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.

Nearly all countries are overusing antibiotics—particularly those meant for specific conditions—fueling the global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), according to a study published in The Lancet Public Health.

The study, led by researchers from the Universities of London and Oxford, found that 99% of countries overuse "Watch" antibiotics, while 60% continue to use antibiotics that the World Health Organization (WHO) advises should no longer be prescribed.

"Our findings show the world faces a double challenge – while some antibiotics are being overused, millions of people may still lack access to the medicines they need to treat their infections," said Aislinn Cook, lead author and Senior Research Fellow in Infectious Diseases Epidemiology at City St George's, University of London.

Understanding WHO's AWaRe Classification

The WHO groups antibiotics into three categories under its AWaRe framework:

• Access antibiotics: First-line medicines, such as amoxicillin, recommended for most common bacterial infections.
• Watch antibiotics: Broader-spectrum drugs that should be reserved for specific infections when Access antibiotics are ineffective.
• Reserve antibiotics: Last-resort treatments for severe drug-resistant infections.

In 2024, UN member states agreed that at least 70% of global antibiotic use should come from the Access group by 2030.

What the Study Found

Researchers estimated that around 43 billion antibiotic courses were needed globally in 2019—roughly one course per person per year to treat bacterial infections. About 77% of these should have been Access antibiotics, suggesting the UN's 70% target is achievable.

However, analysis of antibiotic use across 67 countries revealed widespread inappropriate prescribing:

• Nearly three-quarters of countries used more antibiotics overall than required.
• 99% of countries overused Watch antibiotics, increasing the risk of antimicrobial resistance.
• More than half of countries and territories underused Reserve antibiotics, potentially limiting treatment options for patients with life-threatening drug-resistant infections.
• 60% of countries continued using antibiotics that WHO recommends should no longer be prescribed.

Global Inequality in Antibiotic Access

The study also highlighted major disparities in antibiotic access. Researchers noted that low- and middle-income countries, which bear a higher burden of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance, often need greater access to specialized Watch and Reserve antibiotics.

Yet these medicines are used more frequently in high-income countries, pointing to unequal access rather than clinical need.

Antibiotic Resistance Rising Among Children

A separate study found that antibiotic-resistant bacteria are increasingly leaving children vulnerable to common infections.

The research, led by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) and covering 82 countries, found that antibiotic resistance increased across every region between 2004 and 2022, making many life-saving drugs used to treat common childhood infections less effective.

Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study found that babies, children in intensive care, and those living in countries with limited healthcare resources are the most affected.

What Can Be Done?

Researchers called for stronger national policies to curb unnecessary antibiotic prescribing while ensuring patients who genuinely need specialized antibiotics can access them.

They stressed that improving access will require coordinated action at both local and national levels. This includes:

• ensuring quality-assured antibiotics are available and affordable in frontline healthcare settings,
• procuring the right antibiotics in adequate quantities,
• strengthening surveillance of antibiotic use,
• setting country-specific prescribing targets based on local disease burden and public health needs.

Do partners and spouses of those suffering from dementia face a higher risk of the disease themselves? A nationwide study involving more than 955,000 married adults has found that people whose spouse develops dementia may face a significantly higher risk of developing the condition themselves.

The study, published in JAMA Network Open, adds to growing evidence that dementia risk may not be influenced by genetics and lifestyle alone, but also by the shared environments, lifestyles and experiences couples build over decades.

How Was The Study Conducted?

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Researchers analyzed health data from 955,105 married individuals in Taiwan to examine whether being married to someone with dementia influences a person's own likelihood of developing the disease.

The researchers found that spouses of people with dementia had a substantially higher risk of developing dementia themselves compared with those whose partners did not have the condition.

Among women, having a spouse with dementia was associated with a 74% higher risk of developing dementia (hazard ratio [HR] 1.74). Among men, the risk was 69% higher (HR 1.69).

The association remained consistent across different forms of dementia, including:

• Alzheimer's disease
• Vascular dementia
• Other types of dementia

The association appeared to be weaker among couples with higher household incomes or more children, suggesting that social and family support may help reduce some of the caregiving burden.

Dementia Is Not Contagious

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The findings do not suggest that dementia spreads from one spouse to another. Instead, researchers believe the increased risk is likely driven by several shared factors that accumulate over years of living together. These include:

• Similar dietary habits
• Shared physical activity patterns
• Common environmental exposures
• Cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes and hypertension
• Psychological stress associated with caregiving
• Reduced social engagement and chronic emotional strain

Because married couples often share many aspects of daily life, they may also share health risks that influence cognitive ageing.

