Author: Dmedia

A male nurse in Uganda has died of Ebola, the first recorded death by the disease in the East African country since an outbreak ended in 2023, health officials said. The 32-year-old nurse worked at Mulago National Specialised Hospital in Kampala, Diana Atwine, permanent secretary of Uganda’s health ministry, said Thursday. The nurse died Wednesday of the Sudan strain of Ebola, Atwine said. He sought treatment at several hospitals and had also consulted with a traditional healer before tests confirmed an Ebola diagnosis, health officials said. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on X that his organization was supporting Uganda’s efforts to contain an Ebola outbreak in Uganda with a $1 million allocation from WHO’s Contingency Fund for Emergencies. Atwine said on her X social media account that…

WASHINGTON — A key Republican senator on Thursday said he was struggling with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination by President Donald Trump to run the top U.S. health agency, saying he had reservations about the nominee's "misleading arguments" on vaccines.    "Your past of undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me," Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, a physician from Louisiana, told Kennedy.  "I have been struggling with the nomination," he said at the end of Thursday's Senate health committee hearing to consider Kennedy to run the massive Department of Health and Human Services.  "Does a 70-year-old man ... who spent decades criticizing vaccines and who's financially vested in finding fault with vaccines, can he change his attitudes and approach now that he'll have the most important position influencing vaccine…

Kampala, Uganda — Uganda has confirmed an outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the capital Kampala, with the first confirmed patient dying from the disease on Wednesday, the health ministry said on Thursday. The patient, a nurse at the Mulago referral hospital in the capital, had initially sought treatment at various facilities, including Mulago after developing fever-like symptoms. "The patient experienced multi-organ failure and succumbed to the illness at Mulago National Referral Hospital on Jan 29. Post-mortem samples confirmed Sudan Ebola Virus Disease (strain)," the ministry said. The highly infectious hemorrhagic fever is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids and tissue. Symptoms include headache, vomiting blood, muscle pains and bleeding. Uganda last suffered an outbreak in late 2022 and that outbreak was declared over on Jan. 11, 2023, after nearly…

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as the nation’s top health official, faced tough questions from senators Wednesday about his views on vaccinations, COVID-19 and the nation’s health care system. A member of one of America’s most famous political families, Kennedy could face a tough road to confirmation. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more. ...

WASHINGTON — In a contentious confirmation hearing on his nomination to become the nation's top health official, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. struggled to answer questions about how he would reform Medicaid or Medicare, the government health care programs used by millions of disabled, poor and older Americans. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician and key vote Kennedy needs to win, repeatedly pressed the nominee on Wednesday to share ways he plans to reform Medicaid, a multibillion-dollar taxpayer-funded program that covers health care for about 80 million people, including children. Republicans have said they might need to make deep cuts to Medicaid to fund President Donald Trump's proposals. “I don't have a broad proposal for dismantling the program,” Kennedy said. Kennedy also inaccurately claimed that Medicaid is fully paid for…

ISLAMABAD — A senior World Health Organization official cautioned Wednesday that the eradication of polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the only countries where the paralytic virus persists, is threatened by the suspension of funding from the United States. In an online news conference, Hanan Balkhy, regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, emphasized the crucial role of U.S. financial contribution to the organization's surveillance efforts for polio and all other communicable diseases, particularly within her region. Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered an unprecedented 90-day suspension of almost all foreign aid to give his administration the time to evaluate whether to continue funding the numerous humanitarian, development and security programs that receive U.S. assistance. On his first day back in the White House, Trump announced he was withdrawing the United States…

Russian disinformation narratives about illicit organ harvesting and biological experiments in Ukraine have no basis in fact. Russia intentionally distorts Ukrainian law intended to support vital medical procedures.    ...

WASHINGTON — The CIA now believes the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic most likely originated from a laboratory, according to an assessment released Saturday that points the finger at China even while acknowledging that the spy agency has "low confidence" in its own conclusion. The finding is not the result of any new intelligence, and the report was completed at the behest of the Biden administration and former CIA Director William Burns. It was declassified and released Saturday on the orders of President Donald Trump's pick to lead the agency, John Ratcliffe, who was sworn in Thursday as director. The nuanced finding suggests the agency believes the totality of evidence makes a lab origin more likely than a natural origin. But the agency's assessment assigns a low degree of confidence…

WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA — The cervical cancer rate in Namibia is 37.5 for every 100,000 women, about three times higher than the rate worldwide.  Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers and doctors in Namibia are advocating greater access to healthcare and the HPV vaccine to reduce the prevalence of the disease.  November 2009 was a turning point in the life of Barbara Kamba-Nyathi. At the tender age of 29, she was diagnosed with stage three cervical cancer.   Her doctors recommended radiation therapy as opposed to chemotherapy, because at that time she had not yet had children and radiation therapy would help her avoid premature menopause. But that was not her only struggle. Kamba-Nyathi, who lived in Windhoek at the time, said she faced stigma for cervical cancer's association…

In the Southwest United States, bird migrations are shifting as global temperatures warm. Gustavo Martіnez Contreras takes us to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in the state of New Mexico. ...

