Health | WPN World People News

Birth defects or congenital anomalies are an invisible tragedy around the world. Every year an estimated 295 000 newborns die due to congenital anomalies during the first 28 days of life. The most common, severe congenital anomalies are heart defects, neural tube defects and Down’s syndrome.

Scanning electron micrograph of an HIV-infected H9 T cell.

An experimental vaccine developed in Europe to prevent infection by Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) has protected cynomolgus macaques in a new collaborative study from National Institutes of Health scientists. The animals received the DNA-based candidate vaccine through intramuscular injection immediately followed by electroporation — a process in development for human vaccines that helps cells absorb DNA. The study comes about three years after the same research group developed the macaque model for CCHFV. No specific treatments or vaccines for CCHFV exist.

The Framework for mental health and psychosocial support in radiological and nuclear emergencies, released on Nov.26, brings together, for the first time, existing knowledge from the fields of mental health and protection from radiation in an integrated guide for preparedness for and response to nuclear and radiological emergencies.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on countries and global health partners to step up the fight against malaria, a preventable and treatable disease that continues to claim hundreds of thousands of lives each year. A better targeting of interventions, new tools and increased funding are needed to change the global trajectory of the disease and reach internationally-agreed targets.

On November 21, CDC revised the Travel Health Notice system for COVID-19 and released new recommendations for testing before and after international air travel to help the public make informed decisions for safer, healthier, and more responsible travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Findings from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released on Nov.19 show that approximately 1 in 5 U.S. adults reported currently using a tobacco product in 2019, with about 80% of those adults reporting that they use combustible products such as cigarettes.

NIH scientists found that the commonly used antibiotic methacycline may be effective at combating the neurological problems caused by Zika virus infections. This is a picture of a Zika-infected mouse brain from the study.N

Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, isolated from a patient. Image captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland.

The Group of 20 virtual summit vowed Sunday to spare no effort in making a COVID-19 vaccine widely available to all populations.