The message of this year’s World Hepatitis Day is ‘Find the missing millions’ which aims to focus attention on the fact that millions of people around the world have Hepatitis C without knowing they have the infection, and around 214,000 people in the UK are undiagnosed. Hepatitis C is a dangerous viral infection that is […]
Rift Valley fever is a viral disease endemic to Africa that is found on animals and spread via biting mosquitoes. The threat of Rift Valley fever is on the rise and has recently been added to the World Health Organisation priority list. Health control measures alone could be ineffective in the long term fight against […]
When it comes to various psychiatric illnesses migrants suffer more from conditions including depression and anxiety than the indigenous population of the new country. But it is hard to generalise because migrants are not a homogenous group and people may migrate for all sorts of reasons from political to personal, economic and social. The pop […]
Ghana has made history by becoming the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to eliminate trachoma – the world’s leading cause of infectious blindness. In 2000, about 2.8 million people in Ghana were estimated to be at risk of trachoma. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has today (Wednesday 13th June) made the official announcement that the […]
My background in public health medicine has given me a unique insight into the problems faced by people in challenging situations and crisis zones around the world. I worked with insurance companies to evacuate people with medical emergencies from remote regions for six years before working for charities to deliver healthcare to people affected by […]
After the biggest restoration project in its entire 175 year history, Kew Gardens has re- opened the doors of its spectacular Temperate House, restored to its dazzling Victorian glory, revealing 10,000 exotic plants. Many of these rare plants are currently being researched by Kew’s scientists to develop new drugs to treat serious illnesses such as […]
Read More… from Revamped Kew – saving plants that may help to cure cancer
A transatlantic exchange programme has seen nursing students from Scotland and America compare their countries’ healthcare systems and university training, as part of a strategic partnership between the cities of Aberdeen and Houston. Two students from Houston Baptist University (HBU) have spent two weeks in May 2018 in the North-east, working alongside their counterparts and […]
Lifestyles featuring little exercise and lots of fast and processed food are fuelling overweight and obesity, resulting in dramatic increases in cancer rates worldwide, according to a new report from World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), leading authority on the links between diet, weight, physical activity and cancer prevention and survival. The new report – Diet, […]
Since April 2018, the WHO estimates the number of cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo at 42, including 23 deaths and with 2 confirmed laboratory cases. In the past Democratic Republic of Congo outbreaks, their remote nature helped implement containment measures to reduce the spread of the outbreak. In fact, the Democratic […]
Dr Taha Huda, a member of the Royal Society of Medicine’s sexuality and sexual health council, was one of the speakers against the motion at the recent Hippocratic Post debate The end of HIV? It is my privilege to take part in this debate: The End of HIV? Firstly, it is important to consider the […]