154 million lives saved in 50 years: 5 charts on the global success of vaccines

154 million lives saved in 50 years: 5 charts on the global success of vaccines

By Meru Sheel, University of Sydney and Alexandra Hogan, UNSW Sydney We know vaccines have been a miracle for public health. Now, new research led by the World Health Organization has found vaccines have saved an estimated 154 million lives in the past 50 years from 14 different diseases. Most of these have been children under five, and around two-thirds children under one year old. In 1974 […]

May 14, 2024 30

Health / Medical

New TB skin test could offer cheaper and easier way to detect the disease

By Yvette Naudé, University of Pretoria Detecting tuberculosis early could play a significant role in eradicating the world’s most deadly infectious disease. The World Health Organization says 1.5 million people die from this devastating disease each year. People infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the TB bacteria that attack the lungs, often do not know that they have it until their symptoms become severe. Two out of every […]

March 28, 2024 39

Health / Medical

Medical science has made great strides in fighting TB, but reducing poverty is the best way to end this disease

By Tom Nyirenda, Stellenbosch University Every year, 10 million people fall ill with tuberculosis. Even though the disease is both preventable and curable, it kills 1.5 million people each year, making it the world’s deadliest infectious disease. Over 25% of these deaths occur in African countries. The World Health Organization has developed a strategy to reduce TB deaths by 95% by 2035. It’s a monumental task. […]

March 26, 2024 20