Health Check

A new global report has found that tuberculosis is once again the leading infectious disease causing mortality around the globe, as covid cases recede. We find out what can be done to tackle the issue, and what lessons have been learned in the fight against this pernicious, but largely curable, illness. Also on the show, are we seeing the first cases of locally transmitted Mpox outside of the African continent? And FND, or functional neurologic disorder – the most common disorder you’ve probably never heard of.Image Credit: KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

The telehealth industry is booming, but a new investigation reveals a hidden network of medical groups fuelling the rise of online prescriptions for weight-loss drugs. Are patients being put at risk in this rush for GLP-1 medications?Also on the show, we get an update on how a decade of research into digital avatar therapy is helping patients with psychosis challenge the voices they hear. Plus, how does the experience of egg donation vary around the world? Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Katie Tomsett and Margaret Sessa-Hawkins

A new study from America looks at the safety of organ transplants between people with HIV. Its promising results raise the potential for expanding access to life-saving treatments.This week's show also examines a surprising resurgence of scurvy, a disease often associated with historical poverty. Is the current cost of living crisis contributing to nutritional deficiencies? Plus, an update from the Africa CDC reveals encouraging news about the Marburg virus outbreak, but a grim warning about the spread of Mpox. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Margaret Sessa Hawkins

Can rapid diagnostic tests make a difference in the fight against malaria? A new study tries to quantify the real-world difference these tests are making.Also on the show, what can we learn from a single documented case of a medical anomaly: like the recent study of a break dancer presenting with a thickened skull. And Claudia learns to surf – all in the name of health. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins

The discovery of Micro RNA has won the Nobel Prize for medicine. We learn more about what micro RNA is, how it contributes to gene regulation, and what that means for our health.Also on the programme, there has been an outbreak of Marburg virus in Rwanda, and the pharmaceutical company Gilead is making a revolutionary HIV medication available to countries that need it most. But does this good news story have an unexpected downside. We learn more on Health Check.

As mpox continues to spread to new places, we find out how the vaccine rollout is going and what more needs to be done to help both contain and better understand the virus.Also on the show; why the first medication approved to treat schizophrenia in decades has the world of psychiatry excited, and how finding out what doesn’t work in health care can be just as useful as knowing what does. Plus, can laughter help treat dry eye disease? Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins and Katie Tomsett

As vector-borne diseases begin to spread more widely around the world, we look at why, what the effects are, and what can be done.Also on the program, a new study has examined the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, what did they find, and how is this different from previous papers? And can space flight age you? A new study tries to find out.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins and Katie Tomsett

The Taliban has denied reports that they are halting polio vaccines in Afghanistan – so what is going on? We take a look at what is happening in the country, and how it could effect polio eradication efforts worldwide. Also on the show, an important U.S. pathogen database loses funding, and why placebos that cause you pain may be more effective.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins and Katie Tomsett

As Haiti expands its state of emergency to cover the entire country, we take a look at the deterioration of the country’s healthcare system.Also on the show, how does long covid affect children, is a global twin book just down to IVF, and we hear from you about objects associated with grief that have sentimental importance.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins

Mpox vaccines are finally arriving on the African continent, but are they getting to the places that need them most? We look at what the situation is, and why it can take so long for vaccines to get where they are needed.Also on the show, can you catch up on missed weekday sleep on the weekends, and the test that shows promise for new snakebite treatments.

In 2017, Adam Tjolle accidentally discovered he had a brain tumour. At the time, presenter and close friend Claudia Hammond followed him on his journey before, during and after undergoing life-changing surgery. Meeting up now in Malawi, Adam and Claudia listen back to the old recordings and reflect on what has changed for Adam since his operation. Adam still lives in Scotland, but his new life after brain surgery sometimes brings him to Malawi, where he works with the Lilongwe Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (LSPCA). Claudia joins Adam and Dr Tino Razemba at one of the LSPCA’s ‘spay days’, neutering local dogs in underserved communities. As well as getting involved, Claudia has a chance to see Adam’s passion first-hand. Prior to his surgery, Adam’s prognosis was a life expectancy of seven years. That time period has now passed. So what does life mean to Adam now? And today, as one in two people born after 1960 will receive a cancer diagnosis at some point, what can the rest of us can learn from Adam’s experience of living with uncertainty?Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Sophie Ormiston and Paula McGrath

The World Health Organisation has officially declared the spread of mpox as a public health emergency of international concern. Health Check has been following the spread of the disease across the Democratic Republic of Congo and now internationally in recent weeks, and Claudia Hammond is joined by BBC health journalist Philippa Roxby to discuss the latest developments.Claudia and Philippa also look at the doctors strikes taking place across India following the rape and murder of a female doctor in Kolkata. Hundreds of thousands of doctors have refused to work, with hospitals and clinics turning away non-emergency patients.We also find out how prescription drugs get given their names, with Professor Caleb Alexander from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health telling us about the risks of getting it wrong.Claudia also hears how personal objects can help us form links in our brains and remember our loved ones. And the study that suggests we age dramatically in two bursts – at the ages of 44 and 60.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Dan Welsh

