Health Check
BBC World Service
Categories: Health
Listen to the last episode:
After a 50% jump in meningitis cases reported across Africa last year, Nigeria is becoming the first country to roll out a new 5-in-1 meningitis vaccine. The Men5CV vaccine protects people against five strains of the meningococcus bacteria.
Claudia Hammond is joined by New Scientist medical journalist Clare Wilson to discuss how it’s hoped the treatment will help significantly reduce cases of the disease.
We also head to Brazil to hear how the country is dealing with long Covid, four years after the pandemic.
Clare also tells Claudia about the new cancer treatment testing different drugs on thousands of miniature tumours to see which of them works best. The team behind the research at Florida International University in Miami say they hope it could eventually be used routinely for everyone with cancer.
We also get a new update from British journalist Mike Powell, as we follow his journey after receiving a kidney transplant.
And Claudia and Clare look at how patches of skin grafted onto people receiving lung transplants are being used as a way of spotting organ rejection in a new trial.
Image Credit: Martin Harvey
Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Dan Welsh
Previous episodes
-
453 - Nigeria rolls out world’s first 5-in-1 meningitis vaccine Wed, 17 Apr 2024
-
452 - How we hope Wed, 10 Apr 2024
-
451 - Puerto Rico declares dengue fever emergency Wed, 03 Apr 2024
-
450 - Pig kidney transplanted into patient Wed, 27 Mar 2024
-
449 - Should we stop talking about long Covid? Wed, 20 Mar 2024
-
448 - A promising new cancer treatment Wed, 13 Mar 2024
-
447 - One billion obese people Wed, 06 Mar 2024
-
446 - Junior doctors strike in South Korea Wed, 28 Feb 2024
-
445 - Global Trade v Health Equality Wed, 21 Feb 2024
-
444 - Dengue outbreak in Latin America Wed, 14 Feb 2024
-
443 - Getting vaccinations to remote South Sudan Wed, 07 Feb 2024
-
442 - Surviving Noma disease Wed, 31 Jan 2024
-
441 - Cape Verde eliminates malaria Wed, 24 Jan 2024
-
440 - Endurance Wed, 17 Jan 2024
-
439 - Are outcomes better with female surgeons? Wed, 10 Jan 2024
-
438 - 2024 in global health Wed, 03 Jan 2024
-
437 - A year in health in review Wed, 27 Dec 2023
-
436 - When will we have an HIV vaccine? Wed, 20 Dec 2023
-
435 - Closer to a cure for morning sickness Wed, 13 Dec 2023
-
434 - How do we know when a mystery illness is serious? Wed, 06 Dec 2023
-
433 - New Zealand backtracks on smoking ban Wed, 29 Nov 2023
-
432 - Gene editing treatment approved for sickle cell Wed, 22 Nov 2023
-
431 - Vaccinating children against chickenpox Wed, 15 Nov 2023
-
430 - A drug to prevent breast cancer Wed, 08 Nov 2023
-
429 - Warnings over antibiotic resistance in children Wed, 01 Nov 2023
-
428 - A musician’s story of coping with schizophrenia Wed, 25 Oct 2023
-
427 - Cholera cases surge in Zimbabwe Wed, 18 Oct 2023
-
426 - US proposes world first policy to reduce STIs Wed, 11 Oct 2023
-
425 - Malaria vaccine backed by WHO Wed, 04 Oct 2023
-
424 - The deadly practice of gum lancing Wed, 27 Sep 2023
-
423 - Could global Aids program be cut? Wed, 20 Sep 2023
-
422 - Do men have a friendship problem? Wed, 13 Sep 2023
-
421 - Opioid overdose antidote made available in US Wed, 06 Sep 2023
-
420 - What happened to babies with Zika virus Wed, 30 Aug 2023
-
419 - Disgraced surgeon appeals prison sentence Wed, 23 Aug 2023
-
418 - Contaminated cough syrup found in Iraq Wed, 16 Aug 2023
-
417 - A closer look at leprosy Wed, 09 Aug 2023
-
416 - Henrietta Lacks’ family settle lawsuit Wed, 02 Aug 2023
-
415 - Playing catch up on childhood immunisations Wed, 26 Jul 2023
-
414 - A new era for Alzheimer’s drugs? Wed, 19 Jul 2023
-
413 - Sickle cell disease: Fighting for the future Wed, 12 Jul 2023
-
412 - Drumming for a healthy life Wed, 05 Jul 2023
-
411 - The future of HIV research in Africa Wed, 28 Jun 2023
-
410 - Healthcare under threat in Myanmar Wed, 21 Jun 2023
-
409 - A step closer to a Chikungunya vaccine Wed, 14 Jun 2023
-
408 - China's Covid-19 lockdown: What happened next? Wed, 07 Jun 2023
-
407 - Uganda's anti-gay law and healthcare Wed, 31 May 2023
-
406 - What can we do about back pain? Wed, 24 May 2023
-
405 - Home testing kits for disease screening Wed, 17 May 2023
-
404 - Giving small babies a better start Wed, 10 May 2023