Communicable Disease News and Research

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Communicable Disease is a disease capable of being transmitted from an infected person or species to a susceptible host.

PAHO and OAS launch first Inter-American Mental Health Week

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) joins the Organization of American States (OAS) to celebrate the first ever Inter-American Mental Health Week during the second week of October.

9 Oct 2025

PAHO concludes 62nd Directing Council with Strategic Plan 2026-2031 for healthier Americas

The 62nd Directing Council of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) concluded today, setting a bold agenda to address pressing health challenges across the Americas through the approval of the PAHO Strategic Plan 2026-2031 and key resolutions aimed at expanding access to high-cost high price health technologies, and preventing and controlling noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).

6 Oct 2025

PAHO introduces new tool to accelerate disease elimination in the Americas

During a briefing session at the 62nd Directing Council of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), officials presented a new technical tool to help countries in the Region of the Americas accelerate the elimination of more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions.

6 Oct 2025

PAHO Director calls for stronger cooperation in health financing and security

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Dr. Jarbas Barbosa met on Wednesday October 1 with members of the Council of the Americas' Healthcare Series leadership group and with health authorities from Argentina, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Panama to advocate for stronger cooperation in health financing and security.

6 Oct 2025

Health authorities approve new plan to tackle NCDs in the Americas

Health authorities from across the Americas today approved a new 2025-2030 Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) during the 62nd Directing Council of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

6 Oct 2025

PAHO and ORAS-CONHU renew cooperation agreement to strengthen Andean health systems

Today the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Andean Health Organization - Hipólito Unanue Agreement (ORAS-CONHU) extended the Memorandum of Understanding that consolidates their cooperation framework through 2029.

6 Oct 2025

PAHO and Haitian government unite to advance health equity and care

The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) and the Government of Haiti signed the 2026-2028 Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS), the first cooperation framework of its kind between the two, reaffirming their shared commitment to strengthening Haiti's health system and improving health outcomes for all.

6 Oct 2025

Global cancer cases and deaths expected to soar by 2050 despite advances in treatment

There has been a rapid increase in the global number of cancer cases and deaths between 1990 and 2023, despite advances in cancer treatment and efforts to tackle cancer risk factors over that same time period.

24 Sep 2025

Researchers reveal why global gains against chronic diseases are stalling

Researchers analysed mortality data from 185 countries and found that while global non-communicable disease (NCD) deaths before age 80 declined from 2010 to 2019, progress slowed compared to 2001–2010. Gains were mainly from drops in heart disease and stroke, but rising burdens from diabetes, cancers, and neuropsychiatric conditions stalled momentum.

15 Sep 2025

At CDC, worries mount that agency has taken anti-science turn

Public health and access to lifesaving vaccines are on the line in a high-stakes leadership battle at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

3 Sep 2025

People live longer worldwide but not necessarily healthier, study finds

Researchers mapped the global healthspan-lifespan gap across 183 countries, showing people live longer but not healthier, with Africa experiencing the fastest widening gap. Distinct disease-burden clusters explain regional differences and highlight the need for region-specific health strategies.

2 Sep 2025

Canada faces growing threat from communicable diseases and misinformation

Canada must address the growing crisis of communicable diseases that has occurred in tandem with a rise in misinformation that threatens our health systems, argue authors in an editorial in CMAJ.

3 Jul 2025

New study reveals widespread malnutrition in infants under six months

Over 10 million infants under six month old may currently be underweight, according to a new analysis of data collected across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

30 May 2025

WHO calls on governments to ban flavors in all nicotine products

On World No Tobacco Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) today launches a new publication and calls on governments to urgently ban all flavors in tobacco and nicotine products, including cigarettes, pouches, hookahs and e-cigarettes to protect youth from addiction and disease.

30 May 2025

PAHO highlights surge in yellow fever cases across the Americas in 2025

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has issued a new Rapid Risk Assessment (RRA) on yellow fever in the Americas which shows that the risk to public health remains high due to continued human cases in endemic countries of the Region.

27 May 2025

Chile joins Alliance for Primary Health Care in the Americas to strengthen primary healthcare

The Ministry of Health of Chile joined the Alliance for Primary Health Care in the Americas, a joint initiative led by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) through the establishment of the Mesa Consultiva of Primary Health Care in Chile.

23 May 2025

WHO honors tobacco control champions across the Americas

Researchers, activists, civil society organizations, and journalism organizations from Canada, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, the United States, and Uruguay, as well as government agencies from Brazil, have been recognized with World Health Organization (WHO) World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) 2025 Awards at the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland today.

19 May 2025

Measles makes a deadly comeback in Europe as vaccine gaps widen

In 2024, measles cases in Europe soared to the highest levels in decades, with over 35,000 reported cases, 87% from Romania alone. Most affected were unvaccinated children, revealing critical immunity gaps and suboptimal vaccination coverage across the EU/EEA.

29 Apr 2025

Researchers link 9 blood proteins to breast cancer and suggest 3 drugs for repurposing

Researchers used integrated Mendelian randomization in a cohort of over 247,000 individuals to identify 62 plasma proteins associated with breast cancer risk. Nine high-confidence targets, including ULK3 and CSK, showed potential for drug repurposing and immune pathway regulation.

16 Apr 2025