Tag: yellow fever

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Funding Cuts Risk the Resurgence of Preventable Diseases, WHO Warns

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Mufid Majnun on Unsplash

The World Health Organization warns that global health funding cuts are paving the way for a resurgence of diseases that had been brought to the brink by vaccination.

One example of prior success is Africa’s “meningitis belt”, spanning parts of sub-Saharan Africa, where vaccination campaigns had successfully eliminated meningitis A. Likewise, yellow fever and related deaths were drastically cut by improved routine immunisation and emergency vaccine stockpiles.

The WHO says that this hard-won progress is now threatened. “Funding cuts to global health have put these hard-won gains in jeopardy,” warned Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

Outbreaks on the rise

In 2023, measles cases were estimated at more than 10.3 million – a 20% year-on-year increase. In a statement marking the beginning of World Immunization Week, the WHO, UN Children’s Fund UNICEF and their partners warned that this upward trend is expected to continue into 2025.

After years of declining cases in Africa thanks to improved vaccine access, yellow fever is also making a return. The start of 2025 has already seen a rise in outbreaks across the continent, with cases also confirmed in the Americas.

The threat of vaccine misinformation

Vaccination efforts are increasingly under pressure due to a combination of misinformation, population growth, humanitarian crises, and funding cuts.

Earlier this month, a WHO review across 108 countries found that nearly half are experiencing moderate to severe disruptions to vaccination campaigns, routine immunisations, and supply chains due to falling donor support.

“The global funding crisis is severely limiting our ability to vaccinate over 15 million vulnerable children in fragile and conflict-affected countries against measles,” said Catherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF.

High healthcare returns on vaccination

Vaccines save around 4.2 million lives each year, protecting against 14 different diseases. Almost half of those lives are saved in Africa.

Despite this, falling investment now risks the re-emergence of diseases once thought to be under control.

Health experts emphasise that immunisation is one of the most cost-effective health interventions. Every $1 invested in vaccines brings an estimated return of $54 through better health and economic productivity.

UNICEF, WHO, and their partners are calling on parents, the public, and political leaders to support immunisation programmes and ensure long-term investment in vaccines and public health systems.

Source: WHO

Categories : Environmental Effects GeneticsTags :

Scientists Abuzz over a Genetic Way to Deafen Mosquitoes

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Ekamelev on Unsplash

Specific receptors in the ears of mosquitoes have been revealed to modulate their hearing, finds a new study led by researchers at UCL and University of Oldenburg. Since male mosquitoes need to hear female mosquitoes is a crucial factor in their reproduction, this discovery could help develop new insecticides and control the spread of harmful diseases, such as malaria, dengue, and yellow fever.

In the study, published in Nature Communications, the researchers focused on a signalling pathway involving a molecule called octopamine. They demonstrated that it is key for mosquito hearing and mating partner detection, and so is a potential new target for mosquito control.

Male mosquitoes acoustically detect the buzz generated by females within large swarms that form transiently at dusk.

As swarms are potentially noisy, mosquitoes have developed highly sophisticated ears to detect the faint flight tone of females amid hundreds of mosquitoes flying together.

However, the molecular mechanisms by which mosquito males ‘sharpen their ears’ to respond to female flight tones during swarm time have been largely unknown.

The researchers looked at the expression of genes in the mosquito ear and found that an octopamine receptor specifically peaks in the male mosquito ear when mosquitoes swarm.

The study found that octopamine affects mosquito hearing on multiple levels. It modulates the frequency tuning and stiffness of the sound receiver in the male ear, and also controls other mechanical changes to boost the detection of the female.

The researchers demonstrated that the octopaminergic system in the mosquito ear can be targeted by insecticides. Mosquito mating is a bottleneck for mosquito survival, so identifying new targets to disrupt it is key to controlling disease-transmitting mosquito populations.

Source: University College London