Category Archives: Infectious Diseases

Chinese woman jailed for reporting on Covid in Wuhan to be freed after four years

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Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan’s search for the truth during the early days of the pandemic was seen as a threat by the authorities

A Chinese citizen journalist who has been in prison for four years after reporting on the early days of the Covid-19 epidemic in Wuhan is due to be released on Monday.

Zhang Zhan, a former lawyer, travelled to Wuhan in February 2020 to document the Chinese government’s response to what became the start of a global pandemic. She shared her reports on X (then known as Twitter), YouTube and WeChat. She was one of the few independent Chinese reporters on the ground as Wuhan and the rest of China went into lockdown.

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First scientist to publish Covid sequence in China protests over lab ‘eviction’

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Zhang Yongzhen stages sit-in protest, as government attempts to avoid scrutiny over handling of outbreak

The first Chinese scientist to publish a genomic sequence of the Covid-19 virus, in defiance of government orders, has been staging a sit-in protest after claiming he was locked out of his laboratory.

Zhang Yongzhen, a virologist, said in an online post on Monday that he and his team had been given a sudden eviction notice from their lab, and guards had barred him from entering it over the weekend. The post, published on Weibo, was later deleted, Associated Press (AP) reported.

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Australia records lowest seven-day Covid death rate for more than two years

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Expert says immunity from vaccines and Omicron infections have combined to reduce severe disease

Australia has recorded its lowest Covid death rate for more than two years, according to federal health department data that dates back to January 2022.

The latest data on the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System shows that between Thursday 29 February and Saturday 2 March, and on 5 and 6 March, the seven-day rolling average for Covid deaths was zero. One death was recorded on 3 March. The average is used to indicate short-term trends and is calculated by dividing the number of deaths in the previous seven days by seven and rounding to the nearest whole number. Up to three deaths in seven days results in a rolling average of zero.

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Covid boosters are a gamechanger – if they are free for everyone

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Only private jabs are available to most, but annual shots could reduce healthcare costs and prevent deaths

Private Covid boosters are available for people who do not qualify to receive these vaccines on the NHS. But is it worth paying for a shot?

With most people now having been exposed to Sars-CoV-2 through previous vaccination and/or infection, our immune systems are generally well equipped to recognise and kill the virus if we become infected.

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Measles alert for Sydney as experts call for improvement in indoor air quality

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Health authorities also warn RSV, flu and whooping cough cases on the rise around Australia

A measles alert was issued for Sydney on Sunday and other airborne illnesses are on the rise, while Australia’s Covid load is relatively low after the summer’s surge of the JN.1 variant.

New South Wales Health issued an alert on Sunday morning after a woman caught measles from a child who had been diagnosed days earlier.

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Bacteria that cause meningitis on the rise, CDC warns

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US public health agency alert warns of 422 cases reported in the country last year, the highest number since 2014

An invasive meningococcal disease – which can be deadly to infected people – is on the rise, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned.

In an alert issued on Thursday, the CDC warned that there were 422 cases of the disease reported in the US last year, the highest annual number of cases reported since 2014.

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Global eradication of polio ‘tantalisingly close’ with UK urged to keep up funding

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After no reported cases of wild polio for 19 weeks, vaccination efforts boosted at last endemic spots in Pakistan and Afghanistan

The world is “tantalisingly close” to eradicating polio – with no confirmed cases of wild polio anywhere so far this year. But experts warn that vaccination efforts – and funding – must not falter if the world is to rid itself of a human infectious disease for the second time in history, after smallpox.

There have been no reported cases of wild polio infection in people for the last 19 weeks. Figures from the World Health Organization reveal that the last confirmed cases were on the borders of Pakistan and Afghanistan in October and September 2023 respectively; these are the last nations on Earth where polio is endemic.

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Argentina fights against vast swarms of mosquitoes blamed for dengue surge

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Tens of thousands of dengue cases recorded this year as high temperatures and rainy weather create ‘perfect formula’ for bugs

In his 20 years cleaning the Buenos Aires subway, Mauricio Ríos, 52, had never seen anything like it: a vast and noisy swarm of mosquitoes churning in dark clouds the length of the platform at Piedras station.

Ríos pulled out his phone and filmed the growing swarm for half a minute, before rushing to the break room, contacting his superior and shutting down the station.

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Covid death toll in US likely 16% higher than official tally, study says

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Researchers think undercounting goes beyond overloaded health systems to a lack of awareness of Covid and low levels of testing

The Covid death toll in the US is likely at least 16% higher than the official tally, according to a new study, and researchers believe the cause of the undercounting goes beyond overloaded health systems to a lack of awareness of Covid and low levels of testing.

The second year of the pandemic also had nearly as many uncounted excess deaths as the first, the study found.

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Heavy metals and E coli: raw sewage at US-Mexico border a ‘public health crisis’

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The Tijuana River flows through Mexico and empties off California, carrying pathogens and chemicals and threatening public health

Raw sewage and runoff in the Tijuana River is exposing communities at the US-Mexico border to an unusual and noxious brew of pathogens and toxic chemicals, according to a report released this week.

Billions of gallons of sewage flow through the river, which winds north from Mexico through California and empties into the Pacific Ocean, containing a mix of carcinogenic chemicals including arsenic, as well as viruses, bacteria and parasites, according to public health researchers at San Diego State University, who published the report.

