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)
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Hello, I'm Claudia Hammond and this is Health Check from the BBC, where we dissect the latest health news from around the world.
In a moment, we'll be asking what threat the spread of a new variant of the virus MPOX in Africa might pose to people living in those countries and elsewhere.
But first, let me welcome my guest for the whole of today's show, Dr.
Ike Anya, who who's a consultant in public health medicine and author.
What do you have for us today?
Well, we've got the story about weight loss drugs and how they're being prescribed, and we've also got a study on fake drugs in Africa.
And we're going to hear why some scientists watching the Olympics are raging whenever commentators mention athletes experiencing burning in their muscles caused by lactic acid.
But we are starting with the virus mpox.
Now, it was only just over a month ago on Health Check when we heard warnings that if something wasn't done, it would continue to spread.
And it is now in 10 countries in Africa, including Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, and cases have risen by 160%, according to a report released by African health leaders last week.