http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p002vsywHealth issues and medical breakthroughs from around the world.Health issues and medical breakthroughs from around the world.BBC World ServiceBBCRadioMusic.Support@bbc.co.ukhttps://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p002vsyw.rssenhttp://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/3000x3000/p05zf4rh.jpghttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p002vsyw(C) BBC 2021Wed, 07 Jul 2021 20:00:00 +0000nononadultThe lambda variant of coronavirus, first seen in Peru and Chile, has now spread to 27 other countries and new research just out suggests it’s better than other variants at escaping the antibodies produced by the CoronaVac vaccine that’s widely used in Latin America. The WHO does only currently classify it as a variant of interest and not a variant of concern. Ricardo Soto Rifo from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Chile, Santiago who conducted this new research explains his findings. A charity in the UK called Ovacome has long run in person support groups for women with ovarian cancer. And now women who live miles apart, but share similar experiences have got to know each other very well, online, during the pandemic. To find out what happens in these meetings, Health Check dropped in, on Zoom, to listen in to Gill, Gillian, Siobhan, Allyson and Jo. Dr Per Block, a research lecturer at the University of Oxford, has been investigating whether moods are contagious and crucially whether we pick on up good moods or bad moods more easily. The results of his study with teenage members of choirs and orchestras who were away on tour together have just been published in the journal Emotion. He tells Claudia what he found. Claudia’s studio guest is family doctor, Ann Robinson, who talks about new research into diet and migraines and whether a David Beckham style plastic boot or a traditional plaster cast is the best treatment for a broken ankle. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright and Paula McGrath (Picture: A woman receives her first dose of the CoronaVac vaccine during a door-to-door vaccination day against Covid-19 on 03 July 2021 in a rural area of the Jerusalén municipality, Cundinamarca Department, Colombia. Photo credit: Guillermo Legaria/Getty Images.)Is the lambda variant of SARS-Cov2 evading vaccines?The lambda variant of coronavirus, first seen in Peru and Chile, has now spread to 27 other countries and new research just out suggests it’s better than other variants at escaping the antibodies produced by the CoronaVac vaccine that’s widely used in Latin America. The WHO does only currently classify it as a variant of interest and not a variant of concern. Ricardo Soto Rifo from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Chile, Santiago who conducted this new research explains his findings. A charity in the UK called Ovacome has long run in person support groups for women with ovarian cancer. And now women who live miles apart, but share similar experiences have got to know each other very well, online, during the pandemic. To find out what happens in these meetings, Health Check dropped in, on Zoom, to listen in to Gill, Gillian, Siobhan, Allyson and Jo. Dr Per Block, a research lecturer at the University of Oxford, has been investigating whether moods are contagious and crucially whether we pick on up good moods or bad moods more easily. The results of his study with teenage members of choirs and orchestras who were away on tour together have just been published in the journal Emotion. He tells Claudia what he found. Claudia’s studio guest is family doctor, Ann Robinson, who talks about new research into diet and migraines and whether a David Beckham style plastic boot or a traditional plaster cast is the best treatment for a broken ankle. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright and Paula McGrath (Picture: A woman receives her first dose of the CoronaVac vaccine during a door-to-door vaccination day against Covid-19 on 03 July 2021 in a rural area of the Jerusalén municipality, Cundinamarca Department, Colombia. Photo credit: Guillermo Legaria/Getty Images.)Wed, 07 Jul 2021 20:00:00 +00001634urn:bbc:podcast:w3ct1nvghttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1nvgcleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3ct1nvgNew evidence on whether mixing Covid vaccines and spreading doses out gives better results. Plus, has five years of food labels in Chile warning of high fat, sugar or salt made a difference to obesity levels? Jane Chambers reports. And what gives some people a sense of entitlement? Emily Zitek, Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at Cornell University explains her new research. Claudia's studio guest is James Gallagher, BBC Health and Science Correspondent. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Picture: Three vials with different vaccines against Covid-19 by (L-R) Moderna, AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech. Photo credit: Thomas Kienzle/AFP/ Getty Images.)Mixing Covid vaccines and spreading doses out. Have food labels in Chile reduced obesity?New evidence on whether mixing Covid vaccines and spreading doses out gives better results. Plus, has five years of food labels in Chile warning of high fat, sugar or salt made a difference to obesity levels? Jane Chambers reports. And what gives some people a sense of entitlement? Emily Zitek, Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at Cornell University explains her new research. Claudia's studio guest is James Gallagher, BBC Health and Science Correspondent. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Picture: Three vials with different vaccines against Covid-19 by (L-R) Moderna, AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech. Photo credit: Thomas Kienzle/AFP/ Getty Images.)Wed, 30 Jun 2021 20:00:00 +00001588urn:bbc:podcast:w3ct1nvfhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1nvfcleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3ct1nvfAs Tanzania joins Covax, Rhoda Odhiambo discusses the challenges ahead and says 'joining' makes it sound simple but the requirements that need to be put in place are far from simple. Also,results from the first national TB prevalence survey in South Africa shows that the disease is found more in men and young people than previously recognised. Claudia talks to professor Martie van der Walt, director of the TB platform of the South African Medical Research Council while Taurai Maduna reports from a TB screening clinic in Diepsloot, Gauteng Province. Plus, professor Catherine Loveday on new research assessing lockdown memories and what they mean. Claudia's studio guest is Matt Fox from Boston University. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Photo: Portrait of a young man wearing a face mask in Nungwi, Tanzania. Credit: Jasmin Merdan/Getty Images)Tanzania joins Covax; the first national TB Survey in South Africa and lockdown memoriesAs Tanzania joins Covax, Rhoda Odhiambo discusses the challenges ahead and says 'joining' makes it sound simple but the requirements that need to be put in place are far from simple. Also,results from the first national TB prevalence survey in South Africa shows that the disease is found more in men and young people than previously recognised. Claudia talks to professor Martie van der Walt, director of the TB platform of the South African Medical Research Council while Taurai Maduna reports from a TB screening clinic in Diepsloot, Gauteng Province. Plus, professor Catherine Loveday on new research assessing lockdown memories and what they mean. Claudia's studio guest is Matt Fox from Boston University. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Photo: Portrait of a young man wearing a face mask in Nungwi, Tanzania. Credit: Jasmin Merdan/Getty Images)Wed, 23 Jun 2021 20:00:00 +00001588urn:bbc:podcast:w3ct1nvdhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1nvdcleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3ct1nvdGood news that a new treatment for Covid could help one in three people in hospital. Results are from the Recovery trial in the UK using an infusion of two antibodies made in the laboratory which bind to the virus and stop it replicating. But it is expensive and those people who haven't made their own antibodies should be given the treatment. And Project S - the unique experiment that vaccinated a whole town in Brazil. Claudia speaks to Dr Ricardo Palacios, clinical studies director at the Butantan Institute in Sao Paulo, leading the research. Plus a ground breaking trial in Yogyakarta city, Indonesia, that has cut cases of Dengue Fever by 77% by infecting mosquitoes with a "miraculous" bacteria. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Picture: A doctor holds a vial of monoclonal antibodies, a new treatment for Covid-19. Photo credit: Cristian Storto Fotografia/Getty Images.)New treatment for Covid; Vaccinating a whole town in Brazil; Protection against DengueGood news that a new treatment for Covid could help one in three people in hospital. Results are from the Recovery trial in the UK using an infusion of two antibodies made in the laboratory which bind to the virus and stop it replicating. But it is expensive and those people who haven't made their own antibodies should be given the treatment. And Project S - the unique experiment that vaccinated a whole town in Brazil. Claudia speaks to Dr Ricardo Palacios, clinical studies director at the Butantan Institute in Sao Paulo, leading the research. Plus a ground breaking trial in Yogyakarta city, Indonesia, that has cut cases of Dengue Fever by 77% by infecting mosquitoes with a "miraculous" bacteria. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Picture: A doctor holds a vial of monoclonal antibodies, a new treatment for Covid-19. Photo credit: Cristian Storto Fotografia/Getty Images.)Wed, 16 Jun 2021 20:00:00 +00001589urn:bbc:podcast:w3ct1nvchttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1nvccleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3ct1nvcAducanumab the controversial new drug for Alzheimer’s disease, just approved by the FDA in the US is the first approved breakthrough in nearly 20 years. But, as Sarah Boseley explains, scientists dispute the drug’s effectiveness. Good news from a study published in Lancet Healthy Longevity looking at protection levels from getting Covid. It studied the risk of COVID reinfection in care home staff and occupants up to 10 months after first being unwell and showed substantial levels of protection is retained. And a new paper on Vitamin D deficiency in Africa – the first large prevalence study in children on the continent. Plus bestselling author and gynaecologist Dr Jen Gunter on her Menopause Manifesto, part two in our mini-series on Health Check. Dr Gunter unpicks the facts and feminism of how society’s focus on what happens to women’s bodies has shaped and hindered treatment for the menopause. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright Image: Abstract medical icon of head showing Alzheimer's memory loss due to dementia and brain disease Credit: wildpixel/Getty ImagesControversial approval of new Alzheimer’s drug; news on chances of catching Covid twice.Aducanumab the controversial new drug for Alzheimer’s disease, just approved by the FDA in the US is the first approved breakthrough in nearly 20 years. But, as Sarah Boseley explains, scientists dispute the drug’s effectiveness. Good news from a study published in Lancet Healthy Longevity looking at protection levels from getting Covid. It studied the risk of COVID reinfection in care home staff and occupants up to 10 months after first being unwell and showed substantial levels of protection is retained. And a new paper on Vitamin D deficiency in Africa – the first large prevalence study in children on the continent. Plus bestselling author and gynaecologist Dr Jen Gunter on her Menopause Manifesto, part two in our mini-series on Health Check. Dr Gunter unpicks the facts and feminism of how society’s focus on what happens to women’s bodies has shaped and hindered treatment for the menopause. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright Image: Abstract medical icon of head showing Alzheimer's memory loss due to dementia and brain disease Credit: wildpixel/Getty ImagesWed, 09 Jun 2021 20:00:00 +00001588urn:bbc:podcast:w3ct1nvbhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1nvbcleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3ct1nvbCould over the counter Steroids be driving the Black Fungus epidemic in India? Claudia talks to Dr Awadhesh Singh from the GD Hospital and Diabetes Institute in Kolkata who explains the link between Steroid use and the shocking surge in cases of this deadly disease. Guest Matt Fox from Boston University discusses mass Covid testing in Vietnam and a trial of mask wearing in Bangladesh, plus the renaming of Covid variants using the Greek alphabet. And bestselling author Dr Jen Gunter on her new book The Menopause Manifesto – own your health with facts and feminism! Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Picture: A doctor inspects a patient for mucormycosis inside a dedicated ward at MMG hospital in Ghaziabad, India. Photo credit: Sakib Ali/Hindustan Times/Getty Images.)Could over the counter Steroids be driving the Black Fungus epidemic in India?Could over the counter Steroids be driving the Black Fungus epidemic in India? Claudia talks to Dr Awadhesh Singh from the GD Hospital and Diabetes Institute in Kolkata who explains the link between Steroid use and the shocking surge in cases of this deadly disease. Guest Matt Fox from Boston University discusses mass Covid testing in Vietnam and a trial of mask wearing in Bangladesh, plus the renaming of Covid variants using the Greek alphabet. And bestselling author Dr Jen Gunter on her new book The Menopause Manifesto – own your health with facts and feminism! Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Picture: A doctor inspects a patient for mucormycosis inside a dedicated ward at MMG hospital in Ghaziabad, India. Photo credit: Sakib Ali/Hindustan Times/Getty Images.)Wed, 02 Jun 2021 20:00:00 +00001589urn:bbc:podcast:w3ct1nv9http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1nv9cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3ct1nv9The kind boss who transformed their employee's mental health – Natalie and Gillian share their amazing story with Claudia Hammond. And new research finds kindness really is contagious - Alison van Diggelen hears from scientists in California that kindness really does spread. Plus guest professor Monica Lakhanpaul discusses vaccine effectiveness against the variant first identified in India and addresses ethical questions of vaccinating children. Plus new science on how mammals breathing through their bottoms could be a future solution to oxygenating human blood without risking the lung damage caused by ventilators. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Photo: A boy protects his younger brother from the rain with an umbrella. Credit: Estersinhache fotografía/Getty Images)New research finds kindness really does spread according to scientists in CaliforniaThe kind boss who transformed their employee's mental health – Natalie and Gillian share their amazing story with Claudia Hammond. And new research finds kindness really is contagious - Alison van Diggelen hears from scientists in California that kindness really does spread. Plus guest professor Monica Lakhanpaul discusses vaccine effectiveness against the variant first identified in India and addresses ethical questions of vaccinating children. Plus new science on how mammals breathing through their bottoms could be a future solution to oxygenating human blood without risking the lung damage caused by ventilators. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Photo: A boy protects his younger brother from the rain with an umbrella. Credit: Estersinhache fotografía/Getty Images)Wed, 26 May 2021 20:00:00 +00001587urn:bbc:podcast:w3ct1nv8http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1nv8cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3ct1nv8New evidence for when to have your second Covid vaccine dose; Plus the long awaited results of a 20 year trial into Ovarian Cancer screening and whether picking the disease up early with a simple blood test helps to save lives. And Misophonia – the curious condition where sounds of other people eating can cause anger and panic. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Picture: Vials of vaccine for Covid-19 to be administered by injection. Photo credit: A. Martin UW Photography/Getty Images.)When to have your second Covid vaccine dose; Ovarian Cancer screening trial; MisophoniaNew evidence for when to have your second Covid vaccine dose; Plus the long awaited results of a 20 year trial into Ovarian Cancer screening and whether picking the disease up early with a simple blood test helps to save lives. And Misophonia – the curious condition where sounds of other people eating can cause anger and panic. