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A modelling study suggests that demand for cancer surgery will rise by 52% - equal to 4.7 million procedures - between 2018 and 2040, with the greatest relative increase in low-income countries, which already have substantially lower staffing levels than high-income countries.
A separate observational study comparing global cancer surgery outcomes also suggests that patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are four times more likely to die from colorectal or gastric cancer (odds of 4.59 and 3.72, respectively) than those in high-income countries (HICs) currently, and that poor provision of care to manage post-operative complications (which includes staffing, ward space and access to facilities) explains a significant proportion of the disproportionate deaths in LMICs.
January 22, 2021
Coronavirus Vaccine Mechanism
Scientists around the world are working around the clock to manufacture a risk-free and effective COVID-19 vaccine. Currently, a handful of vaccines have been approved and are being provided to the public worldwide; a lot more vaccines are under development.
Vaccine development involves various steps to ensure the final product is both safe and efficient. Initially, the fundamental research is carried out, once the vaccine candidate is manufactured, preclinical animal studies are conducted in animal models. Then the vaccine enters small phase 1 studies, focusing on safety, and then larger phase 2 studies, with a focus on efficiency.
Quarantine time after contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case could potentially be reduced to 7 days without raising the risk of onward transmission of the virus by testing people on the seventh day of quarantine with either a PCR or lateral flow antigen (LFA) test, findings from an English modelling study published today in The Lancet Public Health journal suggest.
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Study of 1,733 patients first diagnosed in Wuhan (China) between January and May followed to June and September.
76% of COVID-19 patients have at least one symptom six months after symptom onset.
Fatigue or muscle weakness is the most common symptom, with sleep difficulties and anxiety or depression also frequently reported.
Lower antibodies against COVID-19 in patients six months after becoming ill compared with during acute infection raises concerns about the possibility of re-infection.
More than three quarters of COVID-19 patients have at least one ongoing symptom six months after initially becoming unwell, according to research published in
The Lancet.
The cohort study, looking at long-term effects of COVID-19 infection on people hospitalised in Wuhan, China, reveals that the most common symptom to persist is fatigue or muscle weakness (63% of patients), with patients also frequently experiencing sleep difficulties (26%). Anxiety or depression was reported a
E-Mail Modelling study suggests that pregnant women in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, who are exposed to poor air quality, may be at higher risk of stillbirths and miscarriages. An estimated 349,681 pregnancy losses per year in south Asia were associated with exposure to PM2.5 concentrations that exceeded India s air quality standard (more than 40 μg/m³), accounting for 7% of annual pregnancy loss in the region from 2000-2016. First study to estimate the effect of air pollution on pregnancy loss across the region indicates that air pollution could be a major contributor to pregnancy loss in south Asia, so controlling air pollution is vital for improving maternal health.