Parents of three-month-old Leon from Tashkent ask for help to treat SMA

As part of the celebration of Women's Month in South Africa, public health advocates are strongly urging the country to transform its commitment to women's rights into tangible steps, accelerating efforts to eradicate cervical cancer. This disease continues to claim thousands of lives annually, despite being largely preventable.

Cervical cancer remains the second most common type of cancer among women aged 15 to 44 in South Africa and is the leading cause of cancer mortality in this age group. Nearly 6,000 women die from this disease each year, even though over 95% of cases are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can be prevented through vaccination and detected early through regular screening.

Cervical Cancer Awareness

Salome Meyer, Director of the South African Cancer Alliance, emphasized that Women's Month should serve as a reminder of the necessity of protecting women's health, not just celebrating it. She stated: 'Women's Month is not just a time to celebrate women; it is a time to protect their health and future. No woman should die from a disease that can be prevented and treated.'

South Africa has committed to achieving the WHO 90-70-90 targets aimed at eliminating cervical cancer as a public health problem. These targets include ensuring full vaccination of 90% of girls against HPV by age 15, screening at least twice in life for 70% of women, and providing appropriate treatment to 90% of women diagnosed with precancer or cervical cancer.

Health Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi previously defined the eradication of cervical cancer as an 'issue of social justice and gender equality,' thereby strengthening the country's commitment to improving women's health outcomes. Recent successes include the Department of Health's decision to expand the HPV vaccination school curriculum to independent and private schools, as well as adopting guidelines for single-dose vaccination to increase accessibility.

However, public health advocates argue that policy alone is insufficient. Meyer noted that in South Africa, a woman dies from cervical cancer every 67 minutes, stressing that this is not just statistics but real people. She added that the burden of the disease is particularly heavy for women living with HIV, who are six times more likely to develop cervical cancer than women without HIV.

Experts point out that since Sub-Saharan African countries bear the overwhelming majority of HIV and cervical cancer cases, prevention efforts must be better integrated into existing HIV care services. Countries such as Botswana and Eswatini have already strengthened their cervical cancer prevention strategies by incorporating higher-valence HPV vaccines and specialized prevention pathways into their medical guidelines.

While vaccination and screening remain the cornerstone of prevention, advocates note that misinformation, stigma, and unequal access to healthcare continue to prevent many women from receiving potentially life-saving services. Meyer believes that civil society plays a crucial role in reaching communities that formal health systems often cannot reach. She stressed that civil society is a central partner, not an auxiliary actor, in the eradication of cervical cancer, acting as a bridge between policy and women's lives.

These organizations require continuous funding and support to maintain trust, raise awareness, and encourage women to seek screening and vaccination services. Public advocates also call for increased investment in HPV DNA testing, self-sampling initiatives that make screening more accessible, and strengthening partnerships with the private sector and conducting community-led campaigns to combat vaccine hesitancy. Meyer concluded that eradicating cervical cancer requires equity, not just policy, as too many women are left behind due to location, income, or barriers to healthcare access.

As South Africa observes Women's Month, advocates believe the country possesses both the knowledge and the tools to eliminate cervical cancer. The remaining task is to ensure that every woman, regardless of her circumstances or location, has equal access to prevention, early detection, and treatment.

The popular belief that certain people attract more mosquitoes, often associated with the idea of having sweet blood, is a myth. Science indicates that insect attraction is linked to odors released by the skin.

To date, defining which variations in body odor affect mosquito attraction has been challenging due to the complex composition of human odor. This odor results from the transformation of odorless secretions from the skin into gases known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), aided by bacteria from the cutaneous microbiome. There are about a thousand of these compounds on human skin, which complicates the exact correlation between chemical substances and specific odors, not to mention the 3,600 known species of mosquitoes, which may have distinct olfactory preferences.

However, a new experiment provided new clues. Researchers from Florida International University (FIU) selected 119 volunteers from Miami and asked each one to place their arm in an olfactometer. At the tip of this device, three species of mosquitoes were introduced to determine who they would be attracted to.

The species used in the study included Aedes aegypti, known for transmitting viruses such as dengue, zika, chikungunya, and urban yellow fever; Aedes albopictus, a less common relative capable of transmitting the same viruses and causing Japanese encephalitis; and Culex quinquefasciatus, nicknamed the gadfly or muriçoca, which frequently bites in indoor nighttime environments and can be a vector for lymphatic filariasis.