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Picture: Vials of vaccine for Covid-19 to be administered by injection. Photo credit: A. Martin UW Photography/Getty Images.)Wed, 19 May 2021 20:00:00 +00001588urn:bbc:podcast:w3ct1nv7http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1nv7cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3ct1nv7New research from The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal shows current body mass index [BMI] guidance is outdated and dangerous for people from different ethnic groups. The study’s principal investigator, Dr Rishi Caleyachetty unpicks the global implications of his findings. Maria Rebollo Polo – WHO lead for Neglected Tropical Diseases in Africa – explains the important task of mapping NTDs like Trachoma. Plus Khadidiatou Cisse reports from Benin on Trachoma – one of the oldest known infections and a leading cause of preventable blindness worldwide. And, have our memories really got worse during the pandemic? Professor Catherine Loveday of Westminster University discusses her new research on our memories during lockdown. Guest: Dr Ann Robinson Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Picture: Female doctor weighing senior patient at medical clinic. Photo credit: Jose Luis Pelaez/Getty Images.)Is BMI an outdated measure for risk of type 2 diabetes in diverse ethnic groups?New research from The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal shows current body mass index [BMI] guidance is outdated and dangerous for people from different ethnic groups. The study’s principal investigator, Dr Rishi Caleyachetty unpicks the global implications of his findings. Maria Rebollo Polo – WHO lead for Neglected Tropical Diseases in Africa – explains the important task of mapping NTDs like Trachoma. Plus Khadidiatou Cisse reports from Benin on Trachoma – one of the oldest known infections and a leading cause of preventable blindness worldwide. And, have our memories really got worse during the pandemic? Professor Catherine Loveday of Westminster University discusses her new research on our memories during lockdown. Guest: Dr Ann Robinson Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Picture: Female doctor weighing senior patient at medical clinic. Photo credit: Jose Luis Pelaez/Getty Images.)Wed, 12 May 2021 20:00:00 +00001587urn:bbc:podcast:w3ct1nv6http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1nv6cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3ct1nv6As Tanzania announces new Covid prevention measures after the new president instigates a change in response to the pandemic, correspondent Rhoda Odhiambo discusses the implications for the country. And celebrating the Windrush generation in theatre - nurses who came to the UK from the Caribbean to work in the NHS share their memories in a new play. Plus Claudia talks to Mohsen Rajabi about his new research surveying Mental Health in Iran - both parents and children - after 16 months of school closures and hears from 18 year old Parnia Abharian about her first hand experience. And the science of a baby's first poo! Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Picture: People come to wash their hands with chlorinated water in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in March 2020. Photo credit: Ericky Boniphace/AFP/Getty Images.)Tanzania's new Covid prevention measures; celebrating the Windrush generation in theatreAs Tanzania announces new Covid prevention measures after the new president instigates a change in response to the pandemic, correspondent Rhoda Odhiambo discusses the implications for the country. And celebrating the Windrush generation in theatre - nurses who came to the UK from the Caribbean to work in the NHS share their memories in a new play. Plus Claudia talks to Mohsen Rajabi about his new research surveying Mental Health in Iran - both parents and children - after 16 months of school closures and hears from 18 year old Parnia Abharian about her first hand experience. And the science of a baby's first poo! Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Picture: People come to wash their hands with chlorinated water in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in March 2020. Photo credit: Ericky Boniphace/AFP/Getty Images.)Wed, 05 May 2021 20:00:00 +00001592urn:bbc:podcast:w3ct1nv5http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1nv5cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3ct1nv5As India surpasses 200,000 Covid deaths Claudia asks why the surge has been so steep and hears the latest from health reporter Anoo Bhuyan in Delhi. And there's good news of a new Malaria Vaccine showing 75% efficacy. Studio guest Tabitha Mwangi discusses this important breakthrough in the context of a new study from the Lancet Infectious Diseases Journal with the first clinical evidence of drug-resistant malaria mutations gaining foothold in Africa. Plus Caroline Williams on her new book MOVE! which unpicks the science of how movement opens up a hotline to our minds changing the way we think and feel. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Photo: People wait to refill empty oxygen cylinders on 27 April 2021 in New Delhi, India. Credit: Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times/Getty Images)India's Covid surge update. New Malaria Vaccine breakthrough. How moving helps our mindsAs India surpasses 200,000 Covid deaths Claudia asks why the surge has been so steep and hears the latest from health reporter Anoo Bhuyan in Delhi. And there's good news of a new Malaria Vaccine showing 75% efficacy. Studio guest Tabitha Mwangi discusses this important breakthrough in the context of a new study from the Lancet Infectious Diseases Journal with the first clinical evidence of drug-resistant malaria mutations gaining foothold in Africa. Plus Caroline Williams on her new book MOVE! which unpicks the science of how movement opens up a hotline to our minds changing the way we think and feel. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Photo: People wait to refill empty oxygen cylinders on 27 April 2021 in New Delhi, India. Credit: Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times/Getty Images)Wed, 28 Apr 2021 20:00:00 +00001588urn:bbc:podcast:w3ct1nv4http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1nv4cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3ct1nv4Claudia Hammond hears stories of medical mysteries from author of Sleeping Beauties and consultant neurologist Suanne O’Sullivan. From the refugee children in Sweden who slept for months to the US Embassy staff in Cuba who fell ill with dizziness, what can cases like these and others from around the world reveal about the mind and body. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Deborah CohenNeurologist Suzanne O’Sullivan on medical mysteries from around the worldClaudia Hammond hears stories of medical mysteries from author of Sleeping Beauties and consultant neurologist Suanne O’Sullivan. From the refugee children in Sweden who slept for months to the US Embassy staff in Cuba who fell ill with dizziness, what can cases like these and others from around the world reveal about the mind and body. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Deborah CohenWed, 21 Apr 2021 20:00:00 +00001982urn:bbc:podcast:w3ct1nv3http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1nv3cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3ct1nv3Claudia and guest Professor Matthew Fox from Boston University discuss the latest Covid-19 research this week – and there’s plenty of it! There’s new data on the variant first found in the UK, plus efficacy data just out comparing the immune responses to the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines. And news from India of a so called ‘double mutant’ where two variants come together. Meanwhile the big vaccine news in the US is that they have temporarily suspended the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, so much to discuss! Plus, despite an acclaimed vaccine roll out Chile is experiencing a second wave of Covid infections. This has led some to claim that vaccine roll outs aren’t making the difference we all hoped or that it’s the type of vaccine being used. Jane Chambers reports and finds that it’s more complicated – as ever! And David and Barbara got in touch with the BBC about a treatable condition that can be easily confused with dementia - Normal pressure Hydrocephalus. Finally, a study from Japan on the risk of dementia and – surprisingly - whether it has anything to do with whether there are pavements nearby. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Picture: Health workers give the Sinovac vaccine against Covid-19 at a vaccination centre in Santiago, Chile. Photo credit: Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images.)Covid variants; India’s double mutant. Chile’s vaccine roll out. Dementia and sidewalksClaudia and guest Professor Matthew Fox from Boston University discuss the latest Covid-19 research this week – and there’s plenty of it! There’s new data on the variant first found in the UK, plus efficacy data just out comparing the immune responses to the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines. And news from India of a so called ‘double mutant’ where two variants come together. Meanwhile the big vaccine news in the US is that they have temporarily suspended the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, so much to discuss! Plus, despite an acclaimed vaccine roll out Chile is experiencing a second wave of Covid infections. This has led some to claim that vaccine roll outs aren’t making the difference we all hoped or that it’s the type of vaccine being used. Jane Chambers reports and finds that it’s more complicated – as ever! And David and Barbara got in touch with the BBC about a treatable condition that can be easily confused with dementia - Normal pressure Hydrocephalus. Finally, a study from Japan on the risk of dementia and – surprisingly - whether it has anything to do with whether there are pavements nearby. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Picture: Health workers give the Sinovac vaccine against Covid-19 at a vaccination centre in Santiago, Chile. Photo credit: Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images.)Wed, 14 Apr 2021 20:00:00 +00001617urn:bbc:podcast:w3ct1nv2http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1nv2cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3ct1nv2Mental Health and Covid; Claudia examines a large new Lancet Psychiatry study showing that one in three people develop anxiety, depression or a neurological problem in the six months after they were ill with the virus. Ten years on from the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster in Japan. Professor Jun Shigemura discusses whether the unseen threat of exposure to radiation can teach us anything about dealing with the hidden threat of the current Covid-19 virus. A report from Nigeria on how some people with fractures may turn to the traditional bonesetter to get their bones mended. Charles Mgbolu reports from Lagos. And diagnosing concussion: how a team at the University of Birmingham in the UK has developed a saliva test which can detect whether someone with a bang on the head during sport can safely return to the game. Professor Tony Belli explains the science behind the test. Plus Claudia’s studio guest is Graham Easton, Professor of Clinical Communication Skills at Barts and the London Medical School. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Picture: A traditional Japanese kite, bearing messages of hope by children living in Fukushima prefecture, is flown over the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum in Futaba town on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the disaster. Photo credit: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images.)Mental Health and Covid; Fukushima a decade on; Fast accurate saliva test for concussionMental Health and Covid; Claudia examines a large new Lancet Psychiatry study showing that one in three people develop anxiety, depression or a neurological problem in the six months after they were ill with the virus. Ten years on from the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster in Japan. Professor Jun Shigemura discusses whether the unseen threat of exposure to radiation can teach us anything about dealing with the hidden threat of the current Covid-19 virus. A report from Nigeria on how some people with fractures may turn to the traditional bonesetter to get their bones mended. Charles Mgbolu reports from Lagos. And diagnosing concussion: how a team at the University of Birmingham in the UK has developed a saliva test which can detect whether someone with a bang on the head during sport can safely return to the game. Professor Tony Belli explains the science behind the test. Plus Claudia’s studio guest is Graham Easton, Professor of Clinical Communication Skills at Barts and the London Medical School. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright (Picture: A traditional Japanese kite, bearing messages of hope by children living in Fukushima prefecture, is flown over the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum in Futaba town on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the disaster. Photo credit: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images.)Wed, 07 Apr 2021 20:00:00 +00001588urn:bbc:podcast:w3ct1nv1http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1nv1cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3ct1nv1Despite the myths and fear which surround leprosy it can be treated and prevented with a short course of antibiotics. The disease is spread by a bacteria which is easily killed with these drugs. Although this stops the virus spreading it doesn’t help those who have been disfigured by the parasite, they are still viewed negatively even though they are no longer infectious. As Seydina Alioune Djigo reports, Senegal has embarked on a campaign to both treat Leprosy with drugs and educate more widely on the condition. They have also removed restrictions on those banished to former leper colonies. Also if you died would you donate your eyes to help some else see? Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha reports from Nigeria on an eye banking project there, which uses donated eyes to restore the sight of people affected by corneal blindness. However as with many forms of organ donation the practice is not widely accepted yet. Presented by Priscilla Ngethe.Senegal has embarked on a campaign to stop the disease in its tracksDespite the myths and fear which surround leprosy it can be treated and prevented with a short course of antibiotics. The disease is spread by a bacteria which is easily killed with these drugs. Although this stops the virus spreading it doesn’t help those who have been disfigured by the parasite, they are still viewed negatively even though they are no longer infectious. As Seydina Alioune Djigo reports, Senegal has embarked on a campaign to both treat Leprosy with drugs and educate more widely on the condition. They have also removed restrictions on those banished to former leper colonies. Also if you died would you donate your eyes to help some else see? Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha reports from Nigeria on an eye banking project there, which uses donated eyes to restore the sight of people affected by corneal blindness. However as with many forms of organ donation the practice is not widely accepted yet. Presented by Priscilla Ngethe.Thu, 01 Apr 2021 14:00:00 +00001588urn:bbc:podcast:p09ch2kvhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p09ch2kvcleanBBC World Service/programmes/p09ch2kvVaccine hesitancy and Covid vaccines for Children. Claudia talks to paediatrician Dr Robert Jacobson of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA about issues of Covid vaccine hesitancy and why this issue may grow as Covid vaccines become available for children. As trials on children as young as 6 months get underway, and vaccination for children likely to be available, in some countries, from the summer/early autumn, why is vaccinating children against Covid important and what can be done to help parents overcome any hesitancy they might have? New Test to predict pre-term labour. Every year, around 15 million babies in the world are born too early. In countries such as Malawi, Pakistan and Indonesia, more than 15% of babies are premature. Not all survive and some of those that do have disabilities, which might have been preventable with simple care. The question is how to predict which pregnant women might go into labour too early. Reporter Madeleine Finlay investigates a new test using the vaginal microbiome to predict which mums might be most at risk. The first 1000 days. Claudia talks to Professor Monica Lakhanpaul about the critical first 1000 days of a baby's life and a new exhibition that hopes to highlight this key period in a child’s development. Claudia also talks to her about the idea of Reverse Innovation: lessons that richer countries can learn from poorer countries when it comes to health. We’re much more used to it being the other way round, but there are now many projects that are using techniques and ideas learnt from middle and lower income countries in providing health support to communities in the UK and other higher income countries. