Authorities in Botswana held a Sunday night press conference to discuss the latest information about the B.1.1.529 coronavirus variant first identified there. In the meantime, southern Africans are asking: Where did this variant actually come from? That’s because Botswana’s government said Friday that the four B.1.1.529 cases reported last week…
Botswana confirmed on Thursday that a new COVID-19 variant, one that’s causing great concern in southern Africa and beyond, was detected in four people described as travelers. Botswana’s Presidential COVID-19 Task Force said the four cases of the B.1.1.529 variant were recorded on Monday. All four cases happened in people…
BioNTech is moving forward with plans to build vaccine manufacturing facilities on the African continent, with an announcement Tuesday that Rwanda has been chosen for the first site. Dr. Daniel Ngamije, the health minister for Rwanda, said the first facility will be built at the Kigali Special Economic Zone (KSEZ),…
Just one in every seven cases of COVID-19 infection on the African continent is diagnosed correctly, a trend that the World Health Organization hopes to reverse by applying a “ring strategy” approach to the outbreak in affected communities. The new approach is based on models used successfully to curb the…
A young child has died after contracting the Ebola virus in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the first such case since the last outbreak of the virus in the country was declared over in May. The Congolese Ministry of Health says the child died on Wednesday. Ebola was then confirmed…
World Health Organization leaders responded with shock and sorrow after an independent panel released an investigative report that found widespread sexual abuse committed by workers during the 2020 Ebola outbreak in the country’s east. Malick Coulibaly, a panel member, said the commission interviewed dozens of women who were offered work…
The World Health Organization issued new guidelines on air pollution Wednesday that dramatically reduce the levels of particulate matter (PM) and other pollutants linked to a range of diseases. These illnesses include heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, and respiratory diseases including asthma. “Since WHO’s last 2005 global update, there has…
An outbreak of bacterial meningitis has claimed at least 129 lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with health officials warning that so far, roughly half of the people who became ill have died. Congolese officials, alongside the World Health Organization, said they confirmed the spread of Neisseria meningitidis,…
The Indian Ocean nation of Mauritius recently touted the success of a COVID-19 vaccination program that, as of Monday, had reached 60% of all adults. The tourism board welcomed the news, calling it a milestone in the effort to reach herd immunity and “allowing the country to reopen to international…
Another variant of the coronavirus, reported in South Africa, is cause for concern among health experts who are monitoring its potential but say they need to continue gathering information. The C1.2 variant was first noted in May, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and its partners, which…
Authorities in Burkina Faso are monitoring a new case of suspected Ebola in West Africa. The country’s health ministry says a 22-year-old person is being treated at the Bogodogo University Hospital Center in Ouagadougou. They are isolated and receiving care while awaiting confirmation of any Ebola infection. The case points to the possibility…
The western African nation of Cote d’Ivoire has reported its first case of Ebola since 1994. The country’s ministry of health said the case was confirmed at the Institut Pasteur after samples were taken from a patient hospitalized in Abidjan. The unidentified person traveled to Abidjan from Guinea by road…
The World Health Organization (WHO) says three drugs already used for other conditions will be used to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients as part of the global Solidarity PLUS trial program. The three drugs – artesunate, imatinib and infliximab – were chosen by an independent panel of experts looking to find…
Health officials say a slight overall dip in COVID cases on the African continent is welcome, but it doesn’t reflect the reality in many nations that are seeing a surge. New case numbers were down by 1.8 percent during the week ending July 18, according to numbers cited Friday by…
Namibia reported a record high of 2,547 new COVID cases on Thursday, as health minister Kalumbi Shangula appealed for more oxygen supplies and nurses. South Africa saw 18,762 new cases as the government began deploying its COVID surge team. Mozambique, Uganda, Kenya – they’re all seeing impacts from a trending…