Which infectious disease is likely to be the biggest emerging problem in 2025?: COVID emerged suddenly, spread rapidly and killed millions of people around the world. Since then, I think it’s fair to say that most people have been nervous about the emergence of the next big infectious disease – be that a virus, bacterium, …
The menopause can increase your likelihood of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes and hypertension — but exercise can help lower risk: Combined strength and endurance workouts improved several of the risk factors associated with cardiometabolic diseases. Yiistocking/ Shutterstock The menopause affects all women differently – and each person’s experience is unique. While some women …
Mosquitoes use gut bacteria to fight the malaria they transmit – scientists are exploring how to use this to end the disease: _Anopheles gambiae_ complex mosquito species can transmit malaria. CDC/James Gathany via Wikimedia Commons The months of September to May are an unfortunate season in South Africa: malaria season. The mosquito-borne disease is found …
Chad hepatitis E outbreak: how the dangerous liver disease spreads and how it can be treated: The World Health Organization recently announced an outbreak of hepatitis E in the eastern Ouaddai province of Chad. Between January and April 2024, 2,093 suspected hepatitis E cases were reported from two health districts. The Conversation Africa asked Kolawole …
New TB skin test could offer cheaper and easier way to detect the disease: Detecting tuberculosis early could play a significant role in eradicating the world’s most deadly infectious disease. The World Health Organization says 1.5 million people die from this devastating disease each year. People infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the TB bacteria that attack …
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Global deaths from fungal disease have doubled in a decade – new study: Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock Eleven years ago, my colleagues and I estimated that about 2 million people around the world were dying from fungal infections annually. My latest estimate puts the figure today at nearly double that: around 3.8 million deaths. To put this …
Climate change risks triggering a spike in infectious disease outbreaks: three reasons why: Climate change is our planet’s most immediate existential threat, and will likely only worsen for the foreseeable future. Among its numerous adverse effects on human health, there is strong evidence linking climate change to infectious disease outbreaks. A recent analysis revealed that …
Size of brain area linked with cognitive decline – even in people with no other warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease: Previous research has shown loss of volume in the hippocampus precedes signs of cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer's. Atthapon Raksthaput/ Shutterstock A small, seahorse-sized area of the brain is responsible for most of our …
Cervical cancer: NHS pledge to eradicate disease by 2040 can be achieved – here’s how: Around 80% of teenagers in England already receive the HPV vaccine. Prostock-studio/ Shutterstock The NHS has pledged to eliminate cervical cancer in England by 2040. This will be achieved by amping up current vaccination and screening programmes. While this goal …
Chickenpox vaccine recommended for NHS – here’s why a jab is better than getting the disease: If the vaccine is offered, children would be given two doses. sergei telegin/ Shutterstock The chickenpox vaccine is already offered as part of childhood immunisation programmes in several countries, including Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand. Now the …
Insects are spreading a devastating plant disease in Italy – Britain must keep it out: Olive trees that have died after becoming infected with _Xylella fastidiosa_. Fabio Michele Capelli/Shutterstock Since 2013, over 20 million olive trees in Italy have succumbed to a devastating plant disease. The same disease now threatens many more plant species, across …
Diabetes is South Africa’s second biggest killer disease: hiking the sugar tax would help: Death rates in South Africa have declined slightly during the past few years. But the country faces a steady rise in both death and disability caused by increases in non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cancer. According to the NCD Alliance, …
Parkinson’s disease: tai chi may help manage symptoms – new research: Tai chi has been practised for centuries. Mladen Mitrinovic/ Shutterstock The centuries-old martial art of tai chi is shown to have many health benefits – including improving balance, reducing anxiety and preventing cardiovascular disease. But these aren’t the only benefits this exercise may have. …
A mystery disease hit South Africa’s pine trees 40 years ago: new DNA technology has found the killer: An unidentified fungal killer swept through a South African pine plantation in the 1980s. Rodger Shagam In the 1970s and 1980s, pine trees growing in various forestry plantations in South Africa’s Western Cape province began to die …
Dengue: why is this sometimes fatal disease increasing around the world?: Something unusual seems to be happening with dengue, a potentially fatal mosquito-borne viral disease found across swathes of tropical Africa, Asia and the Americas. As with most infectious diseases, the number of cases tends to rise and fall over the years as epidemics come …
Breast cancer: new study reveals real risk of the disease if you have genetic mutation: There are numerous consumer tests available that look for BRCA gene mutations. Photoroyalty/ Shutterstock In 2013, actress Angelina Jolie wrote an op-ed where she revealed she’d undergone a double mastectomy. Although Jolie didn’t have breast cancer, a genetic test had …
Alzheimer’s disease blood tests: here’s what they look for, and what they can tell you about your risk: Blood tests would offer a faster, less invasive way of diagnosing Alzheimer's disease. angellodeco/ Shutterstock Despite affecting 55 million people worldwide, Alzheimer’s disease still has no cure. But recent advancements in the field have seen a number …