U.S. health officials have issued an alert about an increase in cases of invasive meningococcal disease, with 143 cases reported this year and 422 cases reported last year, most affecting adults aged 30 to 60, Black individuals, and those with HIV. The bacteria causing meningitis can also lead to bloodstream infections with severe symptoms. Quick antibiotic treatment is vital as 10% to 15% of infected individuals may die. Vaccines are available, recommended for children entering middle school, with a booster at age 16 and for high-risk individuals like those with HIV.
The global epidemic of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2023, HIV/AIDS had killed approximately 40.4 million people, and approximately 39 million people were infected with HIV globally. Of these, 29.8 million people (75%) are receiving antiretroviral treatment. There were about 630,000 deaths from HIV/AIDS in 2022. The 2015 Global Burden of Disease Study estimated that the global incidence of HIV infection peaked in 1997 at 3.3 million per year. Global incidence fell rapidly from 1997 to 2005, to about 2.6 million per year. Incidence of HIV has continued to fall, decreasing by 23% from 2010 to 2020, with progress dominated by decreases in Eastern Africa and Southern Africa. As of 2020, there are approximately 1.5 million new infections of HIV per year globally.According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the prevalence of HIV in the Africa Region was estimated at 1.1 million people as of 2018. The African Region accounts for two thirds of the incidence of HIV around the world. Sub-Saharan Africa is the region most affected by HIV. In 2018, an estimated 61% of new HIV infections occurred in this region, and as of 2020, more than two thirds of those living with HIV are living in Africa. HIV rates have been decreasing in the region: From 2010 to 2020, new infections in eastern and southern Africa fell by 38%. Still, South Africa has the largest population of people with HIV of any country in the world, at 8.45 million, 13.9% of the population as of 2022. As of 2022, it is estimated that the adult HIV prevalence rate is 6.2%, a 1.2% increase from data reported in the 2011 UNAIDS World Aids Day Report.In western Europe and North America, most people with HIV are able to access treatment and live long and healthy lives. As of 2020, 88% of people living with HIV in this region know their HIV status, and 67% have suppressed viral loads. In 2019, approximately 1.2 million people in the United States had HIV; 13% did not realize that they were infected. In Canada as of 2016, there were about 63,110 cases of HIV. In 2020, 106,890 people were living with HIV in the UK and 614 died (99 of these from COVID-19 comorbidity). In Australia, as of 2020, there were about 29,090 cases.Throughout the world, HIV disproportionately affects certain key populations (sex workers and their clients, men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, and transgender people) and their sexual partners. These groups account for 65% of global HIV infections, and 93% of new infections outside of sub-Saharan Africa. In Western Europe and North America, men who have sex with men account for almost two thirds of new HIV infections.In Sub-Saharan Africa, 63% of new infections are women, with young women (aged 15 to 24 years) twice as likely as men of the same age to be living with HIV.HIV originated in nonhuman primates in Central Africa and jumped to humans several times in the late 19th or early 20th century. One reconstruction of its genetic history suggests that HIV-1 group M, the strain most responsible for the global epidemic, may have originated in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, around 1920. AIDS was first recognized in 1981, and in 1983 the HIV virus was discovered and identified as the cause of AIDS.
A WHO official has urged vigilance in Europe as cases of respiratory diseases increase, while also highlighting the success of COVID-19 vaccines in saving at least 1.4 million lives in the region. The vaccines have been particularly effective for those over 60, who account for over 90% of lives saved. However, the official expressed concern about the rapid spread of the COVID-19 JN.1 variant, emphasizing the need for continuous monitoring. The surge in influenza infections and hospitalizations was also noted, with health systems urged to prepare for an increase in cases. Vulnerable populations were advised to stay up-to-date with COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations.
A COVID‑19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19).Prior to the COVID‑19 pandemic, an established body of knowledge existed about the structure and function of coronaviruses causing diseases like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). This knowledge accelerated the development of various vaccine platforms in early 2020. The initial focus of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines was on preventing symptomatic, often severe, illness. In 2020, the first COVID‑19 vaccines were developed and made available to the public through emergency authorizations and conditional approvals. Initially, most COVID‑19 vaccines were two-dose vaccines, with the sole exception being the single-dose Janssen COVID‑19 vaccine. However, immunity from the vaccines has been found to wane over time, requiring people to get booster doses of the vaccine to maintain protection against COVID‑19.The COVID‑19 vaccines are widely credited for their role in reducing the spread of COVID‑19 and reducing the severity and death caused by COVID‑19. According to a June 2022 study, COVID‑19 vaccines prevented an additional 14.4 to 19.8 million deaths in 185 countries and territories from 8 December 2020 to 8 December 2021. Many countries implemented phased distribution plans that prioritized those at highest risk of complications, such as the elderly, and those at high risk of exposure and transmission, such as healthcare workers.Common side effects of COVID‑19 vaccines include soreness, redness, rash, inflammation at the injection site, fatigue, headache, myalgia (muscle pain), and arthralgia (joint pain), which resolve without medical treatment within a few days. COVID‑19 vaccination is safe for people who are pregnant or are breastfeeding.As of 1 February 2024, 13.57 billion doses of COVID‑19 vaccines have been administered worldwide, based on official reports from national public health agencies. By December 2020, more than 10 billion vaccine doses had been preordered by countries, with about half of the doses purchased by high-income countries comprising 14% of the world's population.Despite the extremely rapid development of effective mRNA and viral vector vaccines, worldwide vaccine equity has not been achieved. The development and use of whole inactivated virus (WIV) and protein-based vaccines have also been recommended, especially for use in developing countries.The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.
HIV/AIDS originated in the early 20th century and has become a major public health concern and cause of death in many countries. AIDS rates varies significantly between countries, with the majority of cases concentrated in Southern Africa. Although the continent is home to about 15.2 percent of the world's population, more than two-thirds of the total population infected worldwide – approximately 35 million people – were Africans, of whom around 1 million have already died. Eastern and Southern Africa alone accounted for an estimate of 60 percent of all people living with HIV and 100 percent of all AIDS deaths in 2011. The countries of Eastern and Southern Africa are most affected, leading to raised death rates and lowered life expectancy among adults between the ages of 20 and 49 by about twenty years. Furthermore, life expectancy in many parts of Africa is declining, largely as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with life-expectancy in some countries reaching as low as thirty-nine years.Countries in North Africa, West Africa and the Horn of Africa have significantly low prevalence rates, as their populations typically engage in fewer high-risk cultural patterns that promote the spread of the virus in other parts of Africa. Southern Africa is the worst affected region on the continent. As of 2011, HIV has infected at least 10 percent of the population in Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.In response, a number of initiatives have been launched in various parts of the continent to educate the public on HIV/AIDS. Among these are combination prevention programs, considered to be the most effective initiative, such as the abstinence, be faithful, use a condom campaign or the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation's outreach programs.The number of HIV positive people in Africa receiving anti-retroviral treatment in 2012 were over seven times the number receiving treatment in 2005, with nearly 1 million added in the previous year.: 15 Between 2000 and 2018, new HIV infections fell by 37%, and HIV-related deaths fell by 45% with 13.6 million lives saved due to ART in the same period. This achievement was the result of great efforts by national HIV programmes supported by civil society and a range of development partners. It reported that 1.1 million people have been newly infected with HIV in 2018. An estimated 420,000 [340,000−530,000] people died in the African Region from HIV-related causes in 2021, implying that mortality has dropped by approximately 55% since 2010.
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