Yellow fever – Gabon
On 15 April 2020, WHO received information regarding a confirmed case of yellow fever in Magandi village, Tchibanga city in Nyanga Province of southern Gabon, 590 km from the capital, Libreville. The case is an 83-year-old male with no known vaccination history for yellow fever. He had onset of symptoms on 30 January 2020 and presented to a health facility on 2 February 2020 with abdominal pain and jaundice. Between 2 February and 9 April, he consulted the Urban Health Centre in Tchibanga, the Christian Alliance Hospital in Bongolo and the University hospital in the capital Libreville where the case received anti-malarial...
Source: WHO Disease Outbreaks - June 17, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: news Source Type: news
Yellow fever – Togo
On 20 April 2020, WHO received information regarding a confirmed yellow fever case in Galangashie health area, located 30 km from Mango village, Oti district, Savanes region in the northern part of Togo. The case is a 55-year-old woman with no vaccination history for yellow fever. She had onset of symptoms on 31 January 2020 and presented to a health facility on 3 February 2020 with fever and aches. The following day she developed jaundice and a blood sample was taken. On 7 February , the blood sample was transported to the national laboratory. On 10 February , the sample from the case was received at the national laborat...
Source: WHO Disease Outbreaks - June 5, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: news Source Type: news
Child vaccinations down in DR Congo, and COVID-19 is not helping: UNICEF
Fewer children are getting vaccinated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the COVID-19 pandemic is almost certainly going to make matters worse, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says. If the trend continues, it could trigger a resurgence in deadly childhood diseases such as polio, chickenpox, measles, yellow fever, hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and meningitis. (Source: UN News Centre - Health, Poverty, Food Security)
Source: UN News Centre - Health, Poverty, Food Security - May 15, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news
Prevention of yellow fever in travellers: an update
This article briefly reviews strategies to prevent yellow fever infection in travellers with the use of yellow fever vaccination and the use of personal protection measures to avoid mosquito bites. (Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH))
Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH) - May 15, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Polio, Measles Outbreaks ‘Inevitable’, Say Vaccine Experts
A young boy in Pakistan receives an oral polio vaccine (OPV). Credit: Ashfaq Yusufzai/IPSBy Laura MackenzieMay 6 2020 (IPS) Interruptions to vaccination programmes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could result in new waves of measles or polio outbreaks, health experts warn.
A growing number of one-off immunisation campaigns and national routine vaccine introductions are being delayed amid social distancing and other measures to curb the spread of SARS-CoV-2, leaving millions unprotected.
With both preventive campaigns and routine immunisations impacted, “we’ll have an increasing number of children who will become suscep...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - May 6, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Laura Mackenzie Tags: Global Headlines Health TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news
The legacy of Benjamin Rush
Although the coronavirus' effects may seem shockingly new to most, the U.S. has been through pandemics that have upended life in the past. Yellow fever ravaged Philadelphia in 1793, and one doctor, Benjamin Rush, worked tirelessly to treat the sick. When he was not doing that, Rush was dining with iconic Americans such as John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Michelle Miller speaks to Stephen Fried, author of the biography "Rush," about the historic figure's unique legacy. (Source: Health News: CBSNews.com)
Source: Health News: CBSNews.com - April 25, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Yellow fever – Ethiopia
On 3 March 2020, the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) reported three suspected yellow fever cases in Enor Ener Woreda, Gurage zone, SNNPR. The three reported cases were members of the same household (father, mother and son) located in a rural kebele. Two of three samples tested positive at national level by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and were subsequently confirmed positive by plaque reduction neutralization testing (PRNT) at the regional reference laboratory, Uganda Viral Research Institute (UVRI) on 28 March 2020. In response to the positive RT-PCR results, the EPHI and Ministry of ...
Source: WHO Disease Outbreaks - April 22, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: news Source Type: news
Yellow fever – Republic of South Sudan
On 3 March 2020, a WHO supported cross-border rapid response investigation identified two presumptive positive cases of yellow fever in Kajo Keji county, Central Equatoria State, South Sudan. The initial Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing conducted at the National Public Health Laboratory in Juba, South Sudan tuned out negative. However, following further testing, both the cases were confirmed positive for yellow fever by plaque reduction neutralization testing (PRNT) at the regional reference laboratory, Uganda Viral Research Institute (UVRI) on 28 March. The investigation was mounted in response to the recently dec...
Source: WHO Disease Outbreaks - April 18, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: news Source Type: news
Genetic variation not an obstacle to gene drive strategy to control mosquitoes
(University of California - Davis) New research from entomologists at UC Davis clears a potential obstacle to using CRISPR-Cas9 'gene drive' technology to control mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever and Zika. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - April 16, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
Yellow fever – Republic of South Sudan
On 3 March 2020, the Ministry of Health of South Sudan reported two presumptive positive cases of yellow fever in Kajo Keni county, Central Equatoria State, South Sudan. Both the cases were subsequently confirmed positive by plaque reduction neutralization testing (PRNT) at the regional reference laboratory, Uganda Viral Research Institute (UVRI) on 28 March. The cases were identified through a cross-border rapid response team investigation mounted in response to the recently declared outbreak in bordering Moyo district, Uganda. During the investigation, the team collected 41 blood samples from five villages which were in...
Source: WHO Disease Outbreaks - April 10, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: news Source Type: news
Plagues and People – The Coronavirus in a Historical Perspective
By Jan LundiusSTOCKHOLM / ROME, Mar 19 2020 (IPS) The human factor is intimately involved in the origin, spread, and mitigation of the Coronavirus and we cannot afford to ignore that our future existence depends on compassion and cooperation. Response matters!
Some quarantined Italians might recall Giovanni Boccaccio´s The Decameron from 1353 in which people escaping the plague are secluded in a villa where they tell stories to each other. Boccaccio introduced his collection of short stories with an eyewitness account of horrifying human suffering in Florence, which in 1348 was struck by a ”pestilence” that every day...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - March 19, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Jan Lundius Tags: Global Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies TerraViva United Nations Women's Health Source Type: news
Nigeria: Over 3.4 Million Persons Vaccinated Against Yellow Fever in Rivers State
[WHO] "All four members of my family have been vaccinated against yellow fever in this ongoing vaccination campaign," says Tonma Oruye. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)
Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine - March 13, 2020 Category: African Health Source Type: news
India did have an innate, natural shield against coronavirus, after all
Weather could be the reason why Ebola, yellow fever, SARS and MERS — which took a high global toll over the past one decade — had negligible impact on India. After ravaging countries that have more agreeable climatic conditions, viruses — no matter however deadly — lose their killer edge once they encounter India's high temperature and humidity. (Source: The Economic Times)
Source: The Economic Times - March 2, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
India may have an innate, natural shield against coronavirus, after all
Weather could be the reason why Ebola, yellow fever, SARS and MERS had negligible impact on India. (Source: The Economic Times)
Source: The Economic Times - March 2, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
India may have an innate, natural defence against coronavirus, after all
Weather could be the reason why Ebola, yellow fever, SARS and MERS had negligible impact on India. (Source: The Economic Times Healthcare and Biotech News)
Source: The Economic Times Healthcare and Biotech News - March 2, 2020 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: news
