Disease in News 2025: Latest Science and Tech One-liners on Disease

Welcome to our latest update on Disease in News 2025! This blog gives you simple and smart one-liners on the latest diseases and medical news from science and technology. These quick notes are very helpful for exams like SSC, Banking, RRB NTPC, UPSC, and state-level tests. Stay ahead in your current affairs preparation with these easy-to-remember facts. Whether it’s a new virus, vaccine, or health discovery, we’ve covered it all. Read, revise, and score better with our exam-ready disease updates!

◾Also, Explore the Latest Current Affairs Full List

Disease in News, Science & Tech One-liners 2025

February-March 2025

Here are the one-liner current affairs in bullet format for quick revision:

• 🇨🇳 China has developed a novel multi-task learning framework, DEMENTIA, to improve early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.

• 🇳🇪 Niger has become the first African country to eliminate onchocerciasis (river blindness).

• 🧪 Biovet has received CDSCO approval for the lumpy skin disease (LSD) vaccine named Biolumpivaxin for cattle and buffaloes.

• 🇮🇳 Kerala Government, in collaboration with Remidio, launched “Nayanamritham 2.0”, the world’s first AI-assisted chronic eye disease screening program led by a government.

• 🐄 The Union Cabinet approved a revised Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme (LHDCP) with an outlay of ₹3,880 crore for 2024–25 and 2025–26.

• 💉 Zydus Lifesciences is introducing “VaxiFlu-4”, a new vaccine to protect against influenza virus strains.

• 🌡️ Zydus Lifesciences also announced plans to develop the world’s first combination vaccine for typhoid fever and shigellosis.

• 🇺🇬 Uganda, with WHO and global partners, launched the first-ever clinical trial for a vaccine targeting the Sudan strain of the Ebola virus.

January 2025

• Georgia has officially been certified as malaria-free by the World Health Organization (WHO).

• Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI), Bengaluru, has been selected by ICMR to establish South India’s first Infectious Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (IRDL).

• The Karnataka government has launched the KSRTC Arogya health insurance scheme for employees of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC).

• AnemiaPhone, a technology developed by Cornell University, United States, to assess iron deficiency, has been transferred to ICMR for integration into its anaemia, women’s health, and maternal and child health programmes.

• Odisha has become the 34th state to implement the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) after signing an MoU with the National Health Authority (NHA).

• The President of India launched the ‘Gift Milk Program’, providing 200 ml of flavoured milk fortified with Vitamins A and D to approximately 1,200 school children in Mayurbhanj, Odisha.

• The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW), organized the ‘National Tribal Health Conclave 2025’ in New Delhi.

• A World Economic Forum (WEF) report titled “Blueprint to Close the Women’s Health Gap” estimated that addressing key women-specific health challenges could unlock $400 billion in global GDP annually by 2040.

• The Union Cabinet approved the extension of the National Health Mission (NHM) for another five years after reviewing its progress over the past three years.

• The Jammu and Kashmir government launched a program to conserve the majestic Chinar trees threatened by urbanization, creating a comprehensive database with geo-tags and QR codes to track their location, health, and growth patterns.

• As per the recently released “Fiscal Health Index (FHI) 2025”, Odisha topped the ranking with a score of 67.8.

• India and the United Kingdom (UK) renewed their health and life sciences partnership by signing a five-year MoU to strengthen collaboration in health and life sciences.

Disease in News, Science & Tech One-liners

December 2024

• Disease X has emerged in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, causing a health crisis.

• The World Malaria Report 2024 by WHO states that the majority of malaria deaths occurred in Nigeria (30.9%).

• Snakebite has been declared a ‘Notifiable Disease’ in India by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

• The National Institute of Siddha (NIS), Chennai, set a Guinness World Record for providing Varmam therapy to 567 individuals simultaneously.

• Scientists at WHO endorsed GLP-1 receptor agonists for managing obesity by mimicking hormones regulating appetite and blood sugar.

• A mysterious illness called “Dinga Dinga” has wreaked havoc in Uganda.

• Russia has developed its own mRNA vaccine against cancer.

• The 10th World Ayurveda Congress (WAC 2024) was organized by the World Ayurveda Foundation (WAF) under the theme “Digital Health: An Ayurveda Perspective.”

• Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai launched the “Nikshay Niramay Chhattisgarh Abhiyan” to eradicate leprosy, TB, and malaria in the state within 100 days.

November 2024

• Agharkar Research Institute, Pune scientists have designed and synthesized novel molecules for treating Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) through synthetic, computational, and in vitro studies.

• Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-NCDIR study predicts a 12.8% increase in cancer cases in India by 2025 compared to 2020.

• Wave Life Sciences has become the first company to treat a genetic condition by editing RNA at the clinical level.

• The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) India launched the ‘Know Your Medicine (KYM)’ app to strengthen the fight against doping in sports.

• Novartis ranked first in the 2024 Access to Medicine Index (ATMI) by the Access to Medicine Foundation.

• Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) introduced the “First in the World Challenge” to promote groundbreaking health technologies.

