantly鈥攚ith captions joking that they 鈥渦nfortunately鈥 weren鈥檛 selected for Team USA.
Couldn鈥檛 stick the landing: 鈥淯nfortunately I didn鈥檛 qualify for the Paris 2024 olympics鈥 reads the caption of a young gymnast falling . 鈥淭here鈥檚 always 2028,鈥 reads the caption of a .
Don鈥檛 try this at home: While the trend involves posting old videos, TikTok added a disclaimer on many videos, discouraging people from attempting the stunts.
QUICK HITS Olympics may be transport hub for global disease spread 鈥
鈥業 lost my son to sepsis鈥: the fightback against the spread of superbugs 鈥
MIS-C tied to rare autoimmune overreaction in some children 鈥
Small-Town Patients Face Big Hurdles as Rural Hospitals Cut Cancer Care 鈥
What Do We Really Know About the Maternal-Mortality Crisis? 鈥
Investigation of positive mental health levels among faculty of health sciences students at a rural university in South Africa 鈥
Water Stories: The Well Seven Families and 400 Buffaloes Rely On 鈥
Having diabetes is bad enough. But what happens when climate change is added to the mix? 鈥
Don鈥檛 Ask AI to Make Life-and-Death Decisions 鈥 Issue No. 2765
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2024 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Bloomberg School.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
The WHO is undertaking a 鈥渉uge logistical challenge鈥 to deliver 1.2 million polio vaccines to Gaza, amid mounting fears of an outbreak, .
Outbreak fears: Polio virus was detected last month in sewage samples collected from two areas of Gaza, 鈥攚ith experts saying it could have been circulating for months.
- Gaza currently has 鈥渋deal conditions鈥 for polio transmission because of overcrowding, sewage contamination, and lack of clean water.
- There is also concern about antimicrobial resistance developing within Gaza, WHO officials said.
- The Israeli military said it began vaccinating its soldiers against polio in July.
- WHO officials said a vaccination will be a 鈥渢ent-to-tent鈥 campaign鈥攎eaning it will be impossible without a ceasefire and freedom of movement, .
The GHN team is taking a break from publishing, starting tomorrow, Aug. 9, through Friday, Aug. 16. We will be back with more news on Monday, Aug.19! Thanks for reading. 鈥The Editors The Latest One-Liners
An emergency committee to assess continued mpox spread in Africa will be convened by the WHO, director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced yesterday.
A new overdose-reversal medication has won FDA approval, amid widespread criticism that the drug鈥檚 maker鈥擯urdue Pharma鈥攊s continuing to 鈥減lay a role in addressing a crisis it helped create.鈥
IUD insertion pain management should be addressed by doctors with their patients before the procedure is undertaken, new advises.
The EPA issued a rare emergency ban on a weed-killing pesticide, used on broccoli, cabbage, and other vegetables, that harms fetal development. GHN EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY Sun Yi, a village doctor, helps a villager register health information in Qianyang Village, Donggang City, China. April 6, 2021. Cai Xiangxin/Xinhua via Getty Digital Health Tools Are Too Slow and Hard to Use A nurse in northern Bangladesh sees 100+ patients a day鈥攃onsulting, taking vitals, administering meds and, finally, recording data鈥攕pending just per patient. That鈥檚 a common scene in many countries.
Even in the U.S., where providers might have more than 15 minutes per patient, electronic health records take too much time鈥攄etracting from patient interactions, writes Daniel Burka, the Resolve to Save Lives digital team鈥檚 director of design.
The bottom line: Digital health software is often too slow and hard to use.
- Software developers are often far removed from on-the-ground problems, conjuring up extra data fields that sound useful but ultimately burden health workers.
- It takes only 13 seconds for health workers to enter a patient鈥檚 data using , a free tool for managing patient records; health care workers save ~24 minutes a day versus paper records.
- Speed and usability are critical.
- Radically reduce data fields.
- Watch health care workers use your tool and make improvements based on user feedback.
- A free for developers and health program managers from Resolve to Save Lives draws on these principles.
Health officials and epidemiologists in Native American communities say they are regularly denied access to state and federal health data鈥攈ampering their ability to respond to public health concerns.
Background: The 2010 reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act requires federal health officials to grant tribal epidemiology centers access to data that鈥檚 regularly distributed to state and local officials.
- But tribal epidemiologists have told government investigators that they still cannot access data on a regular basis:
LABOR Global South Gets a Bad Deal
Workers in the Global South provide 90% of the labor to power the world economy鈥攁nd yet receive only 21% of global income, a new published in Nature Communications has found.
Findings: In 2021 alone, wealthier countries imported 906 billion hours of 鈥渆mbodied labor鈥濃攖he amount of time required for a particular service鈥攆rom poorer countries. In return, wealthier nations exported just 80 billion hours of labor.
- The disparity sheds light on why many nations in the Global South have high rates of poverty, even as technological advances generate massive global wealth.
THURSDAY DIVERSION Failure to Launch (an Olympic Career)
鈥淎t the next 100-metre final they should have one lane with a normal person running, to add some context,鈥 comedian Amelia Dimoldenberg .
It鈥檚 a suggestion that arises every Olympics season. And this year, a viral TikTok trend is providing the much-requested contrast.
A pair of flips, flopped: Social media users have been posting old videos of themselves attempting athletic feats鈥攁nd failing brilliantly鈥攚ith captions joking that they 鈥渦nfortunately鈥 weren鈥檛 selected for Team USA.
Couldn鈥檛 stick the landing: 鈥淯nfortunately I didn鈥檛 qualify for the Paris 2024 olympics鈥 reads the caption of a young gymnast falling . 鈥淭here鈥檚 always 2028,鈥 reads the caption of a .
