Polio as a weapon in Syria

While the civil war in Syria has left hospitals and clinics in ruin, leaving millions without proper healthcare, it also had an unexpected side effect. Polio, which had disappeared in Syria since 1995, reemerged in mid-October in Deir-ez-Zor province, a rebel-controlled area. The politicized lines that the disease breakout is following may suggest that it is being used as a weapon against rebels.  Read more

Fellowship opportunity for researchers in the Middle East

Fellowship opportunity for researchers in the Middle East

This is a guest blogpost from Mohammed Jawad, an honorary clinical research fellow at Imperial College London who recently spent a month at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, thanks to a grant from the Daniel Turnberg Travel Fellowship scheme. The scheme, led by the Academy of Medical Sciences, provides opportunities for biomedical researchers to travel from the Middle East to the UK, or vice versa, for up to four weeks at a time. This year, A small number of three-month fellowships will also be available.  Read more

New hepatitis C treatment may be too expensive

Egypt has the highest hepatitis C burden in the world, with some 14.7% of Egyptians testing positive for HCV antibody. Therefore, it was no surprise that news of the latest oral HCV treatments approved by the FDA in the United States generated quite a buzz in local Egyptian media. The new drugs are very effective and have nearly no side effects, unlike the current regimens that cause depression, anaemia and severe nausea and do not have high success rates.  Read more