World Health Organization

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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...

In Europe, This 'Canary in a Coal Mine' Is Afoot

Measles is surging, with outbreaks especially prevalent in UK; US also seeing an uptick

(Newser) - As we get our legs after the COVID tsunami, another set of outbreaks is taking hold, especially in Europe. The BBC reports that measles are cropping up throughout the EU, with a nearly 45-fold spike in cases last year, according to the World Health Organization. The UN agency found that...

'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 "...

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...

WHO Declares Aspartame a Possible Carcinogen

But keeps current intake guidelines the same

(Newser) - As expected , the World Health Organization on Thursday declared aspartame, one of the world's most most widely used artificial sweeteners, a possible carcinogen. But, in a possibly confusing addendum, it also kept the current intake guidelines the same. As the Guardian explains, two different WHO panels have been...

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...

WHO: Don't Use Sugar Substitutes to Lose Weight

Artificial sweetener industry argues the findings

(Newser) - Reducing the amount of sugar in diets is a good idea for everyone, especially those trying to lose weight, the World Health Organization says—but using a sugar substitute is not. A review of available data shows that the use of non-sugar sweeteners "does not confer any long-term benefit...

WHO Delivers 12 Long-Awaited Words on COVID

Agency says the virus is no longer a global health emergency

(Newser) - The leader of the World Health Organization delivered 12 words Friday that were three years in the making: “With great hope, I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency,” said WHO director general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, per the New York Times . The declaration is more symbolic...

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...

WHO Has a Warning for Couch Potatoes

Agency notes 'severe' cost for physical inactivity, with various diseases looming

(Newser) - Get active or risk disease. That's the message from the World Health Organization, whose first global report on physical activity indicates 500 million people in 194 countries will develop heart disease, obesity, diabetes, stroke, dementia, depression, or other diseases unless they boost their physical activity. "There are few...

WHO Chief: End of Pandemic Is in Sight

Weekly deaths hit lowest level since March 2020

(Newser) - The end of the pandemic is in sight and the world has never been in a better position to stop COVID-19, the chief of the World Health Organization said Wednesday. Reuters describes Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus' remarks as his most optimistic since March 2020, when the UN health agency first declared...

Spain Reports 2 Monkeypox Fatalities in 2 Days

Brazil has reported its first fatality, while WHO official warns of more ahead

(Newser) - Spain on Saturday reported a second death in as many days from monkeypox. These are believed to be the first confirmed fatalities from the disease in Europe since its recent spread beyond Africa. Both fatalities were young men, the health ministry said, after reporting Spain's first death on Friday,...

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...

'Centaurus' Omicron Variant Is Raising Concerns

India experiencing 'exponential increase' with BA.2.75

(Newser) - Another super contagious omicron variant has been detected in the US. Dubbed "Centaurus," the BA.2.75 variant was first detected in India in early May and is now spreading rapidly there. "It's still really early on for us to draw too many conclusions" but "...

Monkeypox Is Getting a New Name
Monkeypox Is
Getting a New Name
in case you missed it
Jun 18, 2022 6:30 AM CDT

Monkeypox Is Getting a New Name

WHO plans to hold emergency meeting on 'unusual and concerning' outbreak

(Newser) - The World Health Organization is planning to hold an emergency meeting next week on what Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calls the "unusual and concerning" worldwide outbreak of monkeypox . The organization plans to look into whether the outbreak should be declared a "public health emergency of international concern,"...

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...

WHO Sees 'a Window' for Stopping Monkeypox

Confirmed cases worldwide have reached 257

(Newser) - With the World Health Organization's count of confirmed cases worldwide hitting 257, "the world has an opportunity to stop this outbreak," an official said Monday. "There is a window," said Rosamund Lewis, the organization's technical lead on monkeypox. Another 120 cases are suspected in...

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...

Outlook Is Bleak for Russia's Sputnik Vaccine

WHO approval looks 'unlikely' following invasion of Ukraine: 'WaPo'

(Newser) - Russia's coronavirus vaccine was the first approved for use in any country just six months into the global pandemic. But Sputnik V has now seen "an inauspicious fall," the Washington Post reports, adding Russia's invasion of Ukraine looks to have "sabotaged any further aspirations" for...

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