Africa intensifies battle against mpox as ‘alarming’ outbreaks continue
Researchers and public health officials in Africa are intensifying their battle against mpox, a neglected infectious disease that long has circulated on the continent and suddenly gained notoriety in 2022 when it started to spread rapidly in Europe and North America. At a meeting last week in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, scientists from there and nine other affected African countries reviewed an alarming rise of cases on the continent, discussed plans to improve mpox surveillance and introduce vaccination, and launched an African-led research consortium.
The meeting, convened by the Africa Centres for Disease Co...
Source: ScienceNOW - April 19, 2024 Category: Science Source Type: news
News at a glance: Domestic U.S. postdocs, edited pig organs, and the Milky Way ’s central black hole
FUNDING
South Korea joins Horizon Europe
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (center) and EU leaders announced a research funding deal.
KYODO VIA AP IMAGES
South Korea will participate in the €95.5 billion ($104 billion) Horizon Europe R&D program, the first East Asian country to do so, the European Commission announced last week. South Korean scientists will compete for grants on an equal footing with their European counterparts; in return, South Korea will contribute an as-yet-undisclosed amount to the 7-year program, which expires in 20...
Source: ScienceNOW - March 28, 2024 Category: Science Source Type: news
Smallpox may be gone but U.S. should better prepare for its return, report says
Nearly 5 decades after the last documented case, smallpox remains the only human disease that has been officially eradicated. But a
new report
concludes that the United States can do much to strengthen its ability to respond if the dreaded disease resurfaces, whether naturally, through a lab “leak” of the responsible virus, or from an act of terrorism.
The authors of the smallpox report, however, do not offer a recommendation on the long-running debate over whether the only two labs that still hold samples of variola, the smallpox virus, should destroy them for safety reasons—that issue was outside th...
Source: ScienceNOW - March 26, 2024 Category: Science Source Type: news
Reduced-Dose Vaccines Protect Patients With HIV Against Mpox Reduced-Dose Vaccines Protect Patients With HIV Against Mpox
The smallpox vaccine effectively induces immunity against mpox virus infection in patients with HIV, although patients with low lymphocyte counts require booster doses.Medscape Medical News (Source: Medscape Allergy Headlines)
Source: Medscape Allergy Headlines - February 26, 2024 Category: Allergy & Immunology Tags: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
The Untold Stories About Smallpox Vaccines
Authored by Yuhong Dong via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), In the rich tapestry of medical science, vaccines stand out as monumental achievements lauded for their role in controlling, and sometimes eradicating, some of humanity's deadliest diseases.…#yuhongdong #epochtimes #shutterstock #edwardjenner #mostfearfuldisease #smallpox #milwaukee #wisconsin #jamesphipps #latin (Source: Reuters: Health)
Source: Reuters: Health - December 21, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Obelisk celebrating pioneering Lady Mary Wortley Montagu given higher listing
Aristocrat introduced smallpox inoculation to Britain, saving many lives, yet remains largely unknownIt is a monument that celebrates the achievements of someone who would, her supporters say, be far better known if she had been a man.But now a 300-year-old obelisk is being given one of England ’s highest listings because of the remarkable story it tells of an overlooked medical pioneer.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - December 5, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Mark Brown North of England correspondent Tags: North of England Vaccines and immunisation UK news Heritage Health Society Architecture Statues Culture Art and design Science Women Source Type: news
Obelisk celebrating pioneering Lady Mary Wortley Montagu given highest listing
Aristocrat introduced smallpox inoculation to Britain, saving many lives, yet remains largely unknownIt is a monument that celebrates the achievements of someone who would, her supporters say, be far better known if she had been a man.But now a 300-year-old obelisk is being given one of England ’s highest listings because of the remarkable story it tells of an overlooked medical pioneer.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - December 5, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Mark Brown North of England correspondent Tags: North of England Vaccines and immunisation UK news Heritage Health Society Architecture Statues Culture Art and design Science Women Source Type: news
Epidemiologic and Clinical Features of Mpox in Adults > 50 Years Epidemiologic and Clinical Features of Mpox in Adults > 50 Years
While childhood smallpox vaccination may provide some protection against mpox, adults at risk for mpox, regardless of smallpox vaccination status, should receive the mpox vaccine.Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report (Source: Medscape Hiv-Aids Headlines)
Source: Medscape Hiv-Aids Headlines - October 27, 2023 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: Public Health & Prevention Journal Article Source Type: news
Nigeria: Enhancing Immunisation Through the Northern Nigeria States Routine Immunisation Strengthening Project
[Nigeria Health Watch] Few global health and development interventions have yielded as profound an impact as vaccines. For over two centuries, these remarkable interventions have stood as a defence against vaccine preventable diseases such as polio, measles, and smallpox, enabling children to embrace a healthier, happier future filled with limitless possibilities. However, despite the long-established advantages, low rates of immunisation persist. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)
Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine - August 8, 2023 Category: African Health Tags: Health and Medicine Nigeria West Africa Source Type: news
Robert F Kennedy Jr. Is Dead Wrong About Vaccines
Joe Rogan, America’s most popular podcaster, recently called for Professor Peter Hotez, an internationally recognized pediatric infectious disease doctor and vaccine scientist, to come on his podcast to debate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.), a prolific spreader of medical disinformation. Rogan even offered to donate $100,000 to a charity of Hotez’s choice if he agreed to the debate. Hotez declined—instead offering to be a guest on Rogan’s show to discuss vaccine science.
