Public Health

Gambella, Ethiopia – The World Health Organization (WHO) has intensified its response efforts to combat a cholera outbreak in Ethiopia’s Gambella region, which has infected more than 1,200 people. The outbreak, first detected in Akobo Woreda on February 11, has since spread to eight woredas and four refugee camps.

Abstract: Individuals with diabetes mellitus frequently develop severe skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) that are recalcitrant to antibiotic treatment. We examined how diabetes affects the emergence of antibiotic resistance in a Staphylococcus aureus SSTI. We determined that S. aureus evolves antibiotic resistance rapidly in diabetic mice, while resistance did not occur in nondiabetic mice over the course of infection. Diabetes-associated immune cell dysfunction plays a minor role in the emergence of resistance, while hyperglycemia plays a dominant role facilitating the expansion and takeover of resistant mutants in diabetic infections. Furthermore, vancomycin intermediate resistant isolates display a pronounced fitness defect in nondiabetic mice but not in diabetic mice. Together, these data suggest that the diabetic infection environment represents an ideal reservoir for the emergence and proliferation of antibiotic resistance. Controlling the blood sugar of diabetic mice with insulin resulted in significantly decreased incidence of antibiotic-resistant S. aureus.

Alcohol is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, following tobacco and obesity. While 90 percent of Americans know tobacco causes cancer, fewer than half realize alcohol does as well. Like tobacco warnings, alcohol warning labels would help consumers make more informed health choices.

My first memorable experience with vaccines happened when I was in grammar school. For several summers, my mother worried that I would acquire polio at my swimming lessons. In the 1950s, more than 15 000 individuals developed paralytic polio each year in the US, some died, and a number were left with severe complications.1 Everyone knew someone who had contracted polio. For me, it was my classmate’s brother who had polio-related hypoxia and was left with lifelong disabilities. To support vaccine development, I filled March of Dimes cards and solicited my neighbors to do the same. I recall going to my grade school on Sunday with hundreds of others to receive a sugar cube containing live attenuated oral polio vaccine. Everyone was eager to be vaccinated. At a young age, I realized the power of prevention when the disease disappeared with widespread vaccination. That science could be publicly supported and conquer contagion was an early lesson for me.

However, the authors observed that some of these antibody responses in the skin originated from de novo germinal center–like structures that centered around hair follicles. Thus, the skin has the capacity to independently facilitate B cell maturation and generate an immune response to bacterial colonization.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — There’s no question that people are living longer today than centuries or even decades ago. However, in what might seem like a cruel irony, a new study finds people may not be living very well in those extra years.

People with weakened immune systems—most of whom were vaccinated—made up 4% of a random sample of more than 12 million people in England in 2023 yet represented 22% of both COVID-19 hospital admissions and deaths, according to new findings from the INvestigation oF cOvid-19 Risk among iMmunocompromised populations (INFORM) study.

A meta-analysis of 37 studies involving 3 million people suggests that those with long COVID are much more likely to experience chest pain, heart palpitations, and high blood pressure than their uninfected counterparts.

London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is transforming children's journeys to school by making streets safer, improving perceptions of air quality and encouraging children to live healthier lives. A new study published today in BMJ Open, and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), highlights its benefits, with many families noticing cleaner air and safer roads. However, it also reveals challenges, particularly for those living in outer boroughs who are more reliant on the car and may struggle to adapt.

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) – one of the most widely embraced UN treaties in history – celebrate[d] the 20-year anniversary of its entry into force [last month]

First ever WHO treaty marks 20 years of saving millions of lives worldwideThe WHO FCTC is the first ever public health treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO with 183 Parties to the Convention covering 90% of the global population. The treaty provides a legal framework and a comprehensive package of evidence-based tobacco control measures underpinned by international law that have saved millions of lives including large pictorial health warnings on cigarette packages, smoke free laws and increased taxes on tobacco products, among many others.

“Tobacco is a plague on humanity – the leading cause of preventable death and disease globally,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

“Over the past two decades, since the entry into force of the WHO FCTC and the MPOWER technical package that supports it, global tobacco use prevalence has dropped by one-third. The WHO FCTC has helped to save millions of lives through strengthened tobacco control measures around the world. The Convention marks a milestone in public health and international law. We continue to call on countries to further strengthen and implement its measures, and for countries that have not yet ratified the WHO FCTC to do so.”

First ever WHO treaty marks 20 years of saving millions of lives worldwideSince its implementation 20 years ago, up to 5.6 billion people are now covered by at least one tobacco control policy in line with the treaty and studies have shown a decline in global smoking rates.

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Scientists are starting to find a strange connection between neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS, MS, and dementia. They all seem to follow on the heels of common but severe infections. And that means we might be able to stop them.