After President Joe Biden announced a ban on oil and gas drilling off most of the U.S. coastline in early January, President-elect Donald Trump quickly vowed to reverse it after he takes office on January 20. But there is one section of the California coast that has gained more permanent protection from drilling - a new national marine sanctuary. Genia Dulot takes us underwater for a look. ...

Labels on wine, distilled spirits and malt beverages in the U.S. would be required to list alcohol content and nutritional information per serving, plus notification of potential allergens, under two new rules proposed Thursday by the Treasury Department.  The department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is seeking public content on proposals to require an "alcohol facts" box — similar to nutrition labels on food — that would list alcohol content, calories, carbohydrates, fat and protein per serving. A second rule would require labels to declare top allergens, including milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, soybean and sesame.  The changes are consistent with the bureau's mandate "to ensure that labels provide consumers with adequate information about the identity, quality and alcohol content of alcohol beverages," according to…

PHUKET, THAILAND — Plastic bottles and empty beer cans roll on the sea floor in the waters around Phuket in southern Thailand, while ever more garbage piles up on the island itself, a tourist hotspot better known for its pristine beaches and stunning sunsets. In one corner of the island, trucks and tractors trundle back and forth moving piles of trash around a sprawling landfill, the final destination for much of the more than 1,000 tonnes of waste collected on Phuket every day. In a matter of months, the landfill has grown so large it has replaced the previous serene mountain view from Vassana Toyou's home. "There is no life outside the house, (we) just stay at home," she said. "The smell is very strong, you have to wear a mask."…

BLANTYRE, MALAWI — Malawi’s government launched a plan Thursday to stop cholera outbreaks by 2030. Officials say that if the government and international partners can effectively cooperate, they can greatly reduce the prevalence of cholera in the southern African country, where it has killed at least 1,700 people over the past three years. Partners include the World Health Organization, or WHO, and UNICEF. Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo-Chiponda said, “The goal of the plan is to reduce the annual cholera rate by 90% and achieve the case fatality rate of less than 1% by the year 2030, as recommended by WHO.” Kandodo-Chiponda said there are several ways to achieve the goal, all of which involve the government, development partners, civil society organizations and other stakeholders supplying expertise and funding to support…

WASHINGTON — Hours after Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin nailed its first-ever orbital mission, SpaceX seized back the spotlight on Thursday as its latest test of Starship, its gargantuan next-generation mega rocket, ended with the upper stage dramatically disintegrating over the Atlantic. In terms of sheer excitement, Elon Musk's company didn't disappoint, underscoring its technical prowess by catching the first stage booster in the "chopstick" arms of its launch tower for a second time. But the triumph was short-lived when teams lost contact with the upper stage vehicle. SpaceX later confirmed it had undergone "rapid unscheduled disassembly," the company's euphemism for an explosion. A taller, improved version of the biggest and most powerful launch vehicle ever built blasted off from the company's Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, at 4:37 p.m. (2237 GMT)…

People hospitalized for flu should be tested for bird flu within 24 hours, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday, in an expansion of the agency's efforts to tackle increasing infections in humans.  The advisory is intended to prevent delays in identifying human cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) viruses amid high levels of seasonal influenza.  The risk to the general public from bird flu is low, and there has been no further evidence of person to person spread, the agency said.  Still, influenza A-positive patients, particularly those in an intensive care unit, should be tested ideally within 24 hours of hospitalization to identify the viral subtype and determine whether they have bird flu, the agency said.  Prior to Thursday's guidance, hospitals generally sent batches of…

GENEVA — The World Health Organization appealed Thursday for $1.5 billion for emergency operations this year, warning that conflict, climate change, epidemics and displacement had converged to create an "unprecedented global health crisis." The U.N. health agency estimated that health crises would leave 305 million people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance this year. "WHO is seeking $1.5 billion to support our lifesaving work for the emergencies we know about and to react swiftly to new crises," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said as he launched the appeal. The agency's emergency request, which was for the same amount as last year's request, outlined the critical priorities and resources needed to address 42 ongoing health emergencies. "Conflicts, outbreaks, climate-related disasters and other health emergencies are no longer isolated or occasional — they…

ARUSHA, Tanzania — The World Health Organization said Wednesday an outbreak of suspected Marburg disease has killed eight people in a remote part of northern Tanzania.  "We are aware of 9 cases so far, including 8 people who have died," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. "We would expect further cases in coming days as disease surveillance improves."  Like Ebola, the Marburg virus originates in fruit bats and spreads between people through close contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or with surfaces, such as contaminated bed sheets.  Without treatment, Marburg can be fatal in up to 88% of people who fall ill with the disease. Symptoms include fever, muscle pains, diarrhea, vomiting and in some cases death from extreme blood loss. There is no authorized vaccine…

China says HMPV infections in the northern part of the country are declining. News of increased respiratory illnesses in China kindled international concerns about another potential pandemic. But, as VOA’s Dora Mekouar reports, medical experts say HMPV is nothing like COVID-19. VOA Mandarin contributed to this report. ...

