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Malaria

WHO declares an end to COVID-19 emergency phase; The latest health stories from around the world

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared an end to the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, last Friday. The move is likely to usher the world into a new phase of disease monitoring with a scaling back of surveillance and available resources to fight COVID-19. https://www.science.org/content/article/who-ends-pandemic-emergency-covid-19-deaths-fall? WHO’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said at a press …

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WHO expands mRNA facilities to South Africa; The latest health stories from around the world

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday launched its mRNA vaccine technology hub in South Africa’s Cape Town, to help poorer countries struggling to gain access to life-saving medication. www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/who-officially-launches-mrna-vaccine-hub-cape-town-2023-04-20/ In 2021, the WHO picked South African biotech firm Afrigen Biologics and local vaccine-maker Biovac for a proof-of-concept pilot project to give poor and middle-income …

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Project NextGen to prepare for future pandemics; The latest health stories from around the world

President Joe Biden’s administration said this week it plans to spend more than $5 billion to stoke development of better coronavirus vaccines and treatments to curb future pandemics. www.science.org/content/article/news-glance-new-us-coronavirus-research-lab-gears-carbon-cost-repurposed-accelerator? Like Operation Warp Speed, its predecessor during the administration of former President Donald Trump, the new program, Project NextGen, will rely on public-private partnerships, The Washington …

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Considerable increase in COVID-19 deaths in China; The latest health stories from around the world

More than 5,000 people are probably dying each day from COVID-19 in China, health data firm Airfinity estimated, offering a dramatic contrast to official data from Beijing on the country’s current outbreak.www.medscape.com/viewarticle/986013?src=wnl_edit_tpal&uac=398271FG&impID=5026929&faf=1 The UK-based firm said it had used modelling based on regional Chinese data to produce figures that also put current daily infections in …

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Invasive mosquito species linked to unusual malaria outbreak

Scientists have linked an invasive mosquito to an unusual outbreak of malaria in Ethiopia. Anopheles stephensi, native to southern Asia, was first identified in Africa a decade ago in the Republic of Djibouti, which borders Ethiopia. It has since spread to at least four other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. www.science.org/content/article/unusual-malaria-outbreak-tied-invasive-mosquito? Now, amid lingering questions about whether …

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Vaccine trial against malaria shows promising results

A new vaccine against malaria has shown promising preliminary results in a large trial in four African countries, boosting hopes that an additional tool may soon be available to help control the deadly disease. www.science.org/content/article/new-data-buoys-hopes-promising-malaria-vaccine-questions-remain The vaccine, named R21/Matrix-M and developed by researchers at the University of Oxford, produced similarly impressive results in a small trial last …

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Food supplies run low in Shanghai COVID-19 lockdown; the latest health stories from around the world

A citywide COVID-19 lockdown in China’s financial capital of Shanghai has disrupted food supplies badly, causing a wave of anxiety as residents ration dwindling stores of vegetables and staples. COVID-test requirements for truckers entering Shanghai have caused delays in the delivery of foods and other commodities. Within the city, many food delivery workers have been …

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Malaria and the long road to a vaccine that’s a mixed blessing

With Covid-19 figures generally heading south (touchwood and all that!), the big news of the week focussed on older ailments with the bat virus being replaced by the unfriendly neighbourhood mosquito. More than 130 years after the naming of the Plasmodium parasites behind malaria, the world now has its first approved vaccine against them. Many malaria researchers …

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AMR: The silent, parallel pandemic

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has emerged as a “silent pandemic”, commentators argue, as experts argue for a harmonised approach to mitigate the damage. The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed substantially to the AMR crisis, with the prescription of antibiotics for the treatment of those affected by COVID-19 contributing to an increase in AMR cases. This is a …

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mRNA vaccine in development for malaria – too soon for hype?

BioNTech gained prominent public attention for its collaboration with Pfizer which produced a COVID-19 vaccine using mRNA technology. They have once again hit the headlines – this time setting their sights on malaria. BioNTech’s malaria project is part of the ‘eradicateMalaria’ initiative, led by the kENUP Foundation, to accelerate the eradication of the mosquito-borne disease. …

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