By Paul Crompton / Al Arabiya / 18 Aug 2014

As the worst outbreak on record of the deadly Ebola virus takes its toll in West Africa, killing more than 1,100 people this year, Middle Eastern governments and health authorities are introducing measures to prevent the disease spreading to their shores.

Nigeria, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia have been hardest hit by the latest epidemic of Ebola, which the Geneva-based World Health Organization has claimed is the worst outbreak of its kind in four decades.

Source : WHO / 10 Jul 2014

Community leaders in three counties in Liberia – Montserrado, Margibi, and Lofa – are receiving information sessions on Ebola as part of the effort to contain the disease. WHO is supporting the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to conduct these sessions on the basics of the disease, how it is transmitted and what people can do to help authorities contain the disease. In the orientation sessions, printed materials are distributed and footage is shown on topics like treatment and holding centres, proper burial of the dead, and others.

Source : Agencies / 26 May 2014

Rodrigo de Jerez was one of the Spanish crewmen who sailed to the Americas on the Santa Maria as part of Christopher Columbus's first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492. He is credited with being the first European smoker.

Source : Arab news / 17 Apr 2014

The rising number of fatalities from MERS infections in the Kingdom is causing alarm in the public.

The Health Ministry reported another fatality in Jeddah Wednesday, bringing the total number of MERS victims across the country to 71 from 205 infections. It said five more people were infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, including two medics, all in Jeddah. It identified the latest victim as a 52-year-old Saudi man.

Source : Arab news / 11 Apr 2014

An estimated 1.6 million Saudi children suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a psychiatric neurodevelopmental disorder, local media said quoting a recently released medical study.

Source : Science Daily / 08 Apr 2014

A new study led by a University of North Carolina School of Medicine researcher finds little to cheer about in the fight against childhood obesity, despite a recent report to the contrary.

By Irfan Mohammed / Arab news / 28 Mar 2014

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is facing a rise of five percent of annual increase in incidents related to kidney failure, a leading doctor said here on Monday.

Wael T. Habhab, a nephrology consultant at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, said several factors including a sedentary lifestyle, high blood pressure, junk food, and erratic work schedules are contributing to the worrying kidney problems.

By Nadim Al Hamid / Arab news / 20 Mar 2014

According to Subhi Baterjee, a Saudi health expert and chief of the Saudi German Hospitals Group, Saudi Arabia records the least cases of medical malpractice in the world.

Source : World Bulletin / 12 Feb 2014

Smoking will soon be banned in cars carrying children in Britain, the government said on Tuesday, under new laws aimed at reducing the effects of passive smoking on young people.

The move comes after lobbying from health campaigners and the opposition Labour party, who cited research showing that smoking in cars exposed children to more concentrated smoke and caused health problems.

Source : Presstv / 06 Feb 2014

Norwegian researchers indicate that consuming some types of vitamin supplements like C and E may blunt performance of muscles in responding to exercise.

The study, carried out at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in Oslo, demonstrated that Vitamin C and E supplements could diminish the improvement of muscular endurance and affect athletic ability.