Elon Musk said a third person has received an implant from his brain-computer interface company Neuralink, one of many groups working to connect the nervous system to machines. “We've got ... three humans with Neuralinks and all are working well,” he said during a recent wide-ranging interview at a Las Vegas event streamed on his social media platform X. Since the first brain implant about a year ago, Musk said the company has upgraded the devices with more electrodes, higher bandwidth and longer battery life. Musk also said Neuralink hopes to implant the experimental devices in 20 to 30 more people this year. Musk didn't provide any details about the latest patient, but there are updates on the previous ones. The second recipient — who has a spinal cord injury…

SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO — The New Mexico Supreme Court on Thursday struck down abortion restrictions by conservative cities and counties, helping to ensure the state remains a go-to destination for people from other states with bans. The unanimous opinion, in response to a request from state Attorney General Raúl Torrez, reinforces the state's position as having some of the most liberal abortion laws in the country. Attorneys representing the cities of Hobbs and Clovis and Lea and Roosevelt counties had argued that provisions of a federal "anti-vice" law known as the Comstock Act block courts from striking down local abortion ordinances. But Justice C. Shannon Bacon, writing for the majority opinion, said state law precludes cities and counties from restricting abortion or regulating abortion clinics. "The ordinances violate this core…

CAPE CANAVERAL — A quarter of a century after its founding, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin is finally ready for its maiden orbital voyage with a brand-new rocket the company hopes will shake up the commercial space race. The launch initially scheduled for Sunday was pushed back a day due to "unfavorable" sea conditions, Blue Origin posted on X. Named New Glenn after legendary astronaut John Glenn — the first American to orbit Earth in 1962 — the rocket stands 320 feet (98 meters) tall, roughly equivalent to a 32-story building — and is set to blast off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in a launch window that opens at 1 a.m. (0600 GMT) Monday. "Pointy end up!" the company's CEO, Dave Limp posted on X alongside photos of the gleaming white…

BANGKOK — Nearly all of the world's 35,000 online pharmacies are being run illegally and consumers who use them risk getting ineffective or dangerous drugs, according to the U.S. Trade Representative's annual report on "notorious markets." The report also singled out 19 countries over concerns about counterfeit or pirated products. The report also named about three dozen online retailers, many of them in China or elsewhere in Asia that it said are allegedly engaged in selling counterfeit products or other illegal activities. The report says 96% of online pharmacies were found to be violating the law, many operating without a license and selling medicines without prescriptions and safety warnings. Their websites often look like legitimate e-commerce platforms, often with false claims that they are approved by the Food and Drug Administration,…

NEW YORK — The 13-year-old boy came to the clinic with a rapidly ballooning neck. Doctors were puzzled. Testing ruled out their first suspicion. But further tests pinpointed what they — and the boy — had been missing: iodine. A century ago, iodine deficiency affected kids across large swaths of the country. It essentially disappeared after some food makers started adding it to table salt, bread and some other foods, in one of the great public health success stories of the 20th century. But today, people are getting less iodine because of changes in diet and food manufacturing. Although most people are still getting enough, researchers have increasingly been reporting low levels of iodine in pregnant women and other people, raising concerns about an impact on their newborns. And there is…

Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) has recently spread widely across China, overwhelming hospitals and evoking memories of the COVID-19 outbreak. HMPV is not a new virus; it has been known for years and typically has a low mortality rate. Nevertheless, epidemiologists are calling for greater transparency about the spread of the virus to help contain infections. While the health care system is under strain, experts stress that there is no need for panic. They recommend the public follow basic protective measures, particularly during the Spring Festival travel period, to help curb further spread of the virus. Click here to read the full story in Mandarin. ...

GENEVA — The World Meteorlogical Organization says that preventive action cannot avert natural disasters such as the wildfires raging across Los Angeles, but that it can help save lives and mitigate loss of property. “Land management and prevention, regular clearing of underbrush play a key role in fire management, and evacuation plans are important in saving lives,” the WMO said Friday. “These are all part of effective early warning systems.” In a briefing to journalists in Geneva, Claire Nullis, a WMO spokesperson, stressed the importance of preparing adequate evacuation plans and early warning systems to prevent some of the worst impacts from a natural disaster. While acknowledging the staggering losses from the devastating wildfires sweeping across parts of Los Angeles in the United States this week, she said “The early warnings…

For the first time, a person in the United States has died after being infected with the bird flu. Louisiana health officials reported the death on Monday. The World Health Organization says the risk of infection for the general population remains low, but as VOA’s Dora Mekouar reports, some medical experts are still sounding the alarm. ...

WASHINGTON — Nearly a quarter of animals living in rivers, lakes and other freshwater sources are threatened with extinction, according to new research published Wednesday. "Huge rivers like the Amazon can appear mighty, but at the same time freshwater environments are very fragile," said study co-author Patricia Charvet, a biologist at Brazil's Federal University of Ceará. Freshwater habitats – including rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, bogs and wetlands – cover less than 1% of the planet’s surface, but support 10% of its animal species, said Catherine Sayer, a zoologist at the International Union for Conservation of Nature in England. The researchers examined around 23,500 species of dragonflies, fish, crabs and other animals that depend exclusively on freshwater ecosystems. They found that 24% were at risk of extinction – classified as vulnerable, endangered…