Medical
World Health Organization sounds global alarm over DR Congo Ebola outbreak
The World Health Organisation says the deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now an worldwide health emergency after the virus spread this week to a city of two million people. "An worldwide emergency could have a huge impact on people crossing the border and on trade and people's livelihoods", he said. Those included the H1N1, or swine flu, pandemic of 2009, the spread of... [Full Article...]
Northern Alberta infectious syphilis cases rise more than 300 per cent
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, who is holding a news conference on the health crisis Tuesday afternoon, said that a total of 1,563 cases of infectious syphilis were reported in 2018. Symptoms of syphilis may not be obvious. Hinshaw says the province has seen similar rates of congenital syphilis in which the infection is spread from a mother to her unborn child. [Full Article...]
Amazon workers strike during Prime Day to demand better working conditions
Be sure to hit the official Walmart website to discover all of the latest sales offered through The Big Save, and keep it tuned to Shacknews' Amazon Prime Day 2019 home page to stay on top of the event's biggest price cuts - even if they're at other retailers. [Full Article...]
New clues on why women’s Alzheimer’s risk differs from men’s
Researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Centre studied brain scans of hundreds of men and women, looking at the pattern of a protein called tau. The study didn't try to show why working made a difference. Maggie Morris says she saw the painful decline of her own mother who suffered from Alzheimer's. [Full Article...]
Menstrual cups 'as reliable as tampons,' study finds
Sanitary protection remains unavailable and unaffordable to many women around the world, the authors noted. The study hence summarised current knowledge about leakage, safety and acceptability of menstrual cups, comparing them to other products. [Full Article...]
Alberta health officials declare province-wide syphilis outbreak
A total of 1,536 cases of infectious syphilis were reported in 2018 compared with 161 in 2014 - nearly a tenfold increase, said Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer. Alberta Health Services says the best way to protect against sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis is consistent condom use. Like other STIs, the symptoms of syphilis may not be obvious. [Full Article...]
Increasing social media use tied to teens' depressive symptoms
Researchers also found evidence that social media - and not other screen-based activities - may promote depressive symptoms in those already suffering them. But the researchers found that each one-hour increase in the average amount of time students said they spent watching television within a given year was associated with an increase in the severity of depression symptoms that year. [Full Article...]
20 mln children fail to receive lifesaving vaccines in 2018
From 1 January 2018 to 30 May 2019, 49 of the 53 countries in the Region together reported over 160 000 measles cases and over 100 measles-related deaths. Meanwhile, for the first time, there is also data on coverage of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine which protects girls against cervical cancer later in life. [Full Article...]