Latest news with #WHOEurope
India Today
01-05-2025
- Health
- India Today
Karnataka man downs five bottles of neat alcohol over Rs 10,000 bet, dies
A 21-year-old man from Karnataka's Kolar district died after consuming five bottles of alcohol without water as part of a bet. The incident occurred in Pujarahalla deceased, Karthik, reportedly entered into a wager with his friend Venkata Reddy, agreeing to drink the alcohol undiluted in exchange for Rs 10,000. On Sunday night, he consumed all five bottles without mixing water, in keeping with the terms of the bet. Shortly afterwards, he collapsed and was rushed to hospital. Despite the doctors' efforts, Karthik died while undergoing had only recently become a father. His wife had given birth to their daughter just nine days before his death. The couple had been married for a year. Mulbagal police have begun an investigation into the circumstances of the incident. Authorities have reiterated the dangers of reckless drinking and urged the public to avoid risky behaviour involving experts continue to caution against alcohol misuse. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there is no scientifically established 'safe' level of alcohol consumption. The WHO explains that no amount of drinking is free from health risks, including cancer. Its 2023 report stated that existing evidence does not show any threshold below which alcohol's carcinogenic effects do not the WHO notes that no studies currently prove that the potential benefits of light or moderate drinking outweigh the increased risk of cancer. 'We cannot talk about a so-called safe level of alcohol use. It doesn't matter how much you drink; the risk to the drinker's health starts from the first drop,' said Dr Carina Ferreira-Borges, Regional Advisor for Alcohol and Illicit Drugs at WHO Europe. 'The more you drink, the more harmful it is or, in other words, the less you drink, the safer it is.'advertisement IN THIS STORY#Karnataka
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Europe faces worst measles outbreak since 1997
Europe has had the highest number of measles cases since 1997, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO). There were 127,350 cases in 2024 – about double the number from 2023. 'Measles is back, and it's a wake-up call,' says Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe. 'Without high vaccination rates, there is no health security.' Last year, there were 38 deaths from measles. Transmission is similar to COVID, with respiratory droplets and aerosols (airborne transmission) spreading the virus between people. The infection produces a rash and fever in mild cases, and encephalitis (brain swelling), pneumonia and blindness in severe cases. Hospitalisation and deaths are overwhelmingly in unvaccinated people, with mortality rates in developed countries around one in 1,000 to one in 5,000 measles cases. Each person infected with measles will, on average, spread the virus to between 12 and 18 other people. This is more infectious than COVID. For example, someone with the omicron variant would spread the virus to around eight others. In 2022 the WHO had described measles as an 'imminent threat in every region of the world'. The widespread impact of COVID made it harder for people to access healthcare, reducing the ability of regular health services, like vaccinations, to function properly. These new stark figures from WHO Europe are an inevitable consequence of lower vaccination rates. Measles is almost entirely vaccine-preventable, with two doses providing greater than 99% protection against infection. The vaccine has an excellent safety record, with severe harm being extremely rare. The proportion of the population that needs to be vaccinated to keep local transmission low and prevent outbreaks (so-called 'herd immunity') is around 95%. WHO Europe highlighted some examples of where there are clear gaps in vaccine coverage. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Romania, fewer than 80% of eligible children were vaccinated in 2023, with rates below 50% for the past five or more years. Romania had the highest number of measles cases in Europe in 2024 – an estimated 30,692 cases. Misinformation is an important factor that reduces vaccine uptake. For example, in the UK, former physician Andrew Wakefield presented falsified data in 2002 claiming the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine caused autism. He somehow got these claims published in The Lancet – although the paper was later retracted. This fake scare received sustained media coverage, which resulted in lower uptake in young children at the time and was then a key factor a large measles outbreak among teenagers in England in 2012. The claims have spread internationally. In 2020, a US population survey found that '18% of our respondents mistakenly state that it is very or somewhat accurate to say that vaccines cause autism'. Sadly, misinformation about health can even be found at the highest levels of government. US President Donald Trump repeatedly made false claims during the COVID pandemic, including the suggestion that injecting disinfectant might cure COVID. In 2025, he appointed Robert F. Kennedy as the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy has long espoused anti-vaccine viewpoints, including being required to apologise in 2015 for