On 8 May 1980, the 33rd World Health Assembly officially declared: ‘The world and all its peoples have won freedom from smallpox.’ The declaration marked the end of a disease that had plagued humanity for at least 3 000 years, killing 300 million people in the 20th century alone. It was ended, thanks to a […]
Commemorating Smallpox Eradication – a legacy of hope, for COVID-19 and other diseases Read More »
Falsified and contaminated Defibrotide identified in WHO regions of Western Pacific, Europe and Eastern Mediterranean This alert relates to falsified DEFIBROTIDE 200MG VIALS OF 2.5ML (80MG/ML) CONCENTRATE FOR SOLUTION FOR INFUSION identified in Australia, Latvia and Saudi Arabia. This product is sold under the brand name Defitelio. On 13 March 2020, the WHO Global Surveillance and
Medical Product Alert N°5/2020 – 7 May 2020 Read More »
About half a billion people worldwide are living with genital herpes, and several billion have an oral herpes infection, new estimates show, highlighting the need to improve awareness and scale up services to prevent and treat herpes. About 13% of the world’s population aged 15 to 49 years were living with herpes simplex virus type
Billions worldwide living with herpes Read More »
As the world comes together to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to ensure that tuberculosis (TB) prevention and care approaches are adapting appropriately to ensure continuous and safe delivery of high-quality TB services. Considering the overlaps in TB and COVID-19 in disease presentation and transmission, the pandemic presents many questions for the TB
Compendium of research projects at the interface of tuberculosis and COVID-19 Read More »
WHO and the European Investment Bank enhance cooperation to support countries in addressing the health impact of COVID-19 The first phase will address urgent needs and strengthen primary health care in ten African countries Enhanced WHO-EIB partnership will scale up financing to assure the chain of essential supplies, including personal protective equipment, diagnostics and clinical
The third meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the WHO Director-General under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), took place on Thursday, 30 April 2020, from 12:00 to 17:45 Geneva time (CEST). Proceedings of the meeting Members and advisors of the Emergency Committee were convened by teleconference. Membership of the Emergency Committee was expanded to reflect the
Virus causing genital herpes may put millions of people at greater risk of infection with HIV About half a billion people worldwide are living with genital herpes, and several billion have an oral herpes infection, new estimates show. Authored by staff at the University of Bristol, World Health Organization (WHO), and Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar,
Massive proportion of world’s population are living with herpes infection Read More »
Indonesia recently completed the last of its annual large-scale treatment for lymphatic filariasis (also known as elephantiasis or Penyakit Kaki Gajah) in Malaka District located in its southernmost province, East Nusa Tenggara. Unprecedented progress by the National Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Programme has strongly placed the country on the path to achieving the elimination of lymphatic filariasis
Lyon, France, 29 April 2020 – In a study published in the Journal of Hepatology, 1 Professor Anna Maria Geretti and Dr Alexander Stockdale from the University of Liverpool (United Kingdom), in collaboration with researchers from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), estimate that worldwide, hepatitis D
New estimates highlight need to step up the response to hepatitis D Read More »
Mothers and healthcare workers who support them have many questions and concerns about whether it is safe for mothers with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 to be close to and breastfeed their babies during the pandemic. To address their questions, WHO has released a list of Frequently asked questions: Breastfeeding and COVID-19. The FAQ complements the
New FAQs address healthcare workers questions on breastfeeding and COVID-19 Read More »