Pakistan continues to be dealing with a polio outbreak as four fresh cases have emerged, pushing the national tally to 37 this year, according to health officials on October 19, 2024. Health officials said that the regional reference laboratory for polio eradication at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad confirmed wild poliovirus type-1 (WPV1) in two children-one from each Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

In recent cases, a girl has been affected from Pishin, and two boys from Chaman and Noshki of Balochistan, and a girl from Lakki Marwat in KP. These are the first detections of the virus within Noshki and Lakki Marwat this year; isolated cases of poliovirus were previously reported within Chaman and Pishin. The province of Balochistan was the worst hit with 20 cases, Sindh had 10, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had five, and Punjab and Islamabad had one case each.

A gigantic fight against polio has been on going in Pakistan- especially in Balochistan and southern KP-over the last two years. Immunisation campaigns have often been suspended or delayed because of local protests, insecurity, and community boycotts. Consequently, quite a number of children did not get the necessary vaccinations, making existing patches of vulnerability for the virus to flow within those pockets.

Noshki, located near Afghanistan's border, and Lakki Marwat have also recently reported some positive environmental samples that confirm the virus is present here, said a local reference laboratory official. Samples of latest cases are currently under genetic sequencing for checking spread of virus and origin.

As the threat of polio continues to grow, Pakistan has vowed to mount a nationwide campaign against it beginning from October 28. With the zeal to tackle the menace in the most effective manner, over 45 million children under the age of five will be vaccinated across the country.

Today, Afghanistan and Pakistan remain one of the few countries where polio has not yet been eradicated. The WHO said the virus remains a potential serious public health threat in areas with low vaccination coverage and weak surveillance.

India On Alert Against Polio

The country declared itself polio-free since 2014 and has kept the disease on bay almost a decade with very robust vaccination programs; however, two cases of vaccine-derived poliovirus cases reported in recent days from Meghalaya create some amount of doubts over a possible resurgence. Experts observe that in India, despite these detections taking place, strong coverage of vaccination at 90-95% and mandatory surveillance measures keep the risk of this widespread outbreak at bay.

The experts point out, however, that such stable situation in India requires continued surveillance. "Countries like Pakistan and parts of Africa remain at a high risk because vaccination rates in those areas are much lower," Dr. Siddharth, public health expert, said. Vaccination is an indispensable act in order to avoid the spread of this incapacitating disease that manifests most importantly as a nervous system affliction leading to the paralysis of a long period.

With concerted efforts from health authorities, there is hope someday that the scourge of polio will be completely eradicated from the face of the earth and future generations will never suffer from its effects.

Flu activity is increasing all thanks to the holiday season. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows that due to a surge in holiday travel and gathering, the flu cases have gone up. The CDC estimates that there have been at least 4.6 million illnesses, 49,000 hospitalizations and 1,900 deaths from flu this season so far.

Public health experts have also revealed that many of this season's cases are linked with the new flu strain, called the subclade K. This is a variant of the H3N2 virus, which is a subtype of influenza A.

According to the CDC, 89% of the 163 H3N2 virus samples collected and genetically analyzed since September 28 belonged to subclade K.

So far this season, three pediatric flu deaths have been reported, based on an ABC News tally. Last season, 288 children died from the flu in the U.S., matching the toll seen during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. A CDC study published earlier this year found that about 90% of those children were unvaccinated.

Read: New Aggressive Flu Strain Is Now A Health Threat In US

Will The Old Flu Vaccine Protect You Against The New Subclade K?

The real reason why concerns are prompted about the effectiveness of the seasonal vaccine is because the virus underwent more mutation than scientists expected over summers. This mutant is called the 'subclade K' or 'super flu'. While it is true that most cases this season are of the 'super flu' strain, experts say that the flu jab is still offering a strong protection.

"The vaccine remains the most effective means to prevent disease. We still want to encourage people to get the vaccine," said Professor Antonia Ho, Professor and Honorary Consultant in Infectious Diseases at the University of Glasgow. Experts have stressed enough on the immunity that one can receive from the vaccine that that these flu jab remain the best defense against the flu, even though the current strain circulated may have drifted away from the strain included in this year's jab.

Data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also show that vaccines is performing as expect, despite the emergence of subclade K.

Every year, experts from the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other global health agencies closely track flu trends around the world. They study which strains are spreading and use that data to predict which ones are most likely to dominate the upcoming flu season. The annual flu vaccine is then designed to protect against three or four of those strains.

It’s also worth understanding that more than one influenza A strain usually circulates at the same time. So even if the vaccine is not an exact match for a newer H3N2 strain, it still protects against other common flu viruses, which matters, notes Stony Brook Medicine.

When a new variant emerges, the flu shot can still offer what doctors call cross-protection. In simple terms, the antibodies your body makes after vaccination can recognize similar flu viruses and respond to them. You might still get sick, but the vaccine greatly lowers the chances of severe illness, hospitalization, or worse.

The vaccine offers protection against both types of influenza, including A and B.

Claire Brosseau, 48, an actress, who lives in Toronto was hopeful when a new change to Canadian law allowed people who were living with incurable medical condition, but not near death to ask a doctor to end their lives. This happened in 2021. This gave her relief. But now, almost five years later, she is still alive, mostly surrounded with headlines and debates on who in Canada has the right to avail medically assisted death.

She suffers from a debilitating mental illness, which has no treatment. The sadness has succumbed her that sometimes she has tried to eat peanuts to trigger her severe allergy, in a hope that she would die. Other times she has overdosed on drugs or cut her wrists. A New York Times report notes that her sadness is so severe that sometimes she sobs until her bones ache.

