It come after health authorities confirmed the first deaths from Oropouche virus in July A mysterious virus endemic in parts of South America is spreading outside the region for the first time - and it's concerning virologists. For decades, Oropouche virus was confined to areas close to the Amazon. The first human case was discovered in the village of Oropouche in Trinidad and Tobago in 1955. Five years later, the virus was detected in Brazil from a blood sample taken from a sloth. This is...

New research suggests the virus can spread through the respiratory system The multistate outbreak of bird flu in dairy cows could trigger a new pandemic, experts fear. Avian influenza A (H5N1), or bird flu, has killed millions of wild birds and caused sporadic outbreaks among poultry. It is caused by influenza type A viruses, which primarily affect birds. Symptoms range from mild flu-like illness, such as coughing, to severe illness that requires hospitalisation. A new variant of H5N1 was...

What humanity has achieved in the last two hundred years is breathtaking. In 1820, nearly 84 per cent of the world’s population lived in extreme poverty. The latest World Bank assessment puts the current figure at 8.5 per cent - a reduction of more than 70 per cent. Over this same period, global vaccination and literacy rates rose sharply, the number of children dying before their fifth birthday plummeted and democracy proved contagious. And thanks to the convergence of technological and...