(2022-07-24). WHO triggers highest alert on monkeypox. tribune.com.pk 
The World Health Organization on Saturday declared the monkeypox outbreak, which has affected nearly 16,000 people in 72 countries, to be a global health emergency — the highest alarm it can sound. | "I have decided that the global #monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference. | He said a committee of experts who met on Thursday was unable to reach a consensus, so it fell on him to decide whether to trigger the highest alert possible. | "WHO's assessment is that the risk of monkeypox is moderate globally and…
(2022-07-24). Xi sends message of sympathy to Biden over COVID-19 infection. ecns.cn Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday sent a message of sympathy to U.S. President Joe Biden over the latter's COVID-19 infection.
(2022-07-24). What you need to know about the BA.5 omicron variant. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Cases of COVID-19 are once again surging in the U.S., and the BA.5 omicron variant is fueling this latest wave, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Dr. Gregory Poland, head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group, says the BA.5 variant is hypercontagious and is contributing to increases in hospitalizations and ICU admissions. A new study published in Nature found the variant was four times more resistant to messenger RNA vaccines than earlier strains of…
(2022-07-24). US Covid-19 Insanity, The Working Class. Covid & Capitalism & THE NEW NORMAL By Dr. Gordon. indybay.org Dr. Nayvin Gordon reports on abandonment of any public health protection as the Covid-19 pandemic expands over two years after the pandemic starts.
(2022-07-24). Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast: BA.5 omicron variant fueling latest COVID-19 surge. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org The BA.5 omicron variant is now the dominant strain in the U.S., and it is leading to a new wave of COVID-19 infections. BA.5 was responsible for nearly 54% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., and BA.4, a similar variant, accounted for another 17%, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Experts are concerned because this particular variant appears to be good at evading the immune system. "This BA.5…
(2022-07-24). Pandemics Are Prosperity, Sickness Is Health, Ignorance Is Strength. indybay.org The Pandemic and Social Collapse…
(2022-07-24). AI applied to prediagnostic CTs may help diagnose pancreatic cancer at earlier, more treatable stage. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org ROCHESTER, Minn. — A study published in Gastroenterology finds that radiomics-based machine learning models may detect pancreatic cancer on prediagnostic CT scans substantially earlier than current methods for clinical diagnosis. "Pancreatic cancer is a deadly disease and a leading cause of cancer-related death," says Ajit Goenka, M.D., a Mayo Clinic diagnostic radiologist and the study's senior author. Dr. Goenka says that while early detection enhances the chances for successful treatment, standard imaging cannot detect early…
(2022-07-24). China holds int'l travel fair after one-year pause. ecns.cn The 2022 China International Travel Mart (CITM) kicked off Friday in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, after a hiatus of one year due to the COVID-19 epidemic.
(2022-07-23). War In Ukraine: Belarusian President Says Moscow Got Hold Of Two French Caesar Howitzers. southfront.org 
French soldiers, assigned to Task Force Wagram, fire a French Ceasar in support of Operation Roundup, in Al Quim, Iraq, May 16, 2018. | According to the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, the Ukrainian authorities have sold to the Russians two Caesars self-propelled howitzers delivered by France. | Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed on Thursday that Russia had managed to get its hands on two Caesars self-propelled howitzers delivered by France to Ukraine, assuring…
(2022-07-23). The pandemic in Russia and the bankruptcy of national-chauvinist politics. wsws.org The pandemic continues to exact a terrible toll in Russia. Since the invasion of Ukraine, efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 have been abandoned. This essay has been submitted to the WSWS by the Young Guard of Bolshevik Leninists, an organization of Trotskyist youth in Russia.
(2022-07-23). [Comment] Towards preventive treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. thelancet.com Prevention of rheumatoid arthritis is an ambitious therapeutic goal. Once it has developed, rheumatoid arthritis is characterised by high chronicity and often requires lifelong treatment.1,2 Sustained drug-free remission is rare, especially in seropositive disease, which is defined by the presence of rheumatoid factor and anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA).3 Onset of rheumatoid arthritis, characterised by joint swelling, is preceded by a pre-arthritis phase, in which patients show discrete symptoms (eg, pain), presence of autoantibodies (rheumatoid factor and ACPA), and subclinical signs of inflammation…
(2022-07-23). Inside Airport Workers' Fight For Dignity And Livable Wages. popularresistance.org Airport workers have been on the front lines of the pandemic and the labor struggle in recent years. In Florida, for instance, workers in Tampa, Orlando, Miami and beyond have staged multiple actions over the past year to demand a living wage. Many airport workers in Florida earn as little as $7 an hour, tips included. Now, a new bill, the Good Jobs for Airports Act, could establish national wage and benefits standards for airport workers. To learn more about airport workers' ongoing fight for dignity and higher wages, freelance journalist and new TRNN contributor McKenna Schueler talks with Scottie Walker, a cab…
(2022-07-23). 'Mothers Of Gynecology' Monument Exposes Horrors Of Slavery. popularresistance.org A righteous tidal wave of anger followed people seeing the nine-minutes-plus videotaped police lynching of George Floyd in Minneapolis late May 2020. Racist monuments glorifying the slave-owning Confederacy came tumbling down, especially in the Deep South. These acts to take down the statues were part of historic mass protests that swept the country during the summer of 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. | Two years earlier the monument paying homage to J. Marion Sims, once praised as the "father of modern gynecology," was removed from Central Park in New York City, following many years of protest.
