Q & A on the investigational vaccine candidate M72/AS01E
M72/AS01E is a subunit vaccine comprised of an immunogenic fusion protein (M72) derived from two Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) antigens (MTB32A and MTB39A), and the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) proprietary adjuvant AS01E. AS01E is the same adjuvant used in Shingrix GSK vaccine, as well as in the new malaria vaccine RTS,S/AS01E. The M72/AS01E vaccine candidate is being developed by the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, in partnership with AERAS. AERAS is a not for profit organization based in the US, aimed at supporting tuberculosis vaccine research, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, the UK Department for...
Source: WHO Feature Stories - October 10, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: tuberculosis [subject], tb Source Type: news
Q & A with Dr Ann Moen: How influenza preparedness helps fight other infectious diseases
Capacity building for influenza is critical because if you can prepare for and respond to flu outbreaks or respiratory events, you learn and practice for responses to other emerging diseases. Flu is not a sporadic outbreak like Ebola or Zika. It is always there, so there is always something to practice with and keep skills sharp. Because flu is a continual threat there is a lot of learning that goes on which also supports work on other emerging diseases. It ’s like the basic architecture for capacity building in all areas. For example, you can practice your communications for responding to outbreaks and better understan...
Source: WHO Feature Stories - October 10, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: immunization [subject], vaccination, influenza [subject], flu, seasonal influenza, pandemic influenza Source Type: news
Committing to End TB in Children, Adolescents and Families
On the eve of the 73rd UN General Assembly, UNICEF, WHO and the Stop TB Partnership hosted a side-event to show commitment and accelerate action towards ending TB in children, adolescents and families. Co-sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations, the Danish Ministry of Health, the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations, TB Alliance, Louder Than TB, Treatment Action Group, Unitaid, the Global Fund, USAID, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, JHPIEGO, The Union, KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation and Every Woman Every Child, the event aimed to show commitment and accelerate action toward...
Source: WHO Feature Stories - October 10, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: communicable disease [subject], infectious diseases, tuberculosis [subject], tb, tuberculosis [subject], tb Source Type: news
Viet Nam on track to End TB
Viet Nam Health Minister Nguy ễn Thị Kim Tiến joined Head of States, Ministers and other leaders at the first-ever United Nations High-Level Meeting on TB on 26th September at the 2018 General Assembly in New York. She delivered a powerful statement of commitment to action during the plenary, and at a media briefing on the High Level Meeting. “Viet Nam warmly congratulates the United Nations for holding a successful High Level Meeting on ending TB,” said Madame Nguyễn Thị Kim Tiến, Health Minister of Viet Nam while speaking to journalists at the UN. “This event has great significance, while ambitious with...
Source: WHO Feature Stories - October 2, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: communicable disease [subject], infectious diseases, tuberculosis [subject], tb, tuberculosis [subject], tb Source Type: news
Vaccination: three women in Nicaragua take a different journey towards a common goal
April 2018 Karla Bethania Ortiz, 26, from Comarca Bosque de Xilo á, Nicaragua, never understood why she was not vaccinated as a child. Unlike her friends, she did not have a vaccination card. (Source: WHO Feature Stories)
Source: WHO Feature Stories - April 23, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: immunization [subject], vaccination, vaccines [subject], vaccine, vaccine safety, vaccine quality, Feature [doctype], Nicaragua [country], Region of the Americas [region] Source Type: news
Unveiling vaccine hesitancy in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Immunization rates in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina are as low as 40% in some areas and continuing to decline, increasing the risk of large disease outbreaks. But, no one knows precisely why. Growing vaccine hesitancy, misinformation in social media, lack of trust in the health system, a shortage of health workers and supply issues are all suspected reasons for low coverage rates. However, these are mostly assumptions with little evidence. (Source: WHO Feature Stories)
Source: WHO Feature Stories - April 18, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: vaccines [subject], vaccine, vaccine safety, vaccine quality, Bosnia and Herzegovina [country], European Region [region], Feature [doctype] Source Type: news
From Trauma to Recovery: Addressing Emergency Care in Afghanistan
After fighting broke out in the rural district of Chark-Logar, Salim and his family were forced to flee their home. During the firefight, his brother was killed and Salim was shot in the stomach. It took Salim two hours until he reached a first aid post. In the process, he became separated from his wife and children. Two days later he was transferred to a hospital run by Emergency, an Italian NGO specialized in trauma care. Salim's story is not unusual in today's Afghanistan, which is in the midst of one of the longest protracted complex emergencies in the world. It faces prolonged conflict, frequent natural disasters and...
