Icing injuries may slow recovery and prolong pain, study finds
Icing a sprained ankle or sore muscle, long used to reduce pain and swelling, may in the longer run delay recovery and prolong pain, new research suggests.
In a preclinical study published in Anesthesiology, 91ɬ researchers found that even though cryotherapy (icing) eased pain in the short term, recovery time was more than doubled in some cases.
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: A Silent STI Crisis Among South Africa’s Girls; Medical Rumors Turn Violent in the Congo
May 13, 2026
TOP STORIES
Maternity care in eastern Chad is “facing enormous pressure,” the UN Population Fund has warned, as the massive influx of refugees fleeing Sudan’s civil war means many women are giving birth in overcrowded clinics with limited medication and equipment.
A French hantavirus patient is critically ill with life-threatening lung and heart problems, and is depending on an artificial lung, doctors say; the hantavirus outbreak centered on the cruise ship MV Hondius has now grown to 11 total cases.
~7 million U.S. children live in a home with a loaded and unlocked gun, , which also found that ~32 million U.S. children live in homes with firearms.
Prescriptions for ivermectin and benzimidazole among cancer patients rose 2.5X after actor Mel Gibson endorsed the unproven treatment on Joe Rogan’s podcast, ; the needed dose for any anti-cancer effect would be toxic for humans, doctors say, and there have been no clinical trials on the drugs’ safety and efficacy for treating cancer in people.
IN FOCUS
School girls being screened at the launch of the Dreams program, aimed at reducing new HIV infections, particularly in adolescents and young women. Durban, South Africa, April 7, 2021. Darren Stewart/Gallo Images via Getty
A Silent STI Crisis Among South Africa’s Girls
In South Africa, which has one of the highest rates of STIs in the world, adolescent girls and young women are at particular risk: They are more likely to have STIs than boys and men of the same age, and than older women.
Yet they are also less likely to seek or receive care due to overwhelming stigma and a lack of education, .
1 in 8
—ĔĔĔ
Deaths averted by the RTS,S malaria vaccine among eligible kids in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi from 2019 to 2023, . —
MISINFORMATION Medical Rumors Turn Violent in the Congo Over the past year, false online claims about a mystery illness supposedly circulating in the DRC have sparked panic, leading to violence and the killing of four health workers who were conducting vaccine research in the Tshopo province. Explosion of misinformation: Videos and testimonials shared online described an illness that caused genital atrophy, with pastors and megachurch leaders fueling the viral content with claims of miracle cures.
Dengue outpaces virus-blocking mosquitoes in Brazil –
Marty Makary departs FDA after clashes with Trump over fruit-flavored vapes –
European Parliament calls for investigation into undisclosed meetings between EU officials and Philip Morris International –
The next WHO leader will need to be a multitasking political acrobat –
How minimum wage hikes and food stamps fit into suicide prevention –
By changing women’s lives, the pill changed the nation –
Cities are rehearsing for deadly heat. Will it help when disaster comes? –
Wine’s leftovers could help wean chicken farms off antibiotics – Issue No. 2915
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
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- “That silence is as deafening as it is dangerous,” wrote lead study author Zoey Duby in a .
- Despite these responses, just 16% had ever received an STI diagnosis.
- Confusion and misinformation about STIs, including a belief that HIV prevention medication means condoms are unnecessary.
- Pervasive STI shame and stigma, even in consultations with health workers. In the survey itself, 22.5% of participants preferred not to disclose symptoms.
- Researchers are urging more “all-in-one, youth-friendly” reproductive health services that combine education, contraception, and HIV prevention with STI testing.
1 in 8
—ĔĔĔ
Deaths averted by the RTS,S malaria vaccine among eligible kids in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi from 2019 to 2023, . —
MISINFORMATION Medical Rumors Turn Violent in the Congo Over the past year, false online claims about a mystery illness supposedly circulating in the DRC have sparked panic, leading to violence and the killing of four health workers who were conducting vaccine research in the Tshopo province. Explosion of misinformation: Videos and testimonials shared online described an illness that caused genital atrophy, with pastors and megachurch leaders fueling the viral content with claims of miracle cures.
- Health workers have been accused of secretly spreading the disease.
