With the continued risk of international spread, WHO has announced that polio will remain a public health emergency for three more months. Polio was declared as public health emergency of international concern in 2014 and has continued to remain one since then. Based on the risk of international spread of poliovirus, the World Health Organization … Continue reading Polio continues to remain a public health emergency
Nigeria
Nigeria on the brink of becoming polio-free
On August 21 this year, Nigeria crossed an important milestone in the eradication of polio when it successfully completed three successive years without a single case of wild poliovirus. The official announcement by the World Health Organisation is expected by early next year. On August 21 this year, Nigeria crossed an important milestone in the … Continue reading Nigeria on the brink of becoming polio-free
Number of wild poliovirus cases drop in Pakistan, Afghanistan
In the last six months, there have been only eight wild-type poliovirus (type 1 and type 3) cases reported in Afghanistan and Pakistan, down from 32 cases during the same period last year. “The overall situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan has significantly improved in common corridors of transmission,” says a summary report of a April … Continue reading Number of wild poliovirus cases drop in Pakistan, Afghanistan
Editorial: Another Ebola battle won
On January 18, the World Health Organization and the Malian government declared Mali free of the Ebola virus disease. Mali is the third country after Nigeria and Senegal to become free of the deadly disease. A country should have had no new cases of Ebola for a continuous period of 42 days, which is a … Continue reading Editorial: Another Ebola battle won
Preterm births and pneumonia kill most children under five years in India
Of the 6.3 million deaths in children under the age of five years, nearly 44 per cent of deaths during 2000-2013 occurred during the neonatal period (0-27 days after birth). Preterm birth complications, pneumonia and intrapartum-related complications have been found to be the three main causes of death in children globally. The results are … Continue reading Preterm births and pneumonia kill most children under five years in India
Editorial: Lessons to be learnt
Nearly nine months after the Ebola virus first struck in Guinea, grim statistics reveal that in the four West African countries of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, the disease is far from being tackled. The Ebola outbreak has rather become the “largest, and most severe and complex” ever in its history. As on … Continue reading Editorial: Lessons to be learnt
Editorial: Keeping Ebola in check
After the H1N1 influenza (swine flu) in 2009 and polio in May 2014, the WHO has now declared the Ebola (Ebola virus disease) outbreak in West Africa as an “extraordinary event” and a “public health risk to other countries.” It has also highlighted that the “consequences” of its spread across the world could be … Continue reading Editorial: Keeping Ebola in check