Source: WHO Feature Stories - April 17, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: emergencies [subject], emergency preparedness, crises, emergency preparedness, Afghanistan [country], Eastern Mediterranean Region [region], Feature [doctype] Source Type: news
Belize steps up to prioritize the health challenges faced by its youth
Jared Cain, 18, from the south side of Belize City, Belize, knows all too well the sound of gunshots. "In the past two to three weeks alone, there ’s been multiple shootings in my neighborhood," says Cain, a member of the Belize Children’s Advisory Body and the Belize Family Life Association Youth Advocacy Movement. "It’s common to hear gunshots outside my window while I’m studying or playing video games with friends." (Source: WHO Feature Stories)
Source: WHO Feature Stories - April 11, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: adolescent health [subject], adolescent, youth, young people, teen health, teenager, adolescence, adolescents, Belize [country], Feature [doctype], Region of the Americas [region] Source Type: news
Healing the mental scars of violence in northeastern Nigeria
It began as a hot autumn day like any other for Aisha (pseudonym). The girl with big eyes was looking out of the window of her house, watching a group of men approach her brothers who were harvesting crops. Aisha thought they were family friends because they came up close to her siblings. Her mother Gaji was doing her household chores when she heard her 13-year-old daughter let out a piercing scream. (Source: WHO Feature Stories)
Source: WHO Feature Stories - April 9, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: emergencies [subject], emergency preparedness, crises, emergency preparedness, mental health [subject], mental health promotion, violence [subject], violence prevention, African Region [region], Feature [doctype], Nigeria [country] Source Type: news
Enabling quick action to save lives – the Contingency Fund for Emergencies
In October 2016, Haiti was hit by its strongest hurricane for more than half a century. Hurricane Matthew caused enormous damage, killing more than 470 people, leaving more than 175 000 homeless and decimating what little infrastructure the country had. Despite the devastation, within five days of receiving a request for help, WHO medical supplies – including cholera and malaria diagnosis and treatment kits – were being delivered to affected areas. (Source: WHO Feature Stories)
Source: WHO Feature Stories - March 22, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: emergencies [subject], emergency preparedness, crises, emergency preparedness, Feature [doctype] Source Type: news
On the trail of Lassa fever in southern Nigeria
Nafissa Ikerodah is both a detective and diplomat of sorts. On a Saturday morning in early March, the Disease Surveillance Officer in Edo State area rushes to a household where a man has just died of Lassa fever. The young father left behind two sons who show symptoms of the infectious disease. Nafissa wants to get the children to a hospital as quickly as possible. One boy is so weak he can barely stand. (Source: WHO Feature Stories)
Source: WHO Feature Stories - March 21, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: lassa fever [subject] Source Type: news
On the frontlines of the fight against Lassa fever in Nigeria
In early January, John had one of the most terrifying experiences of his life. The mechanic from a rural community in Edo state in southern Nigeria came down with Lassa fever. “I was scared the illness would kill me,” says John, who prefers to go by a pseudonym. (Source: WHO Feature Stories)
Source: WHO Feature Stories - March 15, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: lassa fever [subject] Source Type: news
Saving lives by sharing knowledge online
The early 21st century – with its increased travel and trade, rapid urbanization, environmental degradation and climate change – could have been fashioned to help epidemics thrive and grow. As public health emergencies have become more complex so have the responses – with local, national and international personnel involved, all bringing different backgrounds, cultures and levels of knowledge. (Source: WHO Feature Stories)
Source: WHO Feature Stories - March 13, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: Feature [doctype] Source Type: news
Denmark campaign rebuilds confidence in HPV vaccination
When Eigil Rosegar Poulsen first heard about the controversy over the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination in Denmark, he became quite upset. Still, the debate sparked a desire to share his story. In 2010 Eigil lost his wife, Trine, to cervical cancer —a disease caused by the HPV virus—leaving him to raise their three daughters alone. Though the WHO-recommended vaccine against the most common types of the virus was only introduced in Denmark’s child vaccination schedule in 2009, far too late for his wife to benefit, Eigil is a strong advoc ate for vaccination. (Source: WHO Feature Stories)
Source: WHO Feature Stories - February 28, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: adolescent health [subject], adolescent, youth, young people, teen health, teenager, adolescence, adolescents, cancer [subject], cervical cancer, cervical cancer [subject], cervical tumour, cervical neoplasm Source Type: news
Незаменимая роль резервных партнеров в реагировании на чрезвычайные ситуации
Многие чрезвычайные ситуации в области здравоохранения возникают внезапно. Чтобы спасти людей, пресечь распространение болезни или ликвидировать последствия сти хийного бедствия, необходимо как можно быстрее доставить помощь туда, где в ней нуждаются. И прежде всего туда нужно доставить квалифицированный и опытный персонал . «Дополнитель...
Source: WHO Feature Stories - February 6, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: emergencies [subject], emergency preparedness, crises, emergency preparedness Source Type: news