- Meanwhile, AIRA has lost key funding amid aid cuts, leaving it with fewer personnel and resources to combat misinformation.
Dengue outpaces virus-blocking mosquitoes in Brazil –
Marty Makary departs FDA after clashes with Trump over fruit-flavored vapes –
European Parliament calls for investigation into undisclosed meetings between EU officials and Philip Morris International –
The next WHO leader will need to be a multitasking political acrobat –
How minimum wage hikes and food stamps fit into suicide prevention –
By changing women’s lives, the pill changed the nation –
Cities are rehearsing for deadly heat. Will it help when disaster comes? –
Wine’s leftovers could help wean chicken farms off antibiotics – Issue No. 2915
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2026 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
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You can or .
Categories: Global Health Feed
A complex international operation to disembark and repatriate passengers from the hantavirus-hit MV Hondius has concluded in Tenerife, with the World Health Organization (WHO) praising Spain’s leadership while warning that global coordination must continue in the weeks ahead.
Categories: Global Health Feed
Recycled plastics could help reduce the world’s growing waste crisis, but only if food packaging is carefully regulated to prevent contamination, according to a new analysis from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: America’s Overlooked Drug Crisis; and Discoveries and Delays in Kala-azar Treatment
May 12, 2026
TOP STORIES
Palestinians recounted a pattern of sexual violence against men, women, and children by Israeli prison guards, soldiers, settlers, and security agency interrogators to Nicholas Kristof, who shared the interviews in ; a separate , , presents evidence that Hamas and their allies raped, assaulted, and sexually tortured their victims during and after the October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel, including previously unknown allegations related to the sexual abuse of minors held hostage in Gaza.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been renamed polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) following a decades-long push by advocates who say the term “polycystic” is misleading and contributed to delayed diagnosis and inadequate treatment for the condition, which impacts ~170 million women globally. Thanks for the tip, Cecilia Meisner!
A single-infusion therapy of immune cells engineered to recognize HIV could suppress the virus for years, per a small proof-of-concept study slated for presentation at ; the therapy has already cured some blood cancers by modifying a patient’s own immune cells to recognize and kill malignant cells. Six in ten Americans polled on their awareness of the Trump administration’s reductions to U.S. foreign aid spending and global health programs say the changes have negatively impacted global views of the U.S., per a question in a poll that confirms that Americans’ views on aid cuts and support for people’s health in developing countries fall along highly partisan lines. IN FOCUS Beer sits for sale in a grocery store in Brooklyn, New York City. January 3, 2025. Spencer Platt/Getty Images America’s Overlooked Drug Crisis
Every day it kills almost 500 Americans, yet alcohol is so pervasive in U.S. culture that few pay attention to the damage it causes. STAT reporters Lev Facher and Isabella Cueto do. In their (two articles are live so far), they deep dive into the U.S. alcohol epidemic—“a generational failure of the medical and public health systems, of industry, and of government,” as they describe it (subscription required). The unacknowledged “public health emergency” includes:
It has been four years since trials for new, shorter kala-azar treatment concluded in East Africa—but the successful new protocols are still not reaching patients, doctors say. The trial: The DNDi-sponsored trial centered in Eastern Africa, which accounts for 79% of global cases of the deadly parasitic disease kala-azar, also known as visceral leishmaniasis.
Supreme Court extends pause on abortion pill restrictions through Thursday –
She's trying to outrun pancreatic cancer. Breakthrough treatments give her hope –
Kennedy Is Driving a Vast Inquiry Into Vaccines, Despite His Public Silence –
No link between maternal COVID infection and birth defects, data suggest – Giving birth in a hotel room? For some Indigenous women, gaps in care mean few options –
3 simple ways to reduce your body’s exposure to plastic chemicals –
Pediatrics group issues new guidance on recess for the first time in 13 years – Issue No. 2914
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
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Copyright 2026 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
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Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been renamed polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) following a decades-long push by advocates who say the term “polycystic” is misleading and contributed to delayed diagnosis and inadequate treatment for the condition, which impacts ~170 million women globally. Thanks for the tip, Cecilia Meisner!
