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Thailand confirms its mpox case is clade 1b strain, first in the country

BANGKOK (Reuters) - An mpox case reported in Thailand this week has been confirmed as being the clade 1b strain of the virus, the first in the country, a disease control official said on Thursday, "This man is likely infected from an endemic country," Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, director-general of the Department of Disease Control, told Reuters, adding no other local infections had been

2024-08-22T10:53:57Z

Germany to donate 100,000 mpox vaccine doses to combat outbreak in Africa

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will donate 100,000 mpox vaccine doses from its military stocks to help contain the outbreak on the African continent in the short term as well as provide help to the affected countries, said a government spokesperson on Monday. The government will provide the World Health Organization with flexible financial resources via various instruments to combat mpox and also

2024-08-26T11:03:22Z

3 days, 640,000 children, 1.3M doses. The plan to vaccinate Gaza's young against polio

3 days, 640,000 children, 1.3M doses. The plan to vaccinate Gaza's young against polio - The U.N. is about to launch an ambitious campaign to vaccinate 640,000 children in Gaza against polio, a disease that doctors fear has spread in the territory due to the massive humanitarian catastrophe unleashed by Israel's military offensive there

2024-08-31T04:10:55Z

Mpox patients lack medicine, food, in east DR Congo hospital

By Djaffar Al Katanty KAVUMU, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Dozens of feverish patients lay on thin mattresses on the floor of a makeshift mpox isolation ward in east Democratic Republic of Congo, as overstretched hospital workers grappled with drug shortages and lack of space to accommodate the influx. Congo is the epicentre of an mpox outbreak that the World Health Organization

2024-09-02T07:16:56Z

Mpox is not the new COVID, says WHO official

BERLIN (Reuters) -A World Health Organization official stressed on Tuesday that mpox, regardless of whether it is the new or old strain, is not the new COVID, as authorities know how to control its spread. "We can and must tackle mpox together," said Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, in a U.N. media briefing. "So will we choose to put the systems in place to control and eliminate

2024-08-20T12:14:47Z

U.N. begins polio vaccination in Gaza, as fighting rages

By Nidal al-Mughrabi CAIRO (Reuters) - The United Nations, in collaboration with Palestinian health authorities, began to vaccinate 640,000 children in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, with Israel and Hamas agreeing to brief pauses in their 11-month war to allow the campaign to go ahead. The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed last month that a baby was partially paralysed by the type 2 polio

2024-09-01T07:55:22Z

As polio reemerges in Gaza, a mother fears for her child's health

By Ramadan Abed DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza (Reuters) - In Gaza, a mother worries that her month-old son, Mohammed, could be infected with polio after the Palestinian health ministry confirmed the first case in the enclave on Friday, ending a 25 year period in which the Strip was polio-free. Just three days after his birth, Ghada al-Ghandour's son Mohammed started developing skin rashes. "He had skin

2024-08-19T12:16:50Z

Gunmen kill a polio worker and a policeman during a vaccination campaign in Pakistan

KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen on motorcycles opened fire Wednesday on police escorting a team of polio workers during a door-to-door vaccination campaign in northwestern Pakistan, killing an officer and a polio worker, police said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Bajur, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, according to local police chief Abdul Aziz. Pakistan’s...

2024-09-11T11:03:40Z

Philippines says two new mpox cases are milder variant

MANILA (Reuters) -The Philippines has confirmed two more mpox virus infections of the milder clade 2 variety, its health ministry said Monday, bringing the number of active cases to three. "We continue to see local transmission of mpox clade II here in the Philippines, in Metro Manila in particular," Health Minister Teodoro Herbosa said in a statement. The newly confirmed cases were a 37-

2024-08-26T05:57:44Z

Uganda confirms two more cases of mpox

KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda has confirmed two more mpox virus infections, bringing the number of cases in the east African country to four, according to the health ministry. The two new patients were infected with the clade 1b strain of the virus, health ministry director general of health services Henry Mwebesa told Reuters, a new offshoot that has triggered global concern. The World Health

2024-08-24T07:55:53Z

Congo receives long-awaited mpox vaccine doses

By Ange Kasongo and Justin Makangara KINSHASA (Reuters) -Democratic Republic of Congo received its first batch of mpox vaccines on Thursday, which health authorities hope will help curb an outbreak that has prompted the U.N. to declare a global public health emergency. Congo is the epicentre of the outbreak, which has spread to neighbouring countries and elsewhere, but a lack of vaccines in

2024-09-06T05:26:46Z

Israeli bombardment kills dozens in Gaza as health officials prepare polio campaign

