Addis Ababa, Aug 9 (IANS) The death toll from Africa’s ongoing mpox outbreak has surpassed 1,900 since the start of 2024, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said. During an online media briefing, Ngashi Ngongo, chief of staff and head of the Africa CDC’s Executive Office, said that 27 mpox-affected African countries have reported 174,597 cases and 1,922 related deaths since the start of last year.”When we compare the data of last year and this year, we see that in…

Kolkata, Aug 9 (IANS) In August last year, West Bengal was rocked by widespread protests over the ghastly rape and murder of a lady junior doctor of state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata within the hospital premises.Doctors, common men, and women had taken to the streets to protest, demand justice, and hold the state government accountable for its failure to provide security to women in workplaces.On the anniversary of the tragic incident, another round of protests and ral…

Nairobi, Aug 9 (IANS) The World Health Organisation (WHO) certified Kenya as having eliminated human African trypanosomiasis, also known as sleeping sickness, as a public health challenge, making it the 10th country to reach this critical milestone.”I congratulate the government and people of Kenya on this landmark achievement,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement issued in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.”Kenya joins the growing ranks of countries freeing their popul…

New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS) India is committed to enhancing global regulatory cooperation in the herbal medicines sector, said Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of Ayush.He was speaking at the three-day workshop at the WHO-International Regulatory Cooperation for Herbal Medicines (IRCH) organised by Ministry of Ayush.In his inaugural address, Kotecha highlighted India’s leadership as the lead country for WHO-IRCH Working Group 1 on Safety and Regulation and Working Group 3 on Efficacy and…

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 9 (IANS) With support pouring in from all quarters for Thiruvananthapuram Medical College whistleblower Dr Harris Chirackal — who alleged he was being “harassed” for exposing corruption and systemic failures in Kerala’s healthcare sector — the state government appears poised to quietly end its investigation against him.The widely respected doctor, who admitted he had to seek psychiatric help due to stress, said State Health Minister Veena George personally visited…

New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS) UK scientists have discovered how some children develop natural immunity to Strep A, a common bacterial infection — a vital breakthrough which could help develop vaccines to save up to half a million lives globally each year.While Strep A often causes a mild sore throat or skin infections, it sometimes be life-threatening.In low and middle-income countries hundreds of thousands of people die each year after contracting the infection. This increased risk is often linked t…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) Union Minister of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav on Friday called for collective action to put rural women at the centre of climate and health agendas.His statement came as he launched a white paper by Transform Rural India (TRI) and the Development Intelligence Unit (DiU) at the fifth edition of the India Rural Colloquy in the national capital.The white paper explores the impact of climate change on rural women’s health and well-being.”We must foster the growth of n…

Aizawl, Aug 8 (IANS) Mizoram’s Lunglei district administration earned national recognition as its flagship maternal and child health initiative — Project BLOOM — was presented at the ‘Best Practices Seminar’ organised by the NITI Aayog at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, officials said on Friday. The NITI Aayog event celebrated successful interventions from 329 aspirational districts and 500 aspirational blocks across the country. An official statement said that under the theme “Transforming Health…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) In 2024, India witnessed a surge in cancer cases, with over 15 lakh people diagnosed with the deadly disease, said Prataprao Jadhav, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, on Friday.In a written reply to a query in Lok Sabha, Jadhav detailed the rising cases of cancer in the country.“The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has informed that as per the National Cancer Registry Programme (ICMR-NCRP) Data, the estimated incidence of cancer cases in th…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) A total of 224 cases of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) — a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes — have been reported from 11 states in 2025, the government informed the Parliament on Friday.In a written reply to a query in Lok Sabha, Anupriya Patel, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, shared the number of recorded cases of encephalitis — inflammation of the brain, often due to bacterial or viral infection — in the country during the last five years.C…