A single-infusion therapy of immune cells engineered to recognize HIV could suppress the virus for years, per a small proof-of-concept study slated for presentation at ; the therapy has already cured some blood cancers by modifying a patient’s own immune cells to recognize and kill malignant cells. Six in ten Americans polled on their awareness of the Trump administration’s reductions to U.S. foreign aid spending and global health programs say the changes have negatively impacted global views of the U.S., per a question in a poll that confirms that Americans’ views on aid cuts and support for people’s health in developing countries fall along highly partisan lines. IN FOCUS Beer sits for sale in a grocery store in Brooklyn, New York City. January 3, 2025. Spencer Platt/Getty Images America’s Overlooked Drug Crisis
Every day it kills almost 500 Americans, yet alcohol is so pervasive in U.S. culture that few pay attention to the damage it causes. STAT reporters Lev Facher and Isabella Cueto do. In their (two articles are live so far), they deep dive into the U.S. alcohol epidemic—“a generational failure of the medical and public health systems, of industry, and of government,” as they describe it (subscription required). The unacknowledged “public health emergency” includes:
- Far more alcohol-related deaths in 2024 than opioid-related deaths (178,000 vs. 39,000).
- A near doubling of alcohol-related emergency department visits to 5.4 million in 2022 from 2.7 million in 2003.
- Research that links “heavy drinking to cancer, heart disease, stroke, cognitive decline, developmental disorders, gun violence, injuries …”
- Economic costs of $249 billion per year.
- Inconsistent screening for excessive drinking.
- A fragmented treatment infrastructure.
- Open attitudes toward alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
- Political deference to a powerful industry lobby.
- A new kind of liver crisis.
- 12-step program’s uneven record.
- Alcohol during pregnancy.
- Trump administration’s weakening of alcohol research.
- Alcohol industry maneuvers behind the scenes.
It has been four years since trials for new, shorter kala-azar treatment concluded in East Africa—but the successful new protocols are still not reaching patients, doctors say. The trial: The DNDi-sponsored trial centered in Eastern Africa, which accounts for 79% of global cases of the deadly parasitic disease kala-azar, also known as visceral leishmaniasis.
- Amudat Hospital in northeastern Uganda gave patients a 14-day regimen of both oral miltefosine and paromomycin. Patients reported faster recovery and less pain compared with older treatments like a standard 30-day injection-only regimen.
Supreme Court extends pause on abortion pill restrictions through Thursday –
She's trying to outrun pancreatic cancer. Breakthrough treatments give her hope –
Kennedy Is Driving a Vast Inquiry Into Vaccines, Despite His Public Silence –
No link between maternal COVID infection and birth defects, data suggest – Giving birth in a hotel room? For some Indigenous women, gaps in care mean few options –
3 simple ways to reduce your body’s exposure to plastic chemicals –
Pediatrics group issues new guidance on recess for the first time in 13 years – Issue No. 2914
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
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Copyright 2026 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
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You can or .
Categories: Global Health Feed
Discovery of fat-burning ‘switch’ could lead to advances in bone disease treatments
Scientists’ discovery of a molecular “switch” that activates an energy‑burning pathway in mice has the potential to lead to new treatments for bone disease.
The study, published in , sheds new light on brown fat. Unlike white fat, which stores energy, brown fat cells burn calories, producing heat as a byproduct. For years, it was believed this process relied on a single pathway. More recently, researchers discovered a parallel pathway, but how it became activated remained a mystery.
Categories: Global Health Feed
Economic inequality is leaving a deep mark on children’s health, learning and future opportunities – with effects felt well beyond the classroom, the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF and the UN education agency UNESCO warned on Tuesday.
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: Hantavirus Reveals Gaps in Outbreak Response; and Rising Vitamin K Shot Refusals
May 11, 2026
TOP STORIES
Manitoba has declared a public health emergency over HIV, amid some of Canada’s highest HIV rates—19.5 cases per 100,000 people, or ~3.5X Canada’s overall rate of 5.5; the aim of the declaration is not to create fear, public health officials say, but to open up options to increase testing and raise awareness.
The skin disease dermatophilosis has been confirmed in clusters of European men who have sex with men; the disease typically infects livestock, and while the human cases are reminiscent of mpox emergence, researchers say the condition appears mild. CDC support for PEPFAR will end in September in most countries, as the Trump administration pivots to its “America First” strategy of sending most HIV care funds directly to countries based on bilateral agreements with the U.S.; the move is the “final blow” to the 23-year-old program, public health advocates say.
