Every year, World Toilet Day is observed to raise awareness about the global sanitation crisis and encourage action to solve it. The goal set by the United Nation is to achieve safe toilets for all by 2023, as a part of their Sustainable Development Goals.

The UN also states that 3.5 billion people live without proper sanitation and many children also lose their lives due to poor sanitation and unsafe water. This is why World Toilet Day is observed to raise awareness on this issue.

Theme

This year, the theme for World Toilet Day 2024 is "Toilets - A Place for Peace'. This focuses on the growing threat to sanitation that is caused by conflict, climate change, disaster and neglect. When there is a threat to using toilets, it can lead to many health risks.

Not using toilets for too long may lead to Urinary Tract Infection or UTI. For many who do not have access to clean toilets do not drink enough liquid or hold pee for too long. Doctors suggest that holding in pee for too long can cause bacteria to multiply and lead to UTI. By not drinking enough water, your bladder fails to tell the body to pee often, and can cause the bacteria to spread through the urinary tract, which can lead to infection.

Symptoms of UTI:

• Burning or stinging feeling while urinating
• Pain in pelvis or lower abdomen
• Constant urge to empty the bladder
• Strong or foul smelling urine
• Consistently dark urine
• Blood in urine

Holding in pee for too long can also cause your bladder to stretch, making it difficult or even impossible for the bladder to contract and release pee normally. It can also damage your pelvic floor muscles or could lead to kidney stones.

World Toilet Day History And Significance

To prevent such conditions, it is important that everyone has access to clean and safe toilets. In terms of history, the day was established in 2001, by the World Toilet Organization (WTO), which was founded by Jack Sim. However, it was officially recognised by the UN in 2013. The Government of Singapore worked with WTO to create the first UN resolution called Sanitation for All.

India too promotes safe and hygiene toilet through its Swachh Bharat Yojna.

A team of US scientists is beginning a human trial of a new form of proton therapy that could potentially deliver cancer-killing radiation in less than a second.

Known as FLASH proton therapy, the treatment requires fewer sessions — just five over about 10 days — and could potentially reduce the risk of treatment-related side effects.

FLASH Proton Therapy: The First Human Trial

The Phase I clinical trial at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania represents the first time the “conformal,” or precise 3D-targeting, version of the technique is being tested in human patients in the United States.

According to the University, the study will enroll 10 patients with recurrent head and neck cancer who have previously received radiation treatment and are not candidates for surgery.

Patients with recurrent head and neck cancer typically face a difficult prognosis. While radiation therapy can help treat the cancer, it can also cause side effects in areas involved in important functions such as eating, drinking and swallowing.

Patients in the trial will receive FLASH proton therapy five times in total, with each exposure lasting less than a second. They will complete all five sessions in less than two weeks.

Penn Medicine recently completed a FLASH proton therapy clinical trial in pet dogs with cancer. The canine study used the same technology for head and neck cancer that will be used in the human trial.

How Does FLASH Proton Therapy Work?

Proton therapy is an advanced form of radiation therapy that uses high-energy protons, or positively charged particles, to damage the DNA of cancer cells and destroy them.

Conventional radiation therapy is typically delivered in smaller doses, or fractions, over several weeks to target the tumour while limiting exposure to healthy tissue.

For patients with head and neck cancer, this typically means 25–35 radiation fractions, delivered once a day, five days a week, over five to six weeks.

Constantinos Koumenis, Professor of Radiation Oncology at Penn Medicine, explained that FLASH uses a larger dose and reduces the amount of time the patient is exposed to radiation.

The total effective radiation dose remains the same, but it is divided into fewer fractions, with each delivered in a large, lightning-fast dose.

What Is ConformalFLASH Proton Therapy?

The type of FLASH proton therapy being tested in this clinical trial is known as ConformalFLASH proton therapy.

The Penn clinical trial is designed to test the safety and feasibility of the approach. Researchers hope it could improve patients’ quality of life by reducing the time they spend in hospitals and travelling for treatment.

If successful, the approach could be expanded to other cancer types and studied in larger Phase II and Phase III clinical trials focused on treatment outcomes, the researchers said.

H5N1 avian influenza has been detected in captive mink on a US farm for the first time, raising concerns among scientists about the virus's potential to adapt to mammals as well as humans.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that “H5N1 was detected in at least six mink on a farm in Utah in mid-August".

The detection comes as H5N1 continues to circulate widely among birds and has infected numerous mammal species in recent years, more recently in Australia. Scientists are particularly watching the virus's behavior in mammals because some species can support viral replication and, under certain circumstances, transmission between animals.

Why H5N1 In Mink Matters

Mink are closely watched by virologists because they are susceptible to respiratory viruses and can transmit some viruses between animals.

Mink farms can also house thousands of animals in close proximity, potentially creating conditions in which respiratory viruses can spread and evolve.

Dr Tom Peacock, a virologist at The Pirbright Institute, told The Telegraph that avian influenza viruses generally replicate poorly in humans and do not currently have the properties needed for efficient person-to-person transmission.

He said H5N1 would need to undergo significant changes to cause a human pandemic, but farmed mink could provide conditions that may favor the evolution of the virus.

Also read: H5 Bird Flu Spreads To Australian Mammals: Is It Nearing Humans?

Mink Have Raised Pandemic Concerns Before

In 2022, an H5N1 outbreak at a mink farm in Galicia, Spain, infected more than 50,000 animals. It provided the first documented evidence of mammal-to-mammal transmission of H5N1.