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Mohammad Salem CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli strikes on Saturday killed at least 48 people in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian health authorities said, as clashes took place in central and southern areas of the enclave ahead of the planned start of a polio vaccination campaign. The United Nations is due to start vaccinating some 640,000 children in the territory against

2024-08-31T13:30:03Z

UK PM Starmer promises 10-year plan to fix health service in crisis

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer will say on Thursday his government is working on a 10-year plan to fix the National Health Service, after an independent report found the system to be in critical condition. The state-run NHS has been in crisis and endured some of its toughest winters in recent years, struggling to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, long

2024-09-12T06:53:00Z

A deadly mosquito virus has put Massachusetts towns on high alert. Here’s what to know

A deadly mosquito virus has put Massachusetts towns on high alert. Here’s what to know - New Hampshire health officials said Tuesday that an adult resident had died from the virus

2024-08-27T22:32:08Z

Congo hopes to receive first mpox vaccines by next week

(Reuters) -Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) hopes to receive its first doses of an mpox vaccine by next week, following promises from the United States and Japan to help it fight its outbreak, the Congolese health minister said on Monday. The World Health Organization last week declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years as a new variant of the disease,

2024-08-19T23:22:37Z

Germany examining whether any available mpox vaccines could be donated

BERLIN (Reuters) -The German government is currently examining whether any available national mpox vaccine doses could be donated, the health ministry said in a status report for August seen by Reuters on Friday. The ministry said it has given its remaining stock of the jynneos vaccine to the defence ministry and German army. The federal government has around 117,000 doses of jynneos, which is

2024-08-23T09:35:12Z

One case of new mpox strain detected in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -One case of the mpox virus has been detected in Pakistan of the clade 2 variety, the country's ministry of health said on Monday, adding that no cases of the earlier clade 1 strain of the disease have been diagnosed. Clade 2, a new form of the virus, has triggered global concern because it seems to spread more easily though routine close contact. A case of the new variant was

2024-08-19T12:00:57Z

Second stage of Gaza polio campaign begins while war goes on in other areas

By Nidal al-Mughrabi CAIRO (Reuters) - Crowds of Palestinians gathered at medical centers in the south of the embattled Gaza Strip on Thursday to have their children vaccinated against polio, the start of the second stage of a campaign that has so far seen 187,000 youngsters inoculated. The U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said the campaign, facilitated by Hamas and Israel agreeing on

2024-09-05T09:25:45Z

UNICEF issues emergency tender to secure mpox vaccines

(Reuters) -The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has issued an emergency tender to secure mpox vaccines for crisis-hit countries in collaboration with the Gavi vaccine alliance, Africa CDC and the World Health Organization, the organizations said in a joint statement on Saturday. Depending on the production capacity of manufacturers, agreements for up to 12 million doses through 2025 can be

2024-09-01T01:15:28Z

Factbox-What is known about polio's return to the Gaza Strip

GENEVA (Reuters) -Health authorities in the Gaza Strip confirmed the first case of polio in the Palestinian enclave in 25 years in August. On Sunday, the United Nations, in collaboration with Palestinian health authorities, began vaccinating some 640,000 children. Israel and Hamas agreed to brief pauses in their 11-month war in Gaza to allow the campaign to go ahead. WHERE DID THE INFECTION COME

2024-09-01T08:05:54Z

US surgeon general calls parent stress a public health challenge

By Jeff Mason (Reuters) - The U.S. surgeon general on Wednesday issued a public health advisory about the impact of modern stresses on parents' mental health, calling on government, businesses and community organizations to increase resources to provide them more support. The advisory issued by Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who has used the format previously to address the risks from gun

2024-08-28T09:15:54Z

South Korea doctors warn COVID surge, strike could cripple emergency rooms

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's medical association warned on Friday that a spike in COVID-19 cases and an ongoing strike by trainee doctors could cripple hospital emergency rooms next month at a time when many doctors will also be off due to a public holiday. The government has, however, disputed the risk of ER closures cited by the Korean Medical Association (KMA) and said it was providing

2024-08-23T09:35:13Z

Baby paralysed in Gaza's first case of type 2 polio for 25 years, WHO says

By Tala Ramadan DUBAI (Reuters) - A 10-month-old baby in war-shattered Gaza has been paralysed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years, the World Health Organization said on Friday, with U.N. agencies appealing for urgent vaccinations of every baby. The type 2 virus (cVDPV2), while not inherently more dangerous than types 1 and 3, has been responsible for most

2024-08-23T12:44:43Z

Why mpox vaccines are only just arriving in Africa after two years

(This Aug. 24 story has been refiled to correct the name in reporting credit to Djaffar Al Katanty) By Jennifer Rigby LONDON (Reuters) - The first 10,000 mpox vaccines are finally due to arrive next week in Africa, where a dangerous new strain of the virus - which has afflicted people there for decades - has caused global alarm. The slow arrival of the shots – which have already been made