The UAE has launched a new initiative to combat river blindness via mass administration of medicines, disease monitoring, and the training of local healthcare workers; the effort, to be implemented by Noor Dubai, supports the WHO’s roadmap to eliminate river blindness by 2030. IN FOCUS Passengers are evacuated by small boat from the MV Hondius in the Granadilla Port. Tenerife, the Canary Islands, Spain, May 10. Chris McGrath/Getty Hantavirus Reveals Gaps in Outbreak Response The global response to the hantavirus outbreak centered on the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius is entering a new phase as passengers disembark on the island of Tenerife and evacuate to their home countries. The decampment raises new concerns in a crisis that has already exposed the challenges of managing a global health response in a post-COVID landscape riddled with severe budget cuts, stalled research, rife misinformation, and strained international relationships. CDC’s role questioned: Although the outbreak involves Americans, the agency “has been uncharacteristically missing in action,” , with the going out Friday and evacuation and quarantine plans for passengers only being confirmed over the weekend.
3,000+
—ĔĔĔ
Attacks on healthcare in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, . “This cannot be normalized,” says Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, emphasizing that each attack marks a violation of international humanitarian law. —
CHILD HEALTH Rising Vitamin K Shot Refusals With growing distrust in medical interventions, U.S. hospitals are reporting a sharp increase in parents rejecting newborn vitamin K shots. Pediatricians fear deficiency-related deaths are rising as a result.
Why the shot matters: The vitamin K injection has been a standard part of postnatal care for decades because it helps infants clot blood and prevents rare but dangerous brain bleeding.
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
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Copyright 2026 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
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The skin disease dermatophilosis has been confirmed in clusters of European men who have sex with men; the disease typically infects livestock, and while the human cases are reminiscent of mpox emergence, researchers say the condition appears mild. CDC support for PEPFAR will end in September in most countries, as the Trump administration pivots to its “America First” strategy of sending most HIV care funds directly to countries based on bilateral agreements with the U.S.; the move is the “final blow” to the 23-year-old program, public health advocates say.
The UAE has launched a new initiative to combat river blindness via mass administration of medicines, disease monitoring, and the training of local healthcare workers; the effort, to be implemented by Noor Dubai, supports the WHO’s roadmap to eliminate river blindness by 2030. IN FOCUS Passengers are evacuated by small boat from the MV Hondius in the Granadilla Port. Tenerife, the Canary Islands, Spain, May 10. Chris McGrath/Getty Hantavirus Reveals Gaps in Outbreak Response The global response to the hantavirus outbreak centered on the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius is entering a new phase as passengers disembark on the island of Tenerife and evacuate to their home countries. The decampment raises new concerns in a crisis that has already exposed the challenges of managing a global health response in a post-COVID landscape riddled with severe budget cuts, stalled research, rife misinformation, and strained international relationships. CDC’s role questioned: Although the outbreak involves Americans, the agency “has been uncharacteristically missing in action,” , with the going out Friday and evacuation and quarantine plans for passengers only being confirmed over the weekend.
- 17 U.S. cruise passengers returned to the U.S. early today, ; one American tested “mildly” positive for the virus and another showed “mild symptoms,” . Passengers are headed to the in Nebraska.
- Acting CDC director Jay Bhattacharya that the agency didn’t want to cause public panic, but infectious disease experts say the agency’s quiet “underscored the nation’s diminished global role in the face of health threats,” .
- One pilot project researching hantavirus spillover was eliminated under NIH cuts last year.
- Still, some promising treatments in the pipeline could be expedited, .
3,000+
—ĔĔĔ
Attacks on healthcare in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, . “This cannot be normalized,” says Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, emphasizing that each attack marks a violation of international humanitarian law. —
CHILD HEALTH Rising Vitamin K Shot Refusals With growing distrust in medical interventions, U.S. hospitals are reporting a sharp increase in parents rejecting newborn vitamin K shots. Pediatricians fear deficiency-related deaths are rising as a result.
