• The Africa CDC and UNICEF have joined forces to improve healthcare in Africa. 

• Their prime focus is enhancing medical supply management, promoting local manufacturing, and being prepared to handle emergencies.

• The primary objective of this partnership is to ensure that more children in Africa receive timely vaccinations.

• UNICEF reported that 12.7 million African children did not receive complete vaccinations in 2021, with 8.7 million receiving none.

• This partnership aims to address these disparities in vaccination, which were further exposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Africa heavily relies on imported vaccines and medicines, which poses a significant challenge. 

• The African CDC aims to address this by increasing local vaccine manufacturing. 

• They aim to produce 60% of Africa's vaccines by 2040 to ensure timely access to essential healthcare needs.

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• A new World Health Organization report, "Fair Share for Health and Care," shows how underappreciating care work, mostly done by women, harms everyone.

• Uneven burden: Women perform most unpaid care work (76%) while making up 67% of the paid healthcare workforce. 

• This unpaid labor decreases their participation in paid jobs and weakens their economic power.

• Undervaluing caregiving: Poor compensation and working conditions in caregiving (a female-dominated field) hurt wages, productivity, and the entire health sector.

• Global care crisis: Underinvesting in health systems creates a vicious cycle. 

• Weak health systems lead to more unpaid care work for women, overburdening caregivers, and poor healthcare quality. The problem worsens with the lack of full health coverage.

• The solution: “Invest in Equality” - WHO urges investing in valuing all health and care work. 

• This includes improving work conditions, promoting equal pay, and supporting caregivers.

• Stronger health systems that recognize care work are needed for better health outcomes and a more equitable world.

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• Adults (total of 374) who came to the emergency department (ED) between September 25, 2020, and June 1, 2021, with symptoms of CAP, were enrolled in the trial, which was run and overseen by researchers at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway.

• Patients were randomly assigned to receive either standard-of-care microbiologic methods (blood culture, pneumococcal urine test, and an in-house PCR test) or rapid syndromic PCR testing using the BioFire FilmArray Pneumonia Plus panel (FAP Plus), which detects 27 bacterial and viral respiratory pathogens.

• Patients with suspected community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) were more than three times more likely to receive pathogen-directed antibiotic treatment if they had quick syndromic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, according to the experiment than if they underwent traditional microbiological testing. 

• Additionally, they got pathogen-directed therapy more quickly.

• Rapid syndromic PCR testing, according to the researchers, may be used in place of or in addition to culture-based diagnostic methods for patients with lower respiratory infections.

• The results were published in JAMA Network Open. 

• As per the researchers,  "a faster microbiological diagnosis allows for directed therapy, which has been shown in previous studies to improve outcomes, limit antibiotic overuse, and prevent antimicrobial resistance."

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• At Yaoundé in Cameroon, Ministers of Health from African countries with the highest burden of malaria, especially 11 countries contributing to 70% of the global burden of malaria, signed a declaration towards accelerated action to end deaths from the disease in this region.

• The aims of the conference were as follows:

1. To review the progress and challenges in achieving the targets of the WHO global malaria strategy

2. To plan mitigation strategies and provide funds for the same

3. To make strategies and responses for accelerated malaria mortality reduction in Africa

4. To establish a roadmap for increased political commitment and societal engagement in malaria control.

• The WHO and the RBM Partnership to End Malaria launched the ‘ High Burden to High Impact’ approach in 2018, which was echoed in the Declaration.

• The approach thus will focus on the following:

1. The political will to reduce malaria deaths 

2. Using information strategically to drive impact 

3. Better guidance, policies and strategies, and a coordinated national response

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• In South America, dengue cases witnessed a surge in numbers. 

• Brazil reported more than 1 million suspected cases of dengue according to a surveillance report revealed by their Health Ministry. 

• This led to a response by the Government to increase production of dengue tests and the launch of a vaccination drive through its public system.  

• Meanwhile, Peru declared a dengue emergency in 20 out of 25 districts, outpacing the record level of dengue cases in 2023.

• The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) among commercial poultry flocks across five states in the United States. 

• Four other states reported outbreaks of HPAI among backyard flocks. 

• The USDA moved swiftly to mitigate the spread of these infections among animals and from animals to humans.

• In Africa, Nigeria reported a new polio case in the Kano state involving the circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2. 

• This boosted the country’s total of cases in 2023 to 82.

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• According to a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cases of Mycoplasma pneumoniae are on the rise in the United States.

• Among school-aged children, M. pneumoniae is a common cause of respiratory infections.

• The data collected from the CDC’s National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP) and New Vaccine Surveillance Network (NVSN) during three periods – pre-, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic showed that while infections caused by this pathogen decreased during the pandemic period compared to pre-pandemic levels, they were on the rise in the post-pandemic period.

