University of La Laguna

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.  
 

24% of girls aged 15 to 19 who have been in a relationship have experienced physical or sexual violence by a male partner at some point in their lives, according to a global study with data from 161 countries between 2000 and 2018. Spain is in the group with the lowest prevalence (12% over their lifetime; 4% in the previous year), according to 2015 data. There is less violence against girls in countries with higher incomes, higher rates of girls in secondary education, and greater gender equality in inheritance laws, says the study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health. 

The frequency and magnitude of extreme wildfires appear to have doubled in the last 20 years. Moreover, the six most extreme years for these events have occurred since 2017, according to a paper published in Nature Ecology & Evolution in which the authors used satellite data from 2003 to 2023. 

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 team of researchers led by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany has analysed nearly 10,000 ancient genomes and found six cases of people with Down's syndrome and one with Edwards' syndrome. Most of them died before or shortly after birth. The findings correspond to different periods up to 5,500 years old and several of them have been found in Navarra. According to the authors, "the care with which the burials were carried out and the objects found with these individuals indicate that ancient societies probably treated people with trisomies 18 and 21 as members of their communities". The findings are published in Nature Communications.

Intimate partner violence is associated with an increased risk of depression and miscarriage, according to a systematic review of the scientific literature published since 1970. Sexual abuse in childhood is associated with an increased risk of alcohol use disorder and self-harm, says the study published in Nature Medicine. According to its authors, this analysis of 229 previous studies reveals that intimate partner violence and childhood sexual abuse have a more extensive impact on health than previously described.

Living as a private renter is associated with faster biological ageing than owning a home, according to a study using a UK database with data available on 1,420 people. The team, whose research is published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, used DNA methylation data - chemical modifications - to measure people's biological age, and says this correlation is stronger than the association between biological ageing and unemployment, or having been a smoker. Apart from blood samples from the database, the research also used historical data from a national survey.

The fire that originated on August 15 between the Tenerife municipalities of Arafo and Candelaria, in the northeast of the island, is advancing on several fronts and has affected more than 13,000 hectares, although the firefighting services have stabilized it in some points. The people evacuated in the last days have been thousands. As confirmed by the president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, the fire has been caused.

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".