NEWSWORTHY
Scientists said Monday they had discovered immune cells that can fight all known flu viruses in what was hailed as an "extraordinary breakthrough" that could lead to a universal, one-shot vaccine against the killer disease. Influenza epidemics, largely seasonal, kill hundreds of thousands of people ...
Turn down the volume: WHO takes aim at harmful smartphone use, saying over 1 billion people at risk
More than 1 billion young people risk damaging their hearing through excessive use of smartphones and other audio devices, the U.N. warned Tuesday, proposing new safety standards for safe volume levels. In a bid to safeguard hearing, the World Health Organization and International Telecommunications Union ...
Experts call for WHO emergency declaration on Congo's Ebola epidemic
An international group of public health experts have called on The World Health Organization to convene an emergency committee and consider declaring Congo's Ebola outbreak an international public health emergency. The group of experts wrote in the Lancet Monday that such a call would help ...
A vaccine given to girls to protect them against a virus that causes cervical cancer is a "critical" health tool and access to it should be scaled up as swiftly as possible, especially in poorer countries, cancer experts said Monday. Figures from the World Health ...
WHO warns of deadly outbreak of rat-borne hantavirus in Argentina as fatalities reach at least 11
At least 11 people have died in Argentina after becoming infected with hantavirus, a disease carried by rats and other rodents, according to a news alert from the World Health Organization (WHO). Among 29 cases of the disease confirmed with laboratory tests between late October ...
In 'unexpected' gender role twist, Congo Ebola outbreak hits more women as they head households
About two-thirds of patients in Congo's latest Ebola outbreak have been women, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, calling for more focus on gender in disease control and prevention. The outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is the world's second-largest and has infected ...
On high alert for Ebola, bustling Ugandan border town braces for influx from Congo
Stormwater from the peaks of the Rwenzori Mountains swells the muddy Lhubiriha River that marks the often porous border between western Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Less than 70 km (40 miles) away, authorities have already confirmed one case of Ebola, part of ...
China gene-editing scientist's project rejected for WHO database
The global medical community is distancing itself further from the researcher whose controversial gene-editing work has been condemned by scientists and the Chinese government. A Chinese branch of the World Health Organization has withdrawn an application to register He Jiankui's project in its clinical database. ...
WHO plans team to consider standards for 'uncharted water' gene editing
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday that gene editing "may have unintended consequences" and that it was setting up a team of experts to study the ethical, social and safety dimensions and set guidelines. "Gene editing may have unintended consequences, this is uncharted ...
Health workers on Wednesday launched a door-to-door, four-day blitz to control malaria in Democratic Republic of Congo with the aim of cutting suspected Ebola cases in half. "It will make things a lot easier if malaria is taken out of the equation," Stefan Hoyer of ...
Congo Ebola response efforts resume in Beni after clashes: WHO
Efforts to fight a deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo's restive eastern Beni region have resumed after a brief suspension following clashes, the World Health Organization said Sunday. "On Sunday, all activities have re-launched, including vaccination," the UN health agency said in ...
Backed by Saudi air support, Yemen troops advance deeper into Houthi rebel-held Hodeida
Yemeni pro-government forces backed by Saudi-led coalition warplanes advanced inside rebel-held Hodeida Thursday, leaving hundreds of thousands of civilians bracing for fighting in the streets of the Red Sea port city. After a week of intense battles with the Iran-backed Houthi insurgents on the outskirts ...
