Page 5 - Who

JN.1 outbreak: As new cases rise, 10 things you must know about new variant

JN.1 Covid variant: On Friday, a new Covid-19 case was reported in Noida, the first in many months. The patient, a 54-year-old male who lives in Noida, works at a multinational firm in Gurugram

Over 1 mn Afghan children facing severe malnutrition, says WHO chief

Afghanistan's Taliban-appointed Ministry of Public Health said that the number of malnourished mothers and children in the country has slightly increased compared to past years

JN.1 Covid variant: States issue advisories, Mandaviya holds review meet

On December 19, WHO classified the JN.1 variant as a 'variant of interest' but maintained that it does not pose much threat to the public

WHO urges members to continue surveillance amid rising respiratory diseases

In the wake of the surge in respiratory diseases and new JN.1 COVID sub-variant, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that the virus is evolving and changing and urged the member states to continue with strong surveillance and sequence sharing.The global body also shared a video of its COVID-19 technical lead, Maria Van Kerkhove, who explained the reason for the recent surges and what precautions can be taken."Dr @mvankerkhove talks about the current surge in respiratory diseases #COVID19 and JN.1 subvariant. WHO continues to assess the situation. Follow WHO's public health advice to keep your families and friends safe during this holiday season," WHO posted on X (formerly Twitter).Maria Van Kerkhove also took to the social media platform and said that a number of pathogens have led to the rise in respiratory diseases across the world."Respiratory diseases are increasing around the world due to a number of pathogens incl #COVID19, #flu, rhinovirus, mycoplasma pneumonia & ...

Maldives reports contamination in Pakistani syrups, suspension medicines

The report prompted the World Health Organisation to issue an alert urging countries to step up vigilance and test products manufactured by a Lahore-based pharmaceutical company, according to Dawn

World AIDS Day 2023: History, date, theme, preventive measures and more

The world celebrates World AIDS Day every year on December 1. This year, the theme for World AIDS Day is 'Let communities lead'

WHO urges partners to continue fostering collaboration to end AIDS by 2030

On World AIDS Day, WHO called upon member states, partners and communities in the Southeast Asia Region and around the world to continue fostering collaboration to address the challenges in ending the disease by 2030 and empower communities to lead in shaping the response forward. Globally, an estimated 39 million people are living with HIV. In 2022, around 1.3 million people acquired HIV and around 6,30,000 people died from AIDS-related causes, said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, the WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia. In the South-East Asia Region, an estimated 3.9 million people are living with HIV, accounting for around 10 per cent of the global burden. In 2022, an estimated 1,10,000 people became newly infected with HIV and 85,000 people in the region died of AIDS-related causes. This accounted for over 13 per cent of the global burden of AIDS-related death, Dr Khetrapal Singh said. Over the past decade, the Southeast Asia Region had substantial progress with a remarkable .

WHO confirms sexual spread of mpox in Congo as country sees record outbreak

The World Health Organization said it has confirmed sexual transmission of mpox in Congo for the first time as the country experiences its biggest-ever outbreak, a worrying development that African scientists warn could make it more difficult to stop the disease. In a statement issued late Thursday, the U.N. health agency said a resident of Belgium travelled to Congo in March and tested positive for mpox, or monkeypox, shortly afterward. WHO said the individual identified himself as a man who has sexual relations with other men and that he had gone to several underground clubs for gay and bisexual men. Among his sexual contacts, five later tested positive for mpox, WHO said. This is the first definitive proof of sexual transmission of monkeypox in Africa, Oyewale Tomori, a Nigerian virologist who sits on several WHO advisory groups, said. The idea that this kind of transmission could not be happening here has now been debunked." Mpox has been endemic in parts of central and west ..

Health ministry monitors H9N2 outbreak in China, assures low risk to India

Chinese authorities have attributed the rise of respiratory illnesses and reported pneumonia clusters in children, to the lifting of Covid-19 restriction and circulation of known pathogens

Risk of global Mpox outbreak rises as virulent strain spreads in Congo

A Belgian resident with connections to the DRC and his sexual contacts tested positive for a strain of Mpox, known as Clade 1, which has a fatality rate of about 10%

India records 36 new Covid-19 cases in one day; active cases stands at 215

India saw a single-day rise of 36 fresh COVID-19 infections while the active cases have been recorded at 215, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday. The country's COVID-19 case tally stands at 4.50 crore (4,50,01,691) and the death toll at 5,33,295, the data updated at 8 am stated. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has increased to 4,44,68,179 and the national recovery rate stands at 98.81 per cent, it stated. The case fatality rate stands at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.67 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the country so far.

