This World Health Day (April 7), as the world grapples with the worst public health emergency in recent memory, over 90 percent of respondents surveyed in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong support a government-led closure of illegal and unregulated wildlife markets, according to new research for World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The recent outbreak of COVID-19…
Diseases passed from animals to humans are on the rise, as the world continues to see unprecedented destruction of wild habitats by human activity. Scientists suggest that degraded habitats may encourage more rapid evolutionary processes and diversification of diseases, as pathogens spread easily to livestock and humans. The World Health Organization reports that an animal…
According to the World Health Organization, antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development today. A growing number of infections—such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhoea, and salmonellosis—are becoming harder to treat as the antibiotics used to treat them become less effective. Antibiotic resistance leads to longer hospital stays, higher…
The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for a further assessment of microplastics in the environment and their potential impacts on human health, following the release of an analysis of current research related to microplastics in drinking-water. The Organization also calls for a reduction in plastic pollution to benefit the environment and reduce human exposure.…
Celebrated every year on June 5, World Environment Day is the United Nations’ biggest annual event for positive environmental action to encourage worldwide awareness of the need to protect our planet. Since the first World Environment Day in 1974, the event has grown to become a global platform for positive public outreach on the environment…
Leading Scientists Call for EPA to Ban All Organophosphate Pesticides and Urge Comprehensive Steps to Protect Children On October 24 leading toxics experts released a scientific paper in the journal PLOS Medicine warning of the dangers widely-used agricultural pesticides pose to children’s health and development. The authors found that exposure to organophosphate pesticides, even…
A new study aimed at increasing knowledge of indoor air quality (IAQ) in recently built or refurbished office buildings has found that levels of pollutants are mostly within World Health Organization (WHO) air-quality guidelines(1), however they vary between seasons. In addition, some levels of particulate matter were found to exceed WHO guideline values. The OFFICAIR…