Page 8 - Who

More than half of world's countries will be at high measles risk: WHO

Death rates are higher in poorer countries due to weaker health systems, Crowcroft said, adding that outbreaks and deaths were also a risk for middle and high income countries

Jaishankar calls on WHO chief 'Tulsi Bhai', discusses pandemic preparedness

EAM Jaishankar discussed traditional medicine and pandemic preparedness with the WHO chief while calling him 'Tulsi Bhai'

India registered 1.41 mn new cancer cases, 910,000 deaths in 2022: WHO

In 2022, India had more than 14.1 lakh new cancer cases and over 9.1 lakh deaths due to the disease, and breast cancer was the most common, according to the latest estimates of the disease's global burden by the World Health Organization (WHO). Cancers of lip, oral cavity and lung were the most common ones in men, accounting for 15.6 and 8.5 per cent of the new cases, respectively, whereas, cancers of breast and cervix uteri were the most frequent ones in women, making up close to 27 and 18 per cent of the new cases, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), WHO's cancer agency has estimated. It also calculated that the number of people alive within 5 years following a cancer diagnosis was nearly 32.6 lakhs in India. Globally, the agency estimated 2 crore new cancer cases and 97 lakh deaths, and about 5.3 crore people were alive within 5 years following a cancer diagnosis. About 1 in 5 people develop cancer in their lifetime, and roughly 1 in 9 men and 1 in 12 women di

What is Disease X? Future pandemic could be deadlier, warns WHO director

WHO director-general warns that the future pandemic could be deadlier. Here's what Tedros Ghebreyesus said at the World Economic Forum

Countries risk missing May deadline for pandemic accord, says WHO chief

Only once before in the organisation's 75-year history has the WHO managed to agree such an accord, and that was a Tobacco Control treaty in 2003

Nearly 10K died from Covid-19 last mth due to gatherings, new variant: WHO

The head of the U.N. health agency said Wednesday holiday gatherings and the spread of the most prominent variant globally led to increased transmission of COVID-19 last month. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said nearly 10,000 deaths were reported in December, while hospital admissions during the month jumped 42% in nearly 50 countries mostly in Europe and the Americas that shared such trend information. "Although 10,000 deaths a month is far less than the peak of the pandemic, this level of preventable deaths is not acceptable," the World Health Organization director-general told reporters from its headquarters in Geneva. He said it was certain that cases were on the rise in other places that haven't been reporting, calling on governments to keep up surveillance and provide continued access to treatments and vaccines. Tedros said the JN.1 variant was now the most prominent in the world. It is an omicron variant, so current vaccines should still provide some protection. Maria Van ..

UAE president, WHO chief discuss cooperation and health challenges in Gaza

The WHO Director-General congratulated the UAE president on the successful hosting of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in the UAE at the end of last year

Covid sub-variant JN.1: Insacog says 196 cases detected in country

A total of 196 cases of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been detected in the country so far, with Odisha joining the list of states that have detected the presence of the variant, according to the INSACOG's data updated on Monday. Ten states and Union territories have so far detected the presence of the JN.1 sub-variant of the virus. These states are Kerala (83), Goa (51), Gujarat (34), Karnataka (eight), Maharashtra (seven), Rajasthan (five), Tamil Nadu (four), Telangana (two) Odisha (one) and Delhi (one), according to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG). The INSACOG's data showed 179 Covid cases recorded in the country in December had the presence of JN.1, while 17 such cases were detected in November. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified JN.1 as a separate "variant of interest" given its rapidly-increasing spread, but said it poses a "low" global public health risk. The JN.1 sub-variant of the coronavirus was previously classified as a variant of ..

