Infectious diseases

Antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea on the rise

Each year, an estimated 78 million people are infected with gonorrhoea, which can infect the genitals, rectum, and throat. Complications of gonorrhoea disproportionally affect women and can include pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy and infertility, as well as an increased risk of HIV. Data from 77 countries show that antibiotic resistance is making gonorrhoea more […]

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Measles outbreaks across Europe

Over 500 measles cases were reported for January 2017 in Europe with 85{ddf8d179d1bf712bb2a88ff2ad95ebdf63eaa5463c845d2f093b25848387ba96} of them coming from 7 of the 14 endemic countries (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Switzerland and Ukraine). Measles continues to spread within and among European countries, with the potential to cause large outbreaks wherever immunization coverage has dropped below the necessary

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The cost of a polluted environment: 1.7 million child deaths a year

More than 1 in 4 deaths of children under 5 years of age are attributable to unhealthy environments. Every year, environmental risks – such as indoor and outdoor air pollution, second-hand smoke, unsafe water, lack of sanitation, and inadequate hygiene – take the lives of 1.7 million children under 5 years, according to the WHO.

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Measles and rubella in Europe

Countries in the WHO European Region are continuing to eliminate measles and rubella both nationally and regionally. The European Regional Verification Commission for Measles and Rubella Elimination (RVC) reports that 37 of the 53 Member States in the Region (70{ddf8d179d1bf712bb2a88ff2ad95ebdf63eaa5463c845d2f093b25848387ba96}) had interrupted endemic measles transmission by the end of 2015 and 35 of them (66{ddf8d179d1bf712bb2a88ff2ad95ebdf63eaa5463c845d2f093b25848387ba96})

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HIV & Hepatitis in Europe

There are 53 countries in the WHO European Region and within those countries there are 15 million people living with hepatitis C and 13.3 million people living with hepatitis B, the vast majority of whom are unaware of their infection and therefore at risk of developing cirrhosis or liver cancer. On average, fewer than 3{ddf8d179d1bf712bb2a88ff2ad95ebdf63eaa5463c845d2f093b25848387ba96}

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Keeping Europe malaria-free

The European Region is the first in the world to have interrupted indigenous malaria transmission with the number of cases dropping from 90,712 in 1995 to zero in 2015. Countries in the WHO European Region at risk of malaria reintroduction (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan) have reaffirmed their commitment

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Polio vaccine switch

Every country that was using trivalent oral polio vaccine (OPV) (containing all three serotypes of poliovirus) has permanently withdrawn this vaccine and either replaced it with bivalent OPV – containing only types 1 and 3 – or moved to an immunization schedule with only the inactivated form of polio vaccine (IPV). Wild poliovirus type 2

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Europe close to eliminating measles and rubella

Thirty-two countries in the European Region have interrupted transmission of endemic measles and/or rubella, according to the conclusions of the European Regional Verification Commission for Measles and Rubella Elimination (RVC), released inApril 2016. The independent RVC assesses Member States’ progress towards elimination of measles and rubella by reviewing epidemiological and laboratory surveillance data submitted by

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