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Public Health
Loud music puts teens at risk of hearing loss
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports around 1.1bn teenagers and young adults risk hearing loss due to exposure to unsafe levels of recreational noise from personal audio devices and loud entertainment venues.
WISH-list of how to do health innovations
Research looking at eight case studies of how different countries successfully implemented health innovations was released at the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH). The studies were from Argentina, England, Nepal, Singapore, Sweden, the United States and Zambia.
Improved airport screening needed
Airport screening for disease will often miss half or more of infected travellers – one of the biggest barriers to success is the lack of honest reporting by passengers about their risk of exposure – if being honest could put them at risk of delay.
Use electric fans in severe heat, study advises
Although some public health organisations advise against the use of electric fans in severe heat, an Australian study has demonstrated that they prevent heat-related elevations in heart rate and core body temperature.
Vaccine works against most cancer-causing HPVs
A large multinational clinical trial has found that the vaccine Cervarix not only has the potential to prevent cervical cancer, but is effective against other common cancer-causing human papillomaviruses (HPV).
HPV vaccinations lead to less risky behaviour
Contradicting concerns that vaccination against human papilloma virus (HPV) will lead young people to have riskier sex, a University of Manchester study finds the opposite among young women.
E-cigarettes pose 'significant' health risks
Emissions from e-cigarette aerosols and flavourings damage lung cells by creating harmful free radicals and inflammation in lung tissue, according to a University of Rochester study.
New index measures pharma's efforts
A new metric, theGlobal Health Impact Index, has been created to gauge whether the efforts of the pharmaceutical industry to develop treatments for infectious diseases in poor nations are making a difference with three specific infectious diseases: tuberculosis, HIV/Aids and malaria.
Treated nets with vaccines may increase morbidity
Mathematical modelling in a University of Michigan study suggests that the combined use of some malaria vaccines with bed nets can lead to increased morbidity and mortality in older age classes.
Lassa fever 'super-spreaders' identified
One in five cases of Lassa fever – a disease that kills around 5,000 people a year in West Africa – could be due to human-to-human transmission, with a large proportion of these caused by 'super-spreaders', according to University of Cambridge research.
Review of IPT effect on anaemic children
Tanzanian and SA researchers, who are part of the Cochrane Infectious Disease Group, conducted an independent review to assess intermittent preventive anti-malarial treatment (IPT) for children with anaemia living in malaria endemic regions. They found no difference in deaths or hospitalisation IPT and placebo recipients.
No link between HPV vax and MS risk
Although some reports have linked human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and development of multiple sclerosis or other demyelinating diseases, a large follow-up of females in Denmark and Sweden who received this vaccination found no increased risk.
Measles vaccines: Adverse outcomes unlikely
A large-sample 12-year US study of two measles-containing vaccines found that seven main adverse outcomes were unlikely after either MMRV or MMR+V vaccine.
Evidence is ‘strong’ that children should be vaccinated – study
Children should get vaccinated against preventable and potentially deadly diseases. Period. CNN reports that this is what a project that screened more than 20,000...
Plan to serve as model for reducing TB infections
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched an ambitious plan for rich countries to sharply reduce tuberculosis (TB) infections and serve as a model...
Call for border screenings to fight cross-border malaria threat
Despite an overall reduction in Southern African malarial infections over the past 10 years, migration experts worry it’s making a comeback in new ways,...
SA children should be vaccinated against Hepatitis B at birth
SA’s Department of Health has been called upon by global organisations to vaccinate children against Hepatitis B at birth, and to set an example...
New malaria vaccine could save many lives
Many lives may soon be saved thanks to the world’s first malaria vaccine, which could be approved for use in the near future. The...
HPV vaccination coverage in the US still ‘unacceptably low’
Although there has been a slight increase in human papillonavirus vaccination coverage among US adolescents since 2012, a new report from the Centres for...
Lessening the global burden of acute gastroenteritis
Noroviruses are a leading cause of acute gastroenteritis across all age groups, responsible for almost a fifth (18%) of all cases worldwide. And, reports...
BMA backs radical plan to ban cigarette sales to millennial generation
Doctors have said the UK could soon see its first ‘tobacco-free generation’ after backing a radical plan to ban cigarette sales to anyone born...
SA to miss UN goals on reducing child and maternal deaths
SA is one of the countries that will miss next year’s United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on reducing child and maternal deaths, a...
UK nutrition advisory: Cut sugar intake in half
UK government scientific advice says people need to more than halve their intake of added sugar to tackle the obesity crisis. BBC News reports...
Alcohol abuse decimating US workers
Excessive alcohol use accounts for one in 10 deaths among US working-age adults, ages 20-64 years. Science Daily reports that Centres for Disease Control...
Internet now making counterfeit medicines an African problem
Widely available counterfeit medicines – which may be ineffective or even toxic – has become a global problem, largely because of the Internet, and...
Middle East and North African drug users fuelling HIV epidemics
HIV epidemics are emerging among people who inject drugs (PWID) in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa, reports News-Medical. Research has...
Low-level exercise can still save lives
A leading UK sports consultant has said that the public should be encouraged to do more ‘low-level’ exercise and that standing up for three...
SA’s Circumcision ‘season’ opens with fears of death and injury
This month, youths in some rural areas will head to secluded huts for circumcision rituals meant to usher them into manhood, an annual rite...
Midwives – the unsung heroes of maternal health
A United Nations report lauds midwives as the unsung heroes of maternal and newborn health and urges greater investment in these healthcare professionals, who...
Link found between cardio-vascular problems and air pollution
Air pollution is linked to increased risk of developing an irregular heartbeat and blood clots in the lung, but researchers say the impact of...
Malaria genetic ‘barcode’ discovered
Researchers have found a new genetic ‘barcode’ for malaria parasites, which could be used to track and contain the spread of the disease, reports...
US facing a growing obesity-linked liver disease epidemic
Despite major gains in fighting hepatitis C and other chronic liver conditions, public health officials in the US are now faced with a growing...
HPV vaccination could save lives of hundreds of thousands annually
The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination of 58m girls could prevent 690,000 cases of cervical cancer and 420,000 deaths, according to research in The Lancet...
Research changing the definition of post-partum depression
A fast-growing body of research is changing the very definition of maternal mental illness, showing that it is more common and varied than previously...
Number of pre-diabetes sufferers triples in England
More than one in three adults in England are on the cusp of developing type-2 diabetes, and if nothing is done to stop the...
E-cigarettes part of the solution in anti-smoking fight – scientists
A group of 53 leading scientists has warned the World Health Organisation not to classify e-cigarettes as tobacco products, arguing that doing so would...
Shortage of funds block attempts to reign in rabies
A shortage of funds for vaccinating dogs against rabies is costing the lives of tens of thousands of children around the world every year....
WHO: Alcohol kills 3m a year – and SA has heaviest boozers in Africa
A recent World Health Organisation report shows that more than 3m people died from using alcohol in 2012, for reasons ranging from cancer to...
Proper healthcare at birth would save millions of lives
The lives of 3m mothers and new-born babies could be saved every year if they received proper healthcare, especially during birth. Health-e reports that...
Study warns against delaying routine immunisations
Delaying certain routine immunisations past the first 15 months of life could boost the risk of fever-related seizures, new research suggests. Health24 reports that...