World Health Organization | Communicable Disease
“The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced that Libya has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, a landmark victory for public health in WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region. This hard-won achievement protects future generations from preventable blindness and provides a powerful reminder that countries can overcome neglected tropical diseases despite persisting challenges.”
“Ghana has recorded a significant decline in malaria deaths, dropping from 3,259 in 2011 to 52 in 2025, representing a 98 percent reduction, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, has announced.
In remarks delivered on his behalf at a durbar to commemorate World Malaria Day 2026 in Accra, the Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, said the gains reflect steady progress in Ghana’s efforts toward malaria elimination.
He highlighted a significant decline in child malaria fatalities, which have fallen by 76 percent in just three years, while the introduction of RTS,S and R21 into routine immunization is further protecting children, with first-dose coverage reaching 78.3 percent.”
From Ghana Health Service.
National Center for Biotechnology Information | Noncommunicable Disease
“In 1987, the age and sex-standardised prevalence of type 2 diabetes in Mauritius was 14.7%, which increased gradually, peaking at 23.3% in 2009, and decreased significantly to 19.9% in 2021…
Mauritius is the first country to show a decreasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes and intermediate hyperglycaemia over time, using the objective, gold standard OGTT-based diagnostic criteria recommended by the WHO.”
“The US FDA on Friday [10/09/26] approved Japan's Asahi Kasei's drug for persistent herpes simplex virus sores in certain patients with weakened immune systems who have not responded to available antiviral treatments…
Pritelivir blocks proteins the herpes virus needs to copy its genetic material, stopping it from multiplying and allowing the drug to work against some infections resistant to older treatments.
The US Food and Drug Administration's approval was based on a late-stage trial involving 101 participants, in which sores healed completely within 28 days in 62.7% of patients who were given pritelivir, compared to 34% receiving other treatments.”
From Reuters.
“Onchocerciasis is caused by the filarial nematode Onchocerca volvulus and transmitted through the bites of blackflies (Simulium spp.). Adult worms live in subcutaneous nodules, where the females release millions of microfilariae (first-stage larvae, L1) that migrate through the skin and eyes, causing intense itching, disfiguring skin disease and, after prolonged exposure, visual impairment and irreversible blindness. Early exposure to infection in childhood has also been associated with onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy…
In 2025, 255.7 million people required PC for onchocerciasis, of whom 180.3 million were treated, representing 70.5% global coverage, the highest number of people ever treated for onchocerciasis in a single year.”