Don鈥檛 try this at home: While the trend involves posting old videos, TikTok added a disclaimer on many videos, discouraging people from attempting the stunts.
QUICK HITS Olympics may be transport hub for global disease spread 鈥
鈥業 lost my son to sepsis鈥: the fightback against the spread of superbugs 鈥
MIS-C tied to rare autoimmune overreaction in some children 鈥
Small-Town Patients Face Big Hurdles as Rural Hospitals Cut Cancer Care 鈥
What Do We Really Know About the Maternal-Mortality Crisis? 鈥
Investigation of positive mental health levels among faculty of health sciences students at a rural university in South Africa 鈥
Water Stories: The Well Seven Families and 400 Buffaloes Rely On 鈥
Having diabetes is bad enough. But what happens when climate change is added to the mix? 鈥
Don鈥檛 Ask AI to Make Life-and-Death Decisions 鈥 Issue No. 2765
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2024 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Bloomberg School.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
Categories: Global Health Feed
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday raised the response to the mpox outbreak in over a dozen African countries to the highest level, mobilizing efforts across the agency.
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: 鈥楪limmers of Hope鈥 in Teens鈥 Mental Health; Gambia鈥檚 Ongoing Battle Against Cutting; and The Sun Continent鈥檚 Energy Revolution
August 7, 2024
A teenager with her laptop in Arlington, Virginia, on June 11, 2021. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty
鈥楪limmers of Hope鈥 in Teens鈥 Mental Health
American teens鈥 mental health has shown some promising signs of improvement since the 鈥渟tark crisis鈥 during the COVID-19 pandemic, finds a 鈥攅specially among teen girls, .
China will tighten regulations around the production of three chemicals used to make illicit fentanyl; White House officials call the move 鈥渁 valuable step forward.鈥
Overdoses of semaglutide have spiked, with calls to national poison control centers involving compounded GLP-1s up from 32 in 2023 to 159 this year.
Bloomberg Philanthropies will donate $600 million to historically Black medical schools鈥攁 move that will double several of the schools鈥 endowments鈥攊n hopes of further 鈥渄iversifying the medical field and training the next generation of doctors.鈥 FGM Gambia鈥檚 Ongoing Battle Against Cutting
Throughout the year, scores of women have protested outside of Gambia鈥檚 parliament as lawmakers considered reversing the country鈥檚 ban on female genital mutilation鈥攁 worrisome shift that would have been a global first.
Background: FGM was outlawed in Gambia in 2015, but had never been prosecuted until last year鈥攍eading to a backlash and a proposal to reverse the ban.
Status: Lawmakers rejected the proposal in July, keeping the ban intact.
A U.S. effort to track students鈥 weight has had little to no impact鈥攁nd has even caused harm, researchers say.
Background: Starting in 2003, 29 states enacted policies encouraging or requiring school districts to weigh students or screen their BMI.
The goal: awareness that could lead to healthier choices and combat the obesity epidemic. By the 2010s, millions of students were receiving 鈥淏MI report cards鈥濃攚ith some seeing their weight status on academic report cards.
But today, researchers say such efforts do little to improve student health鈥攁nd are linked to higher rates of body image dissatisfaction and eating disorders.
Related: Olympian Ilona Maher鈥檚 BMI Says She鈥檚 鈥淥verweight鈥濃擨s It Time to Ditch the Test? 鈥 TECH & INNOVATION The Sun Continent鈥檚 Energy Revolution
For rural communities vulnerable to hunger, keeping perishable foods longer is key. But that鈥檚 a tall order without electricity鈥攚hich is currently lacking for 500 million+ people across Africa.
But with the price of solar panels plummeting and access to electricity soaring, the 鈥淪un Continent鈥 may be on the brink of an energy revolution.
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS The government view on ending Somalia鈥檚 humanitarian aid 鈥榯rap鈥 鈥
Migrants struggle to cope with Portugal鈥檚 鈥榮uffocating鈥 housing crisis 鈥
Decline in Veterans鈥 Homelessness Spurs Hopes for a Broader Solution 鈥嬧嬧
The real cost of processed foods: How Western diets are harming global health 鈥嬧嬧
U.S. lawmakers urge banning weighted infant sleepwear over safety concerns 鈥
How Wildfire Smoke Could Be Harming Surgical Patients 鈥
Young Americans Prioritize Health Care in 2024 Election 鈥
Walz's personal experiences shape his health policy outlook 鈥 Issue No. 2764
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2024 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Bloomberg School.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
American teens鈥 mental health has shown some promising signs of improvement since the 鈥渟tark crisis鈥 during the COVID-19 pandemic, finds a 鈥攅specially among teen girls, .
- 鈥淔or young people, there is still a crisis in mental health. But we鈥檙e also seeing some really important glimmers of hope,鈥 said Kathleen Ethier, head of the CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health.
- Teens who reported feelings of persistent sadness or hopelessness fell from 42% to 40%.
- Girls reporting persistent sadness or hopelessness fell from 57% to 53%.
- Black students who said they had attempted suicide in the past year fell from 14% to 10%.
- Plus: 2 out of 10 girls reported experiencing sexual violence.
China will tighten regulations around the production of three chemicals used to make illicit fentanyl; White House officials call the move 鈥渁 valuable step forward.鈥
Overdoses of semaglutide have spiked, with calls to national poison control centers involving compounded GLP-1s up from 32 in 2023 to 159 this year.
