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Khabre desk
Recent reporting, analysis and explainers from the Public Health desk.
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A global model-based economic evaluation estimates that COVID-19 vaccination generated $59.7–$809 in net benefits per dollar invested during its first year. The estimates vary with how the health benefits are valued.
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A BMJ opinion by four clinicians urges stronger fireworks regulation, public education and systematic injury data collection. It points to injuries including burns, eye damage and amputations, and highlights risks to bystanders.
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The UK Health Security Agency plans to assess population exposure to PFAS using blood and urine samples, alongside chemicals including lead and arsenic. Initial findings are expected in 2027.
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A Global Burden of Disease analysis estimates 887,000 cervical cancer cases in 2023 and forecasts deaths to rise 39.3% by 2050, even as age-standardized rates may decline.
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A BMJ editorial says preventing exposure should remain central to protecting health from PFAS. It summarizes evidence associating certain PFAS with several health outcomes, including kidney and testicular cancer.
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A multidisciplinary Perspective in Nature Medicine argues malaria programmes in the Asia Pacific should prepare for climate-related disruptions to health systems, displacement and local environments. Its proposed priorities include linking early warnings to action and adapting vector control for displaced populations.
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A BMJ opinion by an Al-Shifa Hospital medical supervisor describes continued shortages, delayed procedures and restricted diagnostic services in Gaza. The account combines his experience at the hospital with system-wide figures reported in the article.
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A medRxiv preprint analysing surveys of 26,539 recent mothers found that Bangladesh’s caesarean rate rose from 19.5% in 2012–13 to 52.0% in 2025. The researchers attributed most of the increase, in accounting terms, to more births taking place in facilities.
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The BMJ has published a practical guide for clinicians on preparing for and responding to extreme weather events, which have increased five-fold over the past 50 years. The guide provides a structured approach for assessing patient exposure and vulnerability, maintaining continuity of care during disasters, and supporting recovery afterward.
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A medRxiv preprint reports that medetomidine’s co-presence in fentanyl samples submitted to a Southern California drug-checking programme rose from about 6% in May 2025 to about 25% by August 2026. The study analysed drug samples, not patient outcomes, and has not yet undergone peer review.
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A medRxiv preprint reports that chemical testing found undeclared kratom-related compounds in all 46 products sampled under a cat’s claw label. Five also contained tianeptine, an antidepressant not approved in the United States.
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A commissioned BMJ opinion argues that conflict and climate change are worsening local food insecurity, even as global calorie production per person rises. It calls for more resilient food systems and targeted support for vulnerable households.
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A Global Burden of Disease Study estimates that measles cases among children under 5 rose to 15.6 million worldwide in 2023, with 118,000 deaths. The rebound followed years of falling disease burden and coincided with a slight decline in first-dose vaccine coverage.
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A medRxiv preprint analysing 16 Ugandan districts from 2017 to 2022 found that higher prevalence of Kelch13 artemisinin-resistance markers was associated with higher confirmed malaria incidence. The observational analysis also found associations with partner-drug resistance markers, climate and malaria-control coverage.
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Rentokil Initial and Debug say more than 1.5 million male Asian tiger mosquitoes carrying a Wolbachia strain were released in Barcelona as part of a mosquito-suppression pilot. The companies cite a separate Rome trial, where fertile overwintering egg production fell by up to 88% in the 2025 season compared with control areas.
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A BMJ editorial argues that UK safeguards for non-surgical cosmetic procedures remain inadequate, particularly around practitioner training, consent, aftercare and complication management. It points to the scale of these procedures and reports of serious harm presented to Parliament.
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A medRxiv preprint analysing dengue cases across 435 Brazilian health regions reports that climate information improved forecasts at lead times of one to 12 months. The authors found different combinations of dry, warm and wet conditions associated with higher relative risk across climate zones.
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A medRxiv preprint combining 82 population surveys found that bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary TB prevalence rose with age across 30 low- and middle-income countries. Notification-to-prevalence ratios fell in older age groups, which the authors say suggests poorer case detection.
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A BMJ editorial calls for enforceable heat-stress standards and workplace protections, including measures that cover informal workers. It argues that controls should address both exposure and workers’ ability to rest or stop work without losing income.
