Professor of Parasitology, Director of the University Institute of Tropical Diseases and Public Health of the Canary Islands of the University of La Laguna and CIBERINFEC researcher
The Member States of the World Health Organisation (WHO), meeting on Monday in Committee A of the World Health Assembly, approved a resolution calling for the adoption of a historic global pact to make the world safer from future pandemics. On Tuesday, the Assembly, in plenary session, adopted by consensus the world's first agreement on pandemics.
The new US president, Donald Trump, announced on his first day that the country will leave the World Health Organisation (WHO) within the next twelve months. The reasons behind the decision, according to him, are the ‘mismanagement of the covid-19 pandemic and other global health crises’, as well as ‘disproportionate payments compared to other countries’ dues’.
With the increase in cases of mpox, the European Union's Health Security Committee met on Monday. According to the Ministry of Health, the meeting concluded ‘with recommendations very similar to those previously issued by the WHO and the ECDC’. The risk of the likelihood of mpox spreading to the general EU population is currently considered to be ‘low’, although it increases in populations with close contact with diagnosed cases and in particularly vulnerable people. Further imported cases in the EU are not excluded and vaccination of the general population is not recommended. In addition, the HSC does not recommend border control.
International health organisations are warning about the spread in Europe of mosquito species that transmit diseases such as dengue fever. In Spain, where they are already widespread across much of the country, the Centro de Coordinación de Alertas y Emergencias Sanitarias (CCAES) warns of the risk of West Nile virus, and says that the summer is expected to be complicated. In this guide, we bring together information to understand this public health issue.
A study of nearly 3,000 Latin Americans who attended the Hospital Clínic in Barcelona over 17 years showed that 47% were infected by the parasite that causes Chagas disease. Of these, 17% also presented cardiac alterations derived from the disease. The study reveals that there is under-diagnosis in Spain, as there is in endemic areas. However, due to the characteristics of the research, the authors point out that "these data cannot be used to estimate the prevalence of infection in the general Latin American population living in Spain", which is notably lower according to other studies. The results are published in the journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
The Centre for the Coordination of Alerts and Health Emergencies (CCAES) reported yesterday that last February Germany reported two cases of dengue (one confirmed and one probable), along with four cases compatible with epidemiological links, in residents of Germany who had travelled to Ibiza during the incubation period. One of the potential vectors of dengue is the Aedes albopictus mosquito, which was first detected in Ibiza in 2014. According to the CCAES, the risk of new autochthonous cases appearing in Ibiza, "at this time of low vector activity, is considered low".
Several media outlets are reporting cases of "camel flu" or MERS-CoV at the World Cup in Qatar, including three French national team players. However, no cases have been confirmed and the news reports speak of non-specific symptoms that could be due to any other infectious condition. This coronavirus, discovered in 2012, has a high case fatality rate and before the start of the competition, the WHO had already asked fans travelling to the country to watch out for possible symptoms.
The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended granting marketing authorisation for the tetravalent dengue vaccine (live, attenuated) Takeda. The vaccine is intended to prevent disease caused by dengue virus serotypes 1, 2, 3 and 4 in people aged four years and older. Although an approved vaccine already exists, according to the EMA, this quadrivalent vaccine shows increased protection in children and people over 45 years of age.
A study published today in The Lancet examines the clinical manifestations of monkeypox in 181 patients at three sexual health clinics in Madrid and Barcelona.
