The eradication of polio is an important priority for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We are closer than we have ever been to eradicating polio and it is critical that we take advantage of this opportunity.

(Extract)

Strong biosecurity measures needed to contain bird flu Implementing strong biosecurity measures coupled with good hygiene are required to contain the spread of the H7N9 strain of avian influenza virus, Hiroyuki Konuma, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific told a press conference in Bangkok on April 11. The virus had infected 82 people and killed 17 in China by April 19.

In the last 23 years, global mortality rates have decreased by 47 percent. With funding from international governments and non-governmental organizations, developing countries across the globe have received unprecedented aid in the form of education and healthcare support to decrease mortality rates.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Tropical Cyclone Mahasen is due to make landfall in Bangladesh, near the Burma border, on May 16 with winds of up to 63 miles per hour

• The storm has already caused 7 deaths and displaced 115,000 people in Sri Lanka as it tracked near the country

• Humanitarian preparedness activities are underway in Bangladesh and Burma, including pre-positioning of relief supplies and evacuation of populations residing in areas at high risk of severe storm impact

Seven people are confirmed dead and more than 3,880 displaced. In Bangladesh, one million people were ordered to evacuate. A total of 35,550 people were relocated in Myanmar.

TNN | May 15, 2013, 04.45 AM IST

JORHAT: The flood situation in Golaghat district worsened on Tuesday as the swelling waters of the Kakodunga, Ghiladhari and Mokrong rivers submerged many new areas.

According to reports received from the district administration, the floodwaters of these three rivers have affected 22 new villages, taking the total number of affected villages in the district to 37 in the past 24 hours.

05/14/2013 14:01 GMT

by Pratap Chakravarty

NEW DELHI, May 14, 2013 (AFP) - Indian scientists Tuesday announced a low-cost vaccine against a deadly diarrhoea-causing virus that kills some 100,000 children in the country every year.

Rotavirus, which causes severe diarrhoea, is globally responsible for some 453,000 deaths annually and is particularly dangerous in the developing world where swift health care is often out of reach.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Rates of malnutrition among India’s children are almost five times more than in China, and twice those in Sub-Saharan Africa.

• Too often, new mothers are adolescents. A staggering 75% of them are anemic and most on put on less weight during pregnancy than they should - 5 kilograms on average compared to the worldwide average of close to 10kgs.

98% of all displacement in 2012 was related to climate- and weather-related events, with flood disasters in India and Nigeria accounting for 41% of global displacement in 2012.