Bloomberg Philanthropies will donate $600 million to historically Black medical schools鈥攁 move that will double several of the schools鈥 endowments鈥攊n hopes of further 鈥渄iversifying the medical field and training the next generation of doctors.鈥 FGM Gambia鈥檚 Ongoing Battle Against Cutting
Throughout the year, scores of women have protested outside of Gambia鈥檚 parliament as lawmakers considered reversing the country鈥檚 ban on female genital mutilation鈥攁 worrisome shift that would have been a global first.
Background: FGM was outlawed in Gambia in 2015, but had never been prosecuted until last year鈥攍eading to a backlash and a proposal to reverse the ban.
Status: Lawmakers rejected the proposal in July, keeping the ban intact.
- But the real battle to end the practice continues, 鈥漟ar from the parliament鈥檚 chambers and across rural areas鈥 where FGM is still prevalent and remains a highly sensitive topic.
A U.S. effort to track students鈥 weight has had little to no impact鈥攁nd has even caused harm, researchers say.
Background: Starting in 2003, 29 states enacted policies encouraging or requiring school districts to weigh students or screen their BMI.
The goal: awareness that could lead to healthier choices and combat the obesity epidemic. By the 2010s, millions of students were receiving 鈥淏MI report cards鈥濃攚ith some seeing their weight status on academic report cards.
But today, researchers say such efforts do little to improve student health鈥攁nd are linked to higher rates of body image dissatisfaction and eating disorders.
- Still, such policies remain on the books in at least 16 states.
Related: Olympian Ilona Maher鈥檚 BMI Says She鈥檚 鈥淥verweight鈥濃擨s It Time to Ditch the Test? 鈥 TECH & INNOVATION The Sun Continent鈥檚 Energy Revolution
For rural communities vulnerable to hunger, keeping perishable foods longer is key. But that鈥檚 a tall order without electricity鈥攚hich is currently lacking for 500 million+ people across Africa.
But with the price of solar panels plummeting and access to electricity soaring, the 鈥淪un Continent鈥 may be on the brink of an energy revolution.
- A new World Bank and African Development Bank initiative aims to expand electricity access to 300 million more people by 2030.
- Solar-powered mobile cold-stores are popping up, allowing farmers to protect their harvests and stave off hunger.
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS The government view on ending Somalia鈥檚 humanitarian aid 鈥榯rap鈥 鈥
Migrants struggle to cope with Portugal鈥檚 鈥榮uffocating鈥 housing crisis 鈥
Decline in Veterans鈥 Homelessness Spurs Hopes for a Broader Solution 鈥嬧嬧
The real cost of processed foods: How Western diets are harming global health 鈥嬧嬧
U.S. lawmakers urge banning weighted infant sleepwear over safety concerns 鈥
How Wildfire Smoke Could Be Harming Surgical Patients 鈥
Young Americans Prioritize Health Care in 2024 Election 鈥
Walz's personal experiences shape his health policy outlook 鈥 Issue No. 2764
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
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Copyright 2024 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Bloomberg School.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
Categories: Global Health Feed
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) called for an emergency meeting on mpox following its spread outside the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Categories: Global Health Feed
Recent developments in Gaza, the wider Middle East, and Sudan, have highlighted the complexities of emergencies in the World Health Organization鈥檚 (WHO) vast Eastern Mediterranean region, officials from the UN agency said during a virtual media briefing on Wednesday.
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: A Scourge of Counterfeit Medicines; A 40-Year Quest to a Malaria Vaccine; and Nigeria鈥檚 New Era of Genetic Research
August 6, 2024
Workers empty shops selling fake medicine during a raid on May 3, 2017, in Abidjan, C么te d'Ivoire. Issouf Sang/AFP via Getty
A Scourge of Counterfeit Medicines
A fifth of medicines on the market in Africa could be substandard or fake and could be contributing to 鈥渃ountless鈥 deaths, per a major new .
Why? 鈥淧harma supply chains in many low- and middle-income countries are often complex, inefficient and fragmented,鈥 leading to compromises in quality and to exploitative practices, said Claudia Mart铆nez, the head of research at the Access to Medicine Foundation.
Related:
Humanising Healthcare podcast - 'Fake Medicines' 鈥
ICYMI: Fake Drugs, Real Dangers 鈥 GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
PAHO has issued an about surging Oropouche virus infections and called on countries to increase surveillance; five countries have reported a total of 8,078 cases and two deaths so far this year.
Heavy rain and flooding destroyed multiple tents and mud houses of Sudanese refugees in Iridimi camp in eastern Chad yesterday and today; food and shelters are scarce.
Physicians take women鈥檚 pain less seriously than men鈥檚, based on a review of discharge notes for 20,000 emergency department patients in Israel and the U.S.; women waited an average of 30 minutes longer to be seen by a physician and were less likely to receive pain medication.
U.S. states with abortion bans or restrictions have sent nearly $500 million in support to anti-abortion counseling centers since the Supreme Court鈥檚 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, . MALARIA A 40-Year Quest to a Vaccine
The rollout of two malaria vaccines this year marks a pivotal moment in the long fight against the disease鈥攑otentially saving the lives of tens of thousands of children.
But their arrival builds on 40 years of work and persistence in the face of significant barriers, explains reporter Andrew Joseph鈥攚ho chronicled the 鈥渙dyssey that stretches across decades and continents.鈥
Those who carried the vaccine forward:
This year, one of the first-ever public health programs to use cutting-edge CRISPR gene editing to monitor for disease outbreaks will launch in Nigeria.
The program is an opportunity for Africa-based researchers to 鈥渞ealize our dreams鈥 to lead the world in genetic research, says Christian Happi, director of the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases.