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Alexandra Feachem (Picture: A young boy who has just been vaccinated. Photo credit: D.Jiang/Getty Images.)Covid vaccines for children and how to overcome hesitancy in parentsVaccine hesitancy and Covid vaccines for Children. Claudia talks to paediatrician Dr Robert Jacobson of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA about issues of Covid vaccine hesitancy and why this issue may grow as Covid vaccines become available for children. As trials on children as young as 6 months get underway, and vaccination for children likely to be available, in some countries, from the summer/early autumn, why is vaccinating children against Covid important and what can be done to help parents overcome any hesitancy they might have? New Test to predict pre-term labour. Every year, around 15 million babies in the world are born too early. In countries such as Malawi, Pakistan and Indonesia, more than 15% of babies are premature. Not all survive and some of those that do have disabilities, which might have been preventable with simple care. The question is how to predict which pregnant women might go into labour too early. Reporter Madeleine Finlay investigates a new test using the vaginal microbiome to predict which mums might be most at risk. The first 1000 days. Claudia talks to Professor Monica Lakhanpaul about the critical first 1000 days of a baby's life and a new exhibition that hopes to highlight this key period in a child’s development. Claudia also talks to her about the idea of Reverse Innovation: lessons that richer countries can learn from poorer countries when it comes to health. We’re much more used to it being the other way round, but there are now many projects that are using techniques and ideas learnt from middle and lower income countries in providing health support to communities in the UK and other higher income countries. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Alexandra Feachem (Picture: A young boy who has just been vaccinated. Photo credit: D.Jiang/Getty Images.)Wed, 31 Mar 2021 20:00:00 +00001588urn:bbc:podcast:w3ct1nv0http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1nv0cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3ct1nv0In Senegal there are a range of measures to help people living with disabilities enter the workforce, however overcoming attitudes is still a major issue. And we look at the impact of shoes on our physical health, it’s not just feet but bones and joints in the legs and spine that can be affected by our footwear. With Khadidiatou Cisse, Saida Swaleh and Priscilla Ngethe.Measures to empower people living with disability in SenegalIn Senegal there are a range of measures to help people living with disabilities enter the workforce, however overcoming attitudes is still a major issue. And we look at the impact of shoes on our physical health, it’s not just feet but bones and joints in the legs and spine that can be affected by our footwear. With Khadidiatou Cisse, Saida Swaleh and Priscilla Ngethe.Fri, 26 Mar 2021 14:00:00 +00001588urn:bbc:podcast:p09bxl4xhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p09bxl4xcleanBBC World Service/programmes/p09bxl4xClaudia talks to her guest Dr Ann Robinson about a new study from the University of Glasgow in the UK that suggests the virus that causes the common cold can effectively boot the Covid virus out of the body's cells. Some viruses are known to compete in order to be the one that causes an infection and researchers have discovered that it appears cold-causing rhinovirus trumps coronavirus. The benefits might be short-lived but rhinovirus is so widespread it could still help to suppress Covid. Mental Health in Covid frontline health and social care workers. Claudia hears from Dr Talya Greene about a new study showing that nearly 60% of health and social care workers working in the UK during the first wave of Covid have suffered from either anxiety, depression or post traumatic stress disorder. What can we learn from the impact of Covid on the mental health of hospital and social care staff in order to help build resilience for future traumas. Azeezat Olaoluwa reports from Nigeria looking at something that affects many women in Africa: uterine fibroids. These are non cancerous growths that develop in or around the womb. It’s a medical condition that affects black women more than any other race, making it an unavoidable health condition for a large percentage of black women. Heart Surgeon Dr Reinhard Freidl talks to Claudia about his new book “The Beat of Life” about why, to him, the heart is so much more than just a pump, and why being broken hearted is a recognised medical condition. Image: Woman blowing her nose Credit: LaylaBird/Getty Images Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Alexandra FeachemCan a cold prevent Covid, mental health in Covid medical staff, and our amazing heart.Claudia talks to her guest Dr Ann Robinson about a new study from the University of Glasgow in the UK that suggests the virus that causes the common cold can effectively boot the Covid virus out of the body's cells. Some viruses are known to compete in order to be the one that causes an infection and researchers have discovered that it appears cold-causing rhinovirus trumps coronavirus. The benefits might be short-lived but rhinovirus is so widespread it could still help to suppress Covid. Mental Health in Covid frontline health and social care workers. Claudia hears from Dr Talya Greene about a new study showing that nearly 60% of health and social care workers working in the UK during the first wave of Covid have suffered from either anxiety, depression or post traumatic stress disorder. What can we learn from the impact of Covid on the mental health of hospital and social care staff in order to help build resilience for future traumas. Azeezat Olaoluwa reports from Nigeria looking at something that affects many women in Africa: uterine fibroids. These are non cancerous growths that develop in or around the womb. It’s a medical condition that affects black women more than any other race, making it an unavoidable health condition for a large percentage of black women. Heart Surgeon Dr Reinhard Freidl talks to Claudia about his new book “The Beat of Life” about why, to him, the heart is so much more than just a pump, and why being broken hearted is a recognised medical condition. Image: Woman blowing her nose Credit: LaylaBird/Getty Images Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Alexandra FeachemWed, 24 Mar 2021 21:00:00 +00001588urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszcddhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszcddcleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszcddIn Nigeria we meet someone who finds that swimming can help alleviate her depression and we discuss how self-esteem as well as diet can impact a new mothers’ ability to breastfeed. With Pricilla Ngethe, Milly Akeyo and Charles Mgbolu.Mental health issues for breastfeeding mothers and why swimming can helpIn Nigeria we meet someone who finds that swimming can help alleviate her depression and we discuss how self-esteem as well as diet can impact a new mothers’ ability to breastfeed. With Pricilla Ngethe, Milly Akeyo and Charles Mgbolu.Fri, 19 Mar 2021 16:39:00 +00001588urn:bbc:podcast:p09b8c5xhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p09b8c5xcleanBBC World Service/programmes/p09b8c5xAs further European countries announce precautionary suspension of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine over fears it may have caused blood clots in a very small number of people, Claudia talks to BBC Health Editor James Gallagher about what the data really tells us about the safety of this vaccine. Tanzania and Covid. Claudia talks to BBC Africa Correspondent Leila Nathoo about Covid in Tanzania. President Magufuli was one of Africa’s most prominent Covid-19 sceptics, and is now rumoured to have died of the disease himself. Last year he said the disease had been eradicated from Tanzania by three days of national prayer but does Tanzania have a hidden epidemic? Vaccine Side Effects. Claudia discovers why there seems to be such a difference in how people have reacted to the vaccine, from no side effects at all, to mild flu like symptoms. She looks at how the vaccine triggers an immune response, and why it can’t give you Covid. Haitians in Chile. Chile has long been a destination for immigrants from other countries in the region because there are more work opportunities. People from places like Venezuela, Bolivia and Peru make up around 8 percent of the 19 million population and the number is growing every year. What’s surprising is that the third biggest group of immigrants in Chile come from the Caribbean country Haiti. Health services are quickly having to learn ways to integrate their new patients who have different approaches to healthcare as Jane Chambers reports. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Alexandra Feachem (Picture: A vial of AstraZeneca vaccine at Krakow University Hospital, Poland in February 2021. Photo credit: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto/Getty Images.)Covid vaccines and blood clots, Tanzania’s hidden epidemic? Haitian healthcare in ChileAs further European countries announce precautionary suspension of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine over fears it may have caused blood clots in a very small number of people, Claudia talks to BBC Health Editor James Gallagher about what the data really tells us about the safety of this vaccine. Tanzania and Covid. Claudia talks to BBC Africa Correspondent Leila Nathoo about Covid in Tanzania. President Magufuli was one of Africa’s most prominent Covid-19 sceptics, and is now rumoured to have died of the disease himself. Last year he said the disease had been eradicated from Tanzania by three days of national prayer but does Tanzania have a hidden epidemic? Vaccine Side Effects. Claudia discovers why there seems to be such a difference in how people have reacted to the vaccine, from no side effects at all, to mild flu like symptoms. She looks at how the vaccine triggers an immune response, and why it can’t give you Covid. Haitians in Chile. Chile has long been a destination for immigrants from other countries in the region because there are more work opportunities. People from places like Venezuela, Bolivia and Peru make up around 8 percent of the 19 million population and the number is growing every year. What’s surprising is that the third biggest group of immigrants in Chile come from the Caribbean country Haiti. Health services are quickly having to learn ways to integrate their new patients who have different approaches to healthcare as Jane Chambers reports. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Alexandra Feachem (Picture: A vial of AstraZeneca vaccine at Krakow University Hospital, Poland in February 2021. Photo credit: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto/Getty Images.)Wed, 17 Mar 2021 21:00:00 +00001586urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszcdchttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszcdccleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszcdcAs the roll out of vaccines across Africa gathers pace we look to the future, how vaccination may help ease travel restrictions and ways to convince those still reluctant to get vaccinated. We also look at diabetes, the disease is more common than we might think affecting a wide range of people. With Rhoda Odhiambo, Anne Mawathe and Priscilla Ngethe.How the roll out of vaccines is progressingAs the roll out of vaccines across Africa gathers pace we look to the future, how vaccination may help ease travel restrictions and ways to convince those still reluctant to get vaccinated. We also look at diabetes, the disease is more common than we might think affecting a wide range of people. With Rhoda Odhiambo, Anne Mawathe and Priscilla Ngethe.Fri, 12 Mar 2021 14:00:00 +00001588urn:bbc:podcast:p099j12shttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p099j12scleanBBC World Service/programmes/p099j12sA significant proportion of sufferers of Long Covid are reporting that their symptoms lessen or disappear completely after receiving a coronavirus vaccination. At the moment, the evidence is just anecdotal but doctors and researchers are intrigued. Claudia talks to New York infectious disease doctor Daniel Griffin who estimates that more than a third of his patients are getting some relief following vaccination and Prof Janet Lord, professor of immunology at Birmingham University, runs through the possible explanations. Dangerous myths about blood transfusions. Dayo Yusuf reports from eastern Kenya on the myths about them in some pastoralist communities and meets the parents who rejected the option of a life-saving blood transfusion for their son who has chronic anaemia. They feared bad character traits of the donor would be passed onto him. Monica Lakhanpaul, professor of paediatrics, discusses other damaging health myths that she has studied in South Asia and how these false beliefs about the body and modern medical interventions can be most effectively tackled. Claudia talks to neurologist Prof Peter Goadsby, one of the winners of this year’s Brain Prize – the Nobel equivalent for neuroscience. Four neurologists have won for their research on migraine – basic medical research that has culminated in a new generation of highly effective medications in the last couple of years. As Claudia’s studio guest, Monica Lakhanpaul also offers thoughts about migraine as someone who suffers from them herself and who treats young people for migraine. She also talks about research she’s been doing in Rajasthan about the causes of stunted growth in young children – she’s discovered that the causes are much more complicated than inadequate nutrition. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Alexandra Feachem (Picture: A woman receiving a vaccination at home. Photo credit: FG Trade/Getty Images.)Long Covid and vaccines, blood transfusion myths, and MigrainesA significant proportion of sufferers of Long Covid are reporting that their symptoms lessen or disappear completely after receiving a coronavirus vaccination. At the moment, the evidence is just anecdotal but doctors and researchers are intrigued. Claudia talks to New York infectious disease doctor Daniel Griffin who estimates that more than a third of his patients are getting some relief following vaccination and Prof Janet Lord, professor of immunology at Birmingham University, runs through the possible explanations. Dangerous myths about blood transfusions. Dayo Yusuf reports from eastern Kenya on the myths about them in some pastoralist communities and meets the parents who rejected the option of a life-saving blood transfusion for their son who has chronic anaemia. They feared bad character traits of the donor would be passed onto him. Monica Lakhanpaul, professor of paediatrics, discusses other damaging health myths that she has studied in South Asia and how these false beliefs about the body and modern medical interventions can be most effectively tackled. Claudia talks to neurologist Prof Peter Goadsby, one of the winners of this year’s Brain Prize – the Nobel equivalent for neuroscience. Four neurologists have won for their research on migraine – basic medical research that has culminated in a new generation of highly effective medications in the last couple of years. As Claudia’s studio guest, Monica Lakhanpaul also offers thoughts about migraine as someone who suffers from them herself and who treats young people for migraine. She also talks about research she’s been doing in Rajasthan about the causes of stunted growth in young children – she’s discovered that the causes are much more complicated than inadequate nutrition. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Alexandra Feachem (Picture: A woman receiving a vaccination at home. Photo credit: FG Trade/Getty Images.)Wed, 10 Mar 2021 21:00:00 +00001588urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszcdbhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszcdbcleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszcdbWhen it comes to mending broken bones or rectifying the eye problems caused by the disease Trachoma, what place does traditional medicine have? Many people would choose traditional medicine practitioners over conventional doctors and hospitals. However herbalism and spiritual belief are poor substitutes when surgery is needed. Can these two very different approaches be reconciled for the benefit of patients? Priscila Ngethe, Khadidiatou Cisse, and Charles Mgbolu discuss the conflict and potential for collaboration between the opposing forces of traditional and orthodox medicine.Can traditional treatments, including calling on ancestors, help with serious ailments?When it comes to mending broken bones or rectifying the eye problems caused by the disease Trachoma, what place does traditional medicine have? Many people would choose traditional medicine practitioners over conventional doctors and hospitals. However herbalism and spiritual belief are poor substitutes when surgery is needed. Can these two very different approaches be reconciled for the benefit of patients? Priscila Ngethe, Khadidiatou Cisse, and Charles Mgbolu discuss the conflict and potential for collaboration between the opposing forces of traditional and orthodox medicine.Fri, 05 Mar 2021 12:15:00 +00001588urn:bbc:podcast:p098tft5http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p098tft5cleanBBC World Service/programmes/p098tft5Health Check looks into issues around Covid-19 vaccination and pregnant women. Harvard researcher Julia Wu has just done a global survey of attitudes of pregnant women about being vaccinated against Covid-19. Acceptance is highest in low and middle income countries such as India and Latin America. The greatest levels of reluctance were in the US and Russia. Pfizer has started the first trial of a Covid-19 vaccine in pregnant women, which will ultimately involve 4000 women in ten countries in the Americas, Africa and Asia. Should we have waited this long for the first trial in this group of people, seeing that pregnant women are at greater risk of hospitalisation, death and premature birth if they become infected? Claudia discusses the unknowns and risk/benefit considerations around vaccinating pregnant women against the virus, with Johns Hopkins medical ethicist Ruth Faden and maternal immunisation researcher Acuzena Bardiji of the Institute for Global Health in Barcelona. Matt Fox in Boston is our guest of the week, talking about the latest evidence for Covid vaccines being transmission blockers and whether vaccine hesitant people should be paid to be immunised. From a freezing Canadian river bank, Sian Griffiths reports on the health pros and cons of surfing three metre high waves on the ice filled Ottawa River. