Recent News

By Category: Public Health

DA-CAR reiterates guidelines for FMD prevention

(Philippine Information Agency) BAGUIO CITY, July 2 – The Department of Agriculture (DA) Cordillera has reiterated the guidelines for the prevention of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) to help maintain the status of the country as free from the said disease. According the DA regional executive director Marilyn V. Sta Catalina, these guidelines cover the shipment of  Read More »

Evolution of bird flu,and the race to keep up

(Indian Express) On May 20, a 10-year-old girl in rural Cambodia got a fever. Five days later, she was admitted to a hospital, and after two days of intensive care she was dead. The girl was the most recent documented victim of the influenza virus H5N1, a strain that has caused 606 known human cases  Read More »

Rwanda: Country Safe Despite Outbreak of Animal Diseases in the Region

(AllAfrica.com) Despite the outbreak of cattle diseases in the region, the Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) says there is no need to worry that it should affect the country, thanks to a rapid alert system in place. According to RAB, the East African region is in the grip of cattle diseases where in Uganda, districts of  Read More »

Ebola and Marburg Hemorrhagic Fevers: Neglected Tropical Diseases?

(PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases) Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) and Marburg hemorrhagic fever (MHF) are rare viral diseases, endemic to central Africa. The overall burden of EHF and MHF is small in comparison to the more common protozoan, helminth, and bacterial diseases typically referred to as neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). However, EHF and MHF outbreaks typically  Read More »

Gene discovery helps explain how flu can cause severe infections

(University of Edinburgh) Scientists have discovered a new gene in the influenza virus that helps the virus control the body’s response to infection. Although this control is exerted by the virus, surprisingly it reduces the impact of the infection. The study looked at how the gene affected the behaviour of “Spanish flu”, a virulent strain  Read More »