TECH & INNOVATION Syringes and Self-Reliance
Among the global supply chain failures to hamper Africa鈥檚 health care system during the pandemic: A syringe shortage, which led to delayed childhood immunizations and COVID-19 vaccination programs.
But today, Kenya is home to a swiftly expanding syringe manufacturing hub, Revital Healthcare鈥攑roducing ~300 million syringes a year鈥斺漚 major step toward African self-reliance in supplying this vital commodity.鈥
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Lebanon receives medical aid, vacationers leave amid fears of war 鈥
Forecasting climate鈥檚 impact on a debilitating disease 鈥
鈥淣ow is the time to take action鈥: Carbon monoxide poisonings after Hurricane Beryl are the highest since Texas winter storm 鈥
Updated COVID Vaccines Are Coming: Effectiveness, Who鈥檚 Eligible And More 鈥
She wanted a divorce so her father hacked her legs with an axe: how Pakistan fails women 鈥
Drug shortages: 'I'm eating less and rationing pills' 鈥
Microplastics are everywhere, but are they harming us? 鈥
鈥業 Feel Dismissed鈥: People Experiencing Colorism Say Health System Fails Them 鈥
In Mexico City, women water harvesters help make up for drought and dicey public water system 鈥 Issue No. 2763
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2024 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Bloomberg School.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
A fifth of medicines on the market in Africa could be substandard or fake and could be contributing to 鈥渃ountless鈥 deaths, per a major new .
- Researchers from Ethiopia鈥檚 Bahir Dar University analyzed 27 studies and confirmed that 1,639 of 7,508 medicine samples were substandard or falsified.
Why? 鈥淧harma supply chains in many low- and middle-income countries are often complex, inefficient and fragmented,鈥 leading to compromises in quality and to exploitative practices, said Claudia Mart铆nez, the head of research at the Access to Medicine Foundation.
Related:
Humanising Healthcare podcast - 'Fake Medicines' 鈥
ICYMI: Fake Drugs, Real Dangers 鈥 GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
PAHO has issued an about surging Oropouche virus infections and called on countries to increase surveillance; five countries have reported a total of 8,078 cases and two deaths so far this year.
Heavy rain and flooding destroyed multiple tents and mud houses of Sudanese refugees in Iridimi camp in eastern Chad yesterday and today; food and shelters are scarce.
Physicians take women鈥檚 pain less seriously than men鈥檚, based on a review of discharge notes for 20,000 emergency department patients in Israel and the U.S.; women waited an average of 30 minutes longer to be seen by a physician and were less likely to receive pain medication.
U.S. states with abortion bans or restrictions have sent nearly $500 million in support to anti-abortion counseling centers since the Supreme Court鈥檚 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, . MALARIA A 40-Year Quest to a Vaccine
The rollout of two malaria vaccines this year marks a pivotal moment in the long fight against the disease鈥攑otentially saving the lives of tens of thousands of children.
But their arrival builds on 40 years of work and persistence in the face of significant barriers, explains reporter Andrew Joseph鈥攚ho chronicled the 鈥渙dyssey that stretches across decades and continents.鈥
Those who carried the vaccine forward:
- Researchers willing to take on a 鈥渇eat of both scientific grit and fundraising ingenuity.鈥
- Local investigators who spearheaded trials in their communities.
- Thousands of parents and children who participated in studies.
This year, one of the first-ever public health programs to use cutting-edge CRISPR gene editing to monitor for disease outbreaks will launch in Nigeria.
The program is an opportunity for Africa-based researchers to 鈥渞ealize our dreams鈥 to lead the world in genetic research, says Christian Happi, director of the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases.
- In the new initiative, the center will collect blood samples from rural clinics, and will sequence for 16 blood-borne pathogens, including Ebola, West Nile virus, mpox, and Lassa fever鈥攚hich is especially under-studied.
TECH & INNOVATION Syringes and Self-Reliance
Among the global supply chain failures to hamper Africa鈥檚 health care system during the pandemic: A syringe shortage, which led to delayed childhood immunizations and COVID-19 vaccination programs.
But today, Kenya is home to a swiftly expanding syringe manufacturing hub, Revital Healthcare鈥攑roducing ~300 million syringes a year鈥斺漚 major step toward African self-reliance in supplying this vital commodity.鈥
- Plus鈥擱evital has a workforce that is 80% female.
OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Lebanon receives medical aid, vacationers leave amid fears of war 鈥
Forecasting climate鈥檚 impact on a debilitating disease 鈥
鈥淣ow is the time to take action鈥: Carbon monoxide poisonings after Hurricane Beryl are the highest since Texas winter storm 鈥
Updated COVID Vaccines Are Coming: Effectiveness, Who鈥檚 Eligible And More 鈥
She wanted a divorce so her father hacked her legs with an axe: how Pakistan fails women 鈥
Drug shortages: 'I'm eating less and rationing pills' 鈥
Microplastics are everywhere, but are they harming us? 鈥
鈥業 Feel Dismissed鈥: People Experiencing Colorism Say Health System Fails Them 鈥
In Mexico City, women water harvesters help make up for drought and dicey public water system 鈥 Issue No. 2763
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2024 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Bloomberg School.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
Categories: Global Health Feed
COVID-19 infections are surging worldwide - including at the Olympics - and are unlikely to decline anytime soon, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: Mpox Mobilization 鈥楿rgently Needed鈥; and July's Must-Reads
More funding is needed to confront surging mpox cases in Africa, per WHO鈥檚 chief.
August 5, 2024
Colorized scanning electron micrograph of mpox virus (green) on the surface of infected VERO E6 cells (blue). NIH-NIAID/IMAGE POINT FR/BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty
Mpox Mobilization 鈥楿rgently Needed鈥
As more African countries report new mpox cases, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for more funding to support a scaled-up response, .
