Recent News

By Region: Africa

Long-term public health support needed to tackle infectious disease outbreaks

(EurekAlert) Outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as swine flu (H1N1) threaten global health and should be considered by funding agencies and humanitarian organizations as development issues rather than emergency situations, requiring long-term support and investment, according to US experts writing in this week’s PLOS Medicine. The authors from several US institutions, led by Tiffany Bogich  Read More »

New tuberculosis drug trial begins in South Africa

(EurekAlert) Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and AstraZeneca, a global biopharmaceutical company, today announced the first patient enrolled in a Phase 2a trial to assess the effectiveness of AZD5847, a new test drug for patients with tuberculosis (TB), including patients with HIV co-infection. The study is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy  Read More »

Texan tracking down disease outbreaks around the world

(States Man) Joel Montgomery spends most of his time working with his team of epidemiologists to suppress outbreaks of dengue fever and Rift Valley fever in Kenya. “Both are mosquito-borne diseases that can be fatal,” Montgomery said. “We’re concerned about Rift Valley fever getting to the U.S., because it can infect cattle.” But on a  Read More »

Countries to Examine Options for Strengthening Bioweapons Convention

(Global Security Newswire) Nations are set at a yearly gathering next week to consider means of bolstering compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention and building on its ability to impede the creation or employment of arms-usable disease agents and toxins, the United Nations said. The meeting of treaty signatories would examine advancements since the 2011  Read More »

Kenya bans importation of all GMO foods

(Digital Journal) In a groundbreaking act, Public Health Minister Beth Mugo of the Kenyan government has advised that Kenya has completely banned the importation of all genetically modified (GMO) food into the country, until exhaustive tests on health effects are complete. Stressing that the decision was taken from genuine concern for Kenyans’ health, the move  Read More »