Disease

Europe money crisis leads to poor health

Harsh spending cuts by debt-crippled European governments are also being partly blamed for outbreaks of diseases not normally seen in Europe and a spike in suicides, new research shows.

Since the crisis struck in 2008, state-run welfare and health services across Europe have seen their budgets cut, medical treatments rationed and unpopular measures such as hospital user fees introduced.

Those countries that have slashed public spending the hardest - Greece, Spain and Portugal - have fared the worst medically.

"Austerity measures haven't solved the economic problems and they have also created big health problems," said Martin McKee, a professor of European Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who led the research.

He said worsening health was driven not just by unemployment, but by the lack of a welfare system to fall back on.

"People need to have hope that the government will help them through this difficult time," he said.

The paper was published online on Wednesday in a special series of the journal Lancet.

McKee said Greece in particular was struggling.

Based on government data, he and colleagues found suicides rose by 40 per cent in 2011 compared to the previous year.

Last year, the country also reported an exponential rise in the number of HIV cases among drug users, due in part to addicts sharing contaminated syringes after needle exchange programs were dropped.

In recent years, Greece has also battled outbreaks of malaria, West Nile virus and dengue fever.

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Novel Coronavirus Infection - Update

The Robert Koch Institute has informed WHO of a new confirmed case of infection with the novel coronavirus (nCoV). The patient was a 73-year-old male from United Arab Emirates.

To date, WHO has been informed of a global total of 17 confirmed cases of human infection with nCoV, including 11 deaths.

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Newcastle Disease Outbreak in Israel

The Israeli veterinary authorities have reported an outbreak of Newcastle disease at a breeding farm in Hazafon.

Out of a total of 10680 susceptible birds, 30 deaths were reported. The remaining 10650 birds were destroyed.