What Happened To Claire Brosseau?

When she was just a 14-years-old honors student in Montreal, who enjoyed her life as wildly as any student of her own age would, she sometimes would turn rather cruel. Her parents took her to a psychotherapist who diagnosed her with manic depression. It came with diagnoses like eating disorder, anxiety disorder, personality disorder, substance abuse disorder, chronic suicidal ideation, and many more mental health issues.

It is not that she has not tried to get better. She has tried at least 25 medications, two dozen different talk, art behavioral therapies, even electroconvulsive therapy and guided psychedelics. She did feel better for sometime, only to return to the feeling of monsters stalking her when she is awake and in her dreams.

Read: Can Right To Die Be Practiced By Non-Terminally Ill Patients?

A shift in Canadian law briefly offered her another option. In 2019, three years after assisted death was legalized for people whose natural death was reasonably foreseeable, two people with chronic conditions challenged the law. They argued that excluding those suffering unbearably from incurable illnesses, simply because they were not dying, violated their right to equality. The courts agreed, and in 2021 the law was expanded to include people who were not at the end of life.

One group, however, remained excluded: people whose sole underlying condition was mental illness. The government said it needed time to draft special safeguards. Of the nine countries that allow assisted death for people not nearing death, only Canada made this distinction. The exclusion was set to end on March 17, 2023, and Ms. Brosseau planned to apply that day. But the deadline was delayed again, and then postponed once more the following year.

Childhood filled With Trauma

In hindsight, her family believes her illness began in early childhood. As a young girl, she cycled through rage and despair, sometimes sitting on train tracks, convinced everyone would be better off without her. At eight, she wrote in her diary that she wanted to die.

At home, her behavior created constant tension. Her older sister, Melissa Morris, recalls being perpetually anxious around her. At just 12, Ms. Morris used money from her first job to install a lock on her bedroom door to shield herself from the chaos.

Also Read: Australia Social Media Ban Explained: Why Government Plans to Restrict Accounts of Under-16s

At school, Ms. Brosseau appeared to flourish. She was popular, academically strong, and deeply involved in theater, even as she skipped classes and experimented with drugs. She was recruited into elite programs, studied theater in New York, and began acting professionally. But she struggled with eating disorders, periods of deep depression, and substance use.

In her early twenties, she returned to Montreal and experienced a severe manic depressive episode that led to months of hospitalization. She recovered enough to restart her career, performing comedy in two languages, acting in commercials, writing, and earning well. Manic episodes, however, continued, sometimes requiring friends to send her home for treatment. At 34, she underwent electroconvulsive therapy and returned to work soon after.

By 2021, she believed she was in remission. Then, during a downturn, her mother called police out of fear she might harm herself. Ms. Brosseau was involuntarily hospitalized, restrained twice despite no recorded threats, and left deeply traumatized. Complaints against the hospital were dismissed. For her, that decision marked the end of trust in the mental health system and any remaining desire to try to get better.

Amber cold health alerts have been announced for parts of northern England after forecasts warned that falling temperatures could lead to more deaths, particularly among older and vulnerable people. The UK Health Security Agency has issued two amber-level alerts for north-east and north-west England, which will be in effect from 8pm on Sunday until midday on Monday 5 January.

UK Under Amber Cold Health Alert: Elderly And Vulnerable People At Highest Risk

The agency said the expected cold spell is likely to increase pressure on healthcare services, with more vulnerable people needing medical attention. Officials warned this could lead to a rise in deaths, especially among those aged 65 and above and people with existing conditions such as heart disease, respiratory illnesses, and other long-term health problems.

UK Under Amber Cold Health Alert: UKHSA Gives Alert

UK Under Amber Cold Health Alert: Concerns Over Indoor Temperatures

The agency warned that indoor temperatures in buildings such as hospitals, care homes, and clinics are expected to drop. Maintaining the recommended indoor temperature of 18C may be difficult, increasing health risks for patients and residents. While all other regions in England will be under a lower-level yellow alert, officials said there is still potential for added pressure on health services. Staffing shortages linked to travel disruption were also flagged, along with possible impacts on essential services such as transport and energy.

How Does Cold Weather Affect People In The UK

Cold weather in the UK can worsen existing health problems and create new risks, particularly during prolonged spells of low temperatures. It places extra strain on the heart and lungs, increases the likelihood of infections, and can make daily life harder for people who struggle to keep warm. Those living in poorly insulated homes or facing high heating costs are often hit the hardest.

The Met Office said much of England will remain cloudy overnight, with patches of frost and fog likely to develop. These conditions could lead to difficult and potentially hazardous travel on Monday morning.

Sub-zero Temperatures Forecast In Parts Of The UK

Overnight temperatures are expected to fall to around minus 1C in Penrith and hover close to freezing in parts of the Lake District where the amber alert is in place. In northern areas of Scotland, temperatures are forecast to drop further, reaching between minus 6C and minus 7C, as per Sky News.

A brisk northerly breeze is also expected along the north-east coast of England, making conditions feel colder and more uncomfortable. Dr Agostinho Sousa, head of extreme events and health protection at UKHSA, as per Sky News, urged people to look out for friends, family, and neighbours as the cold weather sets in.

“The temperatures we are expecting can have a serious impact on health,” he said. “They increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and chest infections, particularly among people over 65 and those with existing health conditions.”