India reports 743 new Covid cases, seven deaths in the last 24 hours

As per official data, seven deaths have been reported in the country in the last 24 hours - three in Kerala two in Karnataka, and one each in Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu

Covid-19 update: In biggest single-day spike, India registers 628 cases

JN.1 Covid-19 variant: In India, cases of the new JN.1 Covid-19 variant has been found in Rajasthan, Goa and Maharashtra. The total cases of the new variant currently stands at 26

JN.1 outbreak: As new cases rise, 10 things you must know about new variant

JN.1 Covid variant: On Friday, a new Covid-19 case was reported in Noida, the first in many months. The patient, a 54-year-old male who lives in Noida, works at a multinational firm in Gurugram

Over 1 mn Afghan children facing severe malnutrition, says WHO chief

Afghanistan's Taliban-appointed Ministry of Public Health said that the number of malnourished mothers and children in the country has slightly increased compared to past years

JN.1 Covid variant: States issue advisories, Mandaviya holds review meet

On December 19, WHO classified the JN.1 variant as a 'variant of interest' but maintained that it does not pose much threat to the public

WHO urges members to continue surveillance amid rising respiratory diseases

In the wake of the surge in respiratory diseases and new JN.1 COVID sub-variant, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that the virus is evolving and changing and urged the member states to continue with strong surveillance and sequence sharing.The global body also shared a video of its COVID-19 technical lead, Maria Van Kerkhove, who explained the reason for the recent surges and what precautions can be taken."Dr @mvankerkhove talks about the current surge in respiratory diseases #COVID19 and JN.1 subvariant. WHO continues to assess the situation. Follow WHO's public health advice to keep your families and friends safe during this holiday season," WHO posted on X (formerly Twitter).Maria Van Kerkhove also took to the social media platform and said that a number of pathogens have led to the rise in respiratory diseases across the world."Respiratory diseases are increasing around the world due to a number of pathogens incl #COVID19, #flu, rhinovirus, mycoplasma pneumonia & ...

Maldives reports contamination in Pakistani syrups, suspension medicines

The report prompted the World Health Organisation to issue an alert urging countries to step up vigilance and test products manufactured by a Lahore-based pharmaceutical company, according to Dawn

World AIDS Day 2023: History, date, theme, preventive measures and more

The world celebrates World AIDS Day every year on December 1. This year, the theme for World AIDS Day is 'Let communities lead'

WHO urges partners to continue fostering collaboration to end AIDS by 2030

On World AIDS Day, WHO called upon member states, partners and communities in the Southeast Asia Region and around the world to continue fostering collaboration to address the challenges in ending the disease by 2030 and empower communities to lead in shaping the response forward. Globally, an estimated 39 million people are living with HIV. In 2022, around 1.3 million people acquired HIV and around 6,30,000 people died from AIDS-related causes, said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, the WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia. In the South-East Asia Region, an estimated 3.9 million people are living with HIV, accounting for around 10 per cent of the global burden. In 2022, an estimated 1,10,000 people became newly infected with HIV and 85,000 people in the region died of AIDS-related causes. This accounted for over 13 per cent of the global burden of AIDS-related death, Dr Khetrapal Singh said. Over the past decade, the Southeast Asia Region had substantial progress with a remarkable .

WHO confirms sexual spread of mpox in Congo as country sees record outbreak

The World Health Organization said it has confirmed sexual transmission of mpox in Congo for the first time as the country experiences its biggest-ever outbreak, a worrying development that African scientists warn could make it more difficult to stop the disease. In a statement issued late Thursday, the U.N. health agency said a resident of Belgium travelled to Congo in March and tested positive for mpox, or monkeypox, shortly afterward. WHO said the individual identified himself as a man who has sexual relations with other men and that he had gone to several underground clubs for gay and bisexual men. Among his sexual contacts, five later tested positive for mpox, WHO said. This is the first definitive proof of sexual transmission of monkeypox in Africa, Oyewale Tomori, a Nigerian virologist who sits on several WHO advisory groups, said. The idea that this kind of transmission could not be happening here has now been debunked." Mpox has been endemic in parts of central and west ..

Health ministry monitors H9N2 outbreak in China, assures low risk to India

Chinese authorities have attributed the rise of respiratory illnesses and reported pneumonia clusters in children, to the lifting of Covid-19 restriction and circulation of known pathogens

Risk of global Mpox outbreak rises as virulent strain spreads in Congo

A Belgian resident with connections to the DRC and his sexual contacts tested positive for a strain of Mpox, known as Clade 1, which has a fatality rate of about 10%