Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar tasked authorities to prepare an emergency polio eradication plan for the next year to target high-risk areas, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said. Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by poliovirus mainly affecting children under the age of ten years. It invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis [...]
Global study finds 78% of people feel “stuck” professionally and personally (77%); 90% of people say their meaning of success has changed since the pandemic started People are turning to robots to support their career development after the COVID-19 pandemic left them feeling lonely and disconnected from their own lives, according to a new study [...]
The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged all countries “to put differences aside” in order to speed up efforts to understand where and how the COVID-19 virus started – including the unproven suggestion that it was manufactured in a laboratory. The move, announced comes after a joint report was issued by WHO and China into [...]
A surge in demand for oxygen due to the COVID-19 pandemic has created an emergency impacting half a million people in low- and middle-income countries. New assessments have revealed that $90m (~€74.28m) in immediate funding is needed to meet the urgent demand for oxygen treatment in up to 20 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). COVID-19 [...]
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in which case it is known as latent tuberculosis. About 10% of latent infections progress to active disease which, if left untreated, kill about half of those affected. The classic symptoms of active [...]
COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on health, quality of life and economic activity, charging health experts to push policy makers to prioritise public health to manage pandemics in the making. Human actions like deforestation, encroachment on diverse wildlife habitats and markets in cities and towns where animals are bought and sold are helping diseases [...]
Declining private investment and lack of innovation in the development of new antibiotics are undermining efforts to combat drug-resistant infections, according to World Health Organization (WHO). Two new reports reveal a weak pipeline for antibiotic agents. The 60 products in development (50 antibiotics and 10 biologics) bring little benefit over existing treatments and very few [...]
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Afridi, President Pakistan Psychiatric Society (PPS) lauded the directives by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar of Sindh High Court (the petition filed by Ms. Erum Shaheen, submitted through her counsel, Mohammad Qadir Khan), to all the commissioners and the senior superintendents of police to constitute special committees to visit public places including shrines [...]
Regional UNAIDS officials briefed Governor Sindh, Imran Ismail that unsafe injection practices and poor infection control had emerged as the leading cause of the recent HIV outbreak in Ratodero area of Larkana, saying UNAIDS was ready to extend all possible support to the Pakistani health authorities in managing the situation and to prevent such outbreaks [...]
The Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Society of Pakistan (MMIDSP) representing Infectious Diseases and immunization experts, has categorically and unequivocally denied any connection between vaccination efforts and the spread of HIV in Pakistan. Prof. Bushra Jamil, the MMIDSP President and Dean, Infectious Diseases, College of Physicians & Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) took strong exception to a [...]
UNAIDS Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Eamonn Murphy reiterated UNAIDS’ commitment to supporting provincial and federal authorities to respond to the HIV outbreak and strengthen the HIV response in the country. He expressed these views during a press briefing in Karachi during his official visit to Pakistan. The preliminary findings was presented during [...]
There is a dire need of promoting voluntary blood donation culture in the country as it relies on family donors to sustain the transfusion system. It was very important to promote the culture of voluntary blood donations in Pakistan as the country essentially relied on the ‘family donors’ to sustain the transfusion system. These views [...]
The Second Round of blood bank inspections in Peshawar was completed earlier this month by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Blood Transfusion Authority (KPBTA). The Authority inspected 10 blood banks in Peshawar including Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital; North West General Hospital; Fatimid Foundation Thalassaemia Centre; Mercy Teaching Hospital, Frontier Foundation Thalassaemia Centre; Kuwait Teaching Hospital; Hamza [...]
Governor Sindh, Imran Ismail inaugurated newly installed CT Scanner- Ultra Low Dose Radiation in the Radiology Department at The Kidney Centre (TKC), Karachi. The inclusion of ultra-low dose radiation CT scanner (164 Slices) will enhance the quality of results and enable us for Coronary CT Angiography and Calcium Scoring for early detection of heart diseases. [...]
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination Dr. Zafar Mirza said that a National Action Plan (NAP) in health sector was being planned with the coordination and consultation of the provinces to improve the health facilities. He said this while addressing a joint press briefing with Health Minister [...]
