For the first time, a new strain of bird flu was transmitted human-to-human. This is highly unusual–and could be the first sign of new global pandemic. Alanna Shaikh, MPH May 26, 2017 In 1918, the world was rocked by pandemic flu. A virulent strain of influenza, H1N1 influenza swept across the whole planet. A fifth of the world’s population was infected, and 20-40 million people died. It killed more people than World War One. We haven’t ...
WHO’s the Boss? Inside the Race to Elect a New Head of the World Health Organization Alanna Shaikh, MPH May 15, 2017 It's election season in Geneva. Three candidates are squaring off to become the next head of the World Health Organization. The electors are every national government on the planet. Dr. Margaret Chan has been Director General of the World Health Organiza...
A “Mystery Disease” is Killing People in Liberia. Can it be stopped like ebola? Mark Leon Goldberg May 10, 2017 On April 23, an 11-year-old boy was admitted to a local hospital in a remote county of Liberia. He was vomiting, had diarrhea and was delirious. The day before, he attended a funeral. One hour after being admitted to he hospital he died. Other people who h...
A woman broke her leg in India. She died in Nevada from it. Her story is the most urgent health crisis that garners the least amount of attention. Alanna Shaikh, MPH January 18, 2017 A 70-year-old woman broke her leg while visiting India. Later, she went to a hospital in Reno, Nevada. Soon after, she was dead. The cause? Something that the Director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Thomas Frieden calls a "nightmare bacte...
Female genital mutilation harms women. So why are there so few medical options for reducing that harm? Alanna Shaikh, MPH May 19, 2016 The World Health Organization has released new guidelines on care for women who have been subjected to genital mutilation (FGM). This is an effort to bring medical standardization to an extremely complicated – and controversial - topic. Female genital mutilat...
The WHO Declares Zika Emergency. What Now? Mark Leon Goldberg February 1, 2016 The World Health Organization has just declared the Zika Virus outbreak in Latin America to be a "public health emergency of international concern." At a press conference this evening in Geneva, WHO director General Margaret Chan stressed that this declarat...
Can the International Community Prevent the Coming Zika Crisis? Mark Leon Goldberg January 28, 2016 Earlier today, World Health Organization executive director Margaret Chan announced that the WHO would hold an emergency meeting on Monday on the Zika virus. Zika, said Chan, is now present in 23 countries and is "spreading explosively" in the Americas. Mat...
How the USA and the UN Helped Defeat Ebola in West Africa Mark Leon Goldberg January 14, 2016 Ed note. This post was originally published in February 2015, when the WHO declared that the ebola outbreak in West Africa had largely been contained. Today, January 13, 2016, the World Health Organization declared the official end of the outbreak, saying"al...
The WHO Tells Us What We Don’t Want to Hear About Sexually Transmitted Infections Alanna Shaikh, MPH December 10, 2015 The World Health Organization announced new data today on syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis. All four infections are sexually transmitted, and all represent threats to global health. It feels strange to be discussing gonorrhea or trichomoniasi...
