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WHO says global rise in COVID cases is ‘tip of the iceberg’

WHO says global rise in COVID cases is ‘tip of the iceberg’

JENNIFER RIGBY and MANAS MISHRA FIGURES showing a global rise in COVID-19 cases could herald a much bigger problem as some countries also report a drop in testing rates, the WHO said, warning nations to remain vigilant against the virus. After more than a month of decline, COVID cases started to increase around the world last week, the WHO said, with lockdowns in Asia and China's Jilin province battling to contain an outbreak. A combination of factors was causing the increases, including the highly transmissible Omicron variant and its BA.2 sublineage, and the lifting of public health and social measures,…
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Wins, missteps and lessons: African experts reflect on two years of COVID response

Wins, missteps and lessons: African experts reflect on two years of COVID response

ON 11 March 2020, just months after the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus was first identified in China, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a public health emergency of international concern. Over the next two years, COVID-19 would go on to infect nearly half a billion people, killing over 6 million around the world. Governments introduced strict lockdowns with stay-at-home orders that shut down the global economy. Now, most of the world is opening up. The Conversation Africa spoke to public health experts based in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa to get their take on the biggest lessons so far. The…
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“Africa COVID cases could be 7 times higher”

“Africa COVID cases could be 7 times higher”

THE World Health Organization estimates that the number of COVID-19 infections in Africa could be seven times higher than official data suggests, while deaths from the virus could be two to three times higher, its regional head said on Thursday. "We're very much aware that our surveillance systems problems that we had on the continent, with access to testing supplies, for example, have led to an underestimation of the cases," Dr Matshidiso Moeti told a regular online media briefing.
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COVID: WHO recommends two new treatments – here’s how they work

COVID: WHO recommends two new treatments – here’s how they work

BACK in early 2020, if you got ill with COVID there were no proven treatments for doctors to give you – it was one of the main things that made this disease so scary. Fast forward to 2021 and scientists have since uncovered a handful of options, but the hunt is continuing. More than 5,000 trials for COVID drugs are registered or ongoing. Author FILIPA HENDERSON SOUSA, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Infectious Diseases, Edinburgh Napier University Thankfully, these are now bearing fruit. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently added two additional drugs to its COVID treatment guidelines. COVID disease…
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Meningitis outbreak kills 129 in north-east Congo

Meningitis outbreak kills 129 in north-east Congo

A meningitis outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo's north-eastern Tshopo province has killed 129 of the 267 people who have been infected since the first cases were discovered in June, the health minister has announced. Tests carried out by the Institut Pasteur in Paris detected one of the most common types of the bacteria, Neisseria meningitides, which has the potential to cause large epidemics, the World Health Organization said. An investigation in early June near Panga, around 270 kilometres north of the city of Kisangani, found patients suffering from fever, headaches, stiff neck, and difficulty speaking, said health minister,…
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‘We urge caution,’ WHO says on Tokyo Olympics

‘We urge caution,’ WHO says on Tokyo Olympics

STEPHANIE NEBEHAY  THE World Health Organization, which is advising the International Olympic Committee in the run-up to the Tokyo Games opening later this month, is urging caution so as to stem the spread of the coronavirus, a senior WHO official has said. Crowds at Euro 2020 soccer stadiums and in pubs and bars in host cities are driving the current rise in COVID-19 infections in Europe, the WHO's regional office said on Thursday. Maria van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead on COVID-19 at its global headquarters, was asked what lessons it was drawing from the Euro 2020 tournament in order to…
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Just give us the vaccines, WHO pleads, as poor countries go wanting

Just give us the vaccines, WHO pleads, as poor countries go wanting

MICHAEL SHIELDS and STEPHANIE NEBEHAY RICH countries are opening up societies and vaccinating young people who are not at great risk from COVID-19, while the poorest countries cruelly lack doses, the World Health Organization said yesterday, condemning a global failure. The situation in Africa, where new infections and deaths jumped by nearly 40% last week compared to the previous week, is "so dangerous" as the Delta variant spreads globally, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. "Our world is failing, as the global community we are failing," he told a news conference. Tedros, who is Ethiopian, chastised unnamed countries for reluctance…
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Tanzania to request to join COVAX

Tanzania to request to join COVAX

OMAR MOHAMMED TANZANIA hopes to join the COVAX global vaccine-sharing facility, the latest sign it has changed tack following the death in March of COVID-19- and vaccine-sceptic president John Magufuli. A World Health Organisation official said vaccines could arrive in the country of 58 million people within two weeks. Since taking office in March, new president Samia Suluhu Hassan has sought to gradually bring Tanzania into line with global public standards for tackling COVID-19. The country is one of only four in Africa that have yet to start vaccination campaigns, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.…
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Malaria control needs longer lasting repellents. We’re a step closer to finding one

Malaria control needs longer lasting repellents. We’re a step closer to finding one

MALARIA is one of the leading causes of illness and death around the world. The disease is primarily caused by the bite of mosquitoes carrying a parasite. In 2019, around 229 million malaria cases were reported with an estimated number of 409,000 deaths. Most of the reported cases occurred in sub-Saharan Africa. Children younger than five years and pregnant women are most prone to malaria. ANTÓNIO BENJAMIM MAPOSSA, Postdoctoral fellow in Chemical Engineering, University of Pretoria To prevent malaria, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends spraying insecticides indoors and using bed nets treated with long-lasting insecticide. These interventions have one…
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Long working hours are a killer, WHO study shows

Long working hours are a killer, WHO study shows

EMMA FARGE WORKING long hours is killing hundreds of thousands of people a year in a worsening trend that may accelerate further due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the World Health Organization. In the first global study of the loss of life associated with longer working hours, the paper in the journal Environment International showed that 745,000 people died from a stroke and heart disease associated with long working hours in 2016. That was an increase of nearly 30% from 2000. "Working 55 hours or more per week is a serious health hazard," said Maria Neira, director of the…
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