Why the shot matters: The vitamin K injection has been a standard part of postnatal care for decades because it helps infants clot blood and prevents rare but dangerous brain bleeding.
- Babies who skip the shot are far more likely to suffer severe bleeds, lasting injuries, or death.
- While deficiency-related deaths are not tracked, doctors warn that the growing rejections are contributing to the hundreds of infant brain-bleeding fatalities that occur each year.
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
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Copyright 2026 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
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Categories: Global Health Feed
The passengers and crew have disembarked from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius in Tenerife and many have returned to their home countries, as the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said the operation demonstrated a “triumph of solidarity”.
Categories: Global Health Feed
Passengers and crew from the cruise ship MV Hondius began disembarking in Tenerife on Sunday under a tightly coordinated international health operation led by Spanish authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO), as officials sought to reassure the public that the outbreak “is not another COVID.”
Categories: Global Health Feed
The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has issued a direct plea for calm and solidarity to the citizens of Tenerife ahead of the scheduled arrival of the MV Hondius on Sunday
Categories: Global Health Feed
New evidence shows that malaria vaccination is significantly reducing child deaths in Africa and could have an even greater impact as programmes expand, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
Categories: Global Health Feed
The World Health Organization (WHO) has verified more than 3,000 attacks on healthcare in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, the UN agency reported on Friday.
Categories: Global Health Feed
The risk of hantavirus spreading to the general population is “absolutely low”, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) stressed on Friday, as a flight attendant tested negative for the disease after coming into contact with an infected passenger from the cruise ship at the centre of the outbreak, who later died.
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: The Health-Improving Power of Pollinators; and The Deep Disparities in Kenya’s AI-Driven Health Coverage
May 7, 2026
TOP STORIES
At least 29 passengers left a cruise ship in the midst of a hantavirus outbreak on April 24, without contact tracing, after the first on board passenger death, but the WHO maintains the risk to the public is still low, ; officials believe the outbreak could have originated from a bird-watching excursion in Argentina, where hantavirus cases have been on the rise, .
Shootings at hospitals have increased steadily over 25 years, from 6 to 34 events per year—a 6.4% increase annually, , which pointed to the need for "hospital-specific prevention strategies,” including improved weapons screening processes. COVID-19 can lead to blood clots, heart attack, and stroke because of the virus’s impact on proteins in blood vessels, . The study found that viral damage to thrombomodulin—a protein on the surface of blood vessel cells—creates clots, which then travel throughout the body and disrupt blood flow.
Plant-based meat and dairy products in U.K. supermarkets contain a “prevalence” of mycotoxins, which are fungi-produced poisonous compounds, ; all 212 meat- and dairy-substitute products tested contained the toxins, which pose little risk in low quantities, but “could lead to a cumulative build-up” resulting in health problems, researchers said.
IN FOCUS A honeybee sits on a marigold flower to collect nectar. Kathmandu, Nepal, February 8, 2024. Sanjit Pariyar/NurPhoto via Getty The Health-Improving Power of Pollinators Wild insect pollinators have a direct impact on human health and livelihoods through the critical role they play in food production and nutrition, that quantifies those connections in precise and tangible ways. Exploring the links in Nepal: To “understand and harness the pathways linking biodiversity to human health,” researchers spent a year inside 10 farming villages in Jumla District, Nepal, where three-quarters of the population depends directly on smallholder farming, .
Symbiotic gains: Researchers identified “relatively simple interventions” that significantly boost pollinators, including planting wildflowers, curbing pesticide use, and native beekeeping.
ICYMI: Rooting Out AI’s Biases – OPPORTUNITY Call for Abstracts The International Conference for Urban Health (ICUH) invites abstracts for work addressing issues in global urban health to share in Mexico City this coming October 13–17, under the theme Healthy Cities by Design: Climate, Care, & Community from Latin America to the World. Submissions are open across six thematic tracks spanning climate resilience, food and movement, mental health and belonging, lifecourse health, urban health systems, and a dedicated Latin America and Caribbean spotlight, with submissions in English, Spanish, and Portuguese welcome.