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A South African benchmark of 4,999 verbal-autopsy records found supervised AI models improved cause-of-death assignment over the InSilicoVA comparator. Combining interview narratives with symptom questionnaires produced different gains depending on the metric.
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An analysis of US county data from 2011 to 2025 found that measles outbreaks have become more closely associated with local vaccination coverage and have spread more often across county borders. A spatial model identified counties at higher risk, and projected that a five-percentage-point coverage increase in the highest-risk counties could reduce long-term national measles risk by more than 90%.
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A BMJ letter argues that wildfire prevention should distinguish what starts a fire from the conditions that help it grow. It says climate change can lengthen fire seasons, dry fuels and increase extreme fire weather.
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A BMJ editorial argues that FDA adverse-event reports can flag medical-device safety concerns, while clinical registries help measure risk. It cites a cross-sectional study that found frequent errors and delays in MAUDE summary reports.
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An analysis of Bangladesh’s 2025 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey found blood lead at or above 3.5 µg/dL in 17.7% of tested pregnant women, with levels concentrated in greater Dhaka. The medRxiv preprint also found an association between maternal and young-child lead levels.
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A preprint analysis of Bangladesh’s 2025 household survey estimates that about 9 million people live in households whose tested water source exceeded an electrical-conductivity threshold of 1,500 µS/cm. The high readings were concentrated in coastal districts.
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A preprint analysing Bangladesh’s 2025 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey estimates that 38.5% of children aged 12–59 months had elevated blood lead. Prevalence was higher in wealthier and urban households, though it remained substantial in the poorest group.
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A retrospective analysis of 11 Kenyan neonatal units found weekly admissions nearly halved during the 2024 physicians’ strike and returned to baseline afterward. Inpatient mortality showed no measurable overall change, while case fatality among newborns with recorded infection doubled.
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An analysis of three Bangladesh household surveys estimates that the share of drinking-water sources above 10 ppb arsenic fell between 2012–13 and 2025. Different test kits used across the surveys make the size of the decline uncertain.
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Google says two Earth AI research prototypes helped public-health teams map communities at risk during an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company also describes research using population and environmental data to forecast several health trends.
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A preprint simulation estimates that faster, strategically placed PCR laboratories could avert more future deaths in the modeled 2026 Bundibugyo Ebola epidemic. The projections depend on assumed epidemic-control conditions and are not results from a laboratory deployment.
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An analysis of 16 quarterly HIV treatment cohorts in Uganda found that median retention among children and adolescents was lower at 24 months than at six months after starting ART. Retention also varied by region.
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The Thirlwall inquiry recommended live-streaming cameras on every neonatal cot and incubator in England. NHS England is due to set out an implementation roadmap by 31 March 2027, with privacy, safeguarding and the expected safety benefit among the key considerations.
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A systematic review discussed by two paediatric respiratory physicians links vaping among children and young people with respiratory symptoms, mental-health concerns and later cigarette smoking. The authors call for governments to legislate and enforce protections.
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A BMJ opinion article compares programmes that connect families facing financial hardship with support services through healthcare. Its authors argue that referrals can help families access existing benefits and reduce financial stress, but cannot make up for inadequate income.
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Clinical psychologist Manasi Kumar argues that climate loss-and-damage policy should recognize and measure mental-health harms alongside damage to livelihoods, ecosystems and cultural ties. Her Nature World View draws on experiences in coastal Kenya and Gujarat.
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A US county-level analysis found that the way daily PM2.5 concentrations were distributed through the year added mortality-predictive information beyond the annual average. The study was posted as a medRxiv preprint and estimates predictive performance rather than a causal effect on individual mortality.
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A BMJ opinion article argues that reproductive, maternal and community health services should be funded as essential climate adaptation infrastructure. It highlights how climate shocks can disrupt care and deepen risks for women and marginalised communities.
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A letter in The BMJ argues that similar findings across maternity reviews over 11 years point to problems shared across the maternity system, rather than isolated hospital failures.
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A BMJ editorial argues that major risks are often worsened when organisations fail to act on warning signs. It connects concerns about AI, vaccine safety surveillance and NHS management to weaknesses in risk escalation and accountability.