2024-08-25T10:02:09Z

Polio vaccination starts in north Gaza despite obstacles

By Emma Farge and Nidal al-Mughrabi GENEVA/CAIRO (Reuters) - A campaign to vaccinate a final 200,000 children in north Gaza against polio began on Tuesday although health and aid officials said the operation was complicated by access restrictions, evacuation orders and shortages of fuel. The campaign in north Gaza, the part of the territory hardest hit by Israel's 11-month military offensive

2024-09-10T11:01:51Z

DR Congo expects first delivery of mpox vaccine doses on Thursday

By Sonia Rolley (Reuters) -Democratic Republic of Congo expects to receive its first delivery of mpox vaccine doses on Thursday and a second delivery on Saturday, the head of the central African country's mpox outbreak response said on Wednesday. Congo is the epicentre of an mpox outbreak that the World Health Organization declared to be a global public health emergency last month, but efforts

2024-09-04T10:19:28Z

Aid groups in Gaza aim to avert a polio outbreak with a surge of vaccinations

Aid groups in Gaza aim to avert a polio outbreak with a surge of vaccinations - The threat of polio is rising fast in Gaza, prompting aid groups to call for an urgent pause in the war so they can ramp up vaccinations and head off a full-blown outbreak

2024-08-17T07:54:05Z

WHO clears Bavarian Nordic's vaccine as first mpox shot

By Jennifer Rigby and Manas Mishra (Reuters) -The World Health Organization said on Friday it had cleared Bavarian Nordic's mpox vaccine, the first such shot to be approved by the agency for containing the spread of the disease in badly hit African countries. The approval, known as a prequalification, comes as a new type of the virus spreads from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the

2024-09-13T11:40:30Z

Central Africa's high-risk mpox outbreak sparks alarm

Clade 1 b is rapidly spreading in Central Africa, with significant cases reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.A new type of mpox called "clade 1 b" appears to be deadlier and able to spread from person-to-person more easily than previous forms. Clade 1 b mpox was first detected in Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa, where it started...

2024-08-15T05:44:32Z

Waikato Hospital asked to apologise after multiple doctors fail to diagnose cancer

Health NZ Waikato and surgeon apologise for delayed bowel cancer diagnosis.

2024-08-12T05:52:00Z

Congo's humanitarian crisis helped mpox spiral again into a global health emergency

Congo's humanitarian crisis helped mpox spiral again into a global health emergency - A humanitarian crisis in eastern Congo is contributing to mpox outbreaks there and elsewhere in Africa that have been deemed a global health emergency by the World Health Organization

2024-08-17T04:18:58Z

One case of clade 2 mpox detected in Pakistan, new strain not detected

(Makes clear in headline and paragraphs 1 and 2 that the strain of mpox detected is clade 2.) ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - One case of the mpox virus has been detected in Pakistan of the clade 2 variety, the country's ministry of health said on Monday, adding that no cases of the clade 1b strain of the disease have been diagnosed. Clade 1b has triggered global concern because it seems to spread more

2024-08-19T12:36:06Z

Mpox surge in Central Africa exposes the most vulnerable

By Djaffar Al Katanty KANYARUTSHINYA CAMP, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Justine Munguiko could not recall the name of the disease she had been warned about. She knew only that her baby Fidele had painful sores similar to those suffered by other children at the displacement camp near the eastern Congolese city of Goma. Democratic Republic of Congo is the epicentre of an mpox outbreak

2024-08-20T11:04:38Z

Uganda's mpox caseload rises to ten - official

KAMPALA (Reuters) - The number of mpox infections in Uganda has risen to ten and all of the patients have a strain of the virus, clade 1b, that is more transmissible between people, a health official said on Saturday. The country borders the Democratic Republic of Congo where the current outbreak began in January 2023, making Uganda a particular focus point for health officials. The first two

2024-09-14T10:26:04Z

First batch of mpox vaccine doses arrives in Congo

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo received on Thursday its first batch of mpox vaccines, which health authorities hope will help curb an outbreak that has prompted a U.N. declaration of a global public health emergency. Congo is the epicentre of the outbreak, which has spread to neighbouring countries and elsewhere, but a lack of vaccines in Africa has hampered efforts to stop the

2024-09-05T12:27:26Z

UN agencies concerned by mpox spread in Congo's refugee camps

By Emma Farge GENEVA (Reuters) - U.N. agencies on Tuesday raised the alarm about the spread of mpox in Democratic Republic of Congo's refugee camps where people are more susceptible to infection because of depleted immune systems and cramped living conditions. More than 7 million people are uprooted across Congo which has one of the highest displacement levels in the world, including those

2024-08-27T12:35:01Z

Mpox clade 1b outbreak in Central Africa is 'high risk'

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said the situation in Central Africa was now "high risk." Clade 1 b mpox was first detected in Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa, where is started spreading in September 2023. In a post on social media platform X, August 4, 2024, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that as a "...

