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May252023 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Don’t delay reforms to prepare for next pandemic, WHO chief says

Global Health

GHealth News - The head of the World Health Organization urged countries on Monday to carry out reforms needed to prepare for the next pandemic, hailing their "historic" decision to accept a major budget hike at the U.N. agency's annual assembly. Speaking at the assembly weeks after ending the global emergency status for the COVID-19 pandemic, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was time to advance negotiations on preventing the next pandemic. "We cannot kick this can down the road," the WHO director-general said in a major address to the agency's member states, warning that the next pandemic was bound to "come knocking". "If we do not make the changes that must be made, then who will? And if we do not make them now, then when?" he said. The 10-day annual World Health Assembly i...

May92023 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Ozempic and Other GLP-1 Drugs May Help Reduce Your Risk of Heart Attack

NCDs

By Victoria Stokes If you have type 2 diabetes you’re probably aware that the condition puts you at an increased risk of developing heart disease. Now, a new study has shown that a class of diabetes medications is associated with fewer major adverse cardiovascular events. The study, conducted at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, found that GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic (semaglutide) resulted in lower instances of Major cardiovascular events (MACE) than DPP4 inhibitors (another type of diabetes drug) in older veterans with no prior heart disease. The use of a GLP-1 receptor agonist was associated with a 20% reduced risk of MACE and heart failure hospitalization when compared to treatment with DPP4 inhibitors, which were regarded as...

May92023 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

WHO declares end to COVID global health emergency

COVID19

GHealth News - The World Health Organization ended the global emergency status for COVID-19 on Friday more than three years after its original declaration, and said countries should now manage the virus that killed more than 6.9 million people along with other infectious diseases. The global health agency's Emergency Committee met on Thursday and recommended the UN organization declare an end to the coronavirus crisis as a "public health emergency of international concern" - its highest level of alert - which has been in place since Jan. 30, 2020. "It is therefore with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, adding that the end of the emergency did not mean COVID was over as a global health threat. ...

May22023 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

New survey results show health systems starting to recover from pandemic

COVID19

Shot focused on a kind looking nurse wearing scrubs, a stethoscope, white rubber gloves and a protective face mask. She is smiling at the nervous patient with her eyes. The nurse is prepping the patients arm before she injects her with the COVID-19 vaccine. GHealth News - After three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, health systems in countries have started showing the first major signs of health system recovery, according to the WHO interim report on the “Fourth round of the global pulse survey on continuity of essential health services during the COVID-19 pandemic: November 2022–January 2023”. By early 2023, countries reported experiencing reduced disruptions in the delivery of routine health services, but highlighted the need to invest in recovery and stronger resilience for the futur...

Apr252023 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

WHO: Time to deliver zero malaria

Communicable Diseases

“Time to deliver zero malaria: invest, innovate, implement” GHealth News - World Malaria Day 2023 will be marked under the theme “Time to deliver zero malaria: invest, innovate, implement”. At WHO, we’re focused on raising awareness about the need to “implement” the tools and strategies we have available today to reach those who continue to be unreached across the Western Pacific. The Region faces challenges on the road to malaria elimination. In particular, the epidemiology of malaria exhibits enormous diversity, with the disease often concentrated in remote areas and/or among highly mobile or hard-to-reach populations, including forest goers, migrants, indigenous people, military and refugees. More than 70% of malaria deaths in the Region are attributable to Plasmodium ...

Apr172023 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

‘Era has passed’ as Beijing subway drops mandatory COVID mask rule

COVID19

GHealth News - Beijing's subway has dropped mandatory mask requirements for travellers, local media reported on Sunday, days after a Chinese health expert said the threat of COVID-19 to humans is no longer at a serious level. The mask move is in line with broader measures by China, which said last week it was now no longer mandatory to wear face masks when using public transport, according to state media. "It's as if an era has passed," a user said on China's popular social e-commerce app Xiaohongshu, as social media was abuzz with news of the rules being eased. Staff at a Beijing subway station tore down signs reminding people to wear masks, Beijing Daily reported. The pandemic is nearing its end, based on World Health Organization data, said Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at...

Apr22023 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

CDC warns of Marburg virus outbreak in Africa

Communicable Diseases

GHealth News - The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sending personnel to Africa to help stop outbreaks of Marburg virus disease and is urging travelers to certain countries to take precautions. The CDC is also taking steps to keep infections from spreading to the United States. Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania are facing their first known outbreaks of Marburg virus, a viral fever with uncontrolled bleeding that’s a close cousin to Ebola. This week, the CDC urged travelers to both countries to avoid contact with sick people and to watch for symptoms for three weeks after leaving the area. Travelers to Equatorial Guinea should take enhanced precautions and avoid nonessential travel to the provinces where the outbreak is ongoing, the agency said. In the United States, the ...

Apr22023 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Chronic stress can affect your health. One activity can help

NCDs

By Melanie Radzicki McManus These days, many people find it hard to unplug. Inflation, global warming and gun violence are on the rise. Bullies proliferate on social media. The 24/7 news cycle constantly blares distressing news, and people often face difficult personal or professional situations. About half of Americans said they experienced stress within the past day, according to a Gallup Poll survey from last October, a finding that was consistent for most of 2022. Personal finances and current and political events were major sources of stress for one-third or more of adults, a survey from CNN in partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation found in October. Stress isn’t inherently bad, said Richard Scrivener, a personal trainer and product development manager at London’s ...

Mar282023 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

‘Silent pandemic’ warning from WHO: Bacteria killing too many people due to antimicrobial resistance

AMR

The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning of a "silent pandemic" of antimicrobial resistance from infections caused by deadly pathogens that doctors are not able to cure because of a lack of novel agents. That’s according to an early release of special presentations by Dr. Valeria Gigante and Professor Venkatasubramanian Ramasubramanian of an online "pre-meeting" of the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases on April 15 to 18 in Copenhagen, Denmark. "Antibiotic resistance is one of the major concerns in modern medicine today," Dr. Aaron Glatt, chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital on Long Island, New York, told Fox News Digital. EUROPEAN DRUG REGULATOR DETERMINES ANTIBIOTIC SHORTAGE NOT A ‘MAJOR EVENT’ ...

Mar242023 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Public health experts call for bold action to prioritise health over profit

Global Health

People, profits, and health, a three-paper series published today in global health journal The Lancet sheds light on the impact of commercial entities on human and planetary health and calls for urgent action to prioritise health over profit. The series highlights that many commercial organisations’ practices and products are contributing to growing health problems and harming the environment, with industries that produce tobacco, alcohol, highly processed foods, and fossil fuels responsible for over a third of preventable global deaths each year.[i] University of Melbourne Professor Rob Moodie, Series convenor and Professor of Public Health at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, said we are at a crunch point in history, emphasising now is the time fo...