Paris, France | AFP | An antibody produced by the human body shielded unborn mice against Zika, a study said Monday, raising hopes for thwarting the virus known to cause brain damage in human foetuses. The antibody neutralised all known Zika strains in lab experiments, and “markedly reduced” virus levels …
Read More »Man’s liver inflammation linked to ‘common energy drink’
Paris, France | AFP | A construction worker who drank four to five energy drinks every day for three weeks, was hospitalised with severe liver problems “likely” caused by excessively imbibing the seemingly harmless substance, researchers said Tuesday. The man, 50, was admitted to a hospital in Florida after feeling …
Read More »Study says cancer to kill 5.5 mn women a year by 2030
Paris, France | AFP | Cancer will kill 5.5 million women — about the population of Denmark — per year by 2030, a near 60-percent increase in less than two decades, a report said Tuesday. As the global population grows and ages, the highest toll will be among women in …
Read More »Study shows young women boozing like the boys
Paris, France | AFP | Young women in Western countries have caught up with their male counterparts in drinking habits, according to research published this week. Women aged 18-27 years old have almost reached parity with men of their age group in three categories of drinking — the likelihood of …
Read More »Brazil preparing to release millions of factory-bred mosquitoes
Brazil mutant mosquitoes to breed out diseases Piracicaba, Brazil | AFP | Scientists in Brazil are preparing to release millions of factory-bred mosquitoes in an attempt to wipe out their distant cousins that carry tropical diseases. The insects’ method: have sex and then die. British firm Oxitec says its …
Read More »TB treatment’s high success rate hailed as ‘breakthrough’
London, United Kingdom | AFP | A new treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis patients, that reported a success rate of 82 percent in a study, has been hailed as a “breakthrough” at a medical summit in Britain. The final results were unveiled at this week’s Union World Conference on Lung Health …
Read More »US’ Patient Zero and the origins of the AIDS epidemic
Paris, France | AFP | A labelling error and reckless media hype in the 1980s led to unjustly branding a gay airline employee as “Patient Zero” in the US AIDS epidemic, scientific and historical sleuthing detailed Wednesday. The deadly virus, which has claimed more than 650,000 lives in the United …
Read More »Mutharika says he is in ‘excellent health’, dismisses rumours of illness
Blantyre, Malawi | AFP | Malawian President Peter Mutharika said Friday he was in “excellent health”, dismissing rumours of illness as he made his first comments after an extended trip to the United States. “I am not sick. I am still alive and I have more than nine lives,” the …
Read More »JOBS: Health Systems Expert -South Sudan, Mali, South Africa
Title: Health Systems Expert (South Sudan, Mali, South Africa,) Grade: P4 Contract type: Temporary appointment Duration of contract: Two (2) years Date:20 October 2016 Application Deadline:10 November 2016 (20 day(s) until closing deadline) Currently accepting applications Duty Station: Organization unit:AFRO Africa Regional Office (AF/RGO) / AF/HSS Health Systems and Services …
Read More »When natural cures disappear
Traditions clash with modern science over lost plants, animals, fish 64-year old Milly Namwanje knows something about the diseases of infants. She had six children of her own and she is now a grandmother of one-month old Sheebah. Unfortunately, Sheebah has a problem that Namwanje has diagnosed – but she …
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