Low-dose CT chest scans could help detect pneumonia in at-risk patients while exposing them to only small amounts of radiation, a new study has found. The research, published in Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging, shows that ultra-low-dose scans can effectively detect pneumonia in patients with compromised immune systems, enabling doctors to treat the infection before it becomes life-threatening. According to the researchers, these scans expose patients to just 2% of the radiation dose used in a standard CT scan.

"This study paves the way for safer, AI-driven imaging that reduces radiation exposure while preserving diagnostic accuracy,” lead researcher Dr Maximiliano Klug, a radiologist with the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, said in a news release. He added that CT scans are the gold standard for detecting pneumonia but there are concerns regarding the risk posed by repeated exposure to radiation. There is a solution- ultra-low-dose CT scan. However, the problem is that these scans can be grainy and hard to read, researchers said.

Study Gives Solution To This

To overcome that, Klug's team developed an AI program that could help "de-noise" low-dose scans, making them sharper and easier to read. Between September 2020 and December 2022, 54 patients with compromised immune systems who had fevers underwent a pair of chest CT scans -- a normal dose scan and an ultra-low-dose scan. The AI program cleaned up the low-dose scan, and then both sets of images were given to a pair of radiologists for assessment. Radiologists had 100% accuracy in detecting pneumonia and other lung problems with the AI-cleaned low-dose scans, but 91% to 98% accuracy in examining the scans that hadn’t been improved through AI, results show.

"This pilot study identified infection with a fraction of the radiation dose," Klug said. "This approach could drive larger studies and ultimately reshape clinical guidelines, making denoised ultra-low dose CT the new standard for young immunocompromised patients.

How Can You Detect Pneumonia?

Pneumonia is a lung infection that causes the air sacs in the lungs to fill with fluid or pus and can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi. The symptoms can range from milk to severe, which includes:

Coughing with or without cough

Fever

Chills

Trouble breathing

Chest pain, especially when breathing deeply or coughing

Sweating or chills

Rapid heart rate

Loss of appetite

Bluish skin, lips, and nails

Confusion.

How to detect Pneumonia in coughing newborns and toddlers?

Pneumonia can severely affect newborns and young children as their lungs are comparatively more sensitive. As per Dr Goyal, young children can cough for various reasons including seasonal infections and tonsillitis, which is very common in this age group. But if they look visibly irritable and have poor sleep patterns, then parents must reach out to an expert. "I am not saying that parents must visit a hospital but any local paediatrician would be able to detect pneumonia in your kid.

COVID-19 infections have resurfaced in India, with Andhra Pradesh reporting two deaths and several active cases, prompting health authorities to step up surveillance and preparedness measures.

A 52-year-old man from Kadapa's Rajampet area, who tested positive for COVID-19 after developing fever and cough, died while undergoing treatment at Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore.

In another case, a 43-year-old man from Kadapa, who was admitted to the Government General Hospital with health complications, tested positive and later died while receiving treatment in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit.

A 25-year-old medical student from Kadapa Medical College has also tested positive for the virus and is currently undergoing treatment through home isolation. Several more cases have also been reported.

What Variant Is Causing The Reported Cases?

Doctors say they have seen a rise in COVID-19 cases over the past few weeks.

Dr. Lancelot Pinto, Consultant Pulmonologist and Epidemiologist at the PD Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai, told HealthandMe that SARS-CoV-2 has frequently been detected in patients presenting with viral respiratory infections.

"So when we send throat swabs in the context of a viral respiratory infection, we have detected SARS-CoV-2 as the causative organism often. It doesn't seem that this is a more virulent strain based on our experience so far. But in those who are immunocompromised, who are vulnerable because of their health risks, it can cause severe disease."

While the exact variant behind these cases has not yet been confirmed and samples have been sent for genome sequencing, experts say the virus currently circulating in India is largely made up of Omicron sub-lineages.

"The virus currently circulating in India is largely made up of Omicron sub-lineages, which generally cause milder illness than earlier variants, though they remain highly transmissible," Dr. Neha Rastogi, Senior Consultant, Infectious Diseases, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram, told HealthandMe.