Response: The African Union announced it had approved $10.4 million from COVID-19 funds to combat the outbreak.
Heat in Europe kills 175,000+ people every year, the last week鈥攏umbers that are poised to climb across the region, which is the fastest-warming of the six WHO regions.
Many online pharmacies selling semaglutide are doing so illegally, which found that 42% of online pharmacies selling the weight-loss drug without a prescription 鈥渂elonged to illegal pharmacy operations.鈥
Climate anomalies like El Ni帽o could contribute to the emergence of new cholera strains, ; research showed that an El Ni帽o event between 1904-1907 was linked to a novel strain that emerged during the ongoing cholera pandemic of the early 20th century. JULY RECAP: MUST-READS Why Do Prescription Drugs Have Such Crazy Names?
Wegovy. Zepbound. Prozac. Cialis. Xeljanz. How do drugs get such bizarre brand names?
War Is a Superbug Spreader
A potential pandemic is brewing: New breeds of drug-resistant bacteria are proliferating in war-torn parts of the globe as 鈥渢he waste of war鈥濃攚arheads, spent munitions, etc.鈥攄rains into surrounding waterways, creating heavy metal-infused cesspools in which antimicrobial-resistant organisms thrive, .
Australia鈥檚 Disability Discrimination?
Australia is one of the few countries that evaluates immigrants鈥 visas based on their medical needs鈥攁nd the cost of their care,
The Bounty of the Bat-a-thon
For the past 16 years, researchers have descended annually upon the Lamanai Archaeological Reserve in northern Belize, with one goal: Become better acquainted with bats in this 鈥済old mine for bat diversity,鈥 home to 75 species, .
U.S. drug officials approved in early July a second Alzheimer's drug: Eli Lilly's Kisunla, which uses the monoclonal antibody donanemab to clear amyloid plaques from the brain, slowed brain decline by 22% compared to a placebo in an 18-month study, .
Blood Thinner Shows Promise Against Cobra Bites
Researchers have discovered a new antidote for cobra bites that could 鈥渄rastically鈥 reduce injury from tissue death: the common, inexpensive, and easily accessible blood thinner heparin, .
Saudi Arabia Steps in for Syrian Children
In a hospital in Reyhanli, Saudi Arabia, a team of volunteers is giving cochlear implants to war-affected children who would otherwise have no access to the technology, due to cost or unavailability; ~940 children鈥攎ost of whom are from parts of northern Syria administered by Turkey鈥攁re set to receive the implants as well as the therapy and ongoing maintenance they require, . RESOURCES QUICK HITS The pathogens that could spark the next pandemic 鈥
Ghana's Hidden Epidemic: A Link Between HIV and Kidney Disease 鈥
Heat training can help athletes 鈥 and the rest of us 鈥 adapt to hotter weather 鈥
New Measles and Malaria Vaccines Can Save Lives in the U.S. and Globally 鈥
Addressing the root causes: leveraging nutrition to accelerate the end of TB 鈥
Cost of stocking birth control strains family planning clinics in some states 鈥
Melinda French Gates Is Ready to Take Sides 鈥
鈥楶ublish or Perish鈥 is now a card game 鈥 not just an academic鈥檚 life 鈥 Issue No. M-7-2024
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2024 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Bloomberg School.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
As more African countries report new mpox cases, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for more funding to support a scaled-up response, .
- Tedros that he was considering convening an emergency committee to determine whether the outbreak should be declared a 鈥減ublic health emergency of international concern,鈥 .
- Cases have now been reported in Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Cote d鈥橧voire, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, and South Africa, .
Response: The African Union announced it had approved $10.4 million from COVID-19 funds to combat the outbreak.
- Meanwhile, a clinical trial is being launched in the DRC to study the efficacy of the Bavarian Nordic mpox vaccine.
Heat in Europe kills 175,000+ people every year, the last week鈥攏umbers that are poised to climb across the region, which is the fastest-warming of the six WHO regions.
Many online pharmacies selling semaglutide are doing so illegally, which found that 42% of online pharmacies selling the weight-loss drug without a prescription 鈥渂elonged to illegal pharmacy operations.鈥
Climate anomalies like El Ni帽o could contribute to the emergence of new cholera strains, ; research showed that an El Ni帽o event between 1904-1907 was linked to a novel strain that emerged during the ongoing cholera pandemic of the early 20th century. JULY RECAP: MUST-READS Why Do Prescription Drugs Have Such Crazy Names?
Wegovy. Zepbound. Prozac. Cialis. Xeljanz. How do drugs get such bizarre brand names?
- There is an intricate method to the madness鈥攚ith safety at its core. WHO has 鈥渓ook-alike, sound-alike鈥 medicines as a leading global cause of medication errors.
- , Annalies Winny explores how the system evolved, shaped by drug-naming regulators as well as branding consultants who play an ever-larger role in identifying names that not only satisfy regulators, but make household names out of made-up words.
War Is a Superbug Spreader
A potential pandemic is brewing: New breeds of drug-resistant bacteria are proliferating in war-torn parts of the globe as 鈥渢he waste of war鈥濃攚arheads, spent munitions, etc.鈥攄rains into surrounding waterways, creating heavy metal-infused cesspools in which antimicrobial-resistant organisms thrive, .
- Meanwhile, within hospitals in conflict zones, superbugs are spreading from soldiers injured in the field to civilians receiving care for non-war-related conditions. And as refugees flee these devastated countries, those organisms hitch a ride.
Australia鈥檚 Disability Discrimination?