More than four years after the start of the Covid pandemic, the virus is showing no signs of fading away. This week, the World Health Organisation warned, in fact, that coronavirus is making a comeback, with 84 countries reporting an increase in positive test rates.For an in-depth look at how the world is coping with the disease, Claudia Hammond speaks to immunologist Professor Danny Altmann from Imperial College London to ask what the future might hold.Claudia is also joined by global health journalist Andrew Green to discuss whether Covid conspiracy theories are leading to a rise in AIDS denialism.We hear the latest developments on the spread of the mosquito and midge-borne Oropouche virus, as cases of the disease are confirmed to have been found in Europe for the first time.And as many of Europe’s major football leagues prepare to get underway again this week, we hear about the tobacco product snus that’s proving to be particularly popular with footballers, and whether it could give them an edge or pose a health risk.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Dan Welsh

Across the African continent cases of MPox have surged 160% this year. What is behind the spread, and what can be done to stop it? Also on the programme: the prescription of GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy is increasing as more health benefits are discovered, but what does that mean for supply issues? And there is a lot of talk about lactic acid and the Olympics, but does that word mean what you think it means?(Photo: A mother checks the progress of her son after recovering from Mpox - an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 18 July, 2024. Credit: Arlette Bashizi/Reuters)

The world’s first deaths from the mosquito-borne Oropouche virus have been recorded in Brazil. Two women have died from the illness in the state of Bahia in the northeast of the country.Claudia Hammond is joined by Dr Ayan Panja to discuss the implications of outbreaks of Oropouche across South and Central America.We also hear about the latest developments with Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab as it’s rejected for use by the EU’s health regulator. The European Medicines Agency says the benefits of the drug don’t counterbalance the risk of serious side effects, despite it being approved in the US earlier this year.Claudia and Ayan also look at both the psychology of languishing and whether loneliness leads to a higher risk of having a stroke.And we look at the research suggesting cycling to work can lead to an almost 50% lower risk of dying.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Dan Welsh

Systemic racism affects our wellbeing long before we ever see a doctor. How can the health community address it? Also on the programme, a new malaria vaccine is rolled out in the Ivory Coast, we take a closer look at the story behind it. And while we have long been cautioned against heavy exercise before sleep, it turns out that light intermittent exercise may be the secret to getting a bit more sleep.

In the last two years, online searches for ‘toxic positivity’ have spiked. In this discussion from the Cheltenham Science Festival, we find out what toxic positivity is, and how it can hurt you and people around you.In front of a live audience, Claudia Hammond is joined by psychologist Dr Linda Blair, GP and educator Dr Anisha Patel, and wellbeing consultant and content creator Benjy Kusi.Linda has been interested in the rise in the use of the term ‘toxic positivity’ and has noticed how it’s having an impact on our wellbeing. She reveals why it is important for us not to suppress ‘negative’ feelings and emotions.Anisha was diagnosed with bowel cancer when she was 39. She authored the book Everything You Hoped You’d Never Need To Know About Bowel Cancer, where she speaks about her diagnosis and treatment journey. She experienced first-hand the harm that toxic positivity can do.Benjy works with many different companies to help improve their inclusion and wellbeing practices. He’s the author of the book Hope This Helps and posts frequent videos about lots of tricky issues on TikTok and Instagram.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth Editor: Holly Squire

A new medication offers a potentially revolutionary disruption in HIV transmission – just as a leading global program to fight the disease gets hit with funding cuts.Also on the program, what can the recent heat wave in India teach the rest of the world about heat adaptation, and how health care systems can deal with rising temperatures world wide.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins

A special episode from this year’s annual Royal Society Summer Exhibition in London, with Claudia Hammond joined by BBC health and science correspondent, James Gallagher, to take a look at a range of new health research. The exhibitions include a look at how special forms of UV light might be able to cut away cancerous cells in brain tumours, with the possibility of light emitting bandages also being used to target cancer treatments. Claudia and James also look at research from The Francis Crick Institute into whether a simple blood test can help work out how to quickly identify patients who are most likely to deteriorate when they have a virus. We also hear how much brain devices we can buy online really tell us about our brain activity, as well as research into how the way babies wriggle may help identify future developmental issues. Claudia and James also compete in a number of scientific games to see who is this year’s Summer Exhibition champion. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Dan Welsh

This week on Health Check, we get an update on a new and concerning strain of MPox that is spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Also on the program, it has been two years since the United States overturned the constitutional right to an abortion with the Dobbs decision. What effect has this had on the global picture of abortion? And could arts-based strategies help doctors to cope with burnout and patient communication. Doctor Graham Easton joins Claudia Hammond to discuss these stories and more. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins(Photo: Test tubes labelled "Monkeypox virus positive" are seen in this illustration. Credit: Dado Ruvic/Reuters)