Why Are We Still Seeing Severe COVID Despite Herd Immunity?

According to Dr. Pinto, viruses are capable of triggering what is known as an inflammatory cascade—a strong immune response that can sometimes contribute to severe illness.

"This cascade is such that there's a strong immune response to the virus that can sometimes be detrimental to humans, causing severe disease. We also know that any viral infection, however innocuous it may seem, has the potential of increasing your cardiovascular risk."

He explained that viral infections can also increase cardiovascular risk, meaning people already at risk of heart-related complications may experience poorer outcomes.

"And therefore, those who are at an increased risk of cardiovascular events could suffer from poor outcomes in the context of any viral infections."

Another concern, he said, is the limited availability of antiviral medicines.

"What has been concerning, though, is the difficulty of procuring antivirals at present. So drugs such as remdesivir and paxlovid are not easily available. And therefore, we are not able to offer it to vulnerable and high-risk individuals. And I hope this gets fixed in the near future."

Who Is At High Risk?

Although the circulating Omicron sub-lineages generally cause milder illness, they can still lead to severe disease in vulnerable individuals.

Those most at risk include:

• Senior citizens
• People with diabetes, heart disease, chronic lung disease, or chronic kidney disease
• Individuals with weakened immunity
• Pregnant women
• People who are unvaccinated or have not received recommended booster doses.

How To Reduce The Risk?

Despite the lower overall severity of the current variants, health experts say vigilance remains important. To reduce the risk of infection, people should stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations, wear masks in crowded indoor settings, maintain hand hygiene, ensure good ventilation, and avoid close contact when unwell.

Anyone experiencing symptoms such as fever, cough, or breathlessness should get tested and seek timely medical advice.

"If you are a high-risk individual and suffer from diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, chronic liver disease, or respiratory disease such as COPD, this is the time to be a little cautious about exposing yourself to those who are ill, trying and avoiding crowds, trying and avoiding places where there's a conglomeration of individuals together and easy to pick up viruses. Mask up with a high-efficiency mask if it's feasible, especially if you are exposed to such kind of situations," Dr Pinto said.

For people without these underlying conditions, he said the virus appears to behave much like other seasonal respiratory viruses.

"For the average person who does not have a high risk in terms of these comorbidities, it does appear that this virus behaves just like any other seasonal influenza virus or any other seasonal virus."

Europe's record-breaking June heatwave led to an estimated 10,000 excess deaths across 27 countries, with older adults accounting for the overwhelming majority of fatalities, according to official data.

Data published by EuroMOMO—a mortality monitoring network supported by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO)—showed around 10,000 excess deaths during the week of June 22-28, when extreme heat peaked across France, Spain, Britain and several other European countries.

More than 9,000 of these deaths were among people aged 65 years and older.

"To have this kind of excess at this time of year is unusual. It's really high," Lasse Vestergaard, Chief Physician at Denmark's Statens Serum Institut, which hosts EuroMOMO, was quoted as saying to Reuters news agency.

"It is difficult to explain this high excess mortality by anything but the extreme heat," he added.

The figures are based on all-cause mortality, meaning they include deaths from all causes rather than only those officially classified as heat-related.

Scientists have also said the late-June heatwave would have been "virtually impossible" without human-caused climate change, which is making extreme heat events more frequent and intense.

England And Wales Saw 2,700 Heat-Related Deaths

A separate analysis by researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Imperial College London, and the Met Office estimated more than 2,700 excess heat-related deaths during the May and June 2026 heatwaves in England and Wales.

Researchers estimated:

• Around 550 heat-related deaths occurred during the May 21-29 heatwave.
• Around 2,200 heat-related deaths occurred during the June 18-28 heatwave.

The study found that around 42% of the total heat-related deaths across both heatwaves were attributable to human-caused climate change.

Climate Change Intensified The Heat

According to the report, climate change increased daytime maximum temperatures across England and Wales by 3°C to 4°C.

The analysis estimated that climate change was responsible for:

• About 59% of heat-related deaths occurred during the May heatwave.
• Around 38% of heat-related deaths occurred during the June heatwave.

