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Disease

Disease
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Disease. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Health workers at General Referral Hospital in Mongbwalu, DR Congo. Photo: TNS
Africa

DR Congo’s health workers fight Ebola with little pay and rest as crisis worsens

Active community transmission spikes as the WHO scrambles to fund a US$518 million containment plan.

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Smoking is down but why are more Hong Kong women getting lung cancer?

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Africa

WHO warns nearly 500 confirmed Ebola cases in Central Africa outbreak

China’s private sector

With AI able to predict disease, can we treat ageing like a ‘bug’ in the system?

AI is transforming longevity as companies like METiS TechBio and Human Longevity use algorithms to combat ageing and predict health risks.

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Wellness

How this 68-year-old Hong Kong man overcame ‘end-stage’ knee arthritis

Reynaldo Espineli took up Iyengar yoga after crippling knee pain and a stage-four osteoarthritis diagnosis. Now he’s got his mobility back.

Medicine

First AI-designed ‘universal vaccine’ tested in humans

The experimental jab is intended to target a wide range of viruses, including those behind deadly outbreaks like Sars, Mers and Covid-19.

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United States

Quarantine in Texas: US races to contain deadly flesh-eating parasite

Screwworm detected on farm decades after livestock threat was first eradicated in the United States.

The larvae of the New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite that feeds on live tissue. The pest poses a devastating threat to livestock. Photo: Reuters
Africa

Kenya health minister says US Ebola quarantine centre will proceed amid protests

Kenyans are angry their land is being used by a foreign power in a way that has colonial undertones, and over the risk of Ebola spreading.

Hong Kong society

Warning over home births, anti-vaccine stance after unregistered baby case

Doctor says unassisted home births carry extremely high risks, following arrest of baby Danny’s parents over refusal to provide DNA test.

China-Latin America relations

China opens door to all Brazilian beef, then slams it with a 55% surtax

Recognition lifts a long-standing sanitary barrier, but an import quota in force since January caps how far Brazilian beef sales can grow.

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A butcher weighs meat at a butcher shop in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: AFP
Bangladesh

Bangladesh faces further measles risk due to lack of vaccinations, travel

Nearly 600 people have died from the disease, with over 60,000 suspected cases in the country since mid-March.

Children suffering from measles receive treatment at a hospital in Dhaka amid the disease’s outbreak in Bangladesh. Photo: dpa
Africa

Protests over US Ebola centre in Kenya kill 2

A Kenyan court blocked the proposed US Ebola quarantine centre for another three weeks.

Africa

WHO chief ends DR Congo visit as group warns Ebola likely spread undetected

Tedros meets President Tshisekedi amid warnings that four out of five virus contacts have gone untraced.

Africa

Young Kenyans protest Ebola quarantine centre for US citizens

Health Minister Aden Duale has said the quarantine centre was for ‘everyone’ and not exclusively for US nationals.

A protester holds up a sign during a rally on Monday against a proposed Ebola quarantine centre to be established by the United States at Laikipia Air Base in Kenya. Photo: AP
Wellness

Like a car, your brain’s mileage matters. Unlike a car, you can wind it back

New ageing clock MileAge estimates biological age from blood. While a higher MileAge predicts a greater risk of dementia, you can reverse it.

a steering wheel with an ai brain for autonomous driving. Photo: Shutterstock Images
Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Why are so many more people in Hong Kong getting cancer?

While advanced therapies have nearly halved cancer death rate, low screening rates and late detection hold the city back.

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

How an HKU-developed eczema product could help fight superbug threat

Scientists develop plant-based moisturiser that ‘turns lions into sheep’, taming bacteria causing eczema itch and reducing antibiotic reliance.

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Ebola virus

Ebola shows world unprepared for next pandemic, ex-US CDC head says

Tom Frieden called the latest outbreak of the deadly disease a ‘stress test’ that the world is failing so far.

Medical workers from the Alliance for International Medical Action don personal protective equipment as they set up a treatment centre for the Ebola response in Rwampara, DR Congo, on Friday. Photo: Reuters
Wellness

She quit smoking, then ran an ultra-marathon. How she finally kicked the habit

On World No Tobacco Day, we discover a marathon runner’s secret to quitting smoking and look at Hong Kong’s goal of a smoke-free generation.

Africa

Kenya court blocks US Ebola quarantine centre

The centre was supposed to house Americans arriving from DR Congo, which is battling a major Ebola outbreak.

Wellness

He lost his wife to a rare brain cancer. Here’s how he keeps going

After losing his wife Charissa to a rare, aggressive brain cancer, Antoine d’Haussy celebrated her life by starting a fundraising campaign.

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Charissa Chau and Antoine d’Haussy at their intimate seaside wedding ceremony at Jaspas Beach Club in Sai Kung in 2021. Photo: KC Chan
Hong Kong science and tech

3 scientists win Hong Kong’s Shaw Prize for developing therapy for rare leukaemia

Anne Dejean, Hugues de The and Chen Zhu share US$1.2 million life sciences and medicine prize for work on acute promyelocytic leukaemia.

Professor Emerita Anne Dejean, Professor Hugues de The and Professor Chen Zhu have won the life science and medicine award of the Shaw Prize. Photo: Shaw Prize Foundation
Africa

Uganda shuts border with DR Congo to curb surging Ebola outbreak

Defying WHO guidelines, temporary closure follows exposure of Ugandan health workers to the rare virus strain.

China’s private sector

Insilico, US partner to build AI models predicting disease decades ahead

Tie-up combines Hong Kong-listed Insilico Medicine’s algorithms with Human Longevity’s genomic data to advance personalised health research.

Africa

African Development Bank meets as shrinking aid, Ebola cast long shadows

The bank is pushing to tap Africa’s own financial resources to plug what it estimates is a US$400 billion annual development financing gap.

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French President Emmanuel Macron and Kenya’s President William Ruto pose for a photo with other African heads of state during the closing ceremony of the ‘Africa Forward’ Summit 2026 at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC), in Nairobi, Kenya, on May 12, 2026. Photo: Reuters
Science

Chinese scientists develop handheld cancer detection device

The new system is about 10,000 times more sensitive than traditional methods at detecting early-stage lung cancer.

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Chinese scientists have developed a handheld device that can detect early-stage cancer biomarkers from a single drop of blood with up to 94.9 per cent accuracy. Photo: Shutterstock
Wellness

Are mould and toxins in your home making you ill? How to reduce health risks

Mould thrives in humid climates, and certain furniture can introduce particles that can cause coughs and even cancer. Here’s how to stay safe.

Africa

Ebola spreads in eastern Congo as contact tracing falters

Health workers have only been able to follow up with a fraction of contacts, and some thought to be infected have fled treatment centres.

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