Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
WHO to use ‘mpox’ for monkeypox to fight stigma
The World Health Organization said on Monday it would start using a new preferred term, ‘mpox’, as a synonym for monkeypox and urged others to follow suit after receiving complaints that the current name for the disease was racist and stigmatizing. “Both names will be used simultaneously for one year while ‘monkeypox’ is phased out,” the global health organization said.
China tightens security after rare protests against COVID curbs
Police on Monday patrolled the scenes of weekend protests in Shanghai and Beijing after crowds there and in other cities across China demonstrated against stringent COVID-19 measures disrupting lives three years into the pandemic. From the streets of several Chinese cities to dozens of university campuses, protesters made a show of civil disobedience unprecedentedly since leader Xi Jinping assumed power a decade ago. During his tenure, Xi has overseen the quashing of dissent and the expansion of a high-tech social surveillance system that has made protest more difficult, and riskier.
Uganda’s president extends Ebola epicentre’s quarantine for 21 days
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has extended a quarantine placed on two districts that are the epicenter of the country’s Ebola outbreak by 21 days, adding that his government’s response to the disease was succeeding. Movement into and out of Mubende and Kassanda districts in central Uganda will be restricted up to Dec. 17, the presidency said late on Saturday. It was originally imposed for 21 days on Oct. 15, then extended for the same period on Nov. 5.
UK’s C4X Discovery signs $400 million licensing deal with AstraZeneca
British drug discovery company C4X Discovery said AstraZeneca had signed a licence worth up $402 million to develop an oral therapy for the treatment of inflammatory and respiratory diseases using its NRF2 Activator program. C4XD said on Monday it would receive pre-clinical milestone payments worth up to $16 million ahead of the first clinical trial, including $2 million upfront.
Beijing reports 2,086 new local COVID cases during 15 hours to 3 p.m. on Monday- official
China’s capital city Beijing reported 2,086 new local COVID cases for the 15 hours to 3 p.m. (0700 GMT) on Monday, Liu Xiaofeng, the deputy director of the city’s municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a briefing.
(With inputs from agencies.)