(2022-07-23). Cuba reporta 114 nuevos casos de COVID-19, ningún fallecido y 65 altas médicas. cubadebate.cu Al cierre de este viernes 22 de julio, Cuba reportó 114 nuevos casos de COVID-19, ningún fallecido y 65 altas médicas. Actualmente hay 424 casos activos, informó el Ministerio de Salud Pública (Minsap) en su parte diario este sábado.
(2022-07-23). [Articles] Measuring contraceptive method mix, prevalence, and demand satisfied by age and marital status in 204 countries and territories, 1970—2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. thelancet.com The dominance of one contraceptive method in some locations raises the question of whether family planning policies should aim to expand method mix or invest in making existing methods more accessible. Lower rates of demand satisfied among women aged 15—24 years are also concerning because unintended pregnancies before age 25 years can forestall or eliminate education and employment opportunities that lead to social and economic empowerment. Policy makers should strive to tailor family planning programmes to the preferences of the groups with the most need, while maintaining the programmes used by existing…
(2022-07-23). Hotel workers in British Columbia win historic fight for jobs. liberationnews.org 
On May 11, workers at the Hilton Vancouver Metrotown, in Vancouver British Columbia, represented by Unite Here Local 40, prevailed against their employer in ending a 391-day lockout and securing a new collective bargaining agreement. This protracted labor dispute began during the coronavirus pandemic, when 97 unionized workers were terminated with no rights to recall or reinstatement. When the workers insisted that those who were fired be brought back during the course of contract negotiations, the hotel responded on April 15, 2021 by locking out all employees, resulting in the longest lockout in BC history. | De…
(2022-07-23). [Articles] Intervention with methotrexate in patients with arthralgia at risk of rheumatoid arthritis to reduce the development of persistent arthritis and its disease burden (TREAT EARLIER): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, proof-of-concept trial. thelancet.com Methotrexate, the cornerstone treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, initiated at the pre-arthritis stage of symptoms and subclinical inflammation, did not prevent the development of clinical arthritis, but modified the disease course as shown by sustained improvement in MRI-detected inflammation, related symptoms, and impairments compared with placebo.
(2022-07-23). The Heat: Global Food Insecurity. america.cgtn.com A combination of factors is driving millions around the world into food insecurity conditions. And, the crisis is causing hunger and death. Part of the surge is caused by economic woes made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic that countries are still dealing with. Add …
(2022-07-23). More statements in defence of Zero-COVID advocate Dr David Berger. wsws.org The WSWS is continuing to receive statements supporting Dr. David Berger, a dedicated Zero-COVID advocate, who has been ordered by the Australia Health Practitioners Regulatory Authority to undertake a special "education program" or be deregistered.
(2022-07-23). [Articles] Efficacy and safety of abrocitinib versus dupilumab in adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis: a randomised, double-blind, multicentre phase 3 trial. thelancet.com Abrocitinib 200 mg per day was more efficacious than dupilumab in adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis on background topical therapy in inducing early reductions of itch and atopic dermatitis disease signs. Both treatments were well tolerated over 26 weeks.
(2022-07-23). [Comment] Atopic dermatitis: time for tailored therapy. thelancet.com Atopic dermatitis represents the most frequent chronic inflammatory skin disease, affecting up to 7% of adults and 25% of children.1 The pathogenesis includes inflammation, skin barrier dysfunction, dysbiosis, and modulation by environmental and genetic factors. Patients generally present with erythema, xerosis, excoriations, lichenification, and pruritus. It affects the quality of life of both patients and family members, and patients with atopic dermatitis are at higher risk for allergic comorbidities.
(2022-07-23). [Obituary] Colin Brian Blakemore. thelancet.com Neurobiologist and public intellectual of science. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK, on June 1, 1944 and died of motor neuron disease in Oxford, UK, on June 27, 2022 aged 78 years.
(2022-07-23). [Comment] New HIV prevention approaches: promise, praxis, and pitfalls. thelancet.com More than a decade since the demonstration that antiretrovirals used for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) were safe and effective in decreasing HIV transmission, these medications remain underused, but continue to be needed, given the persistent burden of incident HIV infection, particularly in multiple sub-Saharan African countries. In 2020, there were about 1 ∑5 million new HIV infections globally, representing a decline of only 31% since 2010.1 Oral tenofovir-based PrEP is highly effective, but disparities remain due to lower PrEP uptake and adherence among populations disproportionately impacted by HIV.
(2022-07-23). Coronavirus outbreak at children's summer camp in Germany. wsws.org The case is symbolic of the federal and state government's policy of mass infection and their propagation of "living with the virus" in Germany.
(2022-07-23). Cubans restore coral reefs. america.cgtn.com Cubans are making efforts to stop the deterioration of the island's coral reefs, home to a rich marine biodiversity. An initiative by a group of scientists to restore Cuba's coral reefs is underway and will benefit the coastal marine environment.