Author: Dmedia

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…

India TV’s claims that HMPV is a mysterious virus, or speculation that a new virus may have arisen out of China, are false. ...

WASHINGTON — The Louisiana Department of Health said Monday that a U.S. patient hospitalized with H5N1 bird flu had died, the country's first death from an outbreak of the virus that has sickened dozens of people and millions of poultry and cattle.  Nearly 70 people in the U.S. have contracted bird flu since April, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most of them livestock workers exposed to sick chickens or dairy cattle.  The patient in Louisiana, the first person in the country to be hospitalized with the virus, contracted bird flu after exposure to a combination of backyard chickens and wild birds, said Louisiana health officials. The patient was hospitalized on Dec. 18, state health officials said.  The patient was over 65 and had underlying medical conditions,…

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA — The new year will bring a pair of lunar eclipses, but don't expect any sun-disappearing acts like the one that mesmerized North America last spring. While the world will have to wait until 2026 for the next total solar eclipse, the cosmos promises plenty of other wow moments in 2025. It's kicking off the year with a six-planet parade in January that will be visible for weeks. Little Mercury will join the crowd for a seven-planet lineup in February. Five planets already are scattered across the sky — all but Mars and Mercury — though binoculars or telescopes are needed to spot some of them just after sunset. "People should go out and see them sometime during the next many weeks. I certainly will," said the Planetary…

TOKYO — Tomiko Itooka, a Japanese woman who was the world’s oldest person according to Guinness World Records, has died, an Ashiya city official said Saturday. She was 116. Yoshitsugu Nagata, an official in charge of elderly policies, said Itooka died on Dec. 29 at a care home in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, central Japan. Itooka, who loved bananas and a yogurt-flavored Japanese drink called Calpis, was born on May 23, 1908. She became the oldest person last year following the death of 117-year-old Maria Branyas, according to the Gerontology Research Group. When she was told she was at the top of the World Supercentenarian Rankings List, she simply replied, “Thank you.” When Itooka celebrated her birthday last year, she received flowers, a cake and a card from the mayor. Born in…

WASHINGTON — The highly decorated Special Forces soldier who died by suicide in a Cybertruck explosion on New Year's Day confided to a former girlfriend who had served as an Army nurse that he faced significant pain and exhaustion that she says were key symptoms of traumatic brain injury. Green Beret Matthew Livelsberger, 37, was a five-time recipient of the Bronze Star, including one with a V device for valor under fire. He had an exemplary military record that spanned the globe and a baby born last year. But he struggled with the mental and physical toll of his service, which required him to kill and caused him to witness the deaths of fellow soldiers. Livelsberger mostly bore that burden in private but recently sought treatment for depression from the Army,…

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden's outgoing administration announced Friday that it will allocate $306 million to bolster the nation's bird flu response before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. The new funding will support national, state and local preparedness and monitoring programs, as well as research into potential medical countermeasures against the H5N1 virus. "While the risk to humans remains low, we are always preparing for any possible scenario that could arise," Health Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. "Preparedness is the key to keeping Americans healthy and our country safe." The United States has reported 66 human cases of bird flu since the start of 2024, though experts believe the true number could be higher, with cases potentially going undetected among cattle and poultry workers. While the virus has…

The holidays came with a side of flu for many Americans, with 40 states reporting high or very high levels of illness last week, according to the latest government health data.  "A lot of flu out there," said Carrie Reed of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Of course, there are a number of bugs that cause fever, cough, sore throat and other flulike symptoms. One is COVID-19. Another is RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, which is a common cause of coldlike symptoms but can be dangerous for infants and the elderly.  Reed said that the most recent CDC hospitalization data and other indicators show that the flu virus is trending higher than the other germs. Several seasonal flu strains are driving cases, with no dominant one, she added. …

WASHINGTON/LONDON — Alcoholic drinks should carry a warning about cancer risks on their label, the U.S. surgeon general said Friday in a move that could signal a shift toward more aggressive tobacco-style regulation for the sector.  U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said alcohol consumption increases the risk of at least seven types of cancer, including breast, colon and liver cancer, but most U.S. consumers remain unaware of this.  Murthy also called for the guidelines on alcohol consumption limits to be reassessed so that people can weigh the cancer risk when deciding whether or how much to drink. U.S. dietary guidelines currently recommend two or fewer drinks per day for men and one drink or less per day for women.  "Alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the…

Juba, South Sudan   — More than 1.1 million doses of an oral cholera vaccine have arrived in South Sudan, as the government launched a program to inoculate more than 80 percent of the population. But the mass vaccination exercise faces numerous challenges, including a lack of access to the areas dealing with the worst cholera outbreaks. Medics in South Sudan will attempt to vaccinate at least 9 million people against cholera, an exercise that targets mostly children and mothers. More than 1.1 million doses of oral cholera vaccine arrived in the capital, Juba, and will be dispatched next week to hot spots areas like the town of Bentiu. The country’s Ministry of Health reported last week that 199 people have died of cholera, with 13,000 more diagnosed so far with the…