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A surveillance-based modeling study estimates that a 2020 mass oral cholera vaccination campaign in Uvira, Democratic Republic of the Congo, averted 56% of infections and deaths over the following three years. The preprint estimates that 2,350 facility-attended cases and 44 facility and community deaths were prevented.
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A BMJ obituary recalls Hazel Thornton’s 1991 decision to decline a clinical trial for ductal carcinoma in situ and her campaign for informed choice in medical care. Her experience highlighted how treatment uncertainty should be communicated to patients considering research participation.
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The Thirlwall Public Inquiry found that doctors’ concerns about Lucy Letby were dismissed at the Countess of Chester Hospital and that earlier police involvement might have saved some babies. It recommended tighter neonatal monitoring, insulin-access controls and a barring system for NHS managers dismissed for serious misconduct.
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Pennsylvania has reported a fourth measles-associated death, involving an 18-year-old, according to a 16 September 2026 report in The BMJ. The deaths are not included in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s national measles mortality tally.
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A survey reported by The BMJ suggests that more than half of England’s integrated care systems lack enough capacity to diagnose childhood asthma in line with current guidelines. The guidelines recommend fractional exhaled nitric oxide testing as the first-line diagnostic test for children with a history of asthma.
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A preprint study of 1,268 South African adolescent girls found that DXA-measured body composition, particularly central fat distribution, is associated with elevated blood pressure. The findings highlight the importance of body composition balance and modifiable factors like sedentary behaviour.
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A secondary analysis of Nigeria’s 2023–24 Demographic and Health Survey found that 72% of mothers attended antenatal care, but only 12.3% were tested for hepatitis B there. Infant birth-dose coverage was 55%.
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A letter in The BMJ argues that bereaved families must remain central to efforts to improve maternity safety. It highlights recurring system failures identified by UK maternity inquiries, including staffing, leadership, communication and delayed escalation.
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A medRxiv preprint uses an agent-based model to link mpox clade IIb’s persistence to asynchronous transmission across connected global sexual-contact networks. The model estimates that local extinction became much less likely when transmission continued in other regions and later re-entered Europe.
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A medRxiv preprint describes severe neuroimaging access constraints in Chad, where one older 0.35 T MRI scanner serves a population of about 21 million. The analysis identifies cost, centralisation, unreliable electricity, maintenance support and workforce shortages as linked barriers.
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A medRxiv preprint reports that none of 7,388 people screened across 12 local government areas in Nigeria’s Osun State tested positive for circulating filarial antigen. The researchers say the result supports progression to the first transmission assessment survey, while chronic elephantiasis cases still showed substantial blood-count abnormalities.
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A longitudinal analysis of 188 countries from 2000 to 2023 found that Hib and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine introduction was associated with lower meningitis disability-adjusted life-year rates. The largest reported association was in the African meningitis belt, although the study describes the results as population-level vaccine-associated changes rather than strictly causal effects.
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A longitudinal analysis of 3,792 people found that more periods outside education, employment or training between ages 16 and 33 were associated with poorer mental-health outcomes at age 33. The findings come from a medRxiv preprint based on the ALSPAC birth cohort.
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A medRxiv preprint links the timing of early-life exposure to mixtures of nine metals with risk-taking, reward sensitivity and task-related brain activity in adolescents from a Mexico City birth cohort. The observational findings come from tooth biomarkers and functional MRI data.
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A medRxiv preprint finds that Ethiopia’s current meningococcal surveillance cannot determine whether protection from the MenAfriVac campaign is waning or which non-A serogroups are circulating. An indirect model estimates population protection fell from 85% in 2015 to 24% in 2024.
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A UK analysis of around 980,000 adults found that people reporting six or more cups of tea or coffee at “very hot” temperatures had three times the risk of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma compared with those reporting warm drinks. The result came from more than 10 years of health-record follow-up and describes an association.
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A medRxiv preprint reports a ligation-mediated PCR method that used long-read sequencing to resolve genomic contexts around four clinically relevant antibiotic-resistance genes in wastewater. Across 13 Washington state treatment plants sampled twice, the method found distinct context clusters, including 11 putatively novel qnrS-associated clusters.