Mink also drew attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, when mutated SARS-CoV-2 variants were detected on fur farms in several European countries.

Denmark reported infections among farm workers with a SARS-CoV-2 strain that had emerged in mink.

Could H5N1 Spread From Mink To Humans?

The detection of H5N1 in US mink does not mean that the virus is currently spreading efficiently between humans or that a pandemic is underway.

The key concern is whether H5N1 could acquire genetic changes that make it better adapted to mammals and, ultimately, capable of sustained human-to-human transmission.

So far, health authorities continue to assess the risk to the general public as low.

How Many Humans Have Been Infected?

Read More: H5N1 Bird Flu Reaches New Zealand; 12 Human Infections Reported Worldwide

While human H5N1 infections remain rare, the virus can cause severe illness when transmission from infected animals to people occurs.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 993 human cases of avian influenza were reported across 25 countries between January 2023 and December 2025, with 477 deaths.

The reported cases largely involved people with known or suspected exposure to infected animals.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in June that it had identified 12 human H5N1 infections outside the US between August 4, 2025, and June 10, 2026. The cases were reported in Bangladesh, Cambodia and India.

Three of the 12 infections were fatal—one in Bangladesh and two in Cambodia. Cambodia's Ministry of Health also confirmed its fifth human H5N1 infection of 2026 on July 9, involving a 9-month-old girl from Phnom Penh.

Importantly, the CDC said no person-to-person transmission had been identified in these cases. Most infections occurred following direct or close contact with infected poultry or other sick animals.

Why Surveillance Matters

H5N1 continues to circulate widely among wild birds and poultry, creating repeated opportunities for the virus to infect mammals.

Recent mammal infections—including those reported in Australia—highlight the importance of monitoring how the virus behaves when it crosses into different animal species.

The CDC has stressed the importance of strong surveillance, testing and preparedness as sporadic human infections continue to occur.

The emergence of H5N1 in mink therefore warrants close monitoring—but it is not evidence that the virus has acquired efficient human-to-human transmission.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is showing no signs of slowing down. Without an approved vaccine or course of treatment, the number of deaths due to the disease has reached 3,007, with 6,186 confirmed cases as of August 31. The mortality rate remains close to 50%.

Declared in mid-May, the outbreak has now spread across 60 health zones in six provinces. Ituri, the epicenter of the outbreak, accounts for 81.9% of confirmed cases.

The gravity of the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo has sparked a fresh alert from the World Health Organization (WHO) after its Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the response has to move faster than the outbreak to contain or slow the transmission.

WHO Warns Ebola Transmission Chains Are Still Being Missed

Speaking in Geneva, Tedros said the biggest challenge still remains in identifying every chain of transmission.

He said, “Until every chain is found and broken, the epidemic will continue and will continue to pose a threat to DRC, its neighbours and the region as a whole,” he said.

Many people who have died were not known contacts of previously identified Ebola patients. This suggests that some chains of transmission are still going undetected, increasing the risk of further transmission.

The CDC has also warned that the response efforts needed to contain the outbreak remain below established targets. It said that 80% of new cases are occurring outside known contact networks.

Also read: Ebola Bundibugyo Virus: American Health Worker Had 10x Higher Viral Load In Throat Than Blood

Why The Response Is Slow?

The response is currently being affected by internal conflict, poor infrastructure, attacks on health facilities and healthcare workers, and difficulties in carrying out safe burials. More than 40 health workers have reportedly died from Ebola during the response.

The WHO and DRC government are also facing a major shortfall in funding. The Congolese response plan is seeking $1.3 billion in international funding.

WHO said it has shipped 320 tonnes of supplies and increased testing capacity to about 3,000 tests a day, but additional funding is needed. It said that the capacity of treatment centres also needs to be expanded.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher similarly warned that the response is being outpaced by the epidemic. “Unless we scale up urgently, more lives will be lost and the threat will grow,” Fletcher said.

Also read: Ebola Outbreak In DR Congo Records Its Highest Weekly Death Tolls Yet, With More Than 300 Deaths

Ebola Response Is Also Affecting Schools

The outbreak is also affecting the country's education system and children's safety. More than 1,000 schools in Ituri are classified as being in Ebola “red zones”, meaning areas with active transmission or high risk.

Authorities had initially planned to replace classroom teaching with worksheets and radio and television lessons in these areas. But schools have reopened this week after authorities argued that prolonged remote learning could affect the students' aptitude.

Officials said distance learning would be introduced if a case was detected in a school. Additionally, precautionary measures are being taken to keep the children safe.

Steps Taken To Contain Ebola Outbreak In DR Congo

The Ervebo vaccine, licensed against Zaire ebolavirus, not Bundibugyo, is being deployed among frontline workers. WHO says it is not yet known whether the vaccine provides clinically meaningful protection against Bundibugyo.

An initial 70,000 doses of Ervebo have been approved for release to the DRC. Of these, 20,000 are intended for a Phase 3 clinical trial examining its efficacy on Bundibugyo, while 50,000 are intended for frontline and healthcare workers.

Apart from that, more than 300 Ebola patients have been enrolled in trials of two treatments, while the antiviral drug obeldesivir is being studied among high-risk contacts to determine whether it can prevent illness after exposure.

Two new vaccines specifically targeting Bundibugyo virus are also being tested in safety trials in the UK and Canada. WHO hopes efficacy trials in the DRC could begin in October or November.