Is Caregiving A Factor?

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When one partner develops dementia, the other often becomes the primary caregiver. Caregiving can involve years of emotional stress, disrupted sleep, depression, social isolation and physical exhaustion.

Older research has shown that chronic stress may negatively affect brain health through hormonal, inflammatory and vascular pathways, potentially contributing to cognitive decline.

The authors wrote, "The association was evident on relative and absolute scales and varied by family and socioeconomic context."

They added that future studies should directly measure caregiving intensity, lifestyle factors and other shared pathways to better understand why spouses appear to face an elevated dementia risk.

The findings suggest that healthcare providers should pay attention not only to people diagnosed with dementia but also to their spouses. Experts say spouses may benefit from:

• Regular cognitive screening
• Mental health support
• Caregiver assistance programmes
• Stress management
• Maintaining physical activity and social engagement
• Managing blood pressure, diabetes and other cardiovascular risk factors

Early recognition of cognitive changes may allow interventions that help delay progression and improve quality of life.

Where You Live Matters Too

According to recent studies, various factors could influence your risk of developing dementia. Researchers from the University of Southern California studied health data from more than 214,000 adults across 21 countries.

They found that while many well-known dementia risk factors are universal, their impact can vary significantly depending on a person's country.

Previous research has estimated that nearly 45% of dementia cases could potentially be delayed or prevented by addressing modifiable risk factors, including controlling blood pressure, managing diabetes, staying physically active, treating hearing loss, avoiding smoking, and maintaining social life.

GLP-1 drugs widely used to manage and treat obesity and type 2 diabetes may also help people stay healthier at work. A new study finding that the medications were associated with a 17.3% reduction in absence due to sickness among employed adults.

The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Copenhagen, the University of Chicago, Duke University, and the ROCKWOOL Foundation, analyzed nationwide Danish health and employment records to examine whether GLP-1 treatment affects the conditions of labour market.

Researchers found that people who started GLP-1 therapy experienced significantly fewer episodes of medically certified sick leave lasting longer than 30 days compared with similar patients who began treatment later.

"We find that GLP-1 treatment reduces long-term sickness absence by 17.3% over four years," the researchers wrote in the working paper.

The reduction became more pronounced over time, increasing from around 0.8 percentage points in the first two years after treatment began to 1.1 percentage points during years three and four.

Benefits Of GLP-1 Drugs Beyond Weight Loss

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GLP-1 receptor agonists, including Ozempic and Wegovy, have become best known for helping people lose weight. However, researchers say their benefits may extend well beyond weight loss. The study also found that patients receiving GLP-1 therapy had:

• Fewer emergency department visits.
• Lower use of cardiovascular medications.
• Reduced reliance on long-term sickness benefits.

Together, these statistics translated into estimated annual savings equivalent to 1.3% to 1.5% of an employed person's yearly income through fewer prolonged absences from work.

"Our findings suggest meaningful fiscal spillovers from GLP-1 treatment through reduced sickness absence," the authors said.

However, the researchers found no significant evidence that the medications increased overall employment, labor-force participation, or earnings during the four-year follow-up period.

How Can GLP-1 Drugs Reduce Sick Leave?

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The researchers believe the medications likely improve people's overall health enough to reduce serious illnesses that keep them away from work.

GLP-1 drugs work by mimicking a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1, which helps regulate appetite, blood sugar and digestion. They are known to:

• Improve blood sugar control.
• Promote substantial weight loss.
• Lower the risk of cardiovascular complications.
• Reduce obesity-related health problems.

These health improvements may translate into fewer hospital visits and fewer prolonged medical absences.

Researchers Warn

The researchers cautioned that the findings should not be interpreted as evidence that GLP-1 drugs automatically improve workplace productivity.

The study was based on Danish national data, where healthcare access and paid sick-leave policies differ from those in countries such as the United States and India.

In addition, the study focused on patients prescribed GLP-1 medications for medical reasons, including obesity and type 2 diabetes, rather than people using the drugs primarily for cosmetic weight loss.

The findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting GLP-1 drugs may offer benefits beyond managing diabetes and obesity. Previous research has linked these medications to lower risks of heart disease, kidney disease, obstructive sleep apnea, and certain liver conditions.

If confirmed across different countries, the latest findings suggest that the drugs could also provide broader economic benefits by reducing long-term sickness absence and easing the burden on healthcare systems.