Both heatwaves shattered long-standing temperature records, with 35.1°C recorded in West London in May and 37°C in East Anglia in June.

"We are still in the first half of summer in the UK and large parts of England and Wales have already experienced two record-breaking heatwaves," said Dr Malcolm Mistry, Assistant Professor in Climate and Geo-spatial Modelling at LSHTM.

June 2026 Among The Hottest On Record

According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), June 2026 was the hottest June ever recorded in western Europe and the second warmest globally.

The record temperatures were driven in part by the highest sea surface temperatures ever recorded for June.

"Heatwaves like this are what we expect to see in a changing climate," said John Kennedy, Head of Climate Information at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

He noted that Europe has warmed by around 2°C over the past 50 years, making it the world's fastest-warming continent and increasing the frequency of extreme heat events.

Why Extreme Heat Can Be Deadly

Extreme heat is often called the "silent killer" because heat-related deaths are frequently underreported. Globally, an estimated 489,000 people died from heat-related causes each year between 2000 and 2019, according to modeled estimates.

Heat stress develops when the body absorbs more heat than it can release. While sweating and increased blood flow to the skin normally help regulate body temperature, these cooling mechanisms become less effective during prolonged periods of intense heat—especially when humidity is high.

According to Lachlan McIver, Health Advisor at the WHO-WMO Climate and Health Joint Office, older adults, infants, pregnant women, outdoor workers, people experiencing homelessness, and those with chronic illnesses are at the greatest risk, although prolonged extreme heat can affect anyone.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Southeast Asia is actively attempting to phase out mercury-infused dental fillings. The move comes as a way to help countries gradually replace them with mercury-free alternatives, citing environmental concerns and long-term public health goals.

WHO Southeast Asia Wants To Phase Out Mercury-Infused Dental Fillings

Commonly known as dental amalgam or silver fillings, mercury-containing dental fillings have been used by dentists for more than 150 years as they are durable, affordable, and effective.

In partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), WHO Southeast Asia continues to implement a project, running from 2023 to 2026, in order to help countries phase down the use of dental amalgam while improving the management of mercury-containing waste generated by dental clinics.

The initiative supports commitments made under the Minamata Convention on Mercury - a global treaty aimed at reducing mercury pollution.

“Dental amalgam has served dentistry well for decades, but we now have an opportunity to transition towards safer and more environmentally sustainable alternatives,” WHO South-East Asia said while announcing the regional initiative.

The agency noted that the goal is not only to reduce mercury use in dentistry but also to strengthen mercury waste management systems.

Also read: How Diabetes Increases The Risk Of Gum Disease? Key Signs and Prevention Tips

Goal Behind The Initiative

Although major health authorities, including WHO and many national dental organizations, maintain that amalgam fillings are generally safe for most people; mercury remains a toxic substance that can accumulate in the environment.

Small amounts of mercury may be released during the placement, removal, or disposal of fillings, eventually entering water bodies and the food chain if not managed with care.

The WHO states that mercury is one of the chemicals of major public health concern because of its harmful effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, particularly among unborn babies and young children.

The global strategy focuses on reducing future use rather than encouraging people to remove restorations that are already functioning well.

Alternatives To Mercury-Based Fillings

Modern tooth-coloured composite resins, glass ionomer cements and other mercury-free materials are increasingly replacing dental amalgam across the world.

Besides being aesthetically preferable, these materials are also environmentally friendly. But composite fillings can be more expensive, warrant greater technical expertise, and may not always be suitable in every situation.

This is why WHO is promoting a phased approach, allowing countries to strengthen dental services, train oral care professionals and improve access to affordable alternatives before completely eliminating mercury-containing fillings from dentistry.

The WHO Southeast Asia initiative aligns with the Minamata Convention, under which countries recently agreed to phase out dental amalgam globally by 2034.

For patients, experts stress there is no need to replace existing amalgam fillings solely because they contain mercury if they remain intact and functional. Instead, the focus is on ensuring that future dental care becomes completely mercury-free to protect public health and the environment.