Health | WPN World People News

Recruiting dendritic cells for cancer fight. An artist’s representation of the surface of a human dendritic cell.

New data show a declining rate of tobacco use and an increase in numbers of non-smokers. But governments must intensify action to combat the tobacco industry and dramatically reduce consumption of tobacco products to, in turn, protect public health, according to WHO.

Tamba Manzare, 19 months old, and caregiver Rose Komano play outdoors at a UNICEF-supported nursery in Nzérékoré Region, Guinea. Tamba’s mother died of Ebola.

An emergency vaccination drive is under way in Vanuatu to protect children hit by Cyclone Pam, as fears grow of a serious measles outbreak.

At the WHO-hosted Ministerial Conference on Global Action Against Dementia the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Tuesday announced that over US$ 100 million will be invested in a pioneering new global Dementia Discovery Fund. Major pharmaceutical companies have committed in principle to investing in promising research efforts for dementia through the project, along with the nongovernmental organization Alzheimer’s Research UK and the United Kingdom Government.

The current policy approach to tackling dementia is socially and economically unsustainable, according to a new OECD report. Countries need to take action now to improve the lives of people living with dementia and their carers, prioritise public research on dementia, and improve the incentives for private investment in dementia innovation.

Valacyclovir, a drug commonly used to control the virus that causes genital herpes, appears to reduce the levels of HIV in patients who do not have genital herpes, according to a study by researchers from the National Institutes of Health, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Emory University, Atlanta and Lima, Peru.