Bioterrorism and Disaster Medicine News

• World Health Organization Calls for More Funding to Aid War-Torn Ukraine The World Health Organization on Friday appealed for more funds to support Ukraine's health sector, which has been severely damaged by the Russian invasion.
  Reuters Health Information, February 17, 2023
• Wastewater Release Would Have Limited Impact on S. Korean Waters The release of waste water from Japan's wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant would have a negligible effect on South Korean waters, according to a new government study.
  Reuters Health Information, February 16, 2023
• France Probes Dairy Giant Lactalis Over Recall Failure, Negligence Dairy giant Lactalis is under criminal investigation in France on charges of failure to carry out product withdrawals and recalls, fraud and negligent bodily harm, the company said on Thursday.
  Reuters Health Information, February 16, 2023
• EU to Phase Out COVID Tests for Travellers From China EU countries have agreed to phase out COVID-19 restrictions on travellers from China that were put in place to guard against possible new coronavirus variants after China's reopening prompted a surge in infections there.
  Reuters Health Information, February 16, 2023
• Situation Desperate in Earthquake-Stricken Turkey and Syria European aid agencies are providing urgent assistance, and the president of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent has called for the lifting of economic sanctions against Syria.
  Medscape Medical News, February 17, 2023
• Northwest Syria of 'Greatest Concern' After Quake: WHO The World Health Organization said on Wednesday it was particularly concerned over the welfare of people in northwestern Syria, a rebel-held region with little access to aid, since the earthquakes struck last week.
  Reuters Health Information, February 15, 2023
• Disease the New Threat as Turkey Faces Postquake Water Shortage More than a week after his home was wrecked in a deadly earthquake that hit southern Turkey, Mohammad Emin's body is still covered in dust and grime.
  Reuters Health Information, February 15, 2023
• Increasing Number of Turkey-Syria Earthquake Survivors Show Signs of PTSD Doctors in a Turkish field hospital in the southern city of Iskenderun said they are treating increasing numbers of patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and panic attacks after last week's earthquake.
  Reuters Health Information, February 14, 2023
• End of COVID PHE Poses New Challenge for Docs Many measures allowed during the federal pandemic emergency will end in May, while others, including some Medicare telehealth policies, will continue.
  Medscape Medical News, February 14, 2023
• World Food Programme Warns of Stock Shortage in Quake-Hit Northwest Syria The World Food Programme is running out of stocks in northwest Syria and called to open more border crossings from Turkey after both countries were ravaged by earthquakes, the UN food aid organization said on Friday.
  Reuters Health Information, February 10, 2023
• FEMA to End All COVID-19 Disaster Declarations on May 11 The Federal Emergency Management Agency said on Thursday it will close all COVID-19 disaster declaration incident periods on May 11 when the US government ends two major pandemic-related emergency declarations.
  Reuters Health Information, February 09, 2023
• A Doctor Intervenes in a Fiery Car Crash A critical care physician helps triage injured children as an accident scene spirals out of control.
  Medscape Medical News, February 09, 2023
• WHO Says Syria, Already in Crisis, Needs Massive Humanitarian Aid After Quake Senior officials from the World Health Organization said on Tuesday that Syria's humanitarian needs where the highest after a major earthquake killed thousands there and in southern Turkey.
  Reuters Health Information, February 07, 2023
• Death Toll From Turkey, Syria Quake Set to Jump, WHO Says WHO expects a significant jump in the death toll following a major earthquake and its aftershocks in southern Turkey and northwestern Syria that reduced many buildings to rubble.
  Reuters Health Information, February 06, 2023
• Study Shows Deadly Toll on MDs of Pandemic's Early Wave The excess physician death rate evaporated once COVID-19 vaccines became widespread, researchers found.
  Medscape Medical News, February 06, 2023
• Germany Drops to No. 2 WHO Donor Despite New Pledge for $140 Million Germany will give 130 million euros ($141.87 million) to the World Health Organization this year, its health minister said on Thursday following a meeting with the U.N. health agency's head.
  Reuters Health Information, February 02, 2023
• Draft WHO Pandemic Deal Pushes for Equity to Avoid COVID 'Failure' Governments may have to reserve drugs and vaccines for the World Health Organization to distribute in poorer countries to avoid a repeat of the 'catastrophic failure' during COVID-19, according to an early draft of a global pandemic agreement.
  Reuters Health Information, February 02, 2023
• COVID Emergency Orders Ending: What's Next? It's the end of an era.
  WebMD Health News, February 01, 2023
• All Countries 'Dangerously Unprepared' for Future Pandemics, Says IFRC The world is 'dangerously unprepared' for future pandemics, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies say in a report published on Monday.
  Reuters Health Information, January 30, 2023
• Under-Funded WHO Seeks 'Reinforced' Role in Global Health at Key Meeting The World Health Organization will push at its board meeting this week for an expanded role in tackling the next global health emergency after COVID-19, but is still seeking answers on how to fund it, according to health policy experts.
  Reuters Health Information, January 30, 2023