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Brazil starts mass vaccination amid upsurge in dengue fever

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Emergency measures taken as 364,855 cases of mosquito-borne infection reported this year, a fourfold increase on year before

Dengue fever has surged in Brazil’s hot rainy season, forcing health authorities to take emergency measures and start mass vaccination against the mosquito-borne illness.

In the first five weeks of this year, 364,855 cases of infection have been reported, the health ministry said, four times more than dengue cases in the same period of 2023.

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WHO issues measles warning as yearly cases in Europe rise more than 30-fold

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UN agency calls for ‘urgent vaccination efforts’ in region to prevent further spread of disease

The World Health Organization has issued an urgent warning over measles after an “alarming” 30-fold rise in cases across Europe.

The UN agency reported an enormous increase in numbers affected by the disease, which it said had “accelerated in recent months”. More than 30,000 cases were reported between January and October last year, compared with 941 cases in the whole of 2022 – a more than 30-fold rise.

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Older people urged to get Covid jab as UK study shows avoidable deaths

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More than 7,000 hospital admissions and deaths could have been avoided if people had been fully vaccinated

Older people are being urged to become fully vaccinated against Covid as a world-first study shows thousands of hospital admissions and deaths in the UK could have been avoided if everyone had had all of their doses.

The rollout began strongly in the UK, with 90% of the population over the age of 12 vaccinated with at least one dose by January 2022. However, rates of subsequent doses fell sharply, a study shows, with less than half the population fully jabbed by June 2022.

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Spain makes facemasks mandatory in hospitals as respiratory illnesses

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Rules reintroduced as ‘commonsense measure’ despite opposition from some regional administrations

Face masks will be mandatory in hospitals and health centres in Spain from Wednesday as the country experiences a surge in cases of flu, Covid and other respiratory illnesses.

The government decision, which was made six months after the use of masks ceased to be obligatory in health facilities and pharmacies, has been met with opposition from some regional administrations.

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Australian Medical Association accuses premiers of ‘actively undermining’ health officials’ response to Covid pandemic

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AMA criticises political leaders for ‘painful lack of collaboration’ on vaccines and urges faster rollout of national centre for disease control

The Australian Medical Association has accused some premiers of “actively undermining” public health officials at points during the pandemic and said governments were now seeking to avoid criticism of their actions throughout the Covid period.

In a submission to the federal Covid inquiry, the health lobby group also urged the Labor government to speed up its rollout of a national centre for disease control to combat future pandemics, while lashing former political leaders for “a painful lack of collaboration” during the vaccine rollout.

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Sunak faces new questions at Covid inquiry after pranksters claim they reached his old phone number

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PM likely to be asked about WhatsApp messages from pandemic that he says are irretrievable, despite reports number accessed

Fresh questions are being raised over whether Rishi Sunak has handed over all relevant material to the Covid inquiry after reports that pranksters have been able to access an old phone number he used during his time as chancellor.

The prime minister will face a day of questioning at the inquiry on Monday, where he is expected to be questioned about his claims that scientists had too much power. He will also be asked detailed questions about the “eat out to help out” scheme that many experts believe allowed the virus to spread.

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Covid inquiry: Johnson surprised ‘eat out to help out’ not cleared by scientists

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Former PM also angrily denies comments he made about letting Covid ‘rip’ meant he had been uncaring

Boris Johnson assumed that Rishi Sunak’s flagship “eat out to help out” hospitality scheme had been cleared by government scientists and was surprised to learn later it was not, the former prime minister has told the inquiry into Covid.

In evidence that could pose notable difficulties for the prime minister when he appears before the inquiry on Monday, Johnson said it would have been “normal” for advisers such as Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance to have been briefed, and that he assumed this had been the case.

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Boris Johnson says he regrets questioning existence of long Covid and admits No 10 culture could be argumentative – UK politics live

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Former prime minister also admits he should have worked more closely with devolved administrations

Hugo Keith KC is questioning Johnson.

He asks if Johnson’s approach has been to give all relevant material to the inquiry.

I understand the feelings of these victims and their families and I am deeply sorry for the pain and the loss and suffering of those victims and their families.

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We need resources to fight health impacts of climate crisis, Africans tell Cop28

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Continent must have more resilient health systems and local vaccine manufacturing to prevent next pandemic, says public health body

Africa’s leading public health body is using the first ever health day at Cop on 3 December to call for increased funding to fight the health impacts of the climate crisis on the continent and create more resilient systems to ensure it is prepared for the next pandemic.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) launched the second phase of its three-year, $1.5bn Saving Lives and Livelihoods drive this week, but its director general, Dr Jean Kaseya, said multiple disease outbreaks combined with the growing burden of non-communicable diseases and recovery from Covid means that much more financial support is needed.

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Boris Johnson’s legacy will be shaped by Covid inquiry appearance

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Discredited ex-PM faces a demolition job in one of the few policy areas to which he and his allies still cling

Even at the height of his popularity, Boris Johnson routinely avoided close questioning – to the extent of once hiding in a fridge to dodge a TV inquisitor. The former UK prime minister is likely to be dreading next week’s appearance at the Covid inquiry. And he probably should.

It is no exaggeration to say that events on Wednesday and Thursday at the inquiry’s repurposed office building in Paddington, west London, could help define the post-power image and legacy of Johnson, and very possibly not for the good.

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