January 08, 2023
Africa: HIV Remains a Leading Killer in Africa Despite Medical Breakthroughs - How to Eliminate It
About 38 million people around the world are living with HIV. About 70% of them live in Africa. This shows that there is no solution to the AIDS pandemic without a solution in… Read more »
January 06, 2023
Africa: Where Is the Next Covid Variant, Pi? a Virologist Explains Why Omicron Is Continuing to Dominate
The omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has now been around for more than a year. Before omicron became dominant, there had been a quick succession of… Read more »
January 05, 2023
Africa: Long Covid Stemmed From Mild Cases of Covid-19 in Most People, According to a New Multicountry Study
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. Read more »
January 03, 2023
Africa: Fears About RSV, Flu and Winter Viruses Can Cause Parental Stress. Try These 4 Expert Tips to Balance Mental Wellness and Health Risks
Pediatric emergency departments and clinics have been overcrowded with the dramatic increase in child respiratory viruses, leaving many families anxious about caring for sick kids. Read more »
January 05, 2023
Africa: How Covid Can Disturb Your Sleep and Dreams - and What Could Help
By the end of 2022, more than 650 million COVID infections had been reported to the World Health Organization. With the true number likely much higher, and the tally increasing by… Read more »
January 03, 2023
Africa: Kick Up Your Heels - Ballroom Dancing Offers Benefits to the Aging Brain and Could Help Stave Off Dementia
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. Read more »
Africa: Supporting a Child With Long Covid - Tips From Parents of Children Living With the Condition
Long COVID is the patient-preferred term used to describe symptoms lasting more than four weeks after a COVID-19 infection. Children and young people can also suffer from long… Read more »
December 29, 2022
Africa: Covid and Your Gut - How a Healthy Microbiome Can Reduce the Severity of Infection - and Vice Versa
A vast combination of microorganisms live in our gut, including bacteria, fungi and viruses. Collectively, we refer to this as the the microbiome. Read more »
December 28, 2022
Africa: Covid-19 in 2023 and Beyond - Why Virus Trends Are More Difficult to Predict Three Years On
In 2020, we knew very little about the novel virus that was to become known as COVID-19. Now, as we enter 2023, a search of Google Scholar produces around five million results… Read more »
December 22, 2022
Africa: Addicted to Chilli? It Might Help Us Regain Our Sense of Taste After Covid
The news of a hot chilli sauce shortages in the United States earlier this year - due to high temperatures and drought in agricultural regions - prompted warnings to stock up on… Read more »
Africa: Covid or the Common Cold? What to Do If You Have Symptoms This Christmas
There's a lot to be jolly about this Christmas. COVID has been significantly, although not completely, "defanged", thanks to vaccines and treatments. Christmas dos, nativity plays… Read more »
December 21, 2022
Africa: Covid Hit Companies Hard. Why Some Kept Their Sustainability Commitments, and Others Didn't
Covid-19 has had profound implications for the "role of business in society". One of them is the pandemic's effect on companies' sustainability strategies. These are efforts to… Read more »
Kenya: Female Genital Mutilation Rates Peak During School Holidays - an Alternative Option Offers a Solution
Female genital mutilation is a practice deeply rooted in cultural traditions around the world. The World Health Organisation defines it as comprising all procedures that involve… Read more »
December 20, 2022
Africa: Dormant Shingles Virus in Your Neurons Can Increase Risk of Stroke - New Research Identified a Potential Culprit
Over 90% of the world population has the virus that causes chickenpox lying dormant in their nervous system. Most people contract the varicella zoster virus, or VZV, when they get… Read more »
December 19, 2022
Africa: What Is Burnout and How to Prevent It in the Workplace - Insights From a Clinical Psychologist
People close to you, including family members, friends, and co-workers, frequently express their "stress" at this time of year. As the end of the year draws nearer people are… Read more »
December 16, 2022
Africa: 1918 Flu Pandemic Upended Long-Standing Social Inequalities - At Least for a Time, New Study Finds
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. Read more »
Africa: Festive Bulge - Scientists Offer Advice On How to Beat Overeating
Christmas and New Year are holidays with dietary excesses that many of us cannot control. This often leads to the "festive bulge". As the holidays approach, could there be a recipe… Read more »
December 14, 2022
Africa: Mpox, Aids and Covid-19 Show the Challenges of Public Health Messaging
During infectious disease outbreaks, clinicians and public health officials are tasked with providing accurate guidance for the public on how to stay safe and protect themselves… Read more »
Africa: Nasal Vaccines Promise to Stop the Covid-19 Virus Before It Gets to the Lungs - an Immunologist Explains How They Work
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines have played a large role in preventing deaths and severe infections from COVID-19. But researchers are still in the process of… Read more »
Africa: Masks Are Still a Tried-and-True Way to Help Keep Yourself and Others Safe
The cold and flu season of 2022 has begun with a vengeance. Viruses that have been unusually scarce over the past three years are reappearing at remarkably high levels, sparking a… Read more »
December 13, 2022
Africa: Covid - What We Know About New Omicron Variant Bf.7
Since the COVID variant omicron emerged in late 2021, it has rapidly evolved into multiple subvariants. One subvariant, BF.7, has recently been identified as the main variant… Read more »
South Africa: Child Nutrition Programmes Can Feed Inequality - Model From South Africa Shows How Context Shapes Lives
Interventions to improve nutrition, especially for children and pregnant women, can be critical for health, physical growth and cognitive development, enabling better lives and… Read more »
December 14, 2022
Nigeria: Forced Mass Abortions Are a New and Disturbing Phenomenon in Nigeria
Nigeria classifies abortion as illegal except under certain medical circumstances. A recent investigation by Reuters news agency has alleged that, since 2013, the Nigerian military… Read more »
Africa: TB Is Once Again the Deadliest Disease in Africa - What Went Wrong
Effective tuberculosis (TB) treatment has been available for the past 60 years. But TB remains the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. It ranks above HIV and… Read more »
December 08, 2022
Africa: Toilets Spew Invisible Tiny Water Droplets With Every Flush - Study
Every time you flush a toilet, it releases plumes of tiny water droplets into the air around you. These droplets, called aerosol plumes, can spread pathogens from human waste and… Read more »