comparing vaccination programmes to the Holocaust. In a recent interview with Fox's Sean Hannity, Kennedy said of the MMR vaccine: 'It does cause deaths every year. It causes — it causes all the illnesses that measles itself causes, encephalitis and blindness, et cetera.' This is untrue. The Infectious Disease Society of America points out that there have been 'no deaths related to the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in healthy individuals'. This is amid two measles deaths in unvaccinated people in the US, the first such deaths since 2003. There are estimates that the measles vaccine prevented 94 million deaths globally between 1974 to 2024. The US National Institute for Health, one of the world's biggest funders of health research, announced on March 10 2025 that it was axing research that aimed to understand and address vaccine hesitancy. This goes alongside the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) apparently planning a large study into potential associations between vaccines and autism, despite dozens of studies indicating there being no such link. This volatility coming from the US and elsewhere matters for Europe. Trump and the US have political supporters in Europe, so their messaging carries weight and could do harm. Anti-vaccine sentiment promoted on Facebook from within the US resulted in comments on the posts from multiple countries. The use of social media has been observed to spread misinformation internationally, for example, within Europe. Russian trolls are also involved in creating arguments about vaccines. There is an urgent need for outbreaks to be brought back under control and for accurate information about vaccines to be the key message in public discussions. As Dr Kluge highlights: 'The measles virus never rests – and neither can we.' This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Michael Head has previously received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Research England and the UK Department for International Development, and currently receives funding from the UK Medical Research Foundation.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Europe faces worst measles outbreak since 1997
Europe has had the highest number of measles cases since 1997, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO). There were 127,350 cases in 2024 – about double the number from 2023. 'Measles is back, and it's a wake-up call,' says Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe. 'Without high vaccination rates, there is no health security.' Last year, there were 38 deaths from measles. Transmission is similar to COVID, with respiratory droplets and aerosols (airborne transmission) spreading the virus between people. The infection produces a rash and fever in mild cases, and encephalitis (brain swelling), pneumonia and blindness in severe cases. Hospitalisation and deaths are overwhelmingly in unvaccinated people, with mortality rates in developed countries around one in 1,000 to one in 5,000 measles cases. Each person infected with measles will, on average, spread the virus to between 12 and 18 other people. This is more infectious than COVID. For example, someone with the omicron variant would spread the virus to around eight others. In 2022 the WHO had described measles as an 'imminent threat in every region of the world'. The widespread impact of COVID made it harder for people to access healthcare, reducing the ability of regular health services, like vaccinations, to function properly. These new stark figures from WHO Europe are an inevitable consequence of lower vaccination rates. Measles is almost entirely vaccine-preventable, with two doses providing greater than 99% protection against infection. The vaccine has an excellent safety record, with severe harm being extremely rare. The proportion of the population that needs to be vaccinated to keep local transmission low and prevent outbreaks (so-called 'herd immunity') is around 95%. WHO Europe highlighted some examples of where there are clear gaps in vaccine coverage. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Romania, fewer than 80% of eligible children were vaccinated in 2023, with rates below 50% for the past five or more years. Romania had the highest number of measles cases in Europe in 2024 – an estimated 30,692 cases. Misinformation is an important factor that reduces vaccine uptake. For example, in the UK, former physician Andrew Wakefield presented falsified data in 2002 claiming the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine caused autism. He somehow got these claims published in The Lancet – although the paper was later retracted. This fake scare received sustained media coverage, which resulted in lower uptake in young children at the time and was then a key factor a large measles outbreak among teenagers in England in 2012. The claims have spread internationally. In 2020, a US population survey found that '18% of our respondents mistakenly state that it is very or somewhat accurate to say that vaccines cause autism'. Sadly, misinformation about health can even be found at the highest levels of government. US President Donald Trump repeatedly made false claims during the COVID pandemic, including the suggestion that injecting disinfectant might cure COVID. In 2025, he appointed Robert F. Kennedy as