Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The World Health Organization said Tuesday there was a “moderate risk” that a plague outbreak in Madagascar would spread to other countries in the region, but advised against travel restrictions. The outbreak of both bubonic plague, which is spread by infected rats via flea bites, and …
Read More »Zimbabwe’s Tsvangirai discharged from S.Africa hospital
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has been discharged from a South African hospital were he had been receiving medical treatment, his spokesman said Tuesday. “He was discharged last week (on) Monday. He is now fine, he is out of danger,” Luke Tamborinyoka told AFP. Tamborinyoka …
Read More »Cholera outbreak in Kasese, three dead
Kasese, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A cholera outbreak has hit Kasese district in the past week and has so far killed three people in Nyakiyumba subcounty. The Ministry of Health has confirmed that up to 73 suspected cases have been handled so far by local health officials, with 53 of …
Read More »Madagascar plague kills 24, triggering WHO fears
Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | The World Health Organisation said Sunday it was boosting its response to a plague outbreak in Madagascar that has killed 24 people, as the government banned public meetings to reduce infections. In a televised address Saturday, Prime Minister Olivier Mahafaly Solonandrasana said no public meetings or …
Read More »Fear of epidemic disaster as disease stalks Rohingya camps
Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh | AFP | Rashida Begum steers clear of the water pump near the reeking latrine shared by more than 100 families in a grim corner of Bangladesh that has grown into one of the world’s largest refugee settlements in just weeks. “The pump works, but the water stinks, …
Read More »Trump’s scandal-hit health secretary resigns
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump’s embattled health secretary was forced out of the US administration Friday amid a scandal over his use of costly private jets for government travel. Tom Price was the latest top official to join in a stream of steady and embarrassing exits …
Read More »Zika virus mutated around 2013, leading to birth defects: study
Miami, United States | AFP | Zika has been around for decades but only recently began to cause birth defects due to a single mutation the mosquito-borne virus likely acquired in 2013, researchers said Thursday. The report in the US journal Science explains for the first time how this once relatively …
Read More »Taste of the exotic: ‘fatty rice’ condoms from Malaysia
Port Klang, Malaysia | AFP | A Malaysian condom company is hoping to spice up sex lives with a contraceptive that tastes like the country’s ultimate comfort food — a chili-infused rice dish known as nasi lemak. Industry giant Karex, which claims to be the world’s biggest condom maker, already offers …
Read More »A sixth of new HIV patients in Europe 50 or older: study
Paris, France | AFP | People aged 50 and older comprise a growing percentage of HIV patients in Europe, accounting for one in six new cases in 2015, researchers said Wednesday. The older cohort was more likely to be diagnosed with advanced stages of HIV and AIDS compared to 15-49 year …
Read More »Senate Republicans pull plug on latest Obamacare repeal bid
Washington, United States | AFP | US Senate Republicans abandoned their latest plan to dismantle Obamacare Tuesday when it became clear that President Donald Trump’s party did not have the votes, assuring the 2010 health reforms survive for the foreseeable future. Grim-faced lawmakers, who had hoped to hold the vote this …
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