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.

Dual-drug microneedle patch targets inflammation and fat browning

The worldwide obesity crisis has become a dominant public health crisis across the globe. Over 3 billion people worldwide currently suffer from obesity, and forecasts warn the number will rise above 4 billion by 2035, accounting for more than half the global population.

4 Sep 2026

PAHO/WHO assists Colombia with recovery following major earthquake

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO), is providing technical cooperation to Colombian authorities to support the health response following the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck western Colombia on August 10.

25 Aug 2026

Global surveys reveal little progress in tobacco risk awareness over two decades

Across 46 countries, adults who smoked showed high awareness that tobacco causes lung cancer but substantially lower knowledge of cardiovascular and secondhand smoke harms. Knowledge changed little overall across two decades, supporting stronger health warnings, mass media campaigns and enforced smoke-free policies.

5 Aug 2026

Digital marketing threatens breastfeeding rates in the Americas

Ahead of World Breastfeeding Week (1-7 August), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is calling on countries across the Americas to strengthen protections for families against the growing digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes and other products that may undermine breastfeeding.

31 Jul 2026

Early menopause remains common among women in low and middle income countries

Early menopause affects 1 in 14 women aged 30 to 49 living in low and middle income countries, finds a pooled data analysis of its prevalence in 44 nations published in the open access journal BMJ Global Health.

7 Jul 2026

Study: Employer points systems drive workers to show up sick

A new study finds that employer points systems, which penalize workers for absences regardless of the reason, are strongly associated with presenteeism, the practice of showing up to work while sick, and that these systems undermine the public health benefits of paid sick leave laws even in jurisdictions where such protections are on the books.

11 Jun 2026

Sugar-sweetened beverage taxes gain momentum across the globe

One of the challenges public health officials face in reducing diet-related disease is the relatively easy and inexpensive access to sugar-sweetened beverages globally.

9 Jun 2026

NHS online diabetes program improves blood sugar and pressure

NHS England's Healthy Living program offers modest diabetes improvements; addressing engagement and access could enhance its public health effectiveness.

8 Jun 2026

Chronic liver disease threatens millions across Europe, report finds

Europe is facing a growing chronic liver disease threat, according to a new Series published today in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, that engaged more than 75 co-authors from 30 countries and was led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation.

25 May 2026

PAHO and The Carter Center join hands on the elimination of onchocerciasis across the Americas

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and The Carter Center signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement today to strengthen collaboration on the elimination of onchocerciasis — also known as river blindness — and other communicable diseases in the Americas.

21 May 2026

Proposed policy solutions for the worldwide rise in chronic diseases

Chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes, neurocognitive disorders and infertility are rising globally, with health-harming products such as fossil fuels, tobacco, ultra‑processed foods, toxic chemicals, plastics and alcohol being major contributors, say the authors of a new paper published in New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The authors include proposed solutions, including policy safeguards and a stronger research focus on the risks to health connected with corporate activity.

26 Mar 2026

Global study reveals how inequality limits access to exercise and why it matters for health

A global analysis of physical activity data from 68 countries shows large socioeconomic and gender inequalities in access to choice-based exercise, particularly active leisure. The study also synthesizes evidence linking physical activity to lower risks of severe infectious disease, depression, and cancer mortality, and proposes a new “physical activity for health and wellbeing” public health framework.

10 Mar 2026

Newsom picks a dogfight with Trump and RFK Jr. on public health

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has positioned himself as a national public health leader by staking out science-backed policies in contrast with the Trump administration.

9 Mar 2026

Review: Natural selection can occur on multiple levels of biological organization

The common view of natural selection is based solely on the individual: A trait allows an organism to out-compete its rivals and is thus passed down to its offspring.

20 Feb 2026

Strengthening primary health care to reduce NCD burden in the Americas

The Pan American Journal of Public Health, the scientific publication of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), recently published a special issue dedicated to strengthening primary health care to address noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the Americas.

7 Jan 2026

Depression links to chronic headaches through weight and diet, not physical activity alone

Depression was associated with a higher likelihood of chronic headaches in Iranian adults, with statistical models identifying body mass index and dietary iron intake as partial mediators. Physical activity was linked to depression but did not independently mediate headache outcomes, highlighting interconnected, non-causal pathways.

1 Jan 2026

Doubling rates of childhood hypertension signal urgent health concern

The rate of children and adolescents experiencing high blood pressure worldwide nearly doubled between 2000 and 2020, according to a new meta-analysis published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal.

12 Nov 2025

Experts urge global climate goals to prioritize children's health

A Weill Cornell Medicine investigator and other members of a technical advisory group to the World Health Organization and United Nations Children's Fund have outlined measures that nations can take to ensure that children's health is accounted for within climate change goals.

5 Nov 2025

AI-powered LifeClock forecasts diseases years before symptoms appear

Researchers have developed LifeClock, an AI-driven biological clock trained on over 24 million electronic health records to estimate biological age across the human lifespan. The model accurately predicts disease risk years in advance, revealing distinct developmental and aging processes.

28 Oct 2025

PAHO celebrates over three decades without polio in the Americas

World Polio Day (October 24), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) celebrates over three decades without wild poliovirus cases in the Americas.

23 Oct 2025