Nigeria will start building a vaccine plant by end of the year after signing a contract manufacturing agreement with the Serum Institute of India for local production of the jabs, the country’s health minister said. The country struck the deal with the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturer on Wednesday, Health Minister Osagie Ehanire said at a […]
China reports first case of monkeypox
China reported its first case of monkeypox, imported to the giant municipality of Chongqing, as the country continues its long and arduous battle against Covid-19. The patient was immediately put into quarantine after arriving in Chongqing and the risk of an outbreak is low, the local health commission said in a statement on its website […]
Two COVID-19 antibody therapies are no longer recommended by the WHO
Two COVID-19 antibody therapies are no longer recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), on the basis that Omicron and the variant’s latest offshoots have likely rendered them obsolete. www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/who-strongly-advises-against-use-two-covid-treatments-2022-09-15/? The two therapies – which are designed to work by binding to the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 to neutralise the virus’ ability to infect cells […]
Historical precedents for poxvirus mutation
A few years ago, researchers scoured the remains of 1867 people who lived between 30,000 and 150 years ago for genetic traces of variola, the virus that causes smallpox. In the teeth and bones of four Northern Europeans from the Viking era, they found enough DNA to reconstruct entire variola genomes. The sequenced viruses weren’t […]
COVID-19 deaths lowest recorded since March 2020
World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said: “Last week, the number of weekly reported deaths from COVID-19 was the lowest since March 2020. We have never been in a better position to end the pandemic.” But the WHO chief also warned that if the world does not seize the opportunity […]
Yet another COVID variant – Omicron BA.4.6
Another new COVID variant is spreading – here’s what we know about omicron BA.4.6 BA.4.6, a subvariant of the omicron COVID variant which has been quickly gaining traction in the US, is now confirmed to be spreading in the UK. The latest briefing document on COVID variants from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) noted […]
Polio outbreak leads to state of emergency in New York
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency on Friday over a growing polio outbreak, in an effort to better equip health care providers with tools to curb the spread of the sometimes disabling virus before it takes further hold in the state. www.nytimes.com/2022/09/09/nyregion/new-york-polio-state-of-emergency.html? The order allows emergency service workers, midwives and pharmacists to […]
Breast implants linked to cancer risk?
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday warned women who have breast implants or are considering getting them that certain cancers may develop in scar tissue forming around the implants. www.nytimes.com/2022/09/08/health/breast-implants-cancer.html? The malignancies seem to be rare, but they have been linked to implants of all types, including those with textured and smooth […]
TB Free India programme launched
India’s President Droupadi Murmu on Friday launched the Prime Minister’s TB Free India programme and urged Indians to work collectively towards elimination of the disease. www.livemint.com/news/india/president-murmu-launches-tb-elimination-program-urges-indians-to-help-patients-11662719403399.html President Murmu also launched the Ni-kshay Mitra initiative to ensure additional diagnostic, nutritional, and vocational support to those undergoing TB treatment, and encouraged people to come forward as donors […]
Philanthropist steps into the pharmaceutical field
Inspired by the record-fast creation of messenger RNA vaccines that blunted COVID-19’s impact, a philanthropist is providing AU$250 million ($172 million) over 20 years to bring similar alacrity to the development of therapeutics during future pandemic threats. Geoffrey Cumming, who made a fortune in oil and gas, is putting up what is believed to be […]