The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services on Monday confirmed the death of a middle-aged eastern Iowa resident from Lassa fever. The individual had recently returned from travel to West Africa, where it is believed the person contracted the virus, the state health department said. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is…
read moreIslamabad — Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan simultaneously launched fresh vaccination campaigns against polio Monday amid a resurgence in cases in the only two countries globally where the virus continues to be endemic and paralyze children. The World Health Organization reported 64 polio infections this year: 41 from Pakistan and 23 from Afghanistan, up from six each…
read moreBERLIN, Germany — Close to 200 countries are scheduled to negotiate a new climate finance target for the Global South at the U.N. Climate Change Conference, or COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November. Dubbed the “Finance COP,” next month’s conference is expected to see focused discussions on a New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance, or…
read moreMaulana Tayyab Qureshi, the top cleric in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, has seen up close the devastating effects of polio. Two of his own kin were once paralyzed, victims of a scourge that has been vanquished worldwide yet refuses to go away from Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan. “Had their parents not neglected [to have their…
read moreSnakebites are classified as a neglected tropical disease by the World Health Organization. In South Africa and other countries in the region, there are numerous barriers to getting the antivenom necessary to save limbs and lives. But scientists are working to make antivenom cheaper, safer and easier to produce. Kate Bartlett reports from Johannesburg. Camera:…
read moreThe naturally occurring form of polio remains active in only two countries in the world: Pakistan and Afghanistan. Over 50 cases of so-called wild polio have been confirmed in the region this year despite continuing efforts to eradicate the disease. This report comes from both sides of the border, narrated by Bezhan Hamdard. …
read moreOne person died and dozens fell ill from E. coli infections linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers in 10 states, led by Colorado, where 26 people were sickened, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said on Tuesday. The E. coli outbreak, linked to one of McDonald’s most popular menu items, has sickened 49 people and…
read moreHealth officials say there have been six cases of polio reported in Ivory Coast in 2023, and one so far this year. It doesn’t seem like many, but any polio cases are cause for concern among health officials trying to completely eradicate the disease. VOA’s Yassin Ciyow reports from Abidjan, in this story narrated by…
read moreBerlin — An infection with the new mpox variant clade 1b has been detected in Germany for the first time, the Robert Koch Institute health authority said on Tuesday. The infection occurred abroad and was detected last Friday, the institute said, adding that it did not see an increased risk for Germany but was “monitoring…
read moreHONG KONG — China’s National Health Commission (NHC) published its first set of guidelines to standardize the diagnosis and treatment of obesity, with more than half of China’s adults already overweight and obese, and the rate expected to keep rising. The guidelines, made public on October 17, come as China experiences an upward morbidity trend of…
read moreBogota, Colombia — Global environmental leaders gather Monday in Cali, Colombia to assess the world’s plummeting biodiversity levels and commitments by countries to protect plants, animals and critical habitats. The two-week United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or COP16, is a follow-up to the 2022 Montreal meetings where 196 countries signed a historic global treaty to protect biodiversity.…
read moreGeneva — The WHO chief on Sunday urged Rwanda to keep up its fightback against Marburg, as the country battles an outbreak of one of the world’s deadliest viruses. There have been 62 confirmed cases and 15 deaths in the outbreak, which was first announced in late September. No new cases have been detected in the…
read moreISLAMABAD — Pakistan said Saturday that two children in its southern Sindh province had been paralyzed by poliovirus, bringing the total number of cases nationwide to 39 for the year since March, when officials confirmed the first case. The South Asian nation of around 240 million people reported six cases of paralytic poliovirus infections in 2023,…
read moreABUJA, NIGERIA — Nigeria officially launched its malaria vaccination campaign this week to protect millions of children from the deadly disease, focusing heavily on high-risk states. The first 846,000 doses of the R21 malaria vaccine arrived in Abuja, Nigeria, on Thursday, marking a milestone in efforts to eliminate malaria. According to the World Health Organization, the…
read moreKAMIMOMI, Japan — In the remote village of Kamimomi in Japan’s western Okayama prefecture, a small group of rice farmers began their most recent harvest in sweltering heat, two weeks sooner than usual. The prefecture is called “the Land of Sunshine” because of its pleasant climate, but farmers working among the paddy fields and ancient rice…
read moreTwo years after reaching a historic biodiversity agreement, countries will gather next week to determine whether they are making progress on efforts to save Earth’s plant and animal life. The agreement signed by 196 countries at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference calls for protecting 30% of land and water by 2030, known as 30 by…
read moreWhen a woman has a mammogram, the most important finding is whether there’s any sign of breast cancer. The second most important finding is whether her breasts are dense. Since early September, a new U.S. rule requires mammography centers to inform women about their breast density — information that isn’t entirely new for some women…
read moreWINDHOEK, NAMIBIA — Namibians who are part of the LGBTQ+ community often find it difficult to get decent health care and many report discriminatory practices within the health care system. For example, when 20-year-old Immanuel Uirab sought contraception at a health facility, the nurse on duty would not assist him. “I don’t know if it’s the…
read morewashington — The Orionids — one of two annual meteor showers from Halley’s comet — peak early Monday. A bright waning moon may make them difficult to spot. The Orionid meteor shower can be unpredictable. It shines like a fireworks display in some years but is fairly slow in other years. This highly variable shower may…
read moreScientists say beef production takes a heavy toll on the environment. Cattle produce methane, a powerful planet-warming gas, and forests get cut down for pastures. But one farm in northern Colombia hopes to show ranching can have a lighter footprint on the planet. Austin Landis travelled to Montería in northern Colombia for a closer look…
read moreGeneva — The World Health Organization said on Tuesday it had been able to start its polio campaign in central Gaza and vaccinate tens of thousands of children despite Israeli strikes in the designated protected zone hours before. As part of an agreement between the Israeli military and Palestinian militant group Hamas, humanitarian pauses in the…
read moreCAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — A NASA spacecraft rocketed away Monday on a quest to explore Jupiter’s tantalizing moon Europa and reveal whether its vast hidden ocean might hold the keys to life. It will take Europa Clipper 5 1/2 years to reach Jupiter, where it will slip into orbit around the giant gas planet and sneak…
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