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May312024 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Scientists have discovered a 50,000-year-old herpes virus

Less than a decade ago, the American anthropologist James C Scott described infectious diseases as the “loudest silence” in the prehistoric archaeological record. Epidemics must have devastated human societies in the distant past and changed the course of history, but, Scott lamented, the artefacts left behind reveal nothing about them. Over the last few years, the silence has been shattered by pioneering research that analyses microbial DNA extracted from very old human skeletons. The latest example of this is a groundbreaking study that identified three viruses in 50,000-year-old Neanderthal bones. These pathogens still afflict modern humans: adenovirus, herpesvirus and papillomavirus cause the common cold, cold sores, and genital warts and cancer, respectively. Th...

May62024 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Global health heavyweights team up for climate, disease funding

Global Health

GHealth News - Three of the biggest global health funders have joined forces for the first time in a $300 million partnership aimed at tackling the linked impacts of climate change, malnutrition, and infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance. The Novo Nordisk Foundation, Wellcome and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced the research partnership, focused particularly on finding affordable solutions for people in low and middle-income countries, in Denmark on Monday. Each will put $100 million into the three-year initiative. A key aim is to "break down barriers between often isolated areas of research", said Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, chief executive officer of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. For example, COVID-19 showed that obesity can be a risk factor for the se...

Apr252024 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Show Great Global Variance

COVID19

There is significant global variation in COVID-19 treatment recommendations and disease severity stratifications, according to a study published online April 22 in BMJ Global Health. Mia Cokljat, M.B.Ch.B., from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, and colleagues compared the COVID-19 treatment guidelines of each World Health Organization (WHO) member state to the WHO COVID-19 therapeutic guidelines. The analysis included COVID-19 therapeutic national guidelines for 109 of the 194 WHO member states. The researchers found considerable variation in guidelines and in disease severity stratifications. There were also substantial differences in therapeutic recommendations in many national guidelines versus the WHO guidelines. In late 2022, 93 percent of national guidelines...

Mar282024 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

US FDA approves Merck’s therapy for rare lung condition

NCDs

GHealth News - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved Merck's (MRK.N), opens new tab treatment for adults with high blood pressure due to constriction of lung arteries, adding another potential blockbuster drug to the pharmaceutical giant's portfolio. Shares of Merck were up more than 4% in extended trading. The therapy, branded Winrevair, is approved for treating pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), which affects about 40,000 people in the United States. "We look forward to making a significant difference for these patients that are left with a disease where the five year mortality is 43%," Jannie Oosthuizen, president of Merck's U.S. Human Health business, told Reuters. Winrevair will carry a list price of $14,000 per vial, Oosthuizen said. Acco...

Mar212024 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

U.N. Weather Agency Issues ‘Red Alert’ on Climate Change

Climate Change

GHealth News - The U.N. weather agency is sounding a “red alert” about global warming, citing record-smashing increases last year in greenhouse gases, land and water temperatures and melting of glaciers and sea ice, and is warning that the world's efforts to reverse the trend have been inadequate. The World Meteorological Organization said there is a “high probability” that 2024 will be another record-hot year. The Geneva-based agency, in a “State of the Global Climate” report released Tuesday, ratcheted up concerns that a much-vaunted climate goal is increasingly in jeopardy: That the world can unite to limit planetary warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial levels. “Never have we been so close – albeit on a temporary basis at the ...

Mar152024 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Photo Highlights | 8th AMR Conference – Basel 2024: Advancing Global Solutions to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance

AMR

Experts, policymakers, and healthcare professionals from around the globe gathered in Basel, Switzerland, for a groundbreaking conference on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). The event served as a crucial platform to address the growing threat of AMR, share innovative solutions, and strengthen global collaboration. From cutting-edge research to actionable policy recommendations, this conference underscored the urgency of uniting efforts to combat one of the greatest public health challenges of our time. 8th AMR Conference - Basel "6-7 March" 2024. Credits: GHealth News For more photos, please visit: https://amr-conference.com/impressions-2024/

Feb232024 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

What is ‘Disease X’ and how is the world preparing for it?

Global Health

GHealth News - "Disease X" is a name that the World Health Organization (WHO) has given to an unknown future pathogen with the potential to start a severe global epidemic. "There are things that are unknown, that may happen and anything happening is a matter of when, not if," Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) director-general, said during an expert panel in Davos. "So we need to have a placeholder for that, for the diseases we don't know that may come, and that was when we gave the name "Disease X,'" he said, explaining that the concept was first discussed in 2017 and has recently gotten "attention" online. The UN agency added it to a list of priority diseases that require accelerated research and development due to their potential to cause a pub...

Feb162024 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

WHO Launches Biomanufacturing Workforce Training Initiative

Global Health

GHealth News - The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the vulnerabilities of global supply chains, particularly impacting low- and middle-income countries' (LMIC) access to essential medical products. The concentration of global manufacturing capacity in a few countries and regions exacerbated this disparity, highlighting the urgent need for equitable solutions. Biological products, such as vaccines, and monoclonal antibodies, offer significant promise in combating global health challenges. However, the limited biomanufacturing capacity in LMICs and a shortage of a qualified workforce impede their production locally for national and regional health needs. In response to the growing need, WHO is launching the Biomanufacturing Workforce Training Initiative. This initiative is coo...

Jan252024 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

8th AMR Conference – Register Now

AMR

GHealth News – Basel, Switzerland's cultural capital, will host the 8th AMR Conference on March 6–7, 2024. This pivotal event will bring together pharmaceutical companies, start-ups, and academics to exchange insights on innovative treatments and diagnostics in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. It also provides a platform for researchers to present their work and address the escalating global threats to public health. The conference is jointly organized by BEAM Alliance and bamconn GmbH. For more information and registration, please visit the link below: www.amr-conference.com

Jan152024 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

WHO certifies Cabo Verde as malaria-free

Communicable Diseases

GHealth News - The World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Cabo Verde as a malaria-free country, marking a significant achievement in global health. With this announcement, Cabo Verde joins the ranks of 43 countries and 1 territory that WHO has awarded this certification. Cabo Verde is the third country to be certified in the WHO African region, joining Mauritius and Algeria which were certified in 1973 and 2019 respectively. Malaria burden is the highest on the African continent, which accounted for approximately 95% of global malaria cases and 96% of related deaths in 2021. Certification of malaria elimination will drive positive development on many fronts for Cabo Verde. Systems and structures built for malaria elimination have strengthened the health system and will b...