Health

Bird flu has been detected in the Antarctica region for the first time, according to British experts, raising concerns the deadly virus could pose a threat to penguins and other local species. Scientists had been fearing that the worst outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in history would reach Antarctica, a key breeding ground for many birds. The British …

Dozens of U.S. states are suing Meta Platforms and its Instagram unit, accusing them of fueling a youth mental health crisis by making their social media platforms addictive. In a complaint filed on Tuesday, the attorneys general of 33 states including California and New York said Meta, which also operates Facebook, repeatedly misled the public about the dangers of its …

KARACHI: The Naegleria fowleri, brain-eating amoeba, has claimed the life of another patient in Karachi, quoting Sindh Health Department report. According to the health department, 45-year-old Adnan, a resident of New Karachi in the port city died due to Naegleria. The Sindh health department further said chlorination is the key method to kill the germ and keep the life-taking disease …

ISLAMABAD: A rise in positive environmental samples for polio has been detected across the country this month, with 11 new detections in seven cities, including Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Bannu, Pishin and Chaman. Peshawar reported four positive samples and Karachi two, whereas the remaining five cities detected one positive sample each. The recent spike brings the tally of positive environmental …

ISLAMABAD: 11 more environmental samples collected from several cities have tested positive for wild poliovirus 1 (WPV1) quoting officials from the country’s polio eradication programme. “The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health Islamabad has confirmed the detection of Type-1 Wild Poliovirus (WPV1) in 11 environmental (sewage) samples collected in October 2023 (four from Peshawar, …

ISLAMABAD: A 24-month-old child from UC Gujro in Karachi East has become the fourth victim of poliovirus this year, an official from the Polio Laboratory at the National Institute of Health confirmed. According to a statement, Federal Minister for Health Dr Nadeem Jan has said it was incredibly unfortunate that another child was paralysed by a disease that was vaccine …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s fourth polio case of the year 2023 has been confirmed in Karachi, citing sources at the health ministry. The health ministry has confirmed, the polio virus found in a 2-year child from UC Gujro in Gadap Town of Karachi East. “Polio virus has been confirmed in two-year Afghan child crippled by the virus on October 03,” health ministry …

The CEO of Germany’s Merck KGaA said the company’s experimental multiple sclerosis drug can be a “blockbuster”, an industry term for annual sales that exceed $1 billion, even after concerns emerged that it may cause liver damage. Merck, seen as leading the race to win approval for a more targeted type of MS drug, said in April that U.S. regulators …

A pill for dengue fever developed by Johnson & Johnson appeared to protect against a form of the virus in a handful of patients in a small human challenge trial in the United States, according to data presented by the company on Friday. There are currently no specific treatments for dengue, a growing disease threat, the company said ahead of …

Pfizer on Wednesday said it will set the U.S. price for its COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid at nearly $1,400 per five-day course when it moves to commercial sales after government stocks run out, more than double what the government currently pays for it. The new list price, which does not include rebates and other discounts to insurers and pharmacy benefit …