Shaaban Bilal (Cairo)
The year 2023 witnessed the emergence and spread of many deadly viruses and epidemics, especially coronavirus variants, respiratory diseases, fevers, and others, claiming the lives of millions of people around the world. Despite efforts to combat these diseases, there are many reasons that led to their emergence and spread, such as poverty, lack of health protection, environmental conditions, and climate change, amid warnings from the World Health Organization of the seriousness of these diseases and the need to strengthen global action to confront them.
Yellow fever
The first disease that the World Health Organization warned of spreading in Africa was “yellow fever,” which is associated with low immunity, population movements, and viral transmission dynamics, as well as climatic and environmental factors that contributed to the spread of mosquitoes. The disease appeared in several African countries, including Chad, Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Cameroon, and other countries that reported cases, and children were most affected by yellow fever due to weak immunity, especially in areas where there had been no previous vaccination.
Ebola
Although Ebola is endemic in several African countries and has appeared since 1976 in South Sudan and the Democratic Congo, the year 2023 witnessed the spread of the disease in Uganda and the Democratic Congo, which is often fatal and infects humans and higher mammals (primates).
Bird flu
In January 2023, WHO was notified of a case of human infection caused by avian influenza virus, in a 9-year-old girl in a rural area of Bolivar Department, Ecuador, who had contact with poultry.
Measles
Despite health measures, measles has appeared in many countries, especially in the continents of Africa and Asia, including Ethiopia, South Sudan, Paraguay, Indonesia, Nepal, Chile and others. It is a highly contagious viral disease that affects individuals of all ages and is one of the main causes of death for children in the world. The infection is transmitted Through the air or droplets from an infected person.
Meningitis
The epidemic of “meningitis”, a serious infection of the “meninges” and the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, has spread widely in Niger, with about 600 cases reported during the first 3 months of the year 2023, including deaths, and seasonal outbreaks are frequent, but it is It appeared more aggressively in other countries such as the United States, Mexico, and others.
Marburg
The “Marburg” virus has spread in many African countries, and the World Health Organization has reported the emergence of cases of this disease, especially Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania, and the death rate of those infected with it reaches 88%. The disease was detected for the first time in 1967 after successive outbreaks occurred in Marburg and Frankfurt. Germany, and Belgrade, Serbia.
Cholera
Since mid-2021, the world has been facing a sharp surge in the seventh wave of the cholera pandemic with many deaths reported higher than in previous years, especially in Sudan, Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, East Asia and others.
Lhasa
During 2023, Nigeria witnessed a large outbreak of “Lassa fever,” with 4,702 suspected cases recorded, 877 confirmed cases within days, and 152 deaths. “Lassa fever” is endemic in Nigeria and parts of West Africa, where the polymammalian rat is widespread, and it is the reservoir. The mainstay of Lassa virus.
Myocarditis
In April 2023, the World Health Organization observed an increase in “severe myocarditis” in newborns in the United Kingdom, which is linked to enterovirus infection in Wales. Although infection with the virus is common in newborns, this increase in infections and the accompanying symptoms are unusual. results.
Dengue fever
Since the beginning of 2023, large-scale dengue outbreaks have been recorded in the Americas, with nearly three million suspected and confirmed cases of dengue reported through July of the year, exceeding the cases recorded in all of 2022. Which amounted to 2.8 million cases, in addition to the emergence of the disease in Bangladesh, Chad, Sudan and others.
Diphtheria
The year 2023 witnessed the spread of the “diphtheria” epidemic in Nigeria, and thousands of cases of the highly contagious disease that can be prevented by vaccines were recorded, and is mainly caused by the “Corynebacterium diphtheria” bacteria, which may cause death in 5-10% of cases, with a high death rate among children. .
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