PODCAST

Health Check

BBC World Service

Health issues and medical breakthroughs from around the world.

health & fitness

All Episodes

26:26

How do we know when a mystery illness is serious?

Health Check ·

2023/12/06

On Health Check we often cover the outbreak of a mystery illness or unusual health event that has occurred somewhere across the globe. But how do we know when these illnesses are serious and how are they identified and investigated? Claudia Hammond speaks to Dr. Jarod Hanson from the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED) about how they scan and review information related to global health security. This follows news about an outbreak of anthrax in the Kyotera district of Uganda. We hear

26:29

New Zealand backtracks on smoking ban

Health Check ·

2023/11/29

When former Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern passed legislation to reduce access to tobacco products, the policy was held up as an international example. So there was shock among health experts in New Zealand and across the world this week when the newly sworn in Government announced they would be scrapping the plans. Claudia Hammond asks Janet Hoek, Professor of Public Health at the University of Otago what the international impact will be.She hears from the people who hear music when

26:29

Gene editing treatment approved for sickle cell

Health Check ·

2023/11/22

The UK has become the first country in the world to approve a gene editing treatment for people with the genetic conditions sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia. The news has been hailed as revolutionary, unthinkable just a decade ago. But will the new treatment provide a realistic option for the millions of people living with these haemoglobin disorders worldwide? BBC health reporter Philippa Roxby joins Claudia to look at the latest. She also brings new evidence from Australia on the health

26:28

Vaccinating children against chickenpox

Health Check ·

2023/11/15

The committee that advises on vaccinations in the UK has recommended that chickenpox is added to the standard list of childhood vaccinations; something which the USA and many European countries have been doing for some time. So why do some countries vaccinate children against chickenpox and others choose not to? Claudia Hammond is joined by family doctor Ann Robinson. They also hear from conversation analyst Charlotte Albury, a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, about how doctors

26:27

A drug to prevent breast cancer

Health Check ·

2023/11/08

This week it was announced in the United Kingdom that women at high risk of breast cancer will be able to take a drug, Anastrozole, which is usually used to treat breast cancer, as a preventative measure.Recent trials show the drug can reduce the incidence of breast cancer by almost 50% in post-menopausal women at moderate or high risk of the disease.Claudia Hammond is joined by medical journalist Clare Wilson from New Scientist to discuss how the drug works and who it will be offered to. We also

27:45

Warnings over antibiotic resistance in children

Health Check ·

2023/11/01

Antibiotics are becoming increasingly ineffective at treating common childhood infections, according to a new study. The research, led by the University of Sydney, found some antibiotics recommended by the World Health Organization for children had less than 50% effectiveness in treating infections such as sepsis, pneumonia and meningitis.Claudia Hammond is joined by Monica Lakhanpaul, professor of integrated community child health at University College London, to discuss the findings and calls for

26:29

A musician’s story of coping with schizophrenia

Health Check ·

2023/10/25

Talented guitarist, Hamish Barclay, was given steroids when he was a teenager to treat a kidney problem. He then experienced the rare side effect of psychosis and was later diagnosed with schizophrenia. He has lived the condition for the past ten years.Now 29, he’s being supported by his mother Josephine to return to making music once again.Claudia Hammond sits down with Josephine, Hamish and his sister Maudie for a conversation about life with schizophrenia – and the stigma around the word.The

26:29

Cholera cases surge in Zimbabwe

Health Check ·

2023/10/18

More than 100 people are suspected to have died in Zimbabwe in the most recent outbreak of cholera there. Almost 5,000 possible cases have been reported across the country, with the Zimbabwean government moving to ban large gatherings to prevent the spread of the water-borne disease.Claudia Hammond is joined by BBC health reporter Philippa Roxby to discuss how authorities are hoping to avoid a repeat of the last major cholera epidemic in the country, which killed more than 4,000 people in 2008. We

26:29

US proposes world first policy to reduce STIs

Health Check ·

2023/10/11

‘Doxy PEP’, or doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis, is where a common antibiotic is given to someone shortly after having unprotected sex to avoid the chance of them getting an STI like chlamydia, gonorrhea, or syphilis. It’s an idea being put forward by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the USA to cut STI rates. If their proposal is rolled out across the country, it would be the first national guideline recommending Doxy PEP for certain individuals, anywhere in the world. Claudia

26:29

Malaria vaccine backed by WHO

Health Check ·

2023/10/04

A vaccine for malaria that can be produced cheaply on a large scale has been recommended for use by the World Health Organisation. It was developed by the University of Oxford, and is only the second malaria vaccine to be developed.Claudia Hammond is joined by New Scientist health reporter Clare Wilson to look at how the new vaccine works, and why it’s proven so hard to find a way to inoculate against malaria.We also look at major new research that’s found women are facing major inequalities in

26:36

The deadly practice of gum lancing

Health Check ·

2023/09/27

Gum lancing is a tradition practiced on babies in some parts of the world. It’s done with good intentions, and involves extracting the teeth of infants with symptoms such as a fever or diarrhoea in the belief it will cure them. It can be fatal though, with tooth buds sometimes being removed using unsafe, unsterile instruments such as nails, and without anaesthesia.We hear from a family in Kenya who lost children that underwent the procedure, a dentist raising awareness of its dangers in the country,

27:14

Could global Aids program be cut?