Australia is one of the few countries that evaluates immigrants鈥 visas based on their medical needs鈥攁nd the cost of their care,
- The government says the law is necessary to curb overspending and protect health care access for citizens鈥攂ut advocates say the law is discriminatory. Now, an official review of the health requirements is underway鈥攁 shift advocates have been seeking for years.
The Bounty of the Bat-a-thon
For the past 16 years, researchers have descended annually upon the Lamanai Archaeological Reserve in northern Belize, with one goal: Become better acquainted with bats in this 鈥済old mine for bat diversity,鈥 home to 75 species, .
- 鈥淭here are no papers, there are no presentations, there鈥檚 no posters. It鈥檚 people studying bats and talking about bats,鈥 said biologist Brock Fenton, who started the Bat-a-thon鈥攚hich now involves 80 researchers from 50 institutions worldwide and has yielded nearly 90 academic papers over the years, spanning from bat behavior to bat ecology.
U.S. drug officials approved in early July a second Alzheimer's drug: Eli Lilly's Kisunla, which uses the monoclonal antibody donanemab to clear amyloid plaques from the brain, slowed brain decline by 22% compared to a placebo in an 18-month study, .
- It鈥檚 taken just once a month, compared to the twice-monthly drug Leqembi, and patients can stop taking Kisunla if they respond well.
Blood Thinner Shows Promise Against Cobra Bites
Researchers have discovered a new antidote for cobra bites that could 鈥渄rastically鈥 reduce injury from tissue death: the common, inexpensive, and easily accessible blood thinner heparin, .
Saudi Arabia Steps in for Syrian Children
In a hospital in Reyhanli, Saudi Arabia, a team of volunteers is giving cochlear implants to war-affected children who would otherwise have no access to the technology, due to cost or unavailability; ~940 children鈥攎ost of whom are from parts of northern Syria administered by Turkey鈥攁re set to receive the implants as well as the therapy and ongoing maintenance they require, . RESOURCES QUICK HITS The pathogens that could spark the next pandemic 鈥
Ghana's Hidden Epidemic: A Link Between HIV and Kidney Disease 鈥
Heat training can help athletes 鈥 and the rest of us 鈥 adapt to hotter weather 鈥
New Measles and Malaria Vaccines Can Save Lives in the U.S. and Globally 鈥
Addressing the root causes: leveraging nutrition to accelerate the end of TB 鈥
Cost of stocking birth control strains family planning clinics in some states 鈥
Melinda French Gates Is Ready to Take Sides 鈥
鈥楶ublish or Perish鈥 is now a card game 鈥 not just an academic鈥檚 life 鈥 Issue No. M-7-2024
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2024 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Bloomberg School.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: Mpox Mobilization 鈥楿rgently Needed鈥; and July's Must-Reads
More funding is needed to confront surging mpox cases in Africa, per WHO鈥檚 chief.
August 5, 2024
Colorized scanning electron micrograph of mpox virus (green) on the surface of infected VERO E6 cells (blue). NIH-NIAID/IMAGE POINT FR/BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty
Mpox Mobilization 鈥楿rgently Needed鈥
As more African countries report new mpox cases, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for more funding to support a scaled-up response, .
Response: The African Union announced it had approved $10.4 million from COVID-19 funds to combat the outbreak.
Heat in Europe kills 175,000+ people every year, the last week鈥攏umbers that are poised to climb across the region, which is the fastest-warming of the six WHO regions.
Many online pharmacies selling semaglutide are doing so illegally, which found that 42% of online pharmacies selling the weight-loss drug without a prescription 鈥渂elonged to illegal pharmacy operations.鈥
Climate anomalies like El Ni帽o could contribute to the emergence of new cholera strains, ; research showed that an El Ni帽o event between 1904-1907 was linked to a novel strain that emerged during the ongoing cholera pandemic of the early 20th century. JULY RECAP: MUST-READS Why Do Prescription Drugs Have Such Crazy Names?
Wegovy. Zepbound. Prozac. Cialis. Xeljanz. How do drugs get such bizarre brand names?
War Is a Superbug Spreader
A potential pandemic is brewing: New breeds of drug-resistant bacteria are proliferating in war-torn parts of the globe as 鈥渢he waste of war鈥濃攚arheads, spent munitions, etc.鈥攄rains into surrounding waterways, creating heavy metal-infused cesspools in which antimicrobial-resistant organisms thrive, .
Australia鈥檚 Disability Discrimination?
Australia is one of the few countries that evaluates immigrants鈥 visas based on their medical needs鈥攁nd the cost of their care,
The Bounty of the Bat-a-thon
For the past 16 years, researchers have descended annually upon the Lamanai Archaeological Reserve in northern Belize, with one goal: Become better acquainted with bats in this 鈥済old mine for bat diversity,鈥 home to 75 species, .
U.S. drug officials approved in early July a second Alzheimer's drug: Eli Lilly's Kisunla, which uses the monoclonal antibody donanemab to clear amyloid plaques from the brain, slowed brain decline by 22% compared to a placebo in an 18-month study, .
Blood Thinner Shows Promise Against Cobra Bites
Researchers have discovered a new antidote for cobra bites that could 鈥渄rastically鈥 reduce injury from tissue death: the common, inexpensive, and easily accessible blood thinner heparin, .
