Washington, United States | AFP | Time to raise a glass to your gut health? Scientists at King’s College London have found that red wine drinkers have a greater diversity of bacteria in their digestive tracts, a marker of gastrointestinal health, than those who drink other alcohol. Their paper, published …
Read More »Controversial study links tap water during pregnancy to lower IQ
Controversial study links fluoridated water during pregnancy to lower IQ Washington, United States | AFP | A study published Monday linked consumption of fluoridated tap water during pregnancy to lower IQ scores in infants, a finding at odds with decades of public health messaging extolling the mineral’s benefits in reducing …
Read More »Gabon’s Bongo shaky, but ‘firmly in control’ after stroke
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Gabon’s presidency said Monday that a recent speech showed leader Ali Bongo was “firmly in control” of the country after he suffered a stroke 10 months ago that fuelled speculation about his ability to rule. The opposition has claimed that President Bongo is unfit …
Read More »Gabon’s Bongo re-emerges, attends independence parade
Gabon’s Bongo attends independence parade in rare public appearance Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Gabon’s President Ali Bongo on Saturday made a rare public appearance to attend the country’s independence day celebrations, nearly ten months after suffering a stroke that fuelled speculation about his ability to rule. Bongo, whose every …
Read More »Ebola spreads to DR Congo’s South Kivu province
First confirmed Ebola cases in DR Congo’s South Kivu province Bukavu, DR Congo | AFP | The eastern DR Congo province of South Kivu has recorded its first confirmed cases of Ebola in the country’s year-old epidemic, one of which was a fatality, the provincial government said Friday. “Two cases …
Read More »VIDEO: Stealing from the sick
VIDEO: Stealing from the sick – Full documentary – BBC Africa Eye Kampala, Uganda | BBC VIDEOS | Everyone in Uganda is entitled to free medicine to combat killer diseases like malaria. Despite Government efforts to improve access to essential medicines, a significant number of people have to use private facilities …
Read More »Why UN appointed new HIV/AIDS chief
UN appoints new HIV/AIDS chief after controversy United Nations, United States | AFP | United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed a new HIV/AIDS chief on Wednesday after the previous incumbent left accused of serious mismanagement. Oxfam International executive director Winnie Byanyima of Uganda will lead UNAIDS, a spokesperson for …
Read More »DRC Ebola tsar Muyembe delighted by drug breakthrough
Goma, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo’s pointman on Ebola voiced delight on Tuesday after researchers announced that two prototype drugs boost chances of surviving the dreaded disease. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, newly appointed by President Felix Tshisekedi to coordinate the year-long campaign against Ebola, said that out of four confirmed …
Read More »Global measles cases triple year-on-year
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Measles cases nearly tripled globally during the first seven months of the year compared to the same period in 2018, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, amid growing concern over public resistance to the vaccine. So far this year, 364,808 measles cases were reported around …
Read More »Scientists a step closer to a cure for Ebola
Two Ebola drugs found to increase survival rates: health officials Washington, United States | AFP | Scientists were a step closer to a cure for Ebola on Monday after two of four drugs in a clinical trial were found to significantly increase survival rates, the US health authority co-funding the …
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