International health news

Zika virus is most commonly transmitted through mosquitoes, but U.N. Health officials have now announced that Zika could potentially be spread through oral sex.

Studies find that immigrating to a new country could be hazardous to expats’ health seeing as healthy expats who move abroad see their health deteriorate over time. Some reasons for this are thought to include sociocultural barriers, stress and discrimination.

New advances in genetic sequencing are leading us closer to developing a blood test that would help doctors better detect cancer in their patients. The test would allow doctors to track the progress of the tumors in order to choose a more effective treatment.

Country updates

Cancer survival rates are higher than ever in the US reaching record numbers this year – 15.5 million with the number expected to grow.

The US’s obesity epidemic is still on the rise. New studies from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that obesity in women and teens is continuing to grow, with 4/10 US women now being obese.  

Thailand is now the first Asian country to completely eliminate mother to child transmission of HIV and syphilis. HIV transmission in Thai women has been eradicated because of strong prenatal care from large cities.

Health advice

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer but also the most preventable. However, cases are still on the rise and people are still not taking the risks of sun exposure as seriously as they should. Make sure to protect yourself from the sun this summer.