2024-08-08T12:17:06Z

Fighting rages in Gaza as Palestinians hope for a pause for polio vaccinations

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Mohammad Salem CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinians in Gaza were waiting on Thursday to see if there would be a pause in fighting to allow a polio vaccination campaign to begin, as the conflict raged across the besieged enclave, killing at least 34 people. The United Nations is preparing to vaccinate an estimated 640,000 children in Gaza, where the World Health

2024-08-30T00:52:28Z

Economic relief, veteran health to dominate parliament

As federal parliament returns, cost-of-living concerns and the mental health of defence veterans will be in the spotlight.

2024-09-06T17:37:00Z

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill more than a dozen as health workers press on with polio vaccines

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli air raids in the Gaza Strip killed more than a dozen people overnight into Saturday morning, hospital and local authorities said, as health workers were wrapping up the second phase of an urgent polio vaccination campaign designed to prevent a large-scale outbreak in the territory. The vaccination drive was launched after health officials confirmed the first polio case in the Palestinian enclave in 25...

2024-09-07T11:01:56Z

UN's Gaza polio vaccinations will rely on pauses in fighting

GENEVA (Reuters) -United Nations officials are preparing to launch a polio vaccination campaign in Gaza on Sunday that will rely on a series of limited pauses in fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants holding out in the besieged enclave. The World Health Organization says it will need to vaccinate at least 90% of the children in Gaza for the campaign to succeed but it faces huge

2024-08-30T12:52:59Z

Nigeria receives 10,000 doses of mpox vaccines from US

By Camillus Eboh ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria has received 10,000 doses of the mpox vaccine from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the first batch of the vaccine to reach the country which has confirmed 40 cases with no fatalities so far. Muyi Aina, executive director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), called the donation a "critical step" for

2024-08-29T23:52:54Z

Top GCSE grades drop but still higher than pre-pandemic levels

By Poppy Wood and Ollie Corfe Top GCSE grades have dropped slightly this summer but are still higher than pre-pandemic levels. The share of GCSE entries across England, Wales and Northern Ireland awarded a grade 7 or above – equivalent to an A grade in the former system – edged down to 21.8 per cent this year, from 22 per cent in 2023. It is still ...

2024-08-22T08:37:54Z

Bavarian Nordic sees potential to ramp up mpox vaccine capacity

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Bavarian Nordic said on Thursday it could supply 13 million doses of its mpox vaccine by the end of 2025, up from a previous forecast of 10 million doses, and is exploring options to significantly expand its capacity. The Danish biotech company said it had also identified measures that could boost supply by a further 50 million doses within the next 12-18 months, subject to

2024-09-13T03:59:42Z

Fears of waterborne disease rise in Bangladesh as floods recede slowly

By Ruma Paul DHAKA (Reuters) - Authorities in Bangladesh are bracing for the spread of waterborne diseases and racing to get drinking water to people after devastating floods last week that left at least 54 people dead and millions stranded. As floodwaters recede slowly, many people remain stranded and in urgent need of food, clean water, medicine and dry clothes, especially in remote areas

2024-08-31T05:09:27Z

Health authorities begin large-scale polio vaccinations in war-ravaged Gaza

Health authorities begin large-scale polio vaccinations in war-ravaged Gaza - Palestinian health authorities and United Nations agencies have begun a large-scale campaign of vaccinations against polio in the Gaza Strip, hoping to prevent an outbreak in the territory that has been ravaged by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war

2024-09-01T07:37:30Z

Princess of Wales says she's focused on staying 'cancer-free' after finishing chemotherapy

Catherine, Princess of Wales, has confirmed she has finished chemotherapy treatment and will return to work while doing what she can to stay "cancer-free," according to a statement Monday.

2024-09-09T15:40:19Z

NSW police an ‘escalating factor’ in mental health crisis call outs, internal review finds

New South Wales police have admitted that when they attend mental health incidents they are often “an escalating factor” and it would be better if experts were deployed instead. An internal review conducted by NSW police has called for better resourcing so officers are only involved if a crime has occurred or a person is at immediate risk of serious harm. A summary of the review, released on Thursday, said officers would be “unlikely” to be able...

2024-09-12T08:06:57Z