Health | WPN World People News

Transmission electron microscope image of negative-stained, Fortaleza-strain Zika virus (red), isolated from a microcephaly case in Brazil.

Normally, P-glycoprotein prevents most medicines from entering the brain by pumping them back into the blood stream (left). The addition of amitriptyline temporarily turns off P-glycoprotein pumps, allowing drug molecules to cross the blood-brain barrier (right).

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health

The World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO) announced on April 24th that Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi will take part in a WHO-coordinated pilot implementation programme that will make the world’s first malaria vaccine available in selected areas, beginning in 2018.

At an event on the eve of World Malaria Day in Nairobi, WHO called for accelerated scale-up of efforts to prevent malaria and save lives, on April 24th.

New WHO data reveal that an estimated 325 million people worldwide are living with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The WHO Global hepatitis report, 2017 indicates that the large majority of these people lack access to life-saving testing and treatment. As a result, millions of people are at risk of a slow progression to chronic liver disease, cancer, and death.

With a drastic reduction in neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) during the past five years, the World Health Organization (WHO), donors, non-governmental organizations and government representatives of endemic countries are meeting in Geneva, Switzerland to build on the gains that have been made and reaffirm their commitment to the fight against Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).

A patient reads and eye chart.