Health Check ·

2023/09/20

The PEPFAR scheme was launched by George W Bush in 2003 to provide HIV and Aids relief around the world. Officials say it has since saved more than 25 million lives in 55 different countries.Now, though, its future could be under threat.With its funding due to expire at the end of September, some US Republicans are pushing for it not to be renewed because of alleged links to services providing abortions.Claudia Hammond is joined by professor of epidemiology at Boston University, Matt Fox, to look at

26:28

Do men have a friendship problem?

Health Check ·

2023/09/13

The author Max Dickins was preparing to propose to his girlfriend when he came to a realisation: he didn’t have anyone he felt he could ask to be his best man. It prompted him to write the book ‘Billy No-Mates’, looking at why he didn’t have any close male friends any more, and asking if men, in general, have a friendship problem.In a special discussion in front of a live audience at the Cheltenham Science Festival in England, Claudia Hammond speaks to Max about his journey.They’re also joined by

26:29

Opioid overdose antidote made available in US

Health Check ·

2023/09/06

With deaths from opioid overdoses rocketing to more than 100,000 people each year, the US has moved to make the drug Naloxone available to buy in pharmacies for the first time there this week. The nasal spray treatment can revive people who have overdosed within minutes.Claudia Hammond is joined by Dr Ann Robinson to hear how the drug works, and what lessons the US can learn from how other countries around the world are using it.We also hear from the first polar research team to try to tackle taboos

26:29

What happened to babies with Zika virus

Health Check ·

2023/08/30

In March 2015, Brazil reported a large outbreak of the Zika virus infection. Over the next year, the disease became a global medical emergency. Thousands of babies were born brain-damaged, after their mothers became infected while pregnant.As the World Health Organisation discusses the current global Zika situation and the lessons learned from the outbreak, Claudia Hammond is joined by Dr Graham Easton to hear from the families affected in Brazil and ask what life is now like for the babies who were

26:29

Disgraced surgeon appeals prison sentence

Health Check ·

2023/08/23

When former transplant surgeon Paolo Macchiarini first implanted a synthetic trachea into a patient more than a decade ago, it was hailed as a breakthrough. But the person he operated on died, as did subsequent patients. And in 2013, Macchiarini was reported to Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, where he had carried out the operations, for scientific misconduct. Over the years, Health Check has followed the story and in this programme we hear the latest as Macchiarini appeals against a prison sentence

26:29

Contaminated cough syrup found in Iraq

Health Check ·

2023/08/16

Iraq is the latest country to report a batch of contaminated cough syrup according to the World Health Organisation. It’s the latest in a string of health alerts issued by WHO in the last 12 months. According to reports, 300 children died worldwide last year by taking contaminated cough syrups. BBC health reporter Philippa Roxby joins Claudia Hammond to discuss this and the latest health research.When the Ugandan government passed tough anti LGBTQ legislation in May, health experts claimed it would

26:29

A closer look at leprosy

Health Check ·

2023/08/09

In the week that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that leprosy could now be endemic in the South-eastern United States, Claudia Hammond looks at global action on leprosy with science journalist Kamala Thiagarajan. There is an international effort to learn more about weaning seriously ill people off ventilator support in hospitals. We hear about the Weansafe study from Ireland.Professor of integrated community child health at University College London, Monica Lakhanpaul joins

26:28

Henrietta Lacks’ family settle lawsuit

Health Check ·

2023/08/02

Henrietta Lacks was only 31 years old when she died from cervical cancer in 1951. While she was in hospital in the USA, her cells were harvested without her knowledge which, since being replicated infinitely, have gone on to enable research into cancer, dementia and Parkinson’s. As well as contributing to the development of vaccines for polio and COVID-19. Her family have fought for decades to get justice for the “stolen” cells, and this week reached a settlement with Massachusetts-based Thermo

26:29

Playing catch up on childhood immunisations

Health Check ·

2023/07/26

The World Health Organisation and UNICEF say global immunisation services reached 4 million more children in 2022 compared to the previous year, after a huge backslide during the Covid 19 pandemic. But the progress in countries like India and Indonesia masks continued decline in many lower income countries. Global health expert Tabitha Mwangi and Claudia Hammond discuss how immunisation numbers can bounce back.They also look at new research from Sub-Saharan Africa that suggests as many as one in 10

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