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WHO Regional Office for Africa
Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

In Africa, 63% Jump in Diseases Spread from Animals to People Seen in Last Decade

The analysis finds that between 2001-2022 there were 1843 substantiated public health events recorded in the WHO African region

Africa is facing a growing risk of outbreaks caused by zoonotic pathogens, such as the monkeypox virus which originated in animals and then switched species and infected humans. There has been a 63% increase in the number of zoonotic outbreaks in the region in the decade from 2012-2022 compared to…

WHO Regional Office for Africa
Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

Stronger Governance Needed to Fight Superbugs in Africa: Antimicrobial Resistance threatens Africa’s Development

Addressing AMR requires an holistic and multi-sectoral approach

The leaders of six regional organizations in Africa are calling for stronger governance to fight antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, on the eve of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (18-24 November). The emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance in Africa – where micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites are resistant…

WHO Regional Office for Africa
Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

Follow-up of last Ebola contacts ends

The majority of the contacts were monitored in the homes in the north-eastern Beni town

The observation period of the last people to have come in contact with an Ebola patient in the Democratic Republic of Congo ended today, another significant step in the efforts to end the outbreak. The 21-day follow-up for the 46 contacts elapsed at midnight.  The majority of the contacts were monitored…

WHO Regional Office for Africa

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  • Images (2)
    • Antimicrobial resistance on his own leg turns a Kenyan health worker into an advocate for wiser use of antibiotics (1)
    • Antimicrobial resistance on his own leg turns a Kenyan health worker into an advocate for wiser use of antibiotics (2)
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Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa |

Antimicrobial resistance on his own leg turns a Kenyan health worker into an advocate for wiser use of antibiotics

When the thigh wound grew bigger, the health worker, being well versed in the perils of contagion, feared it would trigger an internal infection

Josphat, a health worker based in Nairobi, needed a skin graft on his leg in 2013. But then, what is typically a common procedure nowadays became a medical nightmare. The donor site on his thigh took longer to heal than expected and was nonresponsive to conventional antibiotics. Laboratory tests revealed…