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Democratic Republic of Congo

Africa intensifies its efforts to control mpox; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi Researchers and public health officials in Africa are intensifying their battle against mpox, a neglected infectious disease that has circulated for a long time on the continent and suddenly gained notoriety in 2022 when it started to spread rapidly in Europe …

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Bird flu detected among US cattle; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi  The flu virus that has wreaked havoc on birds around the world appears to have surfaced among cows in the US. Texas authorities said this week they found the H5N1 strain, and the US Department of Agriculture said testing showed “consistency” …

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New data reveals Ebola vaccine reduces mortality by half; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi  There’s welcome news in the battle against the Ebola virus, an infectious disease that for years had almost no treatments or remedies.  Outbreaks of the deadly Ebola virus flare up in parts of Africa almost every year, and they’re vicious.  The …

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Opioid addiction settlement reached with US Consultancy firm; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi  Consulting firm McKinsey & Co has agreed to pay $78 million to resolve claims by U.S. health insurers and benefit plans that it fuelled an epidemic of opioid addiction through its work for drug companies including OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma. https://www.reuters.com/legal/mckinsey-pay-78-million-us-opioid-settlement-with-health-plans-2023-12-30/  …

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DRC faced with largest outbreak of mpox on record; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views, Hindustan Times, and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi Last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was experiencing its largest, most deadly outbreak of mpox ever, with more than 12,000 suspected cases so far this year and nearly 600 …

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New data published regarding origins of COVID-19; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi A couple of weeks ago, journalists rushed to report on previously undisclosed genetic evidence that mammals sold at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China—possibly raccoon dogs—might have sparked the COVID-19 pandemic. But to the chagrin of the researchers who …

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Clinical trials show promising results for sleeping sickness drug; The latest health stories from around the world

A new drug that can treat human African trypanosomiasis—commonly known as sleeping sickness—with just one dose has shown promise in a clinical trial in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea. www.science.org/content/article/news-at-a-glance-snags-emissions-monitoring-negotiations-biodiversity-sleeping-sickness? The rare disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, which is transmitted by the tsetse fly. Left untreated, it is deadly. …

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Clinical trial for monkeypox medication starts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

A clinical trial to evaluate the antiviral drug tecovirimat, also known as TPOXX, in adults and children with monkeypox has begun in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The trial will evaluate the drug’s safety and its ability to mitigate monkeypox symptoms and prevent serious outcomes, including death. www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/monkeypox-treatment-trial-begins-democratic-republic-congo? The National Institute of Allergy …

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How the Ebola Outbreak in May 2018 Will Differ From the Past

On the 8th of May 2018, another Ebola epidemic was declared by the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since then, around 54 patients have presented symptoms of hemorrhagic fever with 35 confirmed Ebola cases. There have also been 25 deaths with 12 of them being confirmed as being caused by Ebola. The outbreak …

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