Amnesty International’s Digital Verification corps has been given a prestigious Times Higher Education Award for a collaborative investigation with University of Essex and five other partners on Raqqa, Syria.
Dengue fever –Spain
Iraq: Eyewitness describes ‘street filled with blood’ as at least 25 protesters killed in security force onslaught
Information Note Nitrosamine impurities
Medicine Regulatory Authorities first became aware of the presence of the nitrosamine impurity, Nnitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), in products containing valsartan in July 2018. Valsartan is an Angiotensin II Receptor Blocker (ARB) and belongs to a family of analogue compounds commonly referred to as the sartans.
Further nitrosamine impurities were subsequently detected in other medicines belonging to the sartan family, including: N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), N -nitrosodiisopropylamine (NDIPA), N -nitrosoethylisopropylamine (NEIPA) and N -nitroso-N-methyl-4-aminobutyric acid (NMBA).
Lassa Fever – The Netherlands (ex –Sierra Leone)
Sierra Leone health officials, supported by WHO, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other partners, are responding to an outbreak of Lassa fever.
On 20 November 2019, WHO was informed by The Netherlands’ International Health Regulations (IHR) National Focal Point of one imported case of Lassa fever from Sierra Leone. The patient was a male doctor, a Dutch national who worked in a rural Masanga hospital in Tonkolili district, Northern province in Sierra Leone.