Cranking up the tunes today may lead to the inability to hear them tomorrow, according the World Health Organization. Young people tend to turn the volume too high on their mobile music devices, as well as frequent noisy concerts and clubs. As a result, over 1.1 billion people ages 12-35 are at risk of hearing loss, the WHO said in a recent statement.
During Nigeria's attempts to control the spread of Ebola, officials contact traced nearly 900 people. Ultimately, 20 people fell ill in Nigeria and eight died before the World Health Organization declared the country Ebola-free October 20. Today, New York City—which has one-twentieth the population of Nigeria—is contact tracing 289 people. A recent New York Times article offers a peek into this time-consuming and costly -- but science-proven -- method of containing infectious diseases. The city has not yet had a single case of Ebola transmission.
Over a million children die each year due to complications of preterm birth, according to the World Health Organization. Developing nations are plagued with high infant mortality rates, where much of the population does not have access to trained doctors or expensive preterm birth care equipment. A new invention named MOM could give premature infants in impoverished areas a fighting chance at life.
Bad news, trick-or-treaters: A new recommendation from the World Health Organization (WHO) deals a serious blow to your annual candy binge. The guideline, set to be released this fall, drops the suggested daily intake of “free sugars”—those added to processed foods, such as high-fructose corn syrup, and those that result when naturally occurring sugars are refined, as with maple syrup.
After U.S. government researchers discovered six forgotten vials of smallpox in a freezer this past June, the plan was to destroy the vials. That's still the plan… but the demolition date has been pushed back, Nature News reports.
Sierra Leone’s attempted lockdown is unprecedented: The whole country has been placed on house arrest and 20,000 volunteers have been recruited to help identify suspected Ebola carriers. “Some of the things we are asking you to do are difficult, but life is better than these difficulties,” President Ernest Bai Koroma said.