Hotez is right not to take the bait. Rogan is unqualified to moderate such a debate, and has himself peddled disinformation about...
Source: TIME: Health - June 22, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Edward Nirenberg and Gavin Yamey Tags: Uncategorized freelance health Source Type: news
Could chatbots help devise the next pandemic virus?
Tech experts have been sounding the alarm that artificial intelligence (AI) could turn against humanity by taking over everything from business to warfare. Now, Kevin Esvelt is adding another worry: AI could help somebody with no science background and evil intentions design and order a virus capable of unleashing a pandemic.
Esvelt, a biosecurity expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, recently asked students to create a dangerous virus with the help of ChatGPT or other so-called large language models, systems that can generate humanlike responses to broad questions based on vast training sets of intern...
Source: ScienceNOW - June 14, 2023 Category: Science Source Type: news
Possible Mpox Protection From Smallpox Vaccine Antibodies Possible Mpox Protection From Smallpox Vaccine Antibodies
Could the antibodies generated by the smallpox vaccine help protect against the mpox virus?Emerging Infectious Diseases (Source: Medscape Hiv-Aids Headlines)
Source: Medscape Hiv-Aids Headlines - June 8, 2023 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: Infectious Diseases Journal Article Source Type: news
Got Smallpox Vaccine as a Child? You're Probably Immune to Mpox
THURSDAY, May 25, 2023 -- Smallpox vaccines, which were routinely given into the 1970s, seem to provide protection from mpox, a new study says.
The mpox virus, responsible for a worldwide outbreak last year, could surge again this summer, public... (Source: Drugs.com - Daily MedNews)
Source: Drugs.com - Daily MedNews - May 25, 2023 Category: General Medicine Source Type: news
Mpox Is No Longer a Global Health Emergency, WHO Says
Mpox, a sometimes deadly virus that causes unsightly, painful rashes, is no longer a global health emergency, but more needs to be done to eradicate the disease, the World Health Organization said.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus lowered the global alert level on mpox, previously known as monkeypox, almost a year after first declaring the spread of the virus an extraordinary event.
A PHEIC—pronounced “fake”—applies to an extraordinary event that carries a public-health risk via the international spread of a disease, and one that potentially requires a coordinated response. It can be ...
Source: TIME: Health - May 11, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Thomas Mulier/Bloomberg Tags: Uncategorized bloomberg wire healthscienceclimate Public Health Source Type: news
A 'skinny jab' is no quick fix for obesity - and no excuse to let junk food companies off the hook | Sarah Boseley
Rather than board the injection bandwagon, Britain should be taxing unhealthy food and clamping down on marketingHumankind has been freed from the threat of disease by some wonderful, transformative inventions, from smallpox injections to the Covid vaccinations. With all due respect, I don ’t think the so-called skinny jab is one of them.A boom in injectable weight-loss drugs,such as Wegovy from the Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, a biological type 2 diabetes medication containing semaglutide, has promised to revolutionise obesity treatment in recent months. For some people with serious obesity-related health c...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - April 25, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Sarah Boseley Tags: Obesity Society Diets and dieting Pharmaceuticals industry Drugs Food & drink industry Health Science NHS National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Source Type: news