the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy has long espoused anti-vaccine viewpoints, including being required to apologise in 2015 for comparing vaccination programmes to the Holocaust. In a recent interview with Fox's Sean Hannity, Kennedy said of the MMR vaccine: 'It does cause deaths every year. It causes — it causes all the illnesses that measles itself causes, encephalitis and blindness, et cetera.' This is untrue. The Infectious Disease Society of America points out that there have been 'no deaths related to the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in healthy individuals'. This is amid two measles deaths in unvaccinated people in the US, the first such deaths since 2003. There are estimates that the measles vaccine prevented 94 million deaths globally between 1974 to 2024. The US National Institute for Health, one of the world's biggest funders of health research, announced on March 10 2025 that it was axing research that aimed to understand and address vaccine hesitancy. This goes alongside the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) apparently planning a large study into potential associations between vaccines and autism, despite dozens of studies indicating there being no such link. This volatility coming from the US and elsewhere matters for Europe. Trump and the US have political supporters in Europe, so their messaging carries weight and could do harm. Anti-vaccine sentiment promoted on Facebook from within the US resulted in comments on the posts from multiple countries. The use of social media has been observed to spread misinformation internationally, for example, within Europe. Russian trolls are also involved in creating arguments about vaccines. There is an urgent need for outbreaks to be brought back under control and for accurate information about vaccines to be the key message in public discussions. As Dr Kluge highlights: 'The measles virus never rests – and neither can we.' This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Michael Head has previously received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Research England and the UK Department for International Development, and currently receives funding from the UK Medical Research Foundation.
Local Norway
13-03-2025
- Health
- Local Norway
Measles cases in Europe double to reach 25-year high
Last year, 127,350 cases of measles and 38 deaths were registered in the WHO's European region, which counts 53 countries and includes central Asia. Romania and Kazakhstan were the countries most affected, reporting 30,692 and 28,147 cases respectively. Half of the European cases required hospitalisation, the WHO said, noting that 40 percent of cases involved children under the age of five. "Measles is back, and it's a wake-up call. Without high vaccination rates, there is no health security," WHO Europe director Hans Kluge said in a statement. He urged authorities to intensify their immunisation efforts to protect under- and unvaccinated communities. In 2023, 500,000 children in the region did not receive their first dose of the vaccine. "Without high vaccination rates, there is no health security," Kluge said. Measles is highly contagious, spreading through respiratory droplets and lingering in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves an area. The disease causes fever, respiratory symptoms, and a rash -- but can also lead to severe complications, including pneumonia, brain inflammation, and death. Europe accounted for a third of the world's measles cases in 2024. After 216,000 cases were reported in 1997, measles sharply declined in Europe, reaching a low of 4,440 cases in 2016. But the illness resurged in 2018 and 2019 and has exploded since 2023, after a backsliding of vaccinations during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Local Sweden
13-03-2025
- Health
- Local Sweden
Measles cases in Europe double to reach 25-year high
Last year, 127,350 cases of measles and 38 deaths were registered in the WHO's European region, which counts 53 countries and includes central Asia. Romania and Kazakhstan were the countries most affected, reporting 30,692 and 28,147 cases respectively. Half of the European cases required hospitalisation, the WHO said, noting that 40 percent of cases involved children under the age of five. "Measles is back, and it's a wake-up call. Without high vaccination rates, there is no health security," WHO Europe director Hans Kluge said in a statement. He urged authorities to intensify their immunisation efforts to protect under- and unvaccinated communities. In 2023, 500,000 children in the region did not receive their first dose of the vaccine. "Without high vaccination rates, there is no health security," Kluge said. Measles is highly contagious, spreading through respiratory droplets and lingering in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves an area. The disease causes fever, respiratory symptoms, and a rash -- but can also lead to severe complications, including pneumonia, brain inflammation, and death. Europe accounted for a third of the world's measles cases in 2024. After 216,000 cases were reported in 1997, measles sharply declined in Europe, reaching a low of 4,440 cases in 2016. But the illness resurged in 2018 and 2019 and has exploded since 2023, after a backsliding of vaccinations during the Covid-19 pandemic.
