
Bahrain's National Influenza Centre Earns Top WHO Certification
The certification marks the twelfth consecutive year—since 2013—that the centre has achieved a perfect score, reaffirming its role as a trusted player in international health networks and its dedication to accurate and professional disease surveillance.
This recognition also cements Bahrain's leading role in the Eastern Mediterranean Region's Acute Respiratory Infection Surveillance Network, showcasing the country's ongoing commitment to sharing vital health data with global reference laboratories in line with the highest international standards.
Dr. Samia Al Baharna, Assistant Undersecretary for Public Health at the Ministry of Health, said the certification reflects the expertise and dedication of Bahrain's national health workforce in monitoring and analyzing respiratory viruses with precision. 'It's a testament to the readiness and resilience of Bahrain's health system in responding swiftly to health emergencies and outbreaks,' she added.
Echoing this, Amjad Al Ghanem, Head of the Public Health Laboratories, praised the technical and administrative teams for their consistent efforts. She emphasized that Bahrain's continued excellence in international evaluations strengthens the country's disease surveillance programs and underlines its progress in combating infectious diseases both regionally and globally.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Gulf Insider
3 days ago
- Gulf Insider
Vaccination Rates Are Stagnating
Data published last week by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF confirm that global vaccination coverage has stagnated in recent years. In 2024, 14.3 million children worldwide were classified as 'zero-dose', meaning they had not received a single vaccine. This number has barely changed over the past two years (14.5 million in 2022) and remains higher than the 12.8 million recorded in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted health services. More than half of these unvaccinated children live across around 30 countries currently affected by fragility, conflict or other vulnerabilities. As Statista's Anna Fleck shows in the following chart, the percentage of children who received three doses of the DTP vaccine (which protects against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis) stood at 85 percent in 2024. This is slightly below from the 86 percent reached between 2016 and 2019. You will find more infographics at Statista Vaccination rates for other diseases have also stagnated: polio coverage remained at 84 percent in 2024 (down from 86 percent between 2017 and 2019), and tuberculosis vaccination held steady at 88 percent (compared to a peak of 90 percent in 2017 and 2018). As for measles, global coverage improved significantly between 2004 and 2016 but has since slowed. In 2024, the global measles vaccination rate reached 76 percent, up from 71 percent in 2019, yet still well below the 95 percent threshold needed to effectively prevent outbreaks. According to the WHO, 60 countries experienced 'major or disruptive' measles outbreaks in 2024 – nearly double the number recorded in 2022. The primary reason for low vaccination coverage remains limited access to vaccines in certain regions. However, the WHO also highlights the growing threat posed by misinformation about science and vaccines. Also read: US Government Drops Charges Against Doctor Who Issued Fake COVID Vaccination Cards


Gulf Insider
3 days ago
- Gulf Insider
CDC: COVID-19 Infections Rise In Some Parts Of US
While activity for COVID-19 remains low in the United States, recent statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that infections are rising in parts of the country. The CDC said in a July 18 update that 'COVID-19 activity is increasing in many Southeast, Southern, and West Coast states. COVID-19 levels are ranked as 'low,' the second-lowest level on the CDC's scale, according to the update. Citing wastewater data for COVID-19, the agency said that positive tests are increasing around the United States, while emergency department visits appear to be increasing among children ages 0 to 4. Wastewater detections for COVID-19 updated by the CDC suggest that high levels of the virus are being reported in California, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Nevada, South Carolina, and Texas. No states were experiencing very high levels, according to a map from the agency. Seasonal influenza activity is considered by the CDC to be low, and RSV activity is considered very low, the CDC said. Overall, U.S. respiratory illness activity, which refers to 'how frequently a wide variety of respiratory symptoms and conditions are diagnosed by emergency department doctors,' remains very low. Other illnesses that are covered in the update include Mycoplasma pneumoniae, sometimes called 'walking pneumonia,' which the CDC said has become elevated in some parts of the United States over the past several weeks. Mycoplasma pneumoniae, a type of bacteria, can cause upper respiratory tract infections but sometimes causes pneumonia, researchers say. Meanwhile, cases of whooping cough, or pertussis, 'are lower than their peak in November 2024, although they remain elevated in 2025 compared with immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic.' Whooping cough has the highest risk of causing severe disease and complications in children ages 1 and younger, according to the Mayo Clinic. Symptoms of the bacterial infection include a bout of coughing fits that can last weeks, vomiting while coughing, as well as a characteristic 'whooping' sound that occurs during inhalation after the coughing fits. The CDC has not updated its COVID-19 variant estimates since mid-June. In the last update, it noted that there were growing proportions of variants such as NB.1.8.1 and XFG, which were both declared 'variants under monitoring' by the World Health Organization (WHO) in May and June, respectively. 'The available evidence on NB.1.8.1 does not suggest additional public health risks relative to the other currently circulating Omicron descendent lineages,' the WHO said about the NB.1.8.1 strain. The U.N. health body issued a similar statement about the XFG variant in June. The NB.1.8.1 appears to have been driving a rise in cases across mainland China since earlier this year. Because of the Chinese Communist Party's history of blocking access to information and publishing inaccurate data, including underreporting COVID-19 infections and related deaths since 2020, information provided by local doctors and health workers is more valuable for understanding the situation on the ground there. The recent CDC update comes after agency researchers said that COVID-19 appears to follow a twice-per-year pattern. Cases usually peak in the summer, or July through September, before peaking again in the winter, or December through February. 'Our analysis revealed biannual COVID-19 peaks in late summer and winter, a pattern that is expected to persist as long as the rapid evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and cyclical S1 diversity continues,' CDC researchers wrote in a report released earlier this month.


Gulf Insider
5 days ago
- Gulf Insider
Omanis To Replace Expat Pharmacists: Ministry Of Health
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has issued Circular 167/2025 mandating the Omanisation of pharmacies located in commercial complexes and hospital facilities. The directive states that contracts of non-Omani pharmacists and their assistants will no longer be renewed, opening up opportunities for Omani nationals in the pharmaceutical sector. Expatriate pharmacists have long dominated the private sector in Oman. The new policy is expected to create jobs for many unemployed Omani graduates in pharmacy. Ahmed Al Wadahi, a recruitment expert, told Gulf News that the decision has been long awaited. 'This move gives Omanis a real chance to join the pharmaceutical workforce and become financially independent, instead of relying on their families,' he said. 'Oman is making solid progress in replacing expat workers in key private sector roles. For years, employment of Omani pharmacy graduates has remained low — but they deserve this opportunity.' Nasser Al Muqbali, a 28-year-old pharmacist who has been unemployed for five years, expressed hope. 'I've been waiting a long time. Like others, I dream of being independent and starting a career,' he said. The pharmacy profession in Oman has expanded significantly over the past two decades. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of pharmacists more than tripled between 2005 and 2018. By 2018, Oman had 2,692 pharmacists and 1,998 assistant pharmacists — equivalent to 5.57 and 4.2 per 10,000 people, respectively. The number of Omani health workers, including pharmacists, grew by over 40% between 2016 and 2019. Oman introduced the Omanisation programme in 1988 to gradually replace expatriate workers with skilled Omani nationals. While government departments and oil and gas companies have reached Omanisation rates of up to 90%, sectors such as construction remain heavily dependent on foreign labour.