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker Image: Pregnant woman receiving a coronavirus vaccine in Tel Aviv, Israel Credit: Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty ImagesHealth Check examines the issues around Covid-19 vaccines and pregnancyHealth Check looks into issues around Covid-19 vaccination and pregnant women. Harvard researcher Julia Wu has just done a global survey of attitudes of pregnant women about being vaccinated against Covid-19. Acceptance is highest in low and middle income countries such as India and Latin America. The greatest levels of reluctance were in the US and Russia. Pfizer has started the first trial of a Covid-19 vaccine in pregnant women, which will ultimately involve 4000 women in ten countries in the Americas, Africa and Asia. Should we have waited this long for the first trial in this group of people, seeing that pregnant women are at greater risk of hospitalisation, death and premature birth if they become infected? Claudia discusses the unknowns and risk/benefit considerations around vaccinating pregnant women against the virus, with Johns Hopkins medical ethicist Ruth Faden and maternal immunisation researcher Acuzena Bardiji of the Institute for Global Health in Barcelona. Matt Fox in Boston is our guest of the week, talking about the latest evidence for Covid vaccines being transmission blockers and whether vaccine hesitant people should be paid to be immunised. From a freezing Canadian river bank, Sian Griffiths reports on the health pros and cons of surfing three metre high waves on the ice filled Ottawa River. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker Image: Pregnant woman receiving a coronavirus vaccine in Tel Aviv, Israel Credit: Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty ImagesWed, 03 Mar 2021 21:00:00 +00001814urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszcd9http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszcd9cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszcd9We’re looking at why levels of blood donation in Africa are so low compared with other parts of the world. From Nigeria we hear about hospitals having to ask patients and family members to give blood to ensure there is enough for their relatives if they require treatment. From Somalia we look at how the continuing violence and unrest has brought into sharp focus the need for an organised system of blood donation – currently there is only one donor centre – for the whole country, run by volunteers. And in Kenya we meet people who refuse blood transfusions, believing they might take on the characteristics of the person donating the blood. Health workers and religious leaders are coming together to try to change these beliefs. Presented by Priscilla Ngethe with contributions from Bella Sheegow, Charles Mgbolu and Dayo Yusuf. (Picture: People donating blood in Kenya. Credit: Getty Images)Why don’t people want to give blood?We’re looking at why levels of blood donation in Africa are so low compared with other parts of the world. From Nigeria we hear about hospitals having to ask patients and family members to give blood to ensure there is enough for their relatives if they require treatment. From Somalia we look at how the continuing violence and unrest has brought into sharp focus the need for an organised system of blood donation – currently there is only one donor centre – for the whole country, run by volunteers. And in Kenya we meet people who refuse blood transfusions, believing they might take on the characteristics of the person donating the blood. Health workers and religious leaders are coming together to try to change these beliefs. Presented by Priscilla Ngethe with contributions from Bella Sheegow, Charles Mgbolu and Dayo Yusuf. (Picture: People donating blood in Kenya. Credit: Getty Images)Fri, 26 Feb 2021 17:00:00 +00001588urn:bbc:podcast:p0985g0hhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0985g0hcleanBBC World Service/programmes/p0985g0hHealth Check discusses Long Covid with Nishi Chaturvedi, professor clinical epidemiology at University College London, and Dr Shamil Haroon, family doctor and public health researcher at the University of Birmingham. They’ve both begun big research projects on what Long Covid is, what causes it and how best to treat patients. We also hear from two people whose lives have transformed for the worse by the syndrome. Claudia talks to Professor Gagandeep Kang who has delivered a keynote talk at this week’s Commonwealth Science Conference. Her theme was how the world’s scientists were able to develop multiple coronavirus vaccines so quickly. She says the global health community were determined to learn the lessons from the Ebola epidemic in West Africa in 2014 to 2016. Professor Kang is one of India’s leading vaccinologists, based at the Wellcome Trust Research Laboratory at the Christian Medical College in Vellore. Claudia also asks her about the latest coronavirus infection rate in India and why the mortality rate has been much lower there than in many other countries. Dr Ann Robinson is Claudia’s guest of the week, talking about the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, how research on Long Covid may benefit many more than those who have it, and a ketamine nasal spray for the treatment of severe depression. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: Ill woman with purple face mask coughing, lying down and resting. Photo credit: Ruslan Dashinsky/Getty Images.)The UK has launched four major research programmes into Long CovidHealth Check discusses Long Covid with Nishi Chaturvedi, professor clinical epidemiology at University College London, and Dr Shamil Haroon, family doctor and public health researcher at the University of Birmingham. They’ve both begun big research projects on what Long Covid is, what causes it and how best to treat patients. We also hear from two people whose lives have transformed for the worse by the syndrome. Claudia talks to Professor Gagandeep Kang who has delivered a keynote talk at this week’s Commonwealth Science Conference. Her theme was how the world’s scientists were able to develop multiple coronavirus vaccines so quickly. She says the global health community were determined to learn the lessons from the Ebola epidemic in West Africa in 2014 to 2016. Professor Kang is one of India’s leading vaccinologists, based at the Wellcome Trust Research Laboratory at the Christian Medical College in Vellore. Claudia also asks her about the latest coronavirus infection rate in India and why the mortality rate has been much lower there than in many other countries. Dr Ann Robinson is Claudia’s guest of the week, talking about the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, how research on Long Covid may benefit many more than those who have it, and a ketamine nasal spray for the treatment of severe depression. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: Ill woman with purple face mask coughing, lying down and resting. Photo credit: Ruslan Dashinsky/Getty Images.)Wed, 24 Feb 2021 21:00:00 +00002137urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszcd8http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszcd8cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszcd8We’re looking at a health issue that disproportionately affects black women - Uterine fibroids. These are non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the womb. There is little research on what causes fibroids or how to prevent them. Azeezat Olaoluwa, BBC News Women’s Affairs journalist based in Lagos, has been investigating. And the findings from a small study in South Africa on a leading Covid-19 vaccine have led to questions over its effectiveness. This one offers the most promise for Africa as it doesn’t need to be kept at super low temperatures. There are still plans to roll out this vaccine across Africa, though South Africa is now looking for alternatives. Rhoda Odhiambo has been looking into what it all means. Presented by Priscilla Ngethe.A neglected area of reproductive health and concerns over Covid-19 vaccination in AfricaWe’re looking at a health issue that disproportionately affects black women - Uterine fibroids. These are non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the womb. There is little research on what causes fibroids or how to prevent them. Azeezat Olaoluwa, BBC News Women’s Affairs journalist based in Lagos, has been investigating. And the findings from a small study in South Africa on a leading Covid-19 vaccine have led to questions over its effectiveness. This one offers the most promise for Africa as it doesn’t need to be kept at super low temperatures. There are still plans to roll out this vaccine across Africa, though South Africa is now looking for alternatives. Rhoda Odhiambo has been looking into what it all means. Presented by Priscilla Ngethe.Fri, 19 Feb 2021 14:56:00 +00001588urn:bbc:podcast:p097hym0http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p097hym0cleanBBC World Service/programmes/p097hym0Claudia talks to Dr Lucia Chambal at the Central Hospital of Maputo in Mozambique. She is helping to coordinate the response of the country’s largest hospital to an ongoing surge in new Covid patients. In the last three weeks, they’ve had to create more than new 150 beds to accommodate these patients, including erecting large tents to act as Covid wards in the hospital grounds. Dr Chambal talks about the pressures, saying they’ve admitted many more patients since January than during the entire period between last March and December. A study at New York hospital has revealed the substantial benefits of giving mobilising physiotherapy to hospitalised Covid-19 patients. In the first months of the pandemic at the Montefiore Medical Center when patient numbers dramatically increased, some patients received physiotherapy while others didn’t because of a lack of PPE for therapists. Looking back at the fate of both groups of patients, the hospital has now found that the survival rate of those getting the therapy was twice that of those who didn’t. What makes that result particularly interesting is the people who were given physical therapy were on average older and more likely to have risky health conditions. Yet their chances of survival were higher because of the therapy. Is coconut oil an amazing superfood or an overhyped food fad? Africa Life Clinic’s Dayo Yusif reports from coconut heaven on Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast. BBC Health and Science correspondent James Gallagher is Claudia’s studio guest, talking about evidence from Israel that the vaccination programme there is reducing the spread of the coronavirus in the population: whether the drug Budesonide in asthma inhalers prevents Covid illness development: and whether there is such a thing as a superfood. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: A woman walks with her daughter in Maputo, Mozambique in February 2021. Photo credit: Alfredo Zuniga/AFP/Getty Images.)Doctor in Mozambique’s largest hospital on the massive surge in Covid cases and deathsClaudia talks to Dr Lucia Chambal at the Central Hospital of Maputo in Mozambique. She is helping to coordinate the response of the country’s largest hospital to an ongoing surge in new Covid patients. In the last three weeks, they’ve had to create more than new 150 beds to accommodate these patients, including erecting large tents to act as Covid wards in the hospital grounds. Dr Chambal talks about the pressures, saying they’ve admitted many more patients since January than during the entire period between last March and December. A study at New York hospital has revealed the substantial benefits of giving mobilising physiotherapy to hospitalised Covid-19 patients. In the first months of the pandemic at the Montefiore Medical Center when patient numbers dramatically increased, some patients received physiotherapy while others didn’t because of a lack of PPE for therapists. Looking back at the fate of both groups of patients, the hospital has now found that the survival rate of those getting the therapy was twice that of those who didn’t. What makes that result particularly interesting is the people who were given physical therapy were on average older and more likely to have risky health conditions. Yet their chances of survival were higher because of the therapy. Is coconut oil an amazing superfood or an overhyped food fad? Africa Life Clinic’s Dayo Yusif reports from coconut heaven on Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast. BBC Health and Science correspondent James Gallagher is Claudia’s studio guest, talking about evidence from Israel that the vaccination programme there is reducing the spread of the coronavirus in the population: whether the drug Budesonide in asthma inhalers prevents Covid illness development: and whether there is such a thing as a superfood. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: A woman walks with her daughter in Maputo, Mozambique in February 2021. Photo credit: Alfredo Zuniga/AFP/Getty Images.)Wed, 17 Feb 2021 21:00:00 +00001954urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszcd7http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszcd7cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszcd7Infections caused by germs which have become resistant to the medicines used to treat them pose a great threat to people’s health, as curable diseases become untreatable. Unregulated medicine dispensation and improper cleaning and sanitation at hospitals can all contribute to the spread of resistant germs. Overuse of antibiotics in animal rearing can also contribute, although this is less prevalent in Africa. Professor Joachim Osur and Dr John Kiiru explain. Many claims have been made about the potential health benefits of coconut oil. The oil is used widely in cooking and for hair, skin and healthcare. Dayo Yusuf travelled to Mombasa, Kenya, to investigate how coconut oil is produced and explore the nutritional facts and fiction. Priscilla Ngethe discusses these issues with BBC Africa Health Editor Anne Mawathe and reporter Dayo Yusuf.How to combat antibiotic resistance and the truth about the health claims of coconut oilInfections caused by germs which have become resistant to the medicines used to treat them pose a great threat to people’s health, as curable diseases become untreatable. Unregulated medicine dispensation and improper cleaning and sanitation at hospitals can all contribute to the spread of resistant germs. Overuse of antibiotics in animal rearing can also contribute, although this is less prevalent in Africa. Professor Joachim Osur and Dr John Kiiru explain. Many claims have been made about the potential health benefits of coconut oil. The oil is used widely in cooking and for hair, skin and healthcare. Dayo Yusuf travelled to Mombasa, Kenya, to investigate how coconut oil is produced and explore the nutritional facts and fiction. Priscilla Ngethe discusses these issues with BBC Africa Health Editor Anne Mawathe and reporter Dayo Yusuf.Mon, 15 Feb 2021 18:31:00 +00001588urn:bbc:podcast:p0972slchttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0972slccleanBBC World Service/programmes/p0972slcThe South African government has decided to pause its roll-out of the Astrazeneca-Oxford vaccine because of disappointing results of the vaccine’s effectiveness against the most common variant in the country in a trial of young people. And is there any good evidence from trials elsewhere that this vaccine reduces the chances of people spreading the coronavirus to others, as well as preventing severe illness and death? How do you test whether a vaccine prevents or reduces transmission of the coronavirus? Claudia’s regular guest epidemiologist Professor Matt Fox of Boston University discusses the issues. Claudia talks to two ovarian cancer specialists, Dorothy Lombe in Zambia and Georgia Funtes Cintra in Brazil about the challenges and success stories in providing treatment and care for women with this kind of cancer. The Global Cancer Coalition Network has released a report documenting the worsening situation in cancer care in 104 countries because of the coronavirus pandemic. Dorothy and Georgia tell us how the disruption has affected their patients. As Donald Trump’s impeachment trial gets underway, reporter Alison van Diggelen looks at social science research on political polarisation in US society, and an experiment run by Stanford University to heal divisions. Does a frequent intake of spicy food influence a person’s risk of developing cancers of the gut? Studies to date have been inconclusive but now a massive study following 500,000 people comes out of China, finding that spicy food is protective. Spicy food appears to lower the risk of getting cancer of the oesophagus and, to a lesser extent, the stomach as well. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: A doctor walks in the Respiratory & Meningeal Pathogens Research Unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, South Africa in July 2020. Photo credit: Luca Sola/AFP/Getty Images.)AstraZeneca vaccine disappoints in South Africa but may reduce virus spread elsewhereThe South African government has decided to pause its roll-out of the Astrazeneca-Oxford vaccine because of disappointing results of the vaccine’s effectiveness against the most common variant in the country in a trial of young people. And is there any good evidence from trials elsewhere that this vaccine reduces the chances of people spreading the coronavirus to others, as well as preventing severe illness and death? How do you test whether a vaccine prevents or reduces transmission of the coronavirus? Claudia’s regular guest epidemiologist Professor Matt Fox of Boston University discusses the issues. Claudia talks to two ovarian cancer specialists, Dorothy Lombe in Zambia and Georgia Funtes Cintra in Brazil about the challenges and success stories in providing treatment and care for women with this kind of cancer. The Global Cancer Coalition Network has released a report documenting the worsening situation in cancer care in 104 countries because of the coronavirus pandemic. Dorothy and Georgia tell us how the disruption has affected their patients. As Donald Trump’s impeachment trial gets underway, reporter Alison van Diggelen looks at social science research on political polarisation in US society, and an experiment run by Stanford University to heal divisions. Does a frequent intake of spicy food influence a person’s risk of developing cancers of the gut? Studies to date have been inconclusive but now a massive study following 500,000 people comes out of China, finding that spicy food is protective. Spicy food appears to lower the risk of getting cancer of the oesophagus and, to a lesser extent, the stomach as well. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: A doctor walks in the Respiratory & Meningeal Pathogens Research Unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, South Africa in July 2020. Photo credit: Luca Sola/AFP/Getty Images.)Wed, 10 Feb 2021 21:00:00 +00002302urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszcd6http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszcd6cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszcd6So far five African counties have begun vaccination campaigns, with vaccines gifted to them by wealthier countries. For many of the continent’s 1.2 billion people Covid -19 vaccinations will come through the COVAX initiative, which is a programme designed to reach many of the poor and vulnerable across the world. Whilst this is a huge task, Africa does have the advantage of having developed effective methods of delivering vaccinations with campaigns to fight Polio and Ebola. Along with the global pandemic, life threatening diseases such as cholera still thrive in inadequate sanitary conditions which is the situation for many people worldwide. However, there are some relatively simple and cheap solutions available, such as a scheme to build waterless latrines in Nigeria. Reporters Rhoda Odhiambo and Charles Mgbolu join presenter Priscilla Ngethe to discuss these health issues.Vaccinating Africa’s 1.2 billion people against Covid-19 & simple sanitation solutionsSo far five African counties have begun vaccination campaigns, with vaccines gifted to them by wealthier countries. For many of the continent’s 1.2 billion people Covid -19 vaccinations will come through the COVAX initiative, which is a programme designed to reach many of the poor and vulnerable across the world. Whilst this is a huge task, Africa does have the advantage of having developed effective methods of delivering vaccinations with campaigns to fight Polio and Ebola. Along with the global pandemic, life threatening diseases such as cholera still thrive in inadequate sanitary conditions which is the situation for many people worldwide. However, there are some relatively simple and cheap solutions available, such as a scheme to build waterless latrines in Nigeria. Reporters Rhoda Odhiambo and Charles Mgbolu join presenter Priscilla Ngethe to discuss these health issues.Mon, 08 Feb 2021 13:52:00 +00001592urn:bbc:podcast:p096cvxthttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p096cvxtcleanBBC World Service/programmes/p096cvxtClaudia Hammond discusses the latest influx of excellent Covid-19 vaccine results with Sarah Boseley, health editor of The Guardian. Dr Samara Linton reports on efforts by black doctors in the UK to overcome vaccine hesitancy in their communities. The Biden administration is to rescind the USA’s Mexico City Policy which denies federal aid funding to organisations overseas that provide abortion counselling or services. The policy, also known as the Global Gag, prevented other family planning and HIV prevention services from receiving essential funding. Joy Phumaphi, former Botswanan health minister and now with the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health talks to Claudia about the impact of the policy on the health and wellbeing on women and children in sub-Saharan Africa, and about the prospects for these services after the Mexico City Policy’s imminent demise. A team of eye specialists at University College London has found that levels of air pollution typical of big cities around the world increase the risk of one of the commonest causes of age-related sight loss – macular degeneration, a progressive deterioration of the retina. Professor Paul Foster tells Claudia how airborne pollutants from traffic and industry can damage the eye. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: Dr. Nita Patel, Director of Antibody discovery and Vaccine development, lifts a vial with a potential coronavirus, COVID-19, vaccine at Novavax labs in Gaithersburg, Maryland in March 2020. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP.)With a new slew of good Covid vaccine trial results, a remarkable trend emergesClaudia Hammond discusses the latest influx of excellent Covid-19 vaccine results with Sarah Boseley, health editor of The Guardian. Dr Samara Linton reports on efforts by black doctors in the UK to overcome vaccine hesitancy in their communities. The Biden administration is to rescind the USA’s Mexico City Policy which denies federal aid funding to organisations overseas that provide abortion counselling or services. The policy, also known as the Global Gag, prevented other family planning and HIV prevention services from receiving essential funding. Joy Phumaphi, former Botswanan health minister and now with the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health talks to Claudia about the impact of the policy on the health and wellbeing on women and children in sub-Saharan Africa, and about the prospects for these services after the Mexico City Policy’s imminent demise. A team of eye specialists at University College London has found that levels of air pollution typical of big cities around the world increase the risk of one of the commonest causes of age-related sight loss – macular degeneration, a progressive deterioration of the retina. Professor Paul Foster tells Claudia how airborne pollutants from traffic and industry can damage the eye. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: Dr. Nita Patel, Director of Antibody discovery and Vaccine development, lifts a vial with a potential coronavirus, COVID-19, vaccine at Novavax labs in Gaithersburg, Maryland in March 2020. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP.)Wed, 03 Feb 2021 21:00:00 +00002007urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszcd5http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszcd5cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszcd5The Brazilian city of Manaus remains in a state of crisis as its second surge of Covid-19 cases continues to overwhelm its hospitals and kill hundreds of people every day. Dr Marcus Lacerda, a clinical researcher at the FioCruz Institute talks to Claudia about the city’s medical oxygen supply shortage and why the coronavirus has caused even more suffering during this second surge of cases. One of the commonest symptoms of Covid-19 illness is the loss of the sense of smell. It returns after a few weeks in most people but a significant minority still can’t smell anything many months later. We talk to Professor Carl Philpott of Norwich Medical School who’s led an international panel of nose doctors, assessing the evidence for the best therapies to restore the olfactory sense to people who’ve lost it following respiratory infections. So-called smell training comes out top as the most evidence-based approach. Carl explains how it works and we hear from two people who are trying to regain their sense of smell. Can some people suffer from the side effects of some drugs because they are expecting to experience them, and not because the drugs are actually causing them? That does seem to the case with statins, the cholesterol-lowering drugs prescribed to many millions of people around the world. Many people stop taking them because of side effects such as joint pain and muscle aches. But a fascinating study suggests that in many patients, it’s not the drugs that are the problem but something known as the nocebo effect - the evil twin of the placebo effect. We hear from Imperial College London cardiologist James Howard and one of the study’s participants. Doctor Graham Easton is Claudia’s guest of the week, talking about whether Covid vaccines will be effective against the new, more infectious variants of the coronavirus; a link between afternoon naps and sharper mental agility; and he comments on the nocebo effect in medicine. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: A man holds an oxygen tank in Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil in January 2021 amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo credit: Michael Dantas/AFP/Getty Images.)Health system meltdown as coronavirus infections surge in Manaus for a second timeThe Brazilian city of Manaus remains in a state of crisis as its second surge of Covid-19 cases continues to overwhelm its hospitals and kill hundreds of people every day. Dr Marcus Lacerda, a clinical researcher at the FioCruz Institute talks to Claudia about the city’s medical oxygen supply shortage and why the coronavirus has caused even more suffering during this second surge of cases. One of the commonest symptoms of Covid-19 illness is the loss of the sense of smell. It returns after a few weeks in most people but a significant minority still can’t smell anything many months later. We talk to Professor Carl Philpott of Norwich Medical School who’s led an international panel of nose doctors, assessing the evidence for the best therapies to restore the olfactory sense to people who’ve lost it following respiratory infections. So-called smell training comes out top as the most evidence-based approach. Carl explains how it works and we hear from two people who are trying to regain their sense of smell. Can some people suffer from the side effects of some drugs because they are expecting to experience them, and not because the drugs are actually causing them? That does seem to the case with statins, the cholesterol-lowering drugs prescribed to many millions of people around the world. Many people stop taking them because of side effects such as joint pain and muscle aches. But a fascinating study suggests that in many patients, it’s not the drugs that are the problem but something known as the nocebo effect - the evil twin of the placebo effect. We hear from Imperial College London cardiologist James Howard and one of the study’s participants. Doctor Graham Easton is Claudia’s guest of the week, talking about whether Covid vaccines will be effective against the new, more infectious variants of the coronavirus; a link between afternoon naps and sharper mental agility; and he comments on the nocebo effect in medicine. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: A man holds an oxygen tank in Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil in January 2021 amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo credit: Michael Dantas/AFP/Getty Images.)Wed, 27 Jan 2021 21:00:00 +00002294urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszcd4http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszcd4cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszcd4After the first few days of India’s Covid mass vaccination programme rollout, Claudia talks to medical ethicist and health policy expert Anant Bhan about the issues arising from the lack of efficacy data for one of the two vaccines. Will they undermine confidence in this gargantuan public health exercise? Cindy Sui reports from Taiwan about a recent increase in the number of suicides among students there. Claudia talks to Zi-Jun Liu about the obese miniature pigs that he is using to study the dangerous condition of sleep apnoea. Claudia’s guest of the week is Tabitha Mwangi of Cambridge University, with news on making yellow fever vaccines go much further when there’s a serious outbreak, protecting vulnerable children from malaria and how the pandemic is putting commercial sex workers in West Africa at greater risk of HIV infection. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: BMC medical staff congratulate their colleague Sr. staff nurse Charushila More after she administered the first Covid-19 vaccine shot at KEM hospital, on January 16, 2021 in Mumbai, India. Photo credit: Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times/Getty Images.)India’s Covid mass vaccination begins. But there are questionsAfter the first few days of India’s Covid mass vaccination programme rollout, Claudia talks to medical ethicist and health policy expert Anant Bhan about the issues arising from the lack of efficacy data for one of the two vaccines. Will they undermine confidence in this gargantuan public health exercise? Cindy Sui reports from Taiwan about a recent increase in the number of suicides among students there. Claudia talks to Zi-Jun Liu about the obese miniature pigs that he is using to study the dangerous condition of sleep apnoea. Claudia’s guest of the week is Tabitha Mwangi of Cambridge University, with news on making yellow fever vaccines go much further when there’s a serious outbreak, protecting vulnerable children from malaria and how the pandemic is putting commercial sex workers in West Africa at greater risk of HIV infection. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: BMC medical staff congratulate their colleague Sr. staff nurse Charushila More after she administered the first Covid-19 vaccine shot at KEM hospital, on January 16, 2021 in Mumbai, India. Photo credit: Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times/Getty Images.)Wed, 20 Jan 2021 21:00:00 +00002170urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszcd3http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszcd3cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszcd3BBC global health correspondent Naomi Grimley joins Claudia Hammond for a round-up of the latest developments in Covid vaccines and their rollouts – including the World Health Organisation’s Director General who has admonished richer countries and pharma companies for undermining the chances of access to vaccines for all countries. Plus a controversial vaccine rollout in India and the Iranian leader wants to ban US and UK vaccines. Claudia’s guest of the week is family doctor Ann Robinson who has perspectives on some of the latest Covid treatment news. Early results suggests a place for two monoclonal antibodies in treating patients who are sick enough to be in intensive care, although the drugs are expensive. And there are some encouraging results from a small trial in Argentina of convalescent plasma therapy in older mildly ill patients. The pandemic has disrupted the training of the next generation of health professionals. From Chile, Jane Chambers reports on how a leading dental college in Santiago is innovating to keep the practical tuition of its students up to standard. Ann Robinson tells Claudia about new research measuring the role of air pollution in miscarriages and stillbirths in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Should only doctors do surgery? Claudia talks to Sierra Leonian surgeon Thomas Ashley and Jenny Lofgren of the Karolinska about training more junior health care workers to perform relatively simple surgical procedures such as hernia repair, in the hope of addressing the enormous unmet need for this operation across sub-Saharan Africa. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Image: Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines pictured in January 2021 in Liege, Belgium. Photo credit: Vincent Kalut/Photonews/Getty Images.)Are poorer countries missing out in the global vaccine rollout? A warning from the WHOBBC global health correspondent Naomi Grimley joins Claudia Hammond for a round-up of the latest developments in Covid vaccines and their rollouts – including the World Health Organisation’s Director General who has admonished richer countries and pharma companies for undermining the chances of access to vaccines for all countries. Plus a controversial vaccine rollout in India and the Iranian leader wants to ban US and UK vaccines. Claudia’s guest of the week is family doctor Ann Robinson who has perspectives on some of the latest Covid treatment news. Early results suggests a place for two monoclonal antibodies in treating patients who are sick enough to be in intensive care, although the drugs are expensive. And there are some encouraging results from a small trial in Argentina of convalescent plasma therapy in older mildly ill patients. The pandemic has disrupted the training of the next generation of health professionals. From Chile, Jane Chambers reports on how a leading dental college in Santiago is innovating to keep the practical tuition of its students up to standard. Ann Robinson tells Claudia about new research measuring the role of air pollution in miscarriages and stillbirths in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Should only doctors do surgery? Claudia talks to Sierra Leonian surgeon Thomas Ashley and Jenny Lofgren of the Karolinska about training more junior health care workers to perform relatively simple surgical procedures such as hernia repair, in the hope of addressing the enormous unmet need for this operation across sub-Saharan Africa. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Image: Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines pictured in January 2021 in Liege, Belgium. Photo credit: Vincent Kalut/Photonews/Getty Images.)Wed, 13 Jan 2021 21:00:00 +00002054urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszcd2http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszcd2cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszcd2Claudia Hammond talks to Guardian health editor Sarah Boseley exactly one year after she and Claudia first talked on Health Check about a mysterious respiratory disease that had appeared in Wuhan in China – with 59 cases reported at that point. What have been the highs and lows of the world’s response to the coronavirus so far? Alison van Diggelen reports from the USA on research which has found that on average the mental wellbeing of older people has held up better during the pandemic than that of younger generations, despite the mortality risk being much higher for the elderly. Researchers in California and Georgia have also looked at why. For listeners living under strict lockdowns, psychologist Virginia Frum recommends awe walks. Walks during which you deliberately look out for things to be amazed by can boost your emotional wellbeing. You don’t have to travel to spectacular scenery: awe walks can work just as well in a city as out in nature. Boston University’s global health epidemiologist Matthew Fox is Claudia’s guest of the week. They discuss the United States’ troubled Covid vaccine rollout, the long term health problems of conflict refugees, and how smartphones can improve a low-tech method of cervical cancer screening. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: Medical staff members wearing protective clothing accompanying a patient in Wuhan, China in January 2020. Photo credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images.)The show looks back at the pandemic exactly one year since we first reported its startClaudia Hammond talks to Guardian health editor Sarah Boseley exactly one year after she and Claudia first talked on Health Check about a mysterious respiratory disease that had appeared in Wuhan in China – with 59 cases reported at that point. What have been the highs and lows of the world’s response to the coronavirus so far? Alison van Diggelen reports from the USA on research which has found that on average the mental wellbeing of older people has held up better during the pandemic than that of younger generations, despite the mortality risk being much higher for the elderly. Researchers in California and Georgia have also looked at why. For listeners living under strict lockdowns, psychologist Virginia Frum recommends awe walks. Walks during which you deliberately look out for things to be amazed by can boost your emotional wellbeing. You don’t have to travel to spectacular scenery: awe walks can work just as well in a city as out in nature. Boston University’s global health epidemiologist Matthew Fox is Claudia’s guest of the week. They discuss the United States’ troubled Covid vaccine rollout, the long term health problems of conflict refugees, and how smartphones can improve a low-tech method of cervical cancer screening. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: Medical staff members wearing protective clothing accompanying a patient in Wuhan, China in January 2020. Photo credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images.)Wed, 06 Jan 2021 21:00:00 +00002368urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszcd1http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszcd1cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszcd1Claudia Hammond explores how children think with two psychologists; Dr Victoria Simms from Ulster University who researches how children’s understanding of maths develops and Professor Teresa McCormack from Queens University Belfast who researches how children understand time. The discussion was recorded in front of an audience at the Northern Ireland Science Festival in February 2020. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Caroline Steel (Picture: A group of preschool students sitting on the floor with their legs crossed and their arms raised in the air. Photo credit: FatCamera/Getty Images.)Doughnuts today or tomorrow? How 4 year olds understand timeClaudia Hammond explores how children think with two psychologists; Dr Victoria Simms from Ulster University who researches how children’s understanding of maths develops and Professor Teresa McCormack from Queens University Belfast who researches how children understand time. The discussion was recorded in front of an audience at the Northern Ireland Science Festival in February 2020. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Caroline Steel (Picture: A group of preschool students sitting on the floor with their legs crossed and their arms raised in the air. Photo credit: FatCamera/Getty Images.)Wed, 30 Dec 2020 21:00:00 +00001653urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszcd0http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszcd0cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszcd0Have you lost a loved one who is still a part of your life in some way? Did it leave you feeling confused or frozen about how to continue with life? Claudia Hammond examines the distressing phenomenon known as ambiguous loss – the enormous challenge of dealing with a loss when you aren’t sure what has happened, leaving you searching for answers, unable to move on. What has the pandemic done to our memories? Anecdotally many people report that they keep forgetting things which they are sure they would have remembered before. Psychologist Catherine Loveday of the University of Westminster examines the new emerging evidence. Our brain is formed of two hemispheres and in most of us, the two halves are interconnected by millions of nerve fibres that form a large bridging structure called the corpus callosum. But some babies are born without a corpus callosum, linking the two sides. A quarter of these babies grow up with serious developmental difficulties and half have mild to moderate cognitive problems. But a quarter have no problems at all suggesting that somehow the brain is compensating for the low level of connectivity between the two hemispheres. New brain scanning research at the University of Geneva by Dr Vanessa Sifreddi has revealed how the brain does this. Are you more open, less conscientious or more neurotic than you used to be? It used to be thought that personality was fixed in adulthood but it can and does change. Psychologist Eileen Graham has studied data from thousands of people and explains how and which traits are likely to increase or decrease. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: Vintage orange velvet armchair in a stylish, minimal domestic room. Photo credit: Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty Images.)Have you lost a loved one who is still a part of your life in some way?Have you lost a loved one who is still a part of your life in some way? Did it leave you feeling confused or frozen about how to continue with life? Claudia Hammond examines the distressing phenomenon known as ambiguous loss – the enormous challenge of dealing with a loss when you aren’t sure what has happened, leaving you searching for answers, unable to move on. What has the pandemic done to our memories? Anecdotally many people report that they keep forgetting things which they are sure they would have remembered before. Psychologist Catherine Loveday of the University of Westminster examines the new emerging evidence. Our brain is formed of two hemispheres and in most of us, the two halves are interconnected by millions of nerve fibres that form a large bridging structure called the corpus callosum. But some babies are born without a corpus callosum, linking the two sides. A quarter of these babies grow up with serious developmental difficulties and half have mild to moderate cognitive problems. But a quarter have no problems at all suggesting that somehow the brain is compensating for the low level of connectivity between the two hemispheres. New brain scanning research at the University of Geneva by Dr Vanessa Sifreddi has revealed how the brain does this. Are you more open, less conscientious or more neurotic than you used to be? It used to be thought that personality was fixed in adulthood but it can and does change. Psychologist Eileen Graham has studied data from thousands of people and explains how and which traits are likely to increase or decrease. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: Vintage orange velvet armchair in a stylish, minimal domestic room. Photo credit: Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty Images.)Wed, 23 Dec 2020 21:00:00 +00001588urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszcczhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszcczcleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszcczIran was one of the first countries to be hit hard by the coronavirus. In the first population wide survey of infection rates in a Middle Eastern country, Iranian medical researchers now estimate that about one in five people on average were infected during its first wave in 18 cities in the country. But the rate varies enormously from city to city. In the city of Rasht, they estimate more than 70% of the population caught the virus. Claudia Hammond talks to Iranian infectious disease researcher Maryam Darvishian about the findings and what they mean for Iran’s attempts to control the virus today. We look at the sleep hygiene plight of international students whose study and sleep cycles have been thrown into chaos because of Covid travel restrictions. We hear the experiences of a student in Singapore studying remotely at Columbia University in New York. Her classes are usually in the dead of night Singapore time. Harvard sleep researcher Jeanne Duffy advises on the best ways for students to plan their work/sleep patterns. When surgical patients are under general anaesthetic, playing them soothing music and comforting messages may reduce the pain that they experience and the need for opioid pain relief in the 24 hours after their operations. This is the conclusion of a randomised study of about 400 patients undergoing surgery in five German hospitals. Claudia talks to anaesthesiologist Ernil Hansen of Regensberg University who explains how this might be working to make post-operative recovery more comfortable and less reliant on strong analgesic drugs. Claudia’s studio guest this week is BBC Medicine and Science correspondent James Gallagher, talking about Covid-19 vaccines, how our genes influence the severity of Covid illness and how ear wax might improve blood sugar monitoring for diabetes. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: People wearing protective masks walk through a street in Tehran in July 2020. Photo credit: Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images.)Study reveals prevalence of coronavirus infection across Iran, with 72 percent in one cityIran was one of the first countries to be hit hard by the coronavirus. In the first population wide survey of infection rates in a Middle Eastern country, Iranian medical researchers now estimate that about one in five people on average were infected during its first wave in 18 cities in the country. But the rate varies enormously from city to city. In the city of Rasht, they estimate more than 70% of the population caught the virus. Claudia Hammond talks to Iranian infectious disease researcher Maryam Darvishian about the findings and what they mean for Iran’s attempts to control the virus today. We look at the sleep hygiene plight of international students whose study and sleep cycles have been thrown into chaos because of Covid travel restrictions. We hear the experiences of a student in Singapore studying remotely at Columbia University in New York. Her classes are usually in the dead of night Singapore time. Harvard sleep researcher Jeanne Duffy advises on the best ways for students to plan their work/sleep patterns. When surgical patients are under general anaesthetic, playing them soothing music and comforting messages may reduce the pain that they experience and the need for opioid pain relief in the 24 hours after their operations. This is the conclusion of a randomised study of about 400 patients undergoing surgery in five German hospitals. Claudia talks to anaesthesiologist Ernil Hansen of Regensberg University who explains how this might be working to make post-operative recovery more comfortable and less reliant on strong analgesic drugs. Claudia’s studio guest this week is BBC Medicine and Science correspondent James Gallagher, talking about Covid-19 vaccines, how our genes influence the severity of Covid illness and how ear wax might improve blood sugar monitoring for diabetes. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: People wearing protective masks walk through a street in Tehran in July 2020. Photo credit: Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images.)Wed, 16 Dec 2020 21:00:00 +00001837urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszccyhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszccycleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszccyAre genetic therapies for sickle cell disease beginning to come of age? Claudia Hammond talks to David Williams and Erica Esrick of Boston Children’s Hospital about their promising results with a gene therapy for the disease in a pilot trial involving six young patients. Their report appears in the latest edition of the New England Journal of Medicine alongside encouraging results of a CRISPR gene editing therapy for sickle cell disease. Both approaches target the same gene – the result of which is to make bone marrow cells to produce foetal haemoglobin to compensate for people’s faulty adult haemoglobin. BBC Global health correspondent Naomi Grimley has a coronavirus global round up for us, and we report on the discovery of a pair of salivary glands new to medical science – the first new set of organs to be discovered for centuries. Dutch researchers detected them with a sophisticated form of body scanning, hiding where the back of the nasal cavity meets the top of the throat. It’s an anatomical revelation which may have implications for kinder radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. Claudia’s studio guest is Tabitha Mwangi, who is a lecturer in public health at Anglia Ruskin University and has also been a malaria researcher in Kenya. Tabitha talks about the great benefits of giving children four months of malaria prophylaxis tablets during the rainy season in West and Central sub-Sahelian Africa. A study involving millions of children and tens of thousands of health workers halved the number of children dying from malaria. Tabitha also tells Claudia about a simple strategy for improving the success rate in getting people onto TB treatment quickly, and whether schemes in low income countries to encourage mothers to grow their own vegetables to improve their children’s nutrition actually work. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: Dr. Erica Esrick and Manny Johnson, the first patient to participate in the Boston Children’s Hospital sickle cell disease clinical trial. Credit: Boston’s Children’s Hospital.)Gene therapy has transformed the lives of six young people with sickle cell diseaseAre genetic therapies for sickle cell disease beginning to come of age? Claudia Hammond talks to David Williams and Erica Esrick of Boston Children’s Hospital about their promising results with a gene therapy for the disease in a pilot trial involving six young patients. Their report appears in the latest edition of the New England Journal of Medicine alongside encouraging results of a CRISPR gene editing therapy for sickle cell disease. Both approaches target the same gene – the result of which is to make bone marrow cells to produce foetal haemoglobin to compensate for people’s faulty adult haemoglobin. BBC Global health correspondent Naomi Grimley has a coronavirus global round up for us, and we report on the discovery of a pair of salivary glands new to medical science – the first new set of organs to be discovered for centuries. Dutch researchers detected them with a sophisticated form of body scanning, hiding where the back of the nasal cavity meets the top of the throat. It’s an anatomical revelation which may have implications for kinder radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. Claudia’s studio guest is Tabitha Mwangi, who is a lecturer in public health at Anglia Ruskin University and has also been a malaria researcher in Kenya. Tabitha talks about the great benefits of giving children four months of malaria prophylaxis tablets during the rainy season in West and Central sub-Sahelian Africa. A study involving millions of children and tens of thousands of health workers halved the number of children dying from malaria. Tabitha also tells Claudia about a simple strategy for improving the success rate in getting people onto TB treatment quickly, and whether schemes in low income countries to encourage mothers to grow their own vegetables to improve their children’s nutrition actually work. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: Dr. Erica Esrick and Manny Johnson, the first patient to participate in the Boston Children’s Hospital sickle cell disease clinical trial. Credit: Boston’s Children’s Hospital.)Wed, 09 Dec 2020 21:00:00 +00002183urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszccxhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszccxcleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszccxIn the week of World AIDS Day, Health Check looks at what's being described as a milestone in the prevention of HIV infection in women. It is a form of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) - an injection every 8 weeks of a drug called cabotegravir. A clinical trial has been comparing it to a daily PrEP pill which is already known to be effective at preventing HIV infection. The injection regimen was about 90% more effective at shielding women from the virus than the daily tablet. The trial involves more than 3,000 women in seven Southern and East African countries. Claudia talks to study co-leader Sinead Delany-Moretlwe of the University of Witwatersrand about why this form of PrEP seems to be so effective and whether it will be affordable for low and middle income countries. Chhavi Sachdev reports on informal health workers known as ‘chhota doctors’ who are the backbone of primary health care for the hundreds of millions of rural people in India. They are not formally recognised as health care providers by the authorities and lack medical degrees, but they are the first port of call for many when people feel ill, particularly during India’s coronavirus lockdown. At a time when so many people are stuck indoors working at home, World Health Organisation has published new recommendations on how much physical activity we should be doing for the sake of our health. We talk to Fiona Bull, head of the WHO’s physical activity unit. James Gallagher is the Health Check guest this week talking about Covid-19 vaccines, vitamin D and a step towards a blood test to predict Alzheimer’s disease. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: Female doctor giving a young female patient an injection in her consultation room. Photo credit: Henk Badenhorst/Getty Images.)African clinical study finds an injection every 8 weeks protects women from HIV infectionIn the week of World AIDS Day, Health Check looks at what's being described as a milestone in the prevention of HIV infection in women. It is a form of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) - an injection every 8 weeks of a drug called cabotegravir. A clinical trial has been comparing it to a daily PrEP pill which is already known to be effective at preventing HIV infection. The injection regimen was about 90% more effective at shielding women from the virus than the daily tablet. The trial involves more than 3,000 women in seven Southern and East African countries. Claudia talks to study co-leader Sinead Delany-Moretlwe of the University of Witwatersrand about why this form of PrEP seems to be so effective and whether it will be affordable for low and middle income countries. Chhavi Sachdev reports on informal health workers known as ‘chhota doctors’ who are the backbone of primary health care for the hundreds of millions of rural people in India. They are not formally recognised as health care providers by the authorities and lack medical degrees, but they are the first port of call for many when people feel ill, particularly during India’s coronavirus lockdown. At a time when so many people are stuck indoors working at home, World Health Organisation has published new recommendations on how much physical activity we should be doing for the sake of our health. We talk to Fiona Bull, head of the WHO’s physical activity unit. James Gallagher is the Health Check guest this week talking about Covid-19 vaccines, vitamin D and a step towards a blood test to predict Alzheimer’s disease. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: Female doctor giving a young female patient an injection in her consultation room. Photo credit: Henk Badenhorst/Getty Images.)Wed, 02 Dec 2020 21:00:00 +00002105urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszccwhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszccwcleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszccwOxford University and Astrazeneca announced interim results from the phase 3 trial of their coronavirus vaccine. The results are promising with efficacy scores ranging from 70% to possibly 90%, depending on the dose of the first of the two inoculations. This vaccine also remains viable when stored at refrigerator temperatures – a logistical advantage compared to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Claudia consults Charlie Wheeler, head of vaccines at the Wellcome Trust, about how this vaccine may advance the ambition of protecting the world from Covid-19. The pandemic has disrupted routine health services in many countries. Maternity services for pregnant women and women in labour have not escaped restrictions. In the UK this has included banning partners from clinics and wards, often for most of labour. Dr Samara Linton reports. High levels of lead exposure in childhood result in smaller, less robust-looking brains in middle age. This is the conclusion of a long-running study of hundreds of people who grew up in the town of Dunedin in New Zealand. They have been followed since their childhoods in the early 1970s, during the era of leaded petrol. At the age of 45, more than 550 of them have had MRI brain scans. This part of the research has been led by Aaron Reuben and Maxwell Elliot at Duke University in the United States. Although leaded petrol is banned in all but one country today, hundreds of millions of children are still exposed to environmental lead levels well above what’s regarded as safe. Epidemiologist Matthew Fox of Boston University also joins Claudia to talk about the disappointing covid antiviral drug remdesivir, coronavirus rapid tests and a flu vaccine grown in plants. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: Laboratory technicians in Italy handle capped vials as part of filling and packaging tests for the large-scale production and supply of the University of Oxford’s Covid-19 vaccine. Photo credit: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images.)Good news about Covid vaccines keeps coming but can everyone benefit from the successes?Oxford University and Astrazeneca announced interim results from the phase 3 trial of their coronavirus vaccine. The results are promising with efficacy scores ranging from 70% to possibly 90%, depending on the dose of the first of the two inoculations. This vaccine also remains viable when stored at refrigerator temperatures – a logistical advantage compared to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Claudia consults Charlie Wheeler, head of vaccines at the Wellcome Trust, about how this vaccine may advance the ambition of protecting the world from Covid-19. The pandemic has disrupted routine health services in many countries. Maternity services for pregnant women and women in labour have not escaped restrictions. In the UK this has included banning partners from clinics and wards, often for most of labour. Dr Samara Linton reports. High levels of lead exposure in childhood result in smaller, less robust-looking brains in middle age. This is the conclusion of a long-running study of hundreds of people who grew up in the town of Dunedin in New Zealand. They have been followed since their childhoods in the early 1970s, during the era of leaded petrol. At the age of 45, more than 550 of them have had MRI brain scans. This part of the research has been led by Aaron Reuben and Maxwell Elliot at Duke University in the United States. Although leaded petrol is banned in all but one country today, hundreds of millions of children are still exposed to environmental lead levels well above what’s regarded as safe. Epidemiologist Matthew Fox of Boston University also joins Claudia to talk about the disappointing covid antiviral drug remdesivir, coronavirus rapid tests and a flu vaccine grown in plants. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: Laboratory technicians in Italy handle capped vials as part of filling and packaging tests for the large-scale production and supply of the University of Oxford’s Covid-19 vaccine. Photo credit: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images.)Wed, 25 Nov 2020 21:00:00 +00002117urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszccvhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszccvcleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszccvGlobal measles deaths were already at a 23 year high in 2019 after several years of inadequate immunisation levels in a number of countries around the world. The coronavirus pandemic looks set to make matters worse. The World Health Organisation is worried that disruptions to measles vaccination programmes this year in Africa have substantially raised the risk of large outbreaks in many countries. Immunisation coverage needs to be maintained at 95% or more to keep measles suppressed. Too many babies have missed routine measles vaccination at 9 months and planned special immunisation campaigns in areas where the coverage was already too low pre-Covid had to be cancelled. We talk to paediatrician Ifedayo Adetifa at the Kemri Wellcome research programme in Kenya who’s been modelling outbreak scenarios in Kenya of this situation. The risk of large outbreaks of measles in Kenya is now much greater, and likely to be worse in other countries in the region. But mounting vaccination campaigns as soon as possible would reduce the risk to zero. Sian Griffiths reports from a Canadian school in Quebec which is in the middle of a Covid-19 red zone. The school’s principal decided to move classes outdoors to reduce the infection risk to pupils and staff. Many lessons are happening in three big wedding marquees erected in the school grounds, and the principal plans to keep this going through the Canadian winter. A new study in BMJ Global Health identifies a widely unrecognised danger to the hundreds of millions of people (mainly women) who have to leave their homes to fetch water for their households. This is physical injury. A survey of more than 6,000 households in 24 countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America found that about 15% of them have been injured while fetching water for the family. The researchers were shocked by this. Injuries include broken limbs, dislocations, lacerations and burns. Northwestern University’s Sera Young says the causes range from falling over while carrying the water, falling into wells, physical assault, animal attacks and road accidents between the home and communal water sources. Family doctor Ann Robinson is Claudia’s guest this week to talk about measles, the Moderna Covid vaccine and the latest results from trials of polypills. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: Children outside a field clinic during a vaccination program against measles in Bangui in 2014. Photo credit: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images.)Disruption to measles immunisation raises the risk of large outbreaks in AfricaGlobal measles deaths were already at a 23 year high in 2019 after several years of inadequate immunisation levels in a number of countries around the world. The coronavirus pandemic looks set to make matters worse. The World Health Organisation is worried that disruptions to measles vaccination programmes this year in Africa have substantially raised the risk of large outbreaks in many countries. Immunisation coverage needs to be maintained at 95% or more to keep measles suppressed. Too many babies have missed routine measles vaccination at 9 months and planned special immunisation campaigns in areas where the coverage was already too low pre-Covid had to be cancelled. We talk to paediatrician Ifedayo Adetifa at the Kemri Wellcome research programme in Kenya who’s been modelling outbreak scenarios in Kenya of this situation. The risk of large outbreaks of measles in Kenya is now much greater, and likely to be worse in other countries in the region. But mounting vaccination campaigns as soon as possible would reduce the risk to zero. Sian Griffiths reports from a Canadian school in Quebec which is in the middle of a Covid-19 red zone. The school’s principal decided to move classes outdoors to reduce the infection risk to pupils and staff. Many lessons are happening in three big wedding marquees erected in the school grounds, and the principal plans to keep this going through the Canadian winter. A new study in BMJ Global Health identifies a widely unrecognised danger to the hundreds of millions of people (mainly women) who have to leave their homes to fetch water for their households. This is physical injury. A survey of more than 6,000 households in 24 countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America found that about 15% of them have been injured while fetching water for the family. The researchers were shocked by this. Injuries include broken limbs, dislocations, lacerations and burns. Northwestern University’s Sera Young says the causes range from falling over while carrying the water, falling into wells, physical assault, animal attacks and road accidents between the home and communal water sources. Family doctor Ann Robinson is Claudia’s guest this week to talk about measles, the Moderna Covid vaccine and the latest results from trials of polypills. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: Children outside a field clinic during a vaccination program against measles in Bangui in 2014. Photo credit: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images.)Wed, 18 Nov 2020 21:00:00 +00002132urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszccthttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszcctcleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszcctHealth Check examines the excitement around the preliminary announcement of 90% effectiveness of BioNTech and Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine in its phase 3 clinical trial. Claudia Hammond talks to Professor Gregory Poland, head of vaccine research at the Mayo Clinic in the United States about what we do and don’t know about the vaccine at this stage, and how the vaccine may be approved and deployed in the coming months. She consults Kalipso Chalkidou, Professor of Global Health Practice at Imperial College London, about the challenges of getting this vaccine to people in low and middle income countries. One logistical problem is that the vaccine has to be stored at minus 80 degrees Celsuis. BBC medical and science correspondent James Gallagher also joins Claudia to explain the innovative nature of the vaccine and how its interim success bodes well for the development of other coronavirus vaccines. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: Medications in sealed vials with a disposable plastic medical syringe. Photo credit: GIPhotoStock/Getty Images.)How big a deal is the ‘90% effective’ coronavirus vaccine?Health Check examines the excitement around the preliminary announcement of 90% effectiveness of BioNTech and Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine in its phase 3 clinical trial. Claudia Hammond talks to Professor Gregory Poland, head of vaccine research at the Mayo Clinic in the United States about what we do and don’t know about the vaccine at this stage, and how the vaccine may be approved and deployed in the coming months. She consults Kalipso Chalkidou, Professor of Global Health Practice at Imperial College London, about the challenges of getting this vaccine to people in low and middle income countries. One logistical problem is that the vaccine has to be stored at minus 80 degrees Celsuis. BBC medical and science correspondent James Gallagher also joins Claudia to explain the innovative nature of the vaccine and how its interim success bodes well for the development of other coronavirus vaccines. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: Medications in sealed vials with a disposable plastic medical syringe. Photo credit: GIPhotoStock/Getty Images.)Wed, 11 Nov 2020 21:00:00 +00001588urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszccshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszccscleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszccsSome of the first large scale trials of Covid-19 vaccines may report results to regulators in the next few weeks. These first results will reveal how effective these vaccines are at preventing mild Covid illness but they’re unlikely to tell us how good they are at preventing serious disease and death. Should governments permit wide scale vaccination of populations based on that level of data when this may compromise learning more about their efficacy? And might widespread deployment of first generation Covid-19 vaccines make it harder to properly trial vaccines at earlier stages of development but which may have the potential to be more effective? Claudia Hammond discusses the dilemmas with Dr Gregory Poland, director of the Mayo Vaccine Research Group. People who are double-jointed are much more prone to suffering from anxiety and panics attacks. Reporter Madeleine Finlay investigates the link. Claudia consults mental health experts for tips to help people get through the coming months of uncertainty and anxiety. Boston University epidemiologist Matthew Fox joins Claudia with insights on vaccine hesitancy, how Namibia is maintaining its HIV treatment services under Covid-19 restrictions and whether antibiotics can prevent surgery for appendicitis. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: A doctor preparing a coronavirus vaccine. Photo credit: Filippo Bacci/Getty Images.)What we will not know when the first Covid-19 vaccines are deployedSome of the first large scale trials of Covid-19 vaccines may report results to regulators in the next few weeks. These first results will reveal how effective these vaccines are at preventing mild Covid illness but they’re unlikely to tell us how good they are at preventing serious disease and death. Should governments permit wide scale vaccination of populations based on that level of data when this may compromise learning more about their efficacy? And might widespread deployment of first generation Covid-19 vaccines make it harder to properly trial vaccines at earlier stages of development but which may have the potential to be more effective? Claudia Hammond discusses the dilemmas with Dr Gregory Poland, director of the Mayo Vaccine Research Group. People who are double-jointed are much more prone to suffering from anxiety and panics attacks. Reporter Madeleine Finlay investigates the link. Claudia consults mental health experts for tips to help people get through the coming months of uncertainty and anxiety. Boston University epidemiologist Matthew Fox joins Claudia with insights on vaccine hesitancy, how Namibia is maintaining its HIV treatment services under Covid-19 restrictions and whether antibiotics can prevent surgery for appendicitis. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: A doctor preparing a coronavirus vaccine. Photo credit: Filippo Bacci/Getty Images.)Wed, 04 Nov 2020 21:00:00 +00002105urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszccrhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszccrcleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszccrFor months now, many people hospitalised with Covid-19 have been given convalescent plasma – donated blood serum from people who’ve already had the illness. The hope has been that transfusing donated antibodies against the coronavirus will help to prevent deaths and serious illness. Convalescent plasma therapy received a high profile boost in the USA in August when the Trump administration announced emergency use authorisation for the treatment, despite the lack of robust evidence for its efficacy against the coronavirus. Now the results of the first completed randomised clinical trial of the therapy have been published in the British Medical Journal. The findings are not particularly encouraging. In this Indian study, there was no difference in the death rate or the progression from moderate to severe disease between patients given the therapy and those receiving only standard care. Claudia Hammond talks to Dr Aparna Mukherjee of the India Council of Medical Research and the BBC’s medicine and science correspondent James Gallagher about the prospects now for convalescent plasma therapy. Health Check also asks whether vaccines against other diseases might provide some protection against the coronavirus, and features a report from California where a lot of mental health counselling has gone online or on the phone since the pandemic took hold. Reporter Alison Van Diggelen asks people with mental health problems and their therapists how they feel about the loss of face-to-face sessions. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: An Iraqi phlebotomist holds a bag of plasma donated by a recovered Covid-19 patient. Photo credit: Asaad Niazi/AFP/Getty Images.)Indian trial finds that convalescent plasma therapy has little benefit against Covid-19For months now, many people hospitalised with Covid-19 have been given convalescent plasma – donated blood serum from people who’ve already had the illness. The hope has been that transfusing donated antibodies against the coronavirus will help to prevent deaths and serious illness. Convalescent plasma therapy received a high profile boost in the USA in August when the Trump administration announced emergency use authorisation for the treatment, despite the lack of robust evidence for its efficacy against the coronavirus. Now the results of the first completed randomised clinical trial of the therapy have been published in the British Medical Journal. The findings are not particularly encouraging. In this Indian study, there was no difference in the death rate or the progression from moderate to severe disease between patients given the therapy and those receiving only standard care. Claudia Hammond talks to Dr Aparna Mukherjee of the India Council of Medical Research and the BBC’s medicine and science correspondent James Gallagher about the prospects now for convalescent plasma therapy. Health Check also asks whether vaccines against other diseases might provide some protection against the coronavirus, and features a report from California where a lot of mental health counselling has gone online or on the phone since the pandemic took hold. Reporter Alison Van Diggelen asks people with mental health problems and their therapists how they feel about the loss of face-to-face sessions. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker (Picture: An Iraqi phlebotomist holds a bag of plasma donated by a recovered Covid-19 patient. Photo credit: Asaad Niazi/AFP/Getty Images.)Wed, 28 Oct 2020 21:00:00 +00002236urn:bbc:podcast:w3cszccqhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszccqcleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3cszccqAs South Africa goes into lockdown what measures are they taking? Plus big data in Taiwan and a round-up of drug trials, antibody testing and low cost ventilators. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Geraldine Fitzgerald (Image: Microscopic view of influenza virus cells. Photo credit: Panorama Images/Getty Images.)As South Africa goes into lockdown what measures are they taking? Plus big data in TaiwanAs South Africa goes into lockdown what measures are they taking? Plus big data in Taiwan and a round-up of drug trials, antibody testing and low cost ventilators. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Geraldine Fitzgerald (Image: Microscopic view of influenza virus cells. Photo credit: Panorama Images/Getty Images.)Wed, 25 Mar 2020 20:32:00 +00001588urn:bbc:podcast:w3csy9lbhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csy9lbcleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3csy9lbMany people with autistic spectrum disorder learn techniques to overcome their difficulties interacting with others. The first study that has looked at the consequences of these compensatory strategies reveals some benefits but also significant downsides. The consequences can be stress, low self-esteem, mental illness and misdiagnosis. Claudia talks to lead researcher Professor Francesca Happé from King’s College London and Eloise Stark, a woman with autism. A new research programme at Imperial College London is investigating the link between obesity and infertility in men. Madeleine Finlay explores why weight gain and other factors of modern life might be influencing men’s sperm health. Tick-borne Lyme disease is on the rise in the northern hemisphere. Lyme disease can develop into a serious illness. It is hard to diagnosis early and delayed diagnosis means lengthy treatment and recovery. Dr Mollie Jewett at the University of Central Florida is working on a much faster means of diagnosis, and a more effective treatment. Deborah Cohen meets Dr Jewett and her ticks. Graham Easton is in the Health Check studio to talk about links between hearing loss and dementia, and the worrying spread of bacteria resistant to carbapenems, one of the most important kinds of antibiotic drugs. (Photo caption: A young woman standing in the middle of a crowded street – credit: Getty Images) Health Check was presented by Claudia Hammond with comments from Dr Graham Easton. Producer: Andrew Luck-BakerMany people with autism learn strategies to help them blend in: but there can be costsMany people with autistic spectrum disorder learn techniques to overcome their difficulties interacting with others. The first study that has looked at the consequences of these compensatory strategies reveals some benefits but also significant downsides. The consequences can be stress, low self-esteem, mental illness and misdiagnosis. Claudia talks to lead researcher Professor Francesca Happé from King’s College London and Eloise Stark, a woman with autism. A new research programme at Imperial College London is investigating the link between obesity and infertility in men. Madeleine Finlay explores why weight gain and other factors of modern life might be influencing men’s sperm health. Tick-borne Lyme disease is on the rise in the northern hemisphere. Lyme disease can develop into a serious illness. It is hard to diagnosis early and delayed diagnosis means lengthy treatment and recovery. Dr Mollie Jewett at the University of Central Florida is working on a much faster means of diagnosis, and a more effective treatment. Deborah Cohen meets Dr Jewett and her ticks. Graham Easton is in the Health Check studio to talk about links between hearing loss and dementia, and the worrying spread of bacteria resistant to carbapenems, one of the most important kinds of antibiotic drugs. (Photo caption: A young woman standing in the middle of a crowded street – credit: Getty Images) Health Check was presented by Claudia Hammond with comments from Dr Graham Easton. Producer: Andrew Luck-BakerWed, 31 Jul 2019 20:00:00 +00001950urn:bbc:podcast:w3csy9k2http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csy9k2cleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3csy9k2Claudia Hammond visits the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition. Every year a minority of births goes wrong and the baby is deprived of oxygen, which can lead to long-term brain damage and conditions such as cerebral palsy. Early treatment can reduce the likelihood of permanent disability or even death, so a team at University College London have now developed a new portable device which uses harmless infra-red to detect signs of brain injury in newborn babies, minutes after birth. It is called Cyril and consultant neurologist Subhabrata Mitra and Dr Ilias Tachtsidis, Reader in Biomedical Engineering, demonstrate it to Claudia. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a well-known problem, with one insidious thriving place being medical implants, where they form impenetrable biofilms. But there could be a solution from scientists at Nottingham University. Kim Hardie, a molecular microbiologist, is part of a team that has developed special slippery coatings for biomedical devices, such as catheters, that stop bacteria attaching and sticking in the first place. It is hoped these super biomaterials will help in the fight against super bugs, which has huge implications for infection rates in hospitals globally. It is estimated that one in nine people experience some form of breathlessness, which is most common in conditions such as heart failure, lung disease, panic disorder and Parkinson’s. But there are also significant numbers of people who suffer from breathlessness which cannot be explained. A team at Oxford University hypothesise this might be driven by networks in the brain. So using brain scans and computational modelling, Breathe Oxford has examined breathlessness in athletes, healthy people and those with chronic lung disease, seeking clues as to why some individuals become disabled by their breathlessness, while others with the same lung function live normal healthy lives. Claudia discusses this relationship between breathlessness and brain perception with lead researcher and anaesthetist Professor Kyle Pattinson and research scientist Sarah Finnegan. They also, using a ‘Steppatron’, demonstrate what it is like to live with a chronic lung condition. Mirror-touch synaesthesia is a rare type of synaesthesia where people can actually feel something that they can see being done to someone else. For example they might seem to feel a brush on their hand whilst watching someone else having their hand stroked. Dr Natalie Bowling from the University of Sussex researches this condition. It is estimated that 30% of the population could experience some form of synaesthesia and Claudia also meets Kaitlyn Hova, a violinist with visual-auditory synaesthesia. She demonstrates her violin, which lights up with different colours according to how she sees the notes. (Photo caption: Members of the MetaboLight team working together to develop novel light technologies to assess brain injury severity in newborns within hours after birth - credit: MetaboLight) Producer: Helena SelbyThe infra-red device that can detect brain damage within minutes of a baby being bornClaudia Hammond visits the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition. Every year a minority of births goes wrong and the baby is deprived of oxygen, which can lead to long-term brain damage and conditions such as cerebral palsy. Early treatment can reduce the likelihood of permanent disability or even death, so a team at University College London have now developed a new portable device which uses harmless infra-red to detect signs of brain injury in newborn babies, minutes after birth. It is called Cyril and consultant neurologist Subhabrata Mitra and Dr Ilias Tachtsidis, Reader in Biomedical Engineering, demonstrate it to Claudia. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a well-known problem, with one insidious thriving place being medical implants, where they form impenetrable biofilms. But there could be a solution from scientists at Nottingham University. Kim Hardie, a molecular microbiologist, is part of a team that has developed special slippery coatings for biomedical devices, such as catheters, that stop bacteria attaching and sticking in the first place. It is hoped these super biomaterials will help in the fight against super bugs, which has huge implications for infection rates in hospitals globally. It is estimated that one in nine people experience some form of breathlessness, which is most common in conditions such as heart failure, lung disease, panic disorder and Parkinson’s. But there are also significant numbers of people who suffer from breathlessness which cannot be explained. A team at Oxford University hypothesise this might be driven by networks in the brain. So using brain scans and computational modelling, Breathe Oxford has examined breathlessness in athletes, healthy people and those with chronic lung disease, seeking clues as to why some individuals become disabled by their breathlessness, while others with the same lung function live normal healthy lives. Claudia discusses this relationship between breathlessness and brain perception with lead researcher and anaesthetist Professor Kyle Pattinson and research scientist Sarah Finnegan. They also, using a ‘Steppatron’, demonstrate what it is like to live with a chronic lung condition. Mirror-touch synaesthesia is a rare type of synaesthesia where people can actually feel something that they can see being done to someone else. For example they might seem to feel a brush on their hand whilst watching someone else having their hand stroked. Dr Natalie Bowling from the University of Sussex researches this condition. It is estimated that 30% of the population could experience some form of synaesthesia and Claudia also meets Kaitlyn Hova, a violinist with visual-auditory synaesthesia. She demonstrates her violin, which lights up with different colours according to how she sees the notes. (Photo caption: Members of the MetaboLight team working together to develop novel light technologies to assess brain injury severity in newborns within hours after birth - credit: MetaboLight) Producer: Helena SelbyWed, 03 Jul 2019 20:00:00 +00001614urn:bbc:podcast:w3csy9jyhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csy9jycleanBBC World Service/programmes/w3csy9jy