Nothing tests one’s faith quite like a soul-crushing call with customer service. And when it comes to escaping the purgatory of the hold line, it turns out even the Pope doesn’t have a prayer. Like anyone shifting careers and houses, Robert Prevost-turned Pope Leo XIV had to make some calls updating his address and phone number, including a call he personally made to his bank in South Chicago, . The pontiff’s successful responses to security questions rivaling St. Peter’s at the Pearly Gates still weren’t enough to satisfy the customer service representative, who informed him that he needed to come to the bank in person, . Even the patience of Job runs out at a point, and even the Holy Father resorted to pulling the ace up his vestments’ sleeve: “Would it matter to you if I told you I’m Pope Leo?” he purportedly said. Click. Could the Pope’s experience bring a little needed fire and brimstone to of interminable customer service hassles and ? It would be a miracle worthy of canonization. QUICK HITS One Million More Midwives: The Smartest Investment for Safer Births in a Shrinking Aid Landscape – In a milestone for ALS, a treatment helps some patients improve – Survey: Facing headwinds, early-career physician-scientists mull other options, jobs abroad – Georgia officials knew chemicals from carpet mills were polluting local water. The people did not – First AI tool to detect suspicious peer reviews rolled out by academic publisher – RFK Jr withdraws proposal banning teens from tanning beds as skin experts warn of cancer risks – Issue No. 2912
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
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Copyright 2026 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
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Shootings at hospitals have increased steadily over 25 years, from 6 to 34 events per year—a 6.4% increase annually, , which pointed to the need for "hospital-specific prevention strategies,” including improved weapons screening processes. COVID-19 can lead to blood clots, heart attack, and stroke because of the virus’s impact on proteins in blood vessels, . The study found that viral damage to thrombomodulin—a protein on the surface of blood vessel cells—creates clots, which then travel throughout the body and disrupt blood flow.
Plant-based meat and dairy products in U.K. supermarkets contain a “prevalence” of mycotoxins, which are fungi-produced poisonous compounds, ; all 212 meat- and dairy-substitute products tested contained the toxins, which pose little risk in low quantities, but “could lead to a cumulative build-up” resulting in health problems, researchers said.
IN FOCUS A honeybee sits on a marigold flower to collect nectar. Kathmandu, Nepal, February 8, 2024. Sanjit Pariyar/NurPhoto via Getty The Health-Improving Power of Pollinators Wild insect pollinators have a direct impact on human health and livelihoods through the critical role they play in food production and nutrition, that quantifies those connections in precise and tangible ways. Exploring the links in Nepal: To “understand and harness the pathways linking biodiversity to human health,” researchers spent a year inside 10 farming villages in Jumla District, Nepal, where three-quarters of the population depends directly on smallholder farming, .
- "That link between the biodiversity around them, and their health, their nutrition, their livelihoods is very, very direct,” explained lead author Thomas Timberlake.
- Researchers tracked daily diets of 776 people and cataloged extensive activity between insects and crops across 500+ species—gauging the influence of insects on crops, and crops on humans.
Symbiotic gains: Researchers identified “relatively simple interventions” that significantly boost pollinators, including planting wildflowers, curbing pesticide use, and native beekeeping.
- Active pollination management could increase household income by 15%–30% and raise 9% of the population out of a nutrient deficiency.
- To determine what households can afford to contribute, the government is using a predictive machine-learning algorithm that calculates incomes based on possessions and life circumstances.
ICYMI: Rooting Out AI’s Biases – OPPORTUNITY Call for Abstracts The International Conference for Urban Health (ICUH) invites abstracts for work addressing issues in global urban health to share in Mexico City this coming October 13–17, under the theme Healthy Cities by Design: Climate, Care, & Community from Latin America to the World. Submissions are open across six thematic tracks spanning climate resilience, food and movement, mental health and belonging, lifecourse health, urban health systems, and a dedicated Latin America and Caribbean spotlight, with submissions in English, Spanish, and Portuguese welcome.