The authors observed unique characteristics in each mosquito, noticing that each tended to prefer a different group of individuals. Specifically, Aedes aegypti showed a slight predilection for men over women, while the other two species did not show sex-based preference. Furthermore, being attractive to one mosquito did not guarantee that the person was consistently attractive to all three species, as some volunteers did not attract the attention of any or only one of the mosquitoes.

The results were published in detail in the journal iScience. By looking for similarities among individuals who attracted the same combination of mosquitoes, researchers investigated the skin microbiome of the participants—the community of bacteria, fungi, and viruses present on the skin surface. 246 distinct bacteria were identified, three of which were present in most participants.

The authors explained in the article that in the species Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, and Culex quinquefasciatus, three central bacteria common to participants who attracted many mosquitoes were detected, and these were not found in the central microbiomes of those who attracted few. These bacteria, namely Co. kefirresidentii, Cu. granulosum, and Staphylococcus epidermidis, may serve as a signal to mosquitoes indicating the presence of an attractive host. It is important to note that these bacteria are part of the natural skin microbiome.

Additionally, researchers discovered that both Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus seemed to be attracted to individuals who presented low levels of volatile compounds (VOCs), suggesting that these mosquitoes may avoid certain VOCs when deciding where to land. The authors emphasize that, although previous studies have compared the attractiveness of different mosquito species, the cross-comparison of attraction rates of multiple species by the cutaneous microbiomes of specific individuals had not yet been conducted, according to them.

Despite the findings, there is still much to learn about which types of odoriferous compounds and bacteria contribute to mosquito attraction. Knowledge like this could, for example, enable the development of specialized repellents capable of driving away insects or even the modification of the cutaneous microbiome to make it less inviting to mosquitoes.

Stress and anxiety negatively impact sleep quality, especially when work, family, financial, and daily responsibilities leave no room to relax. For many women, the day doesn't end after leaving work or fulfilling duties; the mental to-do list can continue long after they go to bed, making it difficult to calm anxious thoughts and achieve the necessary restorative sleep for the body and mind.

When stress and anxiety begin to interfere with sleep, it can quickly turn into a frustrating cycle. Poor sleep leads to feeling more depressed and irritable the next day, while increased stress can further complicate falling asleep the following night. In observance of Women's Month, which highlights the importance of women's well-being, it is reminded that adequate sleep is not a luxury but an integral part of caring for physical and mental health.

Why is sleep important?

Sleep serves not only to recharge batteries. It helps the body recover, strengthens the immune system, and maintains the sharpness of brain function. From an emotional perspective, quality sleep promotes mood regulation, better stress management, and a general sense of balance.

When sleep is disrupted, everything seems significantly harder. When a person is stressed, their body enters 'survival mode,' releasing hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, which maintain a state of wakefulness and readiness for action. This is the last thing needed when trying to fall asleep, so stress can cause worry and inability to fall asleep or early awakenings.

How anxiety steals your sleep

Anxiety exacerbates the situation. It is not just worry, but excessive rumination, constant 'what ifs,' and the inability to switch off the brain at night. Anxiety can cause physical symptoms such as rapid heartbeat or muscle tension, which further hinders relaxation. Over time, the fear of insomnia itself can become a source of anxiety, only worsening the situation.

The vicious cycle

Poor sleep triggers increased anxiety and stress, and higher levels of stress and anxiety, in turn, make sleep more difficult. This is a vicious cycle that seriously undermines mental health, causing irritability, feelings of depression, or even depression. The brain needs good sleep for adequate emotional processing, and the lack of it makes everything more complicated.

What can be done to improve the situation?

Fortunately, there are ways to break this vicious cycle. There are several simple tips that can provide significant help. It is recommended to use relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, meditation, or light stretching before bed, to calm the mind. It is also important to maintain a regular sleep schedule, going to bed and waking up around the same time every day, which helps regulate the body's internal clock.

It is important to create a sleep-conducive environment: the room should be cool, dark, and quiet, and phone or TV use should be avoided immediately before bed. Furthermore, caffeine intake should be limited in the afternoon, and one should try not to consume alcohol shortly before sleep, as both substances can disrupt sleep. If stress or anxiety seems too overwhelming, or if sleep does not come despite all efforts, professional help should be sought; therapy, especially cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, can be very beneficial.

Stress and anxiety are part of life, but they should not control a person's nights. By understanding how they affect sleep and taking steps to manage them, one can start sleeping better and feel like themselves again. Prioritizing sleep is not a sign of laziness or selfishness, but one of the best ways to take care of your mental health.

IOL Lifestyle