• The report concluded that healthcare providers should include M. pneumoniae in their differential diagnoses of community-acquired pneumonia during the fall and winter respiratory illness seasons.

• It also highlighted the need for continued surveillance of such infections and macrolide-resistant M. pneumoniae infections in the United States.

• As measles cases rise across the United States, Chicago has reported its second case this year.

• One case involved a child recovering from measles at a migrant shelter in Pilsen.

• The Chicago Department of Public Health is verifying residents' vaccination status and offering vaccines to the unvaccinated.

• The other case, Chicago's first since 2019, involved an individual exposed to domestic and international travelers. 

• However, the infection source is still unknown. 

• The health department is actively tracing exposures, particularly at Swedish Hospital and on a specific bus route.

• These Chicago cases reflect the national trend, with the Centers for Disease Control reporting 45 total U.S. cases this year across 17 states.

• In January, the CDC had anticipated this increase due to global trends and decreasing vaccination rates. 

• The recent local and national cases underscore the critical importance of high vaccination rates to prevent outbreaks.

• The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air published a report detailing the air quality status across India for February 2024.

•  253 cities used the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station (CAAQMS) reporting data for 80% of the days.

• The salient features of the report are as follows:

1. In 160 countries, the PM 2.5 levels were below the standards set by India's National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). 

2. Meanwhile, only 1 city complied with the WHO standards.

3. Byrnihat in Meghalaya topped the list of most polluted cities while Satna in Madhya Pradesh was the cleanest.

4. February saw a marked improvement in air quality compared to January.

5. This marked improvement could have been attributed to improving wind speeds, rising temperatures, reduced emissions in cities, and other meteorological factors.

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• In a 2017 randomized control trial in Malawi involving 28,130 children aged 9 months to 12 years, the efficacy and durability of a single-dose Vi-TT vaccine against Typhoid Fever were assessed.

• 14,069 children received the typhoid vaccine, while the remaining 14,061 children received the control meningococcal vaccine.

• The effectiveness of the vaccine was measured over different periods.

• Vaccine efficacy reduced over time by only 1·3% per year over four years with rates of approximately 83.4%, 80.7%, 80.1%, and 77.1% observed at 1, 2, 3, and 4 years post-vaccination, respectively.

• Efficacy was consistent across age groups, including children under 2 years.

• These findings support WHO recommendations for Vi-TT mass campaigns in typhoid-endemic areas, followed by routine introduction, emphasizing long-term protection and efficacy.

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• Since 2018, WHO has recommended dolutegravir as the preferred first- and second-line HIV treatment for all populations.

• Compared to other drugs, it is more effective, less addictive, and has fewer side effects.

• It also has a high genetic barrier to the development of resistance.

• However, among the four reported surveys, resistance to dolutegravir ranged from 3.9% to 8.6%, and reached 19.6% among people experienced with treatment and transitioned to a DTG-containing ART while having high HIV viral loads.

• WHO recommends that countries systematically implement standard HIV surveillance to monitor the prevalence and patterns of drug resistance in people who do not achieve viral load suppression.

• This report also documents cases of Integrase Strand Transfer Inhibitor (INSTI) resistance after recent exposure to Cabotegravir (CAB-LA).

• A delay in detection and confirmation of HIV infection may increase the risk of developing INSTI resistance.

• From 2022, WHO has recommended the use of long-acting injectable CAB-LA as an additional HIV prevention option for people at high risk of HIV infection.

• A study published in Lancet estimated the prevalence of underweight and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022.

• It reported that the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men, and it increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 (70%) for men.

• The countries with the highest combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were Polynesia, Micronesia, and the Caribbean for both sexes.

• The study recommended that a healthy nutrition transition is needed to address the remaining burden of being underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesity. 

• The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) today revealed new data that demonstrates an increase in STIs (Sexually Transmitted Illnesses) throughout the continent.

• According to the ECDC's most recent annual epidemiologic reports, the number of cases of gonorrhea, syphilis, and chlamydia increased by 48%, 34%, and 16%, respectively, across EU/EEA nations over the previous year.

• In 2022, there was also an increase in cases of congenital syphilis and lymphogranuloma venereum, which are brought about by infection spreading from the mother to the fetus.

• The ECDC further stated that if gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis are not treated, they can result in major health issues like infertility, persistent pain, and pelvic inflammatory disease.

• According to a press release, ECDC Director Andrea Ammon, MD, MPH, stated that "testing, treatment, and prevention lie at the heart of any long-term strategy." 

• They also added that "We must prioritize sexual health education, expand access to testing and treatment services, and combat the stigma associated with STIs."