Day: September 3, 2024

Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health Issues Mpox Alert

Michael Gwarisa

By Staff Reporter With Mpox cases currently on an upward trend in Africa, Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) has issued an alert warning citizens to be vigilant and exercise extreme caution in the face of an impending crises. The number of Africa countries that have reported the Mpox outbreak have risen to 14 with the last being Guinea in West Africa. M-Pox (formerly known as Monkey Pox) in non-endemic countries, has also bee reported in  neighbouring South Africa. M-Pox is a rare viral infection endemic to Central…

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Fresh Calls to Amend Zimbabwe’s 47-Year-Old Abortion Law Gather Momentum

Ntokozo Gudu

By Ntokozo Gudu Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) championing women and girls’ rights in Zimbabwe have called for the urgent amendment of the Termination of Pregnancy Act (TOP), in order to reduce the high maternal deaths associated with unsafe abortions in the country. Zimbabwe is using a Termination of Pregnancy (ToP) Act that was enacted in 1977 which many Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) believe no longer serves the prevailing challenges faced by women and girls. According to the 1977 law, abortion is allowed under the restricted circumstances of rape,…

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Why Africans and Europeans React To Medicines Differently: Zimbabwean Scientist Tests Effectiveness of Pharmacogenetics in African Populations

Michael Gwarisa

While some patients experience adverse drug reactions (ADRs) when taking medicines, others do not, and in some cases, others do not receive therapeutic benefits from treatment regardless of dosage. One reason for this inter-individual variation in response is differences in genes that code for proteins important in drug response. This has given rise to the field of Pharmacogenomics (PGx), which seeks to identify biomarkers that predict drug response and apply them in the provision of PGx-guided precision medicine. Following years of repeated Pharmacogenomics (PGx) research, which sought to identify biomarkers…

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