SCIENCE BOND

Speaking at the agency's annual World Health Assembly, Dr Chan said experts had "dropped the ball" in the 1970s with regards to getting a handle on disease-carrying insects.  More than 60 countries and territories now have continuing Zika transmission.  Most recently, the infection, spread by mosquito bites, reached Africa. The virus is thought to cause serious birth defects during pregnancy and has been declared a global public health emergency. According to Dr Chan, outbreaks that become emergencies always reveal specific weaknesses in affected countries and illuminate the fault lines in our collective preparedness."Zika reveals an extreme consequence of the failure to provide universal access to sexual and family planning services," she said. Dr Chan added that Latin America and the Caribbean, which have been hit hard by Zika, have the highest proportion of unintended pregnancies in the world.Eradication campaigns were successful in the America...

After an emergency committee meeting on Tuesday, the UN health agency also said there was increasing evidence of links between Zika and various birth defects.  Zika is most commonly spread by mosquitoes but several countries have reported cases of sexual transmission.  The WHO last month said the outbreak constitutes a global emergency.  WHO Director General Dr Margaret Chan said "reports and investigations in several countries strongly suggest that sexual transmission of the virus is more common than previously assumed".  She called the development "alarming". Dr Chan also said that microcephaly - a birth defect strongly linked to the Zika outbreak in Brazil - was just one of several conditions that the WHO had linked to  Another is Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS). Nine countries have now reported an increase in cases of GBS, a rare condition that can cause temporary paralysis and death. Dr Chan said problems linked to Zika were now being seen not ...

The infection, which causes symptoms including mild fever, conjunctivitis and headache, has already been found in 21 countries in the Caribbean, North and South America.  It has been linked to thousands of babies being born with underdeveloped brains and some countries have advised women not to get pregnant. No treatment or vaccine is available. The virus was first detected in 1947 in monkeys in Africa. There have since been small, short-lived outbreaks in people on the continent, parts of Asia and in the Pacific Islands.But it has spread on a massive scale in the Americas, where transmission was first detected in Brazil in May 2015.  Large numbers of the mosquitoes which carry the virus and a lack of any natural immunity is thought to be helping the infection to spread rapidly.Zika is transmitted by the bite of Aedes mosquitoes, which are found in all countries in the region except Canada and Chile. In a statement, The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO),...

Around 303,000 women died of complications during pregnancy or up to six weeks after giving birth in 2015 - down from 532,000 in 1990.  Officials from the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the results showed "huge progress".  However, only nine countries hit targets set by the UN.  This report will show that by the end of 2015 maternal mortality will have dropped by 44% from its levels from 1990," said Dr Lale Say, coordinator for reproductive health and research at the WHO. But she warned that the progress was "uneven" - with 99% of deaths happening in developing countries.  While 39 countries reported "significant progress" in reducing pregnancy-related deaths, only nine countries achieved their targets.  Many countries with high maternal death rates will make little progress, or will fall behind, over the next 15 years if we don't improve the current number of available midwives and other health workers with midwifery skills," ...

The vaccine will cover four flu strains, instead of the usual three, including two influenza B strains.  There were 90,000 cases of flu in Australia during their 2015 winter - 25,000 more than the previous year.  The UK's vaccine for adults protects against three strains, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).  It sets out which strains of the virus should be included in flu vaccines in advance of the season for the condition. which in the northern hemisphere happens each February.  During Australia's recent winter, most of the flu cases were thought to have been caused by circulating influenza B strains.  As a result, the new vaccine will include both the Brisbane and Phuket B strains of the flu virus. Australian Health Minister Sussan Ley said the move to a "quadrivalent" vaccine would mean the best possible protection would be available free to the people who most needed it.  In the UK, the flu vaccine used last winter had an unu...

Processed meat Its report said 50g of processed meat a day - less than two slices of bacon - increased the chance of developing colorectal cancer by 18%. Meanwhile, it said red meats were "probably carcinogenic" but there was limited evidence. The WHO did stress that meat also had health benefits.  Cancer Research UK said this was a reason to cut down rather than give up red and processed meats.  And added that an occasional bacon sandwich would do little harm.  What is processed meat?  Processed meat has been modified to either extend its shelf life or change the taste and the main methods are smoking, curing, or adding salt or preservatives. Sausages Simply putting beef through a mincer does not mean the resulting mince is "processed" unless it is modified further. Processed meat includes bacon, sausages, hot dogs, salami, corned beef, beef jerky and ham as well as canned meat and meat-based sauces.It is the chemicals invo...

One case was found in the capital Conakry and the other in Forecariah, a town in western Guinea. The week before last was the first week that the three worst-affected countries - Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia - had seen no new infections. The virus has killed more than 11,000 people in nearly two years. The case in Forecariah appeared to be linked to a previously known chain of infection, while the one in Conakry seemed to be new, authorities in Guinea said. "On the bumpy road we keep talking about - the high risk of recurrence - once again we are navigating a few bumps," said WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris on Friday. "Of course we didn't want it, but we did expect it. Guinea hadn't got  to the stage where we were looking at 42 days". A country is considered to be Ebola-free after 42 days without a new case. Liberia recently achieved this status and neighbouring Sierra Leone is nearly halfway through the 42 days. The enduring risks from the vi...

This latest policy removes previous limits suggesting patients wait until the disease progresses.  The WHO has also recommended people at risk of HIV be given the drugs to help prevent the infection taking hold.  UNAIDS said these changes could help avert 21 million AIDS-related deaths and 28 million new infections by 2030.  The recommendations increase the number of people with HIV eligible for antiretrovirals from 28m to 37m across the world.  But the challenge globally will be making sure everyone has access to them and the funds are in place to pay for such a huge extension in treatment. Only 15m people currently get the drugs.  The recommendations have less relevance to the UK however. Nine in 10 people with diagnoses are already on the drugs with patients entitled to ask for them before they reach the threshold WHO refers to.  Although the use of the treatment as a preventative measure is not recommended. What are antiretrovirals? Antiret...

Two children have been paralyzed in the first polio outbreak in Europe for five years, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Both cases were in Ukraine where only half the children are fully immunized.  It is likely large numbers of other children have also been infected without developing symptoms.  The WHO said the risk of the virus spreading further in the country was "high" and that the outbreak needed to be rapidly controlled.  One of the paralyzed children was four years old and the other just 10 months.  Both were from south-western Ukraine near the border with Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. The outbreak started from the weakened form of the virus that is  used in vaccination. Sometimes it can mutate and start to spread if immunization levels are too low.  "There are two cases of paralysis, but for sure they are not the only ones. That's one of the big dangers of the disease,...