LONDON — A worker digging up clay in a southern England limestone quarry noticed unusual bumps that led to the discovery of a "dinosaur highway" and nearly 200 tracks that date back 166 million years, researchers said Thursday.  The extraordinary find made after a team of more than 100 people excavated the Dewars Farm Quarry, in Oxfordshire, in June expands upon previous paleontology work in the area and offers greater insights into the Middle Jurassic period, researchers at the universities of Oxford and Birmingham said.  "These footprints offer an extraordinary window into the lives of dinosaurs, revealing details about their movements, interactions, and the tropical environment they inhabited," said Kirsty Edgar, a micropaleontology professor at the University of Birmingham.  Four of the sets of tracks that make up the so-called highway…

WASHINGTON — When the Quadrantid meteor shower peaks Friday, it will be the year's first chance to see fireballs in the sky.  A waning crescent moon means good visibility under clear and dark conditions.  Most meteor showers are named for the constellations where they appear to originate from in the night sky. But the Quadrantids "take their name from a constellation that doesn't exist anymore," said NASA's William Cooke.  These meteors usually don't have long trains, but the heads may appear as bright fireballs. The peak may reveal as many as 120 meteors per hour, according to NASA.  Viewing lasts until Jan. 16. Here's what to know about the Quadrantids and other meteor showers.  What is a meteor shower?  As the Earth orbits the sun, several times a year it passes…

Geneva — The World Health Organization on Monday implored China to share data and access to help understand how COVID-19 began, five years on from the start of the pandemic that upended the planet. COVID-19 killed millions of people, shredded economies and crippled health systems. "We continue to call on China to share data and access so we can understand the origins of COVID-19. This is a moral and scientific imperative," the WHO said in a statement. "Without transparency, sharing, and cooperation among countries, the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics." The WHO recounted how on Dec. 31, 2019, its country office in China picked up a media statement from the health authorities in Wuhan concerning cases of "viral pneumonia" in the city. "In the weeks,…

NEW DELHI — India launched a rocket Monday carrying two small spacecraft to test docking in space, a critical step for the country's dreams of a space station and a manned moon mission.  The mission is "vital for India's future space ambitions," Jitendra Singh, the country's science and technology minister, said in a statement ahead of the launch, which was broadcast live by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).  Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced plans last year to send a man to the moon by 2040.  The PSLV-C60 rocket, which blasted off Monday evening at the Sriharikota launch site with shooting flames as it soared into the night sky, included two 220-kilogram (485-pound) satellites.  ISRO has dubbed the mission SpaDeX, or Space Docking Experiment.  "PSLV-C60 successfully launches SpaDeX and 24 payloads,"…

The World Meteorological Organization warns this year's record-breaking heat is likely to continue in 2025, further accelerating climate change and leading to catastrophic consequences if urgent action is not taken to stem the "human activities" behind this looming disaster.  According to the United Nations weather agency, 2024 is set to be the warmest year on record, "capping a decade of unprecedented heat fueled by human activities."  "Greenhouse gas levels continue to grow to record observed highs, locking in even more heat for the future," the WMO said. The agency stresses the need for greater international cooperation to address extreme heat risks "as global temperatures rise, and extreme heat events become more frequent and severe."  Celeste Saulo, who was appointed WMO secretary-general in June 2023 and began her four-year term in…

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu successfully underwent prostate removal surgery on Sunday and is in good condition, according to the hospital treating him.   The surgery took place while Israel remains at war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, more than 14 months after an unprecedented attack by Palestinian militants on Israel on October 7 last year.  "The prime minister has awakened from anesthesia and is in good condition. He has been transferred to the recovery unit and will remain under observation in the coming days," the Hadassah Medical Centre said in a statement.  On Saturday, Netanyahu's office announced that he had been diagnosed with a urinary tract infection caused by a benign prostate enlargement.   Earlier, in March, Netanyahu underwent a hernia surgery, and in July last…

Abortion has become more common despite bans or deep restrictions in most Republican-controlled states, and the legal and political fights over its future are not over yet. It's now been two and a half years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and opened the door for states to implement bans. The policies and their impact have been in flux ever since the ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Here's a look at data on where things stand: Abortions are more common than before Dobbs Overturning Roe and enforcing abortion bans has changed how woman obtain abortions in the United States. One thing it hasn't done is put a dent in the number of abortions being obtained. There have been slightly more monthly abortions across the…

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA — 2024 was a brutal year for the Amazon rainforest, with rampant wildfires and extreme drought ravaging large parts of a biome that's a critical counterweight to climate change.  A warming climate fed drought that in turn fed the worst year for fires since 2005. And those fires contributed to deforestation, with authorities suspecting some fires were set to more easily clear land to run cattle.  The Amazon is twice the size of India and sprawls across eight countries and one territory, storing vast amounts of carbon dioxide that would otherwise warm the planet. It has about 20% of the world's fresh water and astounding biodiversity, including 16,000 known tree species. But governments have historically viewed it as an area to be exploited, with little regard for sustainability or…