Saudi Arabia Steps in for Syrian Children
In a hospital in Reyhanli, Saudi Arabia, a team of volunteers is giving cochlear implants to war-affected children who would otherwise have no access to the technology, due to cost or unavailability; ~940 children鈥攎ost of whom are from parts of northern Syria administered by Turkey鈥攁re set to receive the implants as well as the therapy and ongoing maintenance they require, . RESOURCES QUICK HITS The pathogens that could spark the next pandemic 鈥
Ghana's Hidden Epidemic: A Link Between HIV and Kidney Disease 鈥
Heat training can help athletes 鈥 and the rest of us 鈥 adapt to hotter weather 鈥
New Measles and Malaria Vaccines Can Save Lives in the U.S. and Globally 鈥
Addressing the root causes: leveraging nutrition to accelerate the end of TB 鈥
Cost of stocking birth control strains family planning clinics in some states 鈥
Melinda French Gates Is Ready to Take Sides 鈥
鈥楶ublish or Perish鈥 is now a card game 鈥 not just an academic鈥檚 life 鈥 Issue No. 2762
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2024 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Bloomberg School.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
As more African countries report new mpox cases, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for more funding to support a scaled-up response, .
- Tedros that he was considering convening an emergency committee to determine whether the outbreak should be declared a 鈥減ublic health emergency of international concern,鈥 .
- Cases have now been reported in Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Cote d鈥橧voire, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, and South Africa, .
Response: The African Union announced it had approved $10.4 million from COVID-19 funds to combat the outbreak.
- Meanwhile, a clinical trial is being launched in the DRC to study the efficacy of the Bavarian Nordic mpox vaccine.
Heat in Europe kills 175,000+ people every year, the last week鈥攏umbers that are poised to climb across the region, which is the fastest-warming of the six WHO regions.
Many online pharmacies selling semaglutide are doing so illegally, which found that 42% of online pharmacies selling the weight-loss drug without a prescription 鈥渂elonged to illegal pharmacy operations.鈥
Climate anomalies like El Ni帽o could contribute to the emergence of new cholera strains, ; research showed that an El Ni帽o event between 1904-1907 was linked to a novel strain that emerged during the ongoing cholera pandemic of the early 20th century. JULY RECAP: MUST-READS Why Do Prescription Drugs Have Such Crazy Names?
Wegovy. Zepbound. Prozac. Cialis. Xeljanz. How do drugs get such bizarre brand names?
- There is an intricate method to the madness鈥攚ith safety at its core. WHO has 鈥渓ook-alike, sound-alike鈥 medicines as a leading global cause of medication errors.
- , Annalies Winny explores how the system evolved, shaped by drug-naming regulators as well as branding consultants who play an ever-larger role in identifying names that not only satisfy regulators, but make household names out of made-up words.
War Is a Superbug Spreader
A potential pandemic is brewing: New breeds of drug-resistant bacteria are proliferating in war-torn parts of the globe as 鈥渢he waste of war鈥濃攚arheads, spent munitions, etc.鈥攄rains into surrounding waterways, creating heavy metal-infused cesspools in which antimicrobial-resistant organisms thrive, .
- Meanwhile, within hospitals in conflict zones, superbugs are spreading from soldiers injured in the field to civilians receiving care for non-war-related conditions. And as refugees flee these devastated countries, those organisms hitch a ride.
Australia鈥檚 Disability Discrimination?
Australia is one of the few countries that evaluates immigrants鈥 visas based on their medical needs鈥攁nd the cost of their care,
- The government says the law is necessary to curb overspending and protect health care access for citizens鈥攂ut advocates say the law is discriminatory. Now, an official review of the health requirements is underway鈥攁 shift advocates have been seeking for years.
The Bounty of the Bat-a-thon
For the past 16 years, researchers have descended annually upon the Lamanai Archaeological Reserve in northern Belize, with one goal: Become better acquainted with bats in this 鈥済old mine for bat diversity,鈥 home to 75 species, .
- 鈥淭here are no papers, there are no presentations, there鈥檚 no posters. It鈥檚 people studying bats and talking about bats,鈥 said biologist Brock Fenton, who started the Bat-a-thon鈥攚hich now involves 80 researchers from 50 institutions worldwide and has yielded nearly 90 academic papers over the years, spanning from bat behavior to bat ecology.
U.S. drug officials approved in early July a second Alzheimer's drug: Eli Lilly's Kisunla, which uses the monoclonal antibody donanemab to clear amyloid plaques from the brain, slowed brain decline by 22% compared to a placebo in an 18-month study, .
- It鈥檚 taken just once a month, compared to the twice-monthly drug Leqembi, and patients can stop taking Kisunla if they respond well.
Blood Thinner Shows Promise Against Cobra Bites
Researchers have discovered a new antidote for cobra bites that could 鈥渄rastically鈥 reduce injury from tissue death: the common, inexpensive, and easily accessible blood thinner heparin, .
Saudi Arabia Steps in for Syrian Children
In a hospital in Reyhanli, Saudi Arabia, a team of volunteers is giving cochlear implants to war-affected children who would otherwise have no access to the technology, due to cost or unavailability; ~940 children鈥攎ost of whom are from parts of northern Syria administered by Turkey鈥攁re set to receive the implants as well as the therapy and ongoing maintenance they require, . RESOURCES QUICK HITS The pathogens that could spark the next pandemic 鈥
Ghana's Hidden Epidemic: A Link Between HIV and Kidney Disease 鈥
Heat training can help athletes 鈥 and the rest of us 鈥 adapt to hotter weather 鈥
New Measles and Malaria Vaccines Can Save Lives in the U.S. and Globally 鈥
Addressing the root causes: leveraging nutrition to accelerate the end of TB 鈥
Cost of stocking birth control strains family planning clinics in some states 鈥
Melinda French Gates Is Ready to Take Sides 鈥
鈥楶ublish or Perish鈥 is now a card game 鈥 not just an academic鈥檚 life 鈥 Issue No. 2762
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
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Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: Drastically Reducing Dementia Risk; Lessons from Rwanda; and Olympic Breadwinners
Almost half of dementia cases worldwide could be delayed or prevented.
