HEALTH - The African Mirror

Aug

22

2022

How African countries coordinated the response to COVID-19: lessons for public health

COVID-19

THE COVID-19 pandemic spread much slower on the African continent than in the rest of the world, contrary to predictions. As of 20 July 2022, a total of 562,672,324 COVID-19 confirmed cases and 6,367,793 deaths had been recorded globally. Only 1.63% (9,176,657) of the global cases and 2.73% (173,888) of global deaths recorded were from the African continent – which has around 17% of the world’s population. Multiple reasons for the slower spread have been put forward. One was that the continent’s population is relatively young and younger people were at lower risk of severe illness in the event of…

Aug

16

2022

By The African Mirror

The COVID lab leak theory is dead. Here’s how we know the virus came from a Wuhan market

COVID-19

MY colleagues and I published the most detailed studies of the earliest events in the COVID-19 pandemic last month in the journal Science. Together, these papers paint a coherent evidence-based picture of what took place in the city of Wuhan during the latter part of 2019. The take-home message is the COVID pandemic probably did begin where the first cases were detected – at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. At the same time this lays to rest the idea that the virus escaped from a laboratory. Author EDWARD C HOLMES, ARC Australian Laureate Fellow and Professor, University of Sydney Huanan…

Oct

19

2022

By The African Mirror

Anxiety detection and treatment in early childhood can lower risk for long-term mental health issues – an expert panel now recommends screening starting at age 8

HEALTH

THE U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of experts in primary care and prevention, issued a final recommendation on Oct. 11, 2022, published in the journal JAMA, stating that all children and adolescents between the ages of 8 and 18 should be screened for anxiety, regardless of whether they have symptoms. The recommendation follows a systematic review that evaluated the potential harms and benefits of screening. The Conversation asked Elana Bernstein, a school psychologist who researches child and adolescent anxiety, to explain the task force’s recommendations and what they might mean for kids, parents and providers. Author ELANA…

Oct

17

2022

By The African Mirror

EBOLA: Uganda introduces lockdown measures to halt spread

HEALTH

UGANDA President Yoweri Museveni said the government was implementing an overnight curfew, closing places of worship and entertainment, and restricting movement into and out of two districts affected by Ebola for 21 days. The measures aimed at curbing the spread of the disease will be introduced immediately in Mubende and Kassanda districts in central Uganda, the epicentre of the epidemic, he said in a televised national address. "These are temporary measures to control the spread of Ebola. We should all cooperate with authorities so we bring this outbreak to an end in the shortest possible time," Museveni said. Museveni said…

Nov

03

2022

By The African Mirror

Ebola in Uganda: lessons from COVID show that heavy-handed lockdowns may be a bad idea

HEALTH

SINCE the first case of the current Ebola outbreak in Uganda was confirmed in mid-September, the number of cases has topped 127 across seven districts, including 17 in the capital city Kampala. Yet most people living in the city fear another round of lockdowns perhaps even more than they fear becoming infected. Two high-risk districts are already under a 21-day lockdown. And although the government says it is not considering Kampala high risk at the moment, it has not shied away from using the “threat” of lockdowns to try to persuade people to conform to the health procedures. These include…

Oct

15

2022

By The African Mirror

Nigerian newborns weigh less if their mothers use biomass fuel – a major health risk

HEALTH

BABIES should ideally weigh about 2,500g or more at birth. Birth weight is a vital indicator of foetal and neonatal health. If a newborn weighs less than 2,500g – because they are preterm or their growth in the womb was restricted for some reason – they are more at risk of death, disability and non-communicable diseases. The low birth weight infant’s tiny body is not as strong as it should be. The baby might struggle to gain weight and fight infection. And with so little body fat, these babies often have difficulty staying warm in normal temperatures. Low birth weight…

Oct

25

2022

By The African Mirror

COVID disrupted measles vaccinations in Africa and now cases are surging

HEALTH

EDWARD MCALLISTER and JENNIFER RIGBY CLUTCHING an umbrella, medical records and her two-year-old daughter, Kani Fall negotiated the brown puddles lapping at the hospital gate, the final hurdle in a two-hour, rain-soaked journey to her nearest vaccination clinic in the western Gambia. Fall waited with dozens of mothers and babies in the flooded courtyard of Bundung Hospital. Then a doctor emerged with bad news. The hospital had run out of measles vaccines, and it wasn't clear when they would receive more. "They told me there was no vaccine. But I am coming back," said Fall, 27, who had closed her…

Jul

06

2022

By The African Mirror

How will U.S. abortion ruling impact other countries?

HEALTH

EMMA BATHA and DIANA BAPTISTA THE U.S. Supreme Court's decision to revoke a woman's right to abortion could threaten efforts to liberalize laws in other countries and fuel calls to roll back progressive legislation, reproductive rights experts say. They warned that the court's bombshell ruling on June 24 would embolden anti-abortion groups and lawmakers in Africa, Latin America and beyond. It could also hurt funding for sexual and reproductive health services in developing nations, rights experts said. "When America sneezes, the world catches cold," said former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark, chairwoman of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and…

Jul

01

2022

By BHARGAV ACHARYA and NELLIE PEYTON

Africa in need of test kits, vaccines as monkeypox spreads

HEALTH

BHARGAV ACHARYA and NELLIE PEYTON AFRICA has no vaccines for monkeypox and test kits are in short supply, international health agencies said, warning that richer countries already appeared to be hoarding vaccines. Monkeypox is a viral disease that causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions. It is endemic in parts of Africa but has also recently been reported in countries with no history of human transmission, including Ghana, Morocco and South Africa. "The geographic spread of monkeypox to parts of Africa where cases have never been detected before is a worrying sign," said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization (WHO)…

Jul

08

2022

By The African Mirror

Monkeypox on course to be new global health emergency

HEALTH

MORE than 6,000 cases of monkeypox have now been reported from 58 countries in the current outbreak, the World Health Organization said. The U.N. agency will reconvene a meeting of the committee that will advise on declaring the outbreak a global health emergency, the WHO's highest level of alert, in the week beginning July 18 or sooner, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual news conference from Geneva. At its previous meeting on June 27, the committee decided that the outbreak, which has seen cases rising both in the African countries where it usually spreads and globally, was not yet…