WHO

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One Nation Claims Dozens of World's Most-Polluted Cities

India isn't breathing easy, per new air-quality report, which notes only 10 nations get WHO's thumbs-up

(Newser) - If your city's air pollution has you reaching for the N95, you're not alone. Per a new report from Swiss tech company IQAir, out of 134 nations and regions surveyed, only 10 of them meet an international air-quality standard set forth by the World Health Organization, reports CNN...

'Disease X' Isn't Here Yet, but Preparations Are Being Made

World leaders, health experts set up for pandemic that could potentially be far worse than COVID-19

(Newser) - World leaders and health experts are coming together to combat a serious international epidemic that's thankfully hypothetical at this point. If the COVID-19 pandemic taught us anything, it's that health care systems and economies can be easily overwhelmed by the global spread of a little-understood disease. Enter "...

New COVID Variant Comes on CDC's Radar

BA.2.86 has an unusually large number of mutations

(Newser) - The days when a new strain of COVID could make headlines may seem like the distant past, but the CDC is calling attention to what it says is a potentially worrisome one, reports CBS News . It's called BA.2.86, and it's been spotted so far in the...

Anonymous Donations to WHO Foundation Raise Questions

Some fear conflicts of interest are being hidden

(Newser) - Nearly 40% of the money raised by the WHO Foundation in its first two years came from anonymous sources, worrying some that donors may be trying to influence the World Health Organization and its role in shaping global health policy with their gifts. The foundation, launched in 2020 to help...

Report: WHO to Deem Sweetener as Possible Carcinogen

Meanwhile, the FDA, nearly 100 nations have greenlit aspartame

(Newser) - Last month, the World Health Organization released new guidelines that cautioned people against using artificial sweeteners for weight control, citing findings that suggest long-term use ups the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other issues. Now the agency is signaling it may soon issue a new warning on one of...

These 19 Fungi Are a Major Risk to Human Health

World Health Organization releases its first list of these 'priority pathogens'

(Newser) - The World Health Organization already has lists of the viruses and bacteria that pose the greatest risk to human health. Now, a new list from the UN agency, this one dedicated to threatening fungi. Reuters reports the 19 fungi on the WHO's radar—including Candida auris, which the CDC...

UN: Monkeypox a Global Emergency
UN: We Have a
Monkeypox 'Outbreak'
Jul 23, 2022 10:31 AM CDT

UN: We Have a Monkeypox 'Outbreak'

'We have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly through new modes of transmission'

(Newser) - The chief of the World Health Organization said the expanding monkeypox outbreak in more than 70 countries is an “extraordinary” situation that now qualifies as a global emergency, a declaration Saturday that could spur further investment in treating the once-rare disease and worsen the scramble for scarce vaccines. WHO...

WHO Report on COVID Origins Angers China

Team said there should be further investigation of lab leak theory

(Newser) - A team of scientists backed by the World Health Organization released a preliminary report Thursday on the search for the origins of the coronavirus pandemic—and China was angered by the suggestion that the theory the virus may have leaked from a lab merited further investigation. The team said that...

200 Monkeypox Cases Seen in 20 Nations

UN agency says virus is 'containable'

(Newser) - The World Health Organization says nearly 200 cases of monkeypox have been reported in more than 20 countries not usually known to have outbreaks, but it described the epidemic as "containable" and proposed creating a stockpile to share the limited vaccines and drugs available worldwide. The UN health agency...

Unexplained Cases of Liver Illness Among Children Concern WHO
First Death Reported
in Kids' Liver Ailment
UPDATED
Apr 25, 2022 10:45 AM CDT

First Death Reported in Kids' Liver Ailment

Health agencies in US and Europe investigate 'acute hepatitis of unknown origin'

(Newser) - Update: A mysterious liver disease affecting children in the US and Europe has claimed its first life. The World Health Organization didn't specify where the death occurred. It said it has received 169 reports of "acute hepatitis of unknown origin" from a dozen countries, with most of the...

Japan Does a 180 on Controversial Omicron Policy

And more on what omicron means around the globe

(Newser) - Update: Just one day after announcing a recommendation that quickly became quite controversial, Japan is changing its tune. The country's transport ministry on Thursday said it was retracting its request that airlines stop taking reservations for people coming in to Japan until the new year, the AP reports. Our ...

Toddlers in Cuba Are Now Getting Homegrown Vaccines

Cuba is administering Soberana 2, not recognized by WHO, to kids as young as 2

(Newser) - With kids still out of school since March 2020, and one of the highest coronavirus rates worldwide, Cuba announced a bold new undertaking Monday: It has begun to administer a COVID vaccine to children, even toddlers, reports Voice of America . Kids ages 2-18 are receiving Soberana 2 and the booster...

New Variant Surfaces in South Africa

Researchers can't tell much yet, but WHO labels this version 'of concern'

(Newser) - Another coronavirus variant has been detected, say researchers who caution against becoming too concerned but suspect it's better at getting around immunity protection than delta. The researchers spotted the C.1.2 variant in May in South Africa, Reuters reports, and published their work this month. It has not...

WHO Chief Calls for Global Pause of Booster Shots

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calls for moratorium so people in developing world can get a first shot

(Newser) - The head of the World Health Organization is calling for a moratorium on administering booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines as a way to help ensure that doses are available in countries where few people have received their first shots. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the appeal mostly to wealthier...

Cases in Africa Doubling Every 3 Weeks

Delta variant is driving the COVID surge, particularly in South Africa

(Newser) - Driven by the delta variant, a new wave of coronavirus is sweeping across the African continent, where new cases, hospital admissions, and deaths are increasing. Case numbers are doubling every three weeks in Africa, according to the World Health Organization. South Africa is leading the surge, with more than 20,...

WHO Says West Should Recognize Chinese Vaccines

UN agency warns against creating 'two-tier' travel system

(Newser) - The World Health Organization said Thursday that any COVID-19 vaccines it has authorized for emergency use should be recognized by countries as they open up their borders to inoculated travelers. The move could challenge Western countries to broaden their acceptance of two apparently less effective Chinese vaccines, which the UN...

Biden Steps Up Effort to Trace COVID's Origin

Criticism of WHO's dismissal of lab theory increases

(Newser) - Saying Wednesday that the investigations so far have been inconclusive, President Biden gave intelligence agencies 90 days to find the origins of the coronavirus. Biden said he wants the agencies' "most up-to-date analysis of the origins of COVID-19, including whether it emerged from human contact with an infected animal...

COVID Jumped From Bats to Animal to Humans: WHO

Joint report with China finds that virus likely didn't originate in a lab

(Newser) - A joint China-World Health Organization study on the origins of COVID-19 says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is "extremely unlikely," according to a draft obtained by the AP . The findings offer...

CDC Looks at 3-Foot Rule
CDC Looks at 3-Foot Rule
new study
Mar 15, 2021 5:11 PM CDT

CDC Looks at 3-Foot Rule

Research finds no difference in infection rates in schools that don't maintain 6-foot distance

(Newser) - One restriction that complicates reopening schools could be eased soon. New research has found that schools might be able to safely welcome students back in person as long as they wear masks and follow other pandemic guidelines—even if they maintain only 3 feet of social distancing instead of the...

WHO Team Out of Quarantine, Starts Digging on COVID Mystery

Experts are on fact-finding mission in China on the origins of the coronavirus

(Newser) - A World Health Organization team emerged from quarantine in the Chinese city of Wuhan on Thursday to start field work in a fact-finding mission on the origins of the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers, who were required to isolate for 14 days after arriving in China, left...

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