Public health
Priority health concerns
Nghe An culls thousands of chickens to prevent bird flu outbreak
Health authorities in the central province of Nghe An have culled more than 2,365 chicken after many of them were found infected with two dangerous strains of bird flu. Keep reading ...
Outbreaks of lethal virus cyclical: study
A recently published study of a 2012 enterovirus outbreak that killed at least 54 Cambodian children has found that flare-ups of the virus tend to occur in a cyclical pattern, and that another one could be in store soon. Released last Wednesday ahead of its January ...
Number of AIDS deaths among young Asians doubles over past decade: U.N.
The estimated number of adolescents dying of AIDS in the Asia Pacific region has more than doubled since 2005, experts said on 30 November, warning of a “hidden epidemic”. UNICEF urged Asian countries to improve teenagers’ access to testing, saying many young people do not know ...
Unprescribed antibiotics is available anywhere in Vietnam: survey
A survey by the health ministry has found that misuse of antibiotics is rampant, with most pharmacies not requiring prescriptions to sell them. The ministry’s Examination and Treatment Department said 98 percent of drugstores in urban areas and 91 percent in rural areas sell antibiotics without ...
Gains, pitfalls in HIV battle
As nations around the globe mark World AIDS Day, Cambodia’s first lady, Bun Rany, has appealed to Cambodians to do their part in helping the UN reach its goal of eradicating HIV entirely within 15 years. Local experts, however, say progress in some high-risk communities has ...
UN warns of need to boost immunisation
The United Nations has called for an expansion of immunisation to combat the threat of polio and other preventable diseases, after two cases of a vaccine-derived form of the virus were detected in northern Rakhine State. The World Health Organization and the UN Children’s Fund said ...
Overuse of antibiotics killing Thais at high rate
Up to 38,000 Thais could be dying from antibiotic-resistant bacteria annually because of overprescription and the prevalence of the drugs in food and the water supply, research has found. Drug System Monitoring Mechanism Development Centre manager Niyada Kiatying-Angsulee said her research found Thailand had a worryingly high ...
More suspected cholera outbreaks reported
Local politicians and relief workers in central Shan State have reported two suspected outbreaks of cholera among villagers displaced by the fighting that is focused on two townships, Kye-thi and Mine Shu/Mong Shu. Shan Youth Group activist Ko Sai Oo said he was trying to ...
690 million children at risk from climate change: UNICEF
Nearly 690 million of the world’s 2.3 billion children live in areas most exposed to climate change, facing higher rates of death, poverty and disease from global warming, the UN children’s agency said 24 November. Almost 530 million children live in countries hardest-hit by high floods ...
Medics need to address malnutrition in Laos
Government leaders at all levels have been urged to prioritise the implementation of effective measures to solve malnutrition in Laos, according to a leading official. Speaking at the 3rd National Nutrition Committee Meeting and the 1st Nutrition Forum, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and ...
