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Canada has seen more measles cases in the first three months of 2024 than in all of 2023. That makes it a good time to learn about measles and its effects, not just in Canada but around the world.
Today in The Conversation Canada, Adam R Houston and Jason Nickerson of University of Ottawa write about measles as a humanitarian issue, from their perspective as advocates and policy advisors to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières. They note that all measles outbreaks need serious attention, given that it can be a serious disease that is extremely contagious, but in some parts of the world, measles outbreaks are disastrous, and it is often children who are most affected. They write:
“The recent surge in measles cases in higher-income countries is unwelcome. It may, however, rekindle recognition of measles as the serious public health concern that it is, and the urgent need to address it, and prevent it, everywhere.”
Also today:
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Gaps in coverage of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles are having significant impacts on global public health.
(AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Adam R Houston, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa; Jason Nickerson, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Any upsurge in measles is of real concern, but in settings aggravated by poor living conditions and malnutrition, it can be disastrous. It can affect adults, but young children are at particular risk.
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A new study shows that children in single-mother families are best served by having access to subsidized housing.
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Kate Choi, Western University
Amid a housing affordability crisis, new research suggests the federal government should allocate resources to the housing needs of children being raised by single mothers.
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A child plays with a puzzle in pre-kindergarten at Lion Lane School in Houston, Texas, in 2012.
(AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
Jean Clinton, McMaster University
Kindergarteners’ literacy and active play are both grounded in the science of learning.
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Companies will not be better managed with the arrival of AI — quite the contrary.
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Guillaume Desjardins, Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO)
Integrating a rational tool into an irrational environment does not always produce the expected results.
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Despite the challenges of performing research during COVID-19, researchers reported connecting on a more vulnerable level with their community partners, as they all attempted to get through the pandemic.
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Simran Purewal, Simon Fraser University; Julia Smith, Simon Fraser University
Community-engaged research was disrupted by COVID-19 restrictions, meaning researchers faced serious challenges when their results were most needed: during a public health crisis.
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Environment + Energy
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Randall W. Parkinson, Florida International University
A coastal scientist explains why marshes, mangroves and other wetlands can’t keep up with the effects of climate change, and how human infrastructure is making it harder for them to survive.
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Politics
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Ian Parmeter, Australian National University
U.S. President Joe Biden’s recent warning to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has limited Israel’s options in Gaza. And neither of Israel’s war objectives appear to have been met.
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Science + Tech
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Marcus Lower, CSIRO; Gregory Desvignes, Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy; Patrick Weltevrede, University of Manchester
Astronomers caught the bizarre ‘awakening’ of an incredibly rare magnetic star.
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