WHO: possible Zika vaccines months away from broad trials
GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization says possible Zika vaccines are at least 18 months away from large-scale trials
Brazil issues Olympics warning as WHO declares Zika emergency
Brazil warned pregnant women Monday to stay away from the Olympics after the World Health Organization declared an international emergency over the Zika virus, blamed for causing a surge in brain-damaged babies. “The risk, which I would say is serious, is for pregnant women.
Syria to South Sudan: aid groups list their top humanitarian concerns for 2016
By Tom Esslemont LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – There's one prediction for 2016 that most aid workers can make with confidence – that the new year will usher in rising humanitarian needs. The United Nations projects that at least 87 million people in dozens of countries will require humanitarian aid next year, and is seeking a record $20.1 billion to meet their needs. In a Thomson Reuters Foundation poll of 15 of the world's leading aid agencies, we asked them to name their top three humanitarian priorities for 2016.
The human cost of cuts to Spain’s prized health system
Madrid (AFP) – “Either we eat or I take my pills,” Maximiliano Diego recalled a patient confessing after stopping treatment because cuts in Spain's public health system forced him to pay for medication from his own pocket. “He cried with fear at the closeness of death… but above all, he cried with shame at having to lie to his doctor,” Diego wrote on the site of an association defending public health, of which he is a member. This is but one example of the human consequences of Spain's financial crisis and subsequent austerity measures that have gnawed away at what the World Health Organization ranked the world's seventh best healthcare system in 2000 — an issue of concern ahead of December 20 elections.
World health chief says US, Saudi discussing MERS vaccine
By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) – The United States and Saudi Arabia may prepare a vaccine for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) to try and head off the next outbreak of the disease, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. Margaret Chan said Saudi Health Minister Khaled al-Falih was discussing this with U.S. public health officials. “They communicated and looked at collaboration and to see whether we can, in terms of preparedness, get some vaccines ready in advance of another MERS outbreak,” Chan told reporters.
Spread of deserts costs trillions, spurs migrants: study
By Alister Doyle OSLO (Reuters) – Land degradation, such as a spread of deserts in parts of Africa, costs the world economy trillions of dollars a year and may drive tens of millions of people from their homes, a U.N.-backed study said on Tuesday. Worldwide, about 52 percent of farmland is already damaged, according to the report by The Economics of Land Degradation (ELD), compiled by 30 research groups around the world. It estimated that land degradation worldwide cost between $6.3 trillion and $10.6 trillion a year in lost benefits such as production of food, timber, medicines, fresh water, cycling of nutrients or absorption of greenhouse gases.
Tests show Ebola in Liberia linked to virus found months ago
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Samples taken from the 17-year-old boy who died from Ebola in Liberia nearly two weeks ago show the virus is genetically similar to viruses that infected many people in the same area more than six months ago, the World Health Organization said Friday.
New Embassies Open Door to Cuba’s Health Care Triumphs
As President Obama proclaimed diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba for the first time in 50 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) was simultaneously celebrating Cuba Wednesday as the first country ever to eliminate mother-to-child transmissions of HIV/AIDS and congenital syphilis. Dr. Roberto Morales, minister of public health and the first Cuban minister to come to the United States since 1952, visited Washington, D.C., to discuss the historic success. While the monumental public health achievement was the intended focus of his news conference, Obama’s news was critical to the process.
Experts expect more MERS cases, downplay chance of pandemic
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Experts from the World Health Organization and South Korea on Saturday downplayed concerns about the MERS virus spreading further within the country, which recorded its 14th death and 12 new infections, but said that it was premature to declare the outbreak over.
U.S. jury clears Pfizer in second trial over Zoloft
By Jessica Dye NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. jury on Thursday said Pfizer Inc was not responsible for birth defects in a young girl whose mother took its antidepressant Zoloft while pregnant, the second straight win for the company out of hundreds of similar lawsuits. Plaintiff Rachel Robinson claimed in her 2011 lawsuit that Pfizer failed to warn that using Zoloft during pregnancy could cause birth defects and sought damages from the company after her now eight-year-old daughter was born with a rare, serious heart problem. Following a week-and-a-half long trial in state court in Philadelphia, jurors on Thursday returned a verdict for the company, according to Pfizer spokeswoman Neha Wadhwa.