Mysterious pneumonia outbreak in China: Here is what we know so far

The World Health Organisation asked China for detailed information on the increase in the cases of respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children

Give detailed information on child pneumonia outbreak: WHO to China

Local media has reported a steady rise in infections from a pathogen called mycoplasma among kindergarten and primary school children

Global measles deaths increase by 43% during 2021-2022: WHO report

The number of measles deaths globally increased by 43 per cent from 2021-2022, following years of declining vaccination rates, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report noted that in 2022, 37 countries experienced large or disruptive measles outbreaks compared with 22 countries in 2021. Of the countries experiencing outbreaks, 28 were in the WHO Region for Africa, six in the Eastern Mediterranean, two in the South-East Asia, and one in the European Region, WHO said. "The increase in measles outbreaks and deaths is staggering, but unfortunately, not unexpected given the declining vaccination rates we have seen in the past few years," said John Vertefeuille, director of CDC's Global Immunization Division. "Measles cases anywhere pose a risk to all countries and communities where people are under-vaccinated. Urgent, targeted efforts are critical to prevent measles disease and deaths," ...

Antimicrobial resistance a significant threat to global public health: WHO

Poonam Khetrapal Singh called it imperative to foster collaboration among many sectors and stakeholders involved in the domains of human, terrestrial, and aquatic animal and plant health

As Israeli troops enter Al-Shifa, WHO chief says lost touch with personnel

Israel Defence Forces have confirmed that they are carrying out precise, and targeted operation in a specific region in Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza

India's junk food bill comes in as obesity, productivity loss increase

Poor dietary patterns have a significant economic cost, warn health experts

WHO updates its guidance on treatments for patients with Covid-19

The World Health Organization has updated its guidance on treatments for patients with COVID-19, providing latest, trustworthy advice on the management of the disease to help doctors make better decisions. The new recommendations published by The BMJ are part of a living guideline, developed by the WHO with the methodological support of Norwegian non-profit MAGIC Evidence Ecosystem Foundation. The guidance incorporates the latest clinical trial evidence for existing and new COVID-19 therapies and takes account of evidence relating to safety, prognosis, resources, access, and equity issues, as well as patient values and preferences, the WHO said. The update includes distinct risk categories to help doctors more accurately assess whether an individual is at high, moderate, or low risk of hospital admission and tailor treatment accordingly. WHO in the update recommends the use of antiviral drug nirmatrelvir-ritonavir in patients with non-severe COVID-19 at high and moderate risk of ..

Record 7.5 million people globally diagnosed with TB in 2022: WHO

A total of 7.5 million people were diagnosed with tuberculosis in 2022, the highest recorded since WHO began global TB monitoring in 1995, according to a report featuring data from 192 countries and areas. The World Health Organization (WHO) 2023 Global tuberculosis (TB) report also shows that globally, an estimated 10.6 million people fell ill with TB in 2022, up from 10.3 million in 2021. The report underscores a significant worldwide recovery in the scale-up of TB diagnosis and treatment services in 2022. It shows an encouraging trend starting to reverse the detrimental effects of COVID- 19 disruptions on TB services. The increase in diagnosis is attributed to good recovery in access to and provision of health services in many countries, WHO said. India, Indonesia and the Philippines, which together accounted for over 60 per cent of the global reductions in the number of people newly diagnosed with TB in 2020 and 2021, all recovered to beyond 2019 levels in 2022, it said. "For

WHO South-East Asia region to prioritise investment in primary healthcare

Member countries of the WHO South-East Asia Region on Tuesday committed to prioritising investment in primary healthcare in order to accelerate progress towards universal health coverage. Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh said this will help realise health-related sustainable development goals. "Prioritising investments to strengthen primary healthcare, including the health workforce, will accelerate progress towards achieving health for all and help realise health-related sustainable development goals, health security and equity promoting health systems," she said. Dr Singh was addressing a ministerial roundtable on 'Strengthening primary healthcare as a key element towards achieving universal health coverage' which culminated in the member countries and WHO signing the Delhi Declaration for strengthening primary healthcare. The declaration builds on the commitments of heads of state and government and ministers of health to strengthen primary ...