- Deadline: May 17
Nothing tests one’s faith quite like a soul-crushing call with customer service. And when it comes to escaping the purgatory of the hold line, it turns out even the Pope doesn’t have a prayer. Like anyone shifting careers and houses, Robert Prevost-turned Pope Leo XIV had to make some calls updating his address and phone number, including a call he personally made to his bank in South Chicago, . The pontiff’s successful responses to security questions rivaling St. Peter’s at the Pearly Gates still weren’t enough to satisfy the customer service representative, who informed him that he needed to come to the bank in person, . Even the patience of Job runs out at a point, and even the Holy Father resorted to pulling the ace up his vestments’ sleeve: “Would it matter to you if I told you I’m Pope Leo?” he purportedly said. Click. Could the Pope’s experience bring a little needed fire and brimstone to of interminable customer service hassles and ? It would be a miracle worthy of canonization. QUICK HITS One Million More Midwives: The Smartest Investment for Safer Births in a Shrinking Aid Landscape – In a milestone for ALS, a treatment helps some patients improve – Survey: Facing headwinds, early-career physician-scientists mull other options, jobs abroad – Georgia officials knew chemicals from carpet mills were polluting local water. The people did not – First AI tool to detect suspicious peer reviews rolled out by academic publisher – RFK Jr withdraws proposal banning teens from tanning beds as skin experts warn of cancer risks – Issue No. 2912
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
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Categories: Global Health Feed
Public education will be critical as provinces roll out new cervical cancer screening method, researchers say
As Canada moves to modernize cervical cancer screening, a new study suggests most women do not yet understand or trust the shift from the Pap test to human papillomavirus (HPV) based screening.
The national survey, published in , examined women’s preferences for cervical screening – including how they want to be screened and how they want information communicated – as Canada transitions from Pap tests to HPV testing.
Categories: Global Health Feed
A deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean poses a low global public health risk and is “not the start of another COVID pandemic”, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: Identifying ‘The Deadliest Company in the World’; and On the Front Lines of an Emerging Drug Crisis
May 6, 2026
TOP STORIES
1 in 5 amputees in Gaza is a child, and it could take at least five years for the 6,600+ in Gaza who need prosthetics and rehabilitation care to receive it amid a severe shortage of specialists and ongoing restrictions on prosthetic supply shipments, the UN said this week.
20 years after the HPV vaccine’s U.S. approval, data show that the vaccine reduces the risk of cervical cancer by 80% in women vaccinated by age 16 and 66% in those vaccinated after 16, ; the vaccines aren’t associated with serious side effects, the research shows.
The FDA blocked the publication of multiple recent studies showing the safety and efficacy of widely used COVID-19 and shingles vaccines; the HHS said the studies drew “broad conclusions that were not supported by the underlying data,” even though the research was conducted by government scientists analyzing millions of patient records.
Londoners from Black African and Caribbean backgrounds are 2X as likely to suffer stroke as white counterparts and are less likely to receive timely care, that analyzed 30 years of stroke incidents from the South London Stroke Register.
IN FOCUS
The exterior of the China Tobacco Shanghai Cigarette Factory Building. Shanghai, China, March 28. CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty
Identifying ‘The Deadliest Company in the World’
A handful of powerful industries play a major role in driving deaths from chronic diseases worldwide: tobacco, alcohol, ultra-processed foods, and fossil fuels, which together are responsible for at least one-third of global deaths, .
Outsized impact: Among those industries, one company stands out as the single commercial entity linked to the most global deaths: China National Tobacco Corp., better known as China Tobacco—a state-owned company that for decades has controlled ~97% of China’s cigarette market in a country that consumes nearly half the world’s cigarettes.
Staggering toll: Tobacco use in China caused ~59–78 million deaths from 1990 to 2023, or 2 million people annually, run by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
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- China Tobacco is tied to ~57 million of those deaths—a toll surpassing fatalities linked to war, drugs, or traffic worldwide, even adjusting for the highest plausible death estimates from those other industries.
- The company also wields significant influence over China’s public health policy, systematically undercutting anti-smoking efforts.
- But the government’s dependence on billions in tax revenue from the industry means the company “is likely to retain its spot as No. 1 in the world for years to come.”
- Novel opioids like cychlorphine—a powerful synthetic opioid up to 10X stronger than fentanyl—often go undetected in labs.
