Atlanta — Only 10 human cases of Guinea worm were reported worldwide in 2025, the lowest number ever recorded, bringing the ancient disease closer than ever to eradication. The Carter Center announced the historic provisional figure following the one-year anniversary of the passing of the Center’s founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. “President Carter always…
Hours after Donald Trump began his second term as United States president on Jan. 20, 2024, he signed an executive order to end American membership in the World Health Organization (WHO) after one year. This restarted a process that the first Trump administration initiated in July 2020 but was reversed by Joe Biden. The withdrawal…
Timely detection and effective response to foodborne diseases are essential to protect public health and prevent local events from escalating into wider emergencies. To support countries in strengthening these capacities, the World Health Organization has released updated editions of its full set of manuals on strengthening surveillance of and response to foodborne diseases. The updated…
I’ve spent the last 25 years in front of the camera here at CNBC, and people have gotten to know a lot about me. What they don’t know, though, is probably the most important part: My family. And our family is a happy one. But we are also unique, and we have our struggles. Our 9-year-old…
A new year might mean new viral threats. Old viruses are constantly evolving. A warming and increasingly populated planet puts humans in contact with more and different viruses. And increased mobility means that viruses can rapidly travel across the globe along with their human hosts. As an infectious diseases physician and researcher, I’ll be keeping…
Angry French farmers are calling for more protests over the government-backed slaughter of cattle herds affected by so-called Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD). On Thursday there were clashes between riot police and demonstrators in the southern Ariège department, after vets were called in to destroy potentially contaminated cattle at a farm. Elsewhere in the south, farmers…
Gaborone, Botswana — Eight Southern African countries – Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe are joining forces to Prevent, detect and respond to disease outbreaks before they spread to communities. The three-year, USD 35.8 million initiative, Strengthening One Health Disease Surveillance and Response in Southern Africa, coordinated by the World Health…
The authoritative World Health Organization (WHO) World Malaria Report, published on Thursday, shows that resistance to antimalarial drugs now poses one of the most acute risks to control efforts across Africa and beyond. The parasitic mosquito-borne disease is both preventable and curable but it remains a serious and deadly global health threat – claiming hundreds…
Over the past decade or so, the world has witnessed epidemics, one after another: SARS, Bird flu, Swine flu, Ebola, Marburg virus, and the deadly Covid pandemic. About a century ago, there was devastation due to infectious diseases, as there were no effective measures or medicines to check or cure infections. ALSO READ: From heart…
New York — Africa’s health agency has called for urgent action on sickle cell disease, warning that most of the 300,000 babies born with the condition each year on the continent die before their fifth birthday, despite cheap and effective treatments. “Sickle cell disease has silently devastated families across Africa for generations,” said H.E. Dr….
