infectious diseases - The African Mirror

Sep

2021

Messenger RNA: how it works in nature and in making vaccines

VACCINES have long been an integral part of public health programmes around the world, reducing the spread and severity of infectious diseases. The success of immunisation strategies to protect children from diseases like polio, hepatitis B, and measles, and adults from influenza and pneumococcal disease, can be seen globally. KRISTIE BLOOM, Group Leader: Next-generation Vaccines, Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand The COVID-19 pandemic created an urgent need for an effective vaccine. This is where messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, which are classified as a next-generation technology, gained prominence. Decades of research and clinical development into synthetic mRNA…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

New malaria vaccine proves highly effective – and COVID shows how quickly it could be deployed

HEALTH

CORONAVIRUS vaccines have been developed and deployed in record time, but as global rollout has progressed, too few doses have been made available in low-income countries. It’s a stark reminder that when it comes to infectious diseases, the world’s poorest often get left behind. ADRIAN HILL, Director of the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford This is a problem that extends far beyond COVID-19. In Africa, for example, malaria has probably caused four times as many deaths as COVID-19 over the past year. Thankfully, our new research shows that an effective vaccine against malaria could now be closer than ever before.…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Unemployment is world’s biggest risk, business leaders say

WORLD

UNEMPLOYMENT is seen as the biggest worry over the next 10 years for business executives around the world, closely followed by concern about the spread of infectious diseases, according to a survey by the World Economic Forum. Unemployment rates have rocketed due to lockdowns and other restrictions to combat the coronavirus pandemic, with fears of worse to come in countries which have furloughed workers. "The employment disruptions caused by the pandemic, rising automation and the transition to greener economies are fundamentally changing labour markets," said Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director at the World Economic Forum (WEF). "As we emerge from the…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Can COVID-19 inspire a new way of planning African cities?

AFRICITIES

PATRICK BRANDFUL COBBINAH, Lecturer, University of Melbourne ELLIS ADJEI ADAMS, Assistant professor, University of Notre Dame MICHAEL ODEI ERDIAW-KWASIE, Research fellow, University of Southern Queensland HEALTH crises are not new in Africa. The continent has grappled with infectious diseases on all levels, from local (such as malaria) to regional (Ebola) to global (COVID-19). The region has often carried a disproportionately high burden of global infectious outbreaks. How cities are planned is critical for managing infectious diseases. Historically, many urban planning innovations emerged in response to health crises. The global cholera epidemic in the 1800s led to improved urban sanitation systems.…