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
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Copyright 2026 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
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Categories: Global Health Feed
It’s been confirmed that another passenger from the cruise liner linked to the outbreak of hantavirus has contracted the disease, which has claimed the lives of three people on board and sparked an international alert coordinated by the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
Categories: Global Health Feed
96
Global Health NOW: Cruise Ship Hantavirus Investigation; and Delayed Visas, Looming Care Gaps
May 5, 2026
TOP STORIES
Rescue efforts are ongoing in a fireworks factory explosion that killed 26 and injured at least 61 in central China yesterday; Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered an investigation into the disaster and “a far-reaching evaluation of workplace safety measures.”
Fossil-fuel derived methane emissions persisted at record high levels globally in 2025, making it unlikely that a 2030 target for reducing them by 30% will be met.
Overburdened dialysis units across Australia and New Zealand are being forced to ration lifesaving care, with wait times lasting years in some cases, from nephrology, dialysis and transplant registry experts in the two countries. They say the government needs to invest in more equipment and emphasize prevention to stop a “tsunami” of kidney disease.
Rates of antibiotic-resistant E. coli infections in the blood of newborns at a Kansas hospital are on the rise, ; E. coli is a top cause of sepsis in newborns. IN FOCUS The cruise ship MV Hondius off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on May 3. AFP via Getty Cruise Ship Hantavirus Investigation The WHO and international partners are investigating the cluster of seven cases of severe respiratory illness (including three deaths) tied to hantavirus infection on a cruise ship in the Atlantic, . What’s the latest?
Kennedy Starts a Push to Help Americans Quit Antidepressants –
Beauty Without Burden: Why Nigeria Must Keep Lead Out of Cosmetics –
The Cost of ‘Natural’ Womanhood –
‘Point of no return’: New Orleans relocation must start now due to sea level, study finds –
Telemedicine Visits Tied to Fewer Antibiotics for Respiratory Infections – Thanks for the tip, Chiara Jaffe!
The Bus That Brings Reproductive Care to Homeless Women – Issue No. 2910
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
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Copyright 2026 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
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Fossil-fuel derived methane emissions persisted at record high levels globally in 2025, making it unlikely that a 2030 target for reducing them by 30% will be met.
Overburdened dialysis units across Australia and New Zealand are being forced to ration lifesaving care, with wait times lasting years in some cases, from nephrology, dialysis and transplant registry experts in the two countries. They say the government needs to invest in more equipment and emphasize prevention to stop a “tsunami” of kidney disease.
Rates of antibiotic-resistant E. coli infections in the blood of newborns at a Kansas hospital are on the rise, ; E. coli is a top cause of sepsis in newborns. IN FOCUS The cruise ship MV Hondius off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on May 3. AFP via Getty Cruise Ship Hantavirus Investigation The WHO and international partners are investigating the cluster of seven cases of severe respiratory illness (including three deaths) tied to hantavirus infection on a cruise ship in the Atlantic, . What’s the latest?
- “We do believe that there may be some human-to-human transmission that is happening among the really close contacts,” said WHO's Maria Van Kerkhove, .
- The first person who fell ill may have been infected before boarding the MV Hondius in Ushuaia, Argentina, Van Kerkhove added.
- Human infection commonly occurs via “aerosolized droplets of rodent faeces, urine or saliva containing the virus,” .
- The WHO says there’s low risk to the global population.
- Two cases of the seven cases have been laboratory-confirmed.
- The ship is moored off Cape Verde, off the coast of West Africa.
- Results of genetic sequencing of the virus in sick passengers to determine the hantavirus strain should be available within a few days, University of Saskatchewan virologist Bryce Warner told Nature.
- “South Africa has very fast data, is home to some of the world’s best epidemiologists, and is a true team player in the world of global health,” .
- But this year, applications have stalled for months across multiple agencies.
- “There’s going to be hundreds of places that are not going to have a physician that should have,” said one impacted psychiatrist.
Kennedy Starts a Push to Help Americans Quit Antidepressants –
Beauty Without Burden: Why Nigeria Must Keep Lead Out of Cosmetics –
The Cost of ‘Natural’ Womanhood –
‘Point of no return’: New Orleans relocation must start now due to sea level, study finds –
Telemedicine Visits Tied to Fewer Antibiotics for Respiratory Infections – Thanks for the tip, Chiara Jaffe!
The Bus That Brings Reproductive Care to Homeless Women – Issue No. 2910
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2026 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
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You can or .
Categories: Global Health Feed
