Health Updates - Europe World

14Aug

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Health

WHO calls for ‘intensified’ response as DR Congo Ebola cases near 4,000

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Ebola outbreak is spreading, with the number of infections rising rapidly. Declared in mid-May, this seventeenth Ebola outbreak has already claimed more than 1,700 lives. To address this situation, the World Health Organisation has called for an "intensified" medical response. Teams of doctors have been sent to the DR Congo, and specialised centres have been set up in the hardest-hit provinces while trials to find an effective vaccine continue. Keywords for this article ...

14Aug

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Health

‘She was haemorrhaging’: In the West Bank, the checkpoint ordeal for pregnant women

Roads blocked and checkpoints closed: After every outbreak of violence, Israel seals off the West Bank. Like after events in Nablus, where two Israeli settlers and four Palestinians died on July 24. Our correspondent Claire Duhamel travelled with a paramedic who regularly transports pregnant women to hospital. Keywords for this article ]

14Aug

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Health

‘DRC’s largest Ebola outbreak on record: Active conflict and armed groups hamper the response’

Sharon Gaffney is pleased to welcome Heather Kerr, Country Director for Congo at the International Rescue Committee. The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is unprecedented, not simply because of its scale, but because it spread undetected for months before it was correctly identified. According to Kerr, the response has been hindered by delayed diagnosis, the complexity of distinguishing this Bundibugyo strain from other common illnesses, and the immense operational challenges of working in an active conflict zone. Keywords for this article ...

14Aug

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Health

Trump pushes rethink of school vaccine mandates and MMR shots

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday pushing for a rethink of school vaccine mandates and repeating calls for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to be separated into three individual shots. Curbing vaccines has been a key priority for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who founded an anti-vaccine non-profit and has long promoted a disproven link between immunisation and autism. The federal government does not have direct control over several areas covered by the order. States, for example, have the authority to require vaccinations for students to attend school. On these points Trump's move is more of a suggestion than an order. "States and territories are advised to review" the Trump administration's recommendations on "immunisation requirements for con...

Ebola : Healthworkers in DR Congo worry for their life amid deadly outbreak

20Jun

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Health

Ebola : Healthworkers in DR Congo worry for their life amid deadly outbreak

Ituri province in eastern DRC is the hardest hit by the Ebola outbreak. The response to the virus is underway. On the frontlines of this outbreak are healthcare workers, who feel increasingly helpless. They have never faced an outbreak of this magnitude before. Report by Aurélie Bazzara-Kibangula, Paula Sevilles and Jorkim Jotham Pituwa. ]

Egypt grapples with video game addiction

18Jun

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Health

Egypt grapples with video game addiction

Gaming cafés have become a common sight on the streets of Cairo, especially in poorer neighbourhoods. Egyptians hold a world record for time spent gaming per day, with an average of 1 hour and 43 minutes daily. Some 43.5 percent of young gamers in Egypt are considered to be addicted. In February, the government launched a campaign to combat addiction. FRANCE 24's Mathilde Delvigne reports. ]

17Jun

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Health

Not all skinny: The French do get fat

With the French healthcare system now reimbursing the anti-obesity drugs Wegovy and Mounjaro, we explain what the strict conditions are to benefit from them. We discuss France's rates of obesity and the areas where they're highest. Finally, we discuss the common stereotype that French people don't get fat. While not true, it does contain a sliver of truth when comparing France to other EU nations. ]

‘High time to push peace agenda’: Ebola outbreak in DRC spreads in conflict-hit, hard-to-reach areas

13Jun

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Health

‘High time to push peace agenda’: Ebola outbreak in DRC spreads in conflict-hit, hard-to-reach areas

Genie Godula is pleased to welcome Dr. Hypolite Muhindo Mavoko, M.D., Professor in the Department of Tropical Medicine at the University of Kinshasa. Dr. Mavoko offers a sobering analysis of the latest Ebola outbreak linked to the rare Bundibugyo strain in the eastern DR Congo. He places the crisis within a longer epidemiological history, reminding viewers that it was first identified in Uganda in 2007 before appearing in the DRC in 2012. He warns that “the body can still continue transmitting the disease” even after death, underscoring how burial practices may unintentionally accelerate contagion. Yet beyond the virology, he offers a broader commentary on public health assistance in conflict zones: “For that, we need peace and security.” ]

Damage control over prevention: Health system 'closing gaps instead of pushing forward'

11Jun

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Health

Damage control over prevention: Health system 'closing gaps instead of pushing forward'

François Picard is pleased to welcome Anne Moore, Professor of Biochemistry at University College Cork. She is warning about the seriousness of the latest Ebola outbreak linked to the rare Bundibugyo strain. While tests and vaccines exist for the Zaire strain, Professor Moore says “we don’t yet have proof that vaccines work against the current strain” and that tests have not yet been designed to detect Bundibugyo. Moore stressed that shrinking international funding is weakening the global response. “We’re plugging gaps instead of deploying the full countermeasures we could.” Moore broadens her analysis beyond virology, arguing for international solidarity and institutional resilience. ]

DRC Ebola outbreak 'way bigger than what we see now', virologist says

11Jun

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Health

DRC Ebola outbreak 'way bigger than what we see now', virologist says

Medical personnel were rushing on Monday to the frontlines of a fast-spreading Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, with cases also confirmed in Uganda. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks with Muhammad Munir, professor in virology at Lancaster University. He says that "the scale of the outbreak is way bigger than what we're having now and that is the reason the WHO decided on a public health emergency of international concern". ]