August 1, 2024
A lady who's over 90 years old solves a Sudoku puzzle on December 23, 2023, in Norden, Germany. Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty
Drastically Reducing Dementia Risk
Almost half of dementia cases worldwide could be delayed or prevented by addressing 14 modifiable risk factors, .
A nasal vaccine for COVID-19 halted the cycle of transmission between hamsters in a new study, demonstrating the promise of 鈥渘ext-generation vaccines鈥 to more effectively contain viruses.
Americans' trust in physicians and hospitals plummeted from 71% to 40% during the COVID-19 pandemic鈥攚ith erosion of confidence reported across socioeconomic groups, a published in JAMA Network Open finds.
Bird flu cases among farm workers may be going undetected, a new suggests, after researchers found H5N1 antibodies in blood samples from farmworkers at two Texas dairy farms that experienced outbreaks. MENTAL HEALTH Lessons From Rwanda
The U.S. can learn a lot from Rwanda.
One in five U.S. adults lives with mental illness, yet more than half of Americans reside in . Rwanda, still recovering from 1994鈥檚 genocide, has built an internationally acclaimed mental health system.
Key lessons for the U.S.:
To the top-level athlete, food is fuel. Just don鈥檛 try telling that to the French.
After all, the country lauded its baguettes鈥 UNESCO World Heritage status in its , featured a dancer wearing in its opening ceremony, and installed a boulangerie at the heart of its Olympic Village.
Going for golden brown: Organizers are also offering for athletes needing鈥攁nd kneading鈥攁 stress outlet.
The 鈥淥lympic Muffin Man鈥: But one baked good in the Village may outshine the French classics: the chocolate muffin. Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen has cataloged his devotion to the pastry in a 鈥攕parking 鈥渢he only Olympic Village love story that matters,鈥 . QUICK HITS Climate change-driven migrations worsen infectious diseases in vulnerable regions 鈥
Africa is beating HIV. But the rest of the world is falling behind. 鈥
Illicit nicotine pouches on the rise in US, Altria CEO says 鈥
How to spot a predatory conference, and what science needs to do about them: a guide 鈥嬧嬧
How easy is it to fudge your scientific rank? Meet Larry, the world鈥檚 most cited cat 鈥
Issue No. 2761
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2024 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Bloomberg School.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
Almost half of dementia cases worldwide could be delayed or prevented by addressing 14 modifiable risk factors, .
- 鈥淢any people around the world believe dementia is inevitable but it鈥檚 not,鈥 lead author Gill Livingston . 鈥淥ur report concludes that you can hugely increase the chances of not developing dementia or pushing back its onset.鈥
- Those new factors join 12 other modifiable risk factors identified in a 2020 Lancet report, which include: physical inactivity, smoking, obesity, hypertension, hearing loss, depression, diabetes, excessive alcohol consumption, brain injury, air pollution, less education, and social isolation.
- Addressing these risk factors throughout life could prevent or delay 45% of dementia cases, the study found.
A nasal vaccine for COVID-19 halted the cycle of transmission between hamsters in a new study, demonstrating the promise of 鈥渘ext-generation vaccines鈥 to more effectively contain viruses.
Americans' trust in physicians and hospitals plummeted from 71% to 40% during the COVID-19 pandemic鈥攚ith erosion of confidence reported across socioeconomic groups, a published in JAMA Network Open finds.
Bird flu cases among farm workers may be going undetected, a new suggests, after researchers found H5N1 antibodies in blood samples from farmworkers at two Texas dairy farms that experienced outbreaks. MENTAL HEALTH Lessons From Rwanda
The U.S. can learn a lot from Rwanda.
One in five U.S. adults lives with mental illness, yet more than half of Americans reside in . Rwanda, still recovering from 1994鈥檚 genocide, has built an internationally acclaimed mental health system.
Key lessons for the U.S.:
- Decentralize services: Rwanda鈥檚 mental health workforce is spread throughout its 500+ primary health centers, improving rural access to care.
- Emphasize community-based healing: A network of NGOs provides mental health support outside clinical settings.
- Offer preventive mental health care: Tiered services address minor to severe crises.
To the top-level athlete, food is fuel. Just don鈥檛 try telling that to the French.
After all, the country lauded its baguettes鈥 UNESCO World Heritage status in its , featured a dancer wearing in its opening ceremony, and installed a boulangerie at the heart of its Olympic Village.
- 鈥淲e want people to be able to smell the baguette as they enter,鈥 Olympics spokesman Guillaume Thomas explained.
Going for golden brown: Organizers are also offering for athletes needing鈥攁nd kneading鈥攁 stress outlet.
The 鈥淥lympic Muffin Man鈥: But one baked good in the Village may outshine the French classics: the chocolate muffin. Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen has cataloged his devotion to the pastry in a 鈥攕parking 鈥渢he only Olympic Village love story that matters,鈥 . QUICK HITS Climate change-driven migrations worsen infectious diseases in vulnerable regions 鈥
Africa is beating HIV. But the rest of the world is falling behind. 鈥
Illicit nicotine pouches on the rise in US, Altria CEO says 鈥
How to spot a predatory conference, and what science needs to do about them: a guide 鈥嬧嬧
How easy is it to fudge your scientific rank? Meet Larry, the world鈥檚 most cited cat 鈥
Issue No. 2761
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, Aliza Rosen, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2024 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Bloomberg School.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
Categories: Global Health Feed