• Global Tuberculosis Report 2024 reveals 8.2 million people were newly diagnosed with Tuberculosis (TB) in 2023, the highest since WHO began monitoring in 1995.

• The International Allied Health Conference (IAHC 2024) was held in Singapore.

• ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, was designated as a WOAH Reference Laboratory for Equine Piroplasmosis by the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD).

• The World Health Organization (WHO) reaffirmed ‘M-Pox’ as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) amid rising cases and geographic spread.

October 2024

• Zydus Lifesciences Ltd has recently partnered with Lucknow-based CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute to develop a treatment for osteoporosis induced by chronic kidney disease (CKD).

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched the Global Strategic Preparedness, Readiness, and Response Plan (SPRP) to address dengue and other Aedes-borne arboviruses.

• Under the Pradhan Mantri – Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is upgrading existing Viral Research & Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDLs) to Infectious Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (IRDLs).

• The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) has recently been recognized for meeting the WHO’s indicators for a functional vaccine regulatory system.

• Egypt has recently been officially declared malaria-free by the World Health Organization (WHO).

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed the first mpox in vitro diagnostic (IVD) under its Emergency Use Listing (EUL) procedure, enhancing global access to mpox testing.

• Dr. Panangipalli Venugopal, a prominent cardiac surgeon who introduced stem cell therapy in India for heart tissue repair and developed a procedure for treating Type II Diabetes, has passed away.

• The government has approved an additional Rs 1,040 crore for nutritional support to tuberculosis (TB) patients under the Ni-Kshay Poshan Yojana (NPY).

July to September 2024

• ICMR and Panacea Biotec announced the first-ever Phase 3 clinical trial for the dengue vaccine “DengiAll” in India.

• Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL) joined hands with ICMR to develop India’s first Zika virus vaccine.

• Serum Institute of India (SII), in collaboration with the University of Oxford, developed the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine, recently administered in Côte d’Ivoire.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) announced a new project to speed up the development of bird flu vaccines in poorer countries.

• Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) launched the new oral cholera vaccine (OCV) “HILLCHOL” to address the global shortage of OCVs.

• BioNTech began trials of the world’s first mRNA lung cancer vaccine, ‘BNT116’, in patients.

• Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL) partnered with ICMR to develop India’s first Zika virus vaccine.

• Mynvax Private Limited coordinated with ICMR for a seasonal Influenza virus vaccine trial under its Network of Phase 1 Clinical Trials.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently announced Bavarian Nordic’s MVA-BN vaccine as the first vaccine against mpox to be added to its prequalification list.

• Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has officially recognized Jordan as the first country globally to eliminate leprosy.

• Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, has created a new 3D hydrogel culture system similar to the lung environment in mammals, which has the potential to aid in the study of Tuberculosis (TB).

• Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh has launched the ‘InFLiMeN’ initiative to prevent and treat metabolic liver diseases, in collaboration with France. InFLiMeN stands for Indo-French Liver and Metabolic Disease Network.

• Brazil has declared a health emergency after detecting a case of Newcastle disease, which primarily affects birds.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

• Researchers at Lund University, Sweden, have developed a new blood test called ‘PrecivityAD2’, which can detect Alzheimer’s disease with around 90% accuracy.

• Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) has launched a new oral cholera vaccine (OCV) named “HILLCHOL”, aiming to address the global shortage of cholera vaccines amid rising cases.

• Scientists at the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), Guwahati, have developed an affordable, user-friendly, portable smartphone-based fluorescence turn-on sensor system to assist in managing Parkinson’s disease.

January to June 2024

• Zombie deer disease, also known as Chronic Wasting Disease, is spreading rapidly among wildlife in parts of the United States.

• Over 1 crore people have been screened for Sickle Cell Disease under the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission, aiming to eliminate the disease from India by 2047.

• World Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) Day is observed on 30th January every year with the theme Unite. Act. Eliminate.

• Rare Disease Day is observed on the last day of February, falling on 29th February in 2024, to raise awareness about rare diseases; theme: Share Your Colours.

• The new disease, Witches’ Broom, associated with the pathogen Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris’ (16SrI), has been discovered in peas.

• Akums Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited developed India’s first indigenous Hydroxyurea oral suspension for treating Sickle Cell Disease.

• India has achieved its target of eliminating Kala-azar.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) unveiled a new operational strategy to accelerate progress against malaria and achieve disease elimination targets outlined in the Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030.

• The mRNA-4157 (V940) vaccine is related to melanoma.

• FliRT, a new variant of COVID-19, is rapidly spreading in the United States.

• Ludhiana’s Punjab Agricultural University developed the biocontrol agent Trichoderma asperellum to combat foot rot disease in Basmati Rice.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has prequalified the new vaccine TAK-003 to fight against dengue.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) released the report “Action on salt and hypertension,” noting that cardiovascular disease causes 40% of deaths in Europe.

• Wipro partnered with the Centre for Brain Research (CBR) to develop a personal care engine utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to manage and reduce cardiovascular disease risk.

• The Jammu and Kashmir government declared human rabies a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897.

• Chad became the first country in 2024 to eliminate the neglected tropical disease (NTD) gambiense form of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness.

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