World Health Organization

A raccoon dog looks out of its cage in a Chinese live animal market in January 2004. Raccoon dogs could have been an initial host for the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic.

World News

Raccoon dogs may have been linked to the pandemic. What are they?

11:40am March 18, 2023

by Kaitlyn Radde

The wild animals are more similar to foxes than to domesticated dogs. Data that suggested a link between raccoon dogs and the origins of the COVID pandemic was removed from an international database.

These two photos, taken in 2014 by scientist Eddie Holmes, show raccoon dogs and unknown birds caged in the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. GPS coordinates of these images confirm that the animals were housed in the southwest corner of the market, where researchers found evidence of the coronavirus in January 2020.

WHO calls on China to share data on raccoon dog link to pandemic. Here's what we know

4:11pm March 17, 2023

Data was released briefly, then rescinded. As NPR reported previously, there is already strong evidence pointing to these animals in the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan.

A South Korean child masks up to ride a scooter on Feb. 27, 2020 in Seoul.

On 3/11/20, WHO declared a pandemic. These quotes and photos recall that historic time

4:28pm March 10, 2023

by Ari Daniel

Three years ago, the novel coronavirus swept the world. Here are 24 quotes and 13 photos that sum up the reaction in the weeks before the World Health Organization's declaration of a global pandemic.

Bats congregate in the Bat Cave in Queen Elizabeth National Park on August 24, 2018. Scientists placed GPS devices on some of the bats to determine flight patterns and how they transmit Marburg virus to humans. Approximately 50,000 bats dwell in the cave.

The Marburg outbreak in Equatorial Guinea is a concern — and a chance for progress

12:22pm February 17, 2023

by Fran Kritz

Marburg virus is hard to detect early on--and goes on to kill about half its victims. Researchers hope to work quickly during this outbreak to make progress on emerging vaccines and treatments.

Robert Blanchard, the World Health Organization's team leader in Dubai for emergency operations, stands in one of the organization's warehouses in International Humanitarian City.

World News

A look at the impact of delivering aid to Turkey and Syria through Dubai's global hub

3:26pm February 08, 2023

by Aya Batrawy

A 1.5 million square-ft. zone of Dubai known as International Humanitarian City is the world's largest aid hub, with warehouses for U.N. agencies, Red Cross and Red Crescent organizations and others.

Thinking about the next pandemic keeps lots of researchers busy.

9 diseases that keep epidemiologists up at night

7:31am January 29, 2023

by Sheila Mulrooney Eldred

Thinking about the next pandemic is job number one for many researchers around the world. Here's a look at the World Health Organization's current list of pathogens with pandemic potential.

Aspergillus fumigatus can infect the lungs, causing pneumonia-like symptoms that can progress into more severe sickness.

Health & Safety

WHO releases list of threatening fungi. The most dangerous might surprise you

3:14pm October 26, 2022

by Max Barnhart

Invasive, deadly fungi are on the rise. In its first-ever Fungal Priority Pathogen List, the World Health Organization says these are the most important.

Mariama Kuyateh, 30, holds up a picture of her son Musa, whose death from acute kidney failure on Oct. 10 was linked to contaminated cough syrup imported to Gambia, where they live, from India. The World Health Organization issued an alert about the medication.

Health & Safety

Contaminated cough syrup from India linked to 70 child deaths. It's happened before

1:54pm October 18, 2022

by Kamala Thiagarajan

The World Health Organization has issued an alert about the deaths in the West African nation of Gambia. For context, we speak to the authors of The Truth Pill: The Myth of Drug Regulation in India.

People line up to receive the monkeypox vaccine.

Science
Arts

Talking about monkeypox? Then you should be talking about sex

5:00am August 18, 2022

by Andrew Limbong

Despite the possibility of stigmatizing queer sex, experts say it's important to keep sex at the center of the conversation around monkeypox.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesushe, the head of the World Health Organization, speaks during a media conference at an EU Africa summit in Brussels on Feb. 18, 2022.

2 monkeypox variants will no longer be named after regions, for ethical reasons

5:13am August 16, 2022

by Ayana Archie

Subsequent variants of monkeypox will be named using Roman numerals for the clade, and lowercase letters for the subclade.