The World Health Organization has found the cause of a mysterious illness that has killed over 60 children who died within 48 hours of being hospitalized. WHO says the condition is caused by a combination of pathogens.
Enterovirus 71, streptococcus suis and dengue fever were part of the cocktail of diseases. The problem was compounded by doctors using steroids to treat the illness which suppressed the immune system. Continue reading
The 2009 swine flu pandemic killed an estimated 284,500 people. The total is more than 15 times the number confirmed by laboratory tests at the time, according to a study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.
The study indicates the toll could be as high as 579,000. The original count from the World Health Organization was 18,500. The WHO had initially warned the count would be low because deaths of people without access to health care does not get counted and that the virus cannot always be found in the body after death. Continue reading
“Explosive” outbreaks of polio in countries deemed previously free of the disease is resulting in the World Health Organization declaring a “global emergency.” The WHO is also launching an initiative to boost vaccinations in Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the only countries where the disease is considered endemic.
The WHO is stating they fear the disease could come back “with a vengeance” and that large outbreaks of polio have hit Africa and Tajikistan. China has reported it’s first case of polio in more than a decade. Continue reading
