Podcast
Health Check
Hosted by BBC World Service · EN
Health issues and medical breakthroughs from around the world.
10episodes
Episodes
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Ebola drug trials in the Democratic Republic of Congo
4d ago00:26:27Tap to summarizeTwo Ebola drugs are due to be trialled in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as cases of the disease continue to rise in the country. BBC health and science correspondent James Gallagher joins Claudia Hammond to discuss the new clinical trial, and to update on the latest from the outbreak in the DRC and Uganda.Claudia also visits The Royal Society’s annual Summer Science Exhibition in London to explore a range of new health research on display.We hear about how salt water is being used to try to make lateral flow tests more sensitive and targeted, with Guido Bolognesi and Nguyen Thi Kim Thanh from University College London. They also explain the role gold nanoparticles play in current lateral flow tests, which rapidly diagnose pregnancy or Covid-19.Claudia also visits a 'microbe zoo' and speaks with Revathy Krishnamurthy from the Quadram Institute of Bioscience in Norwich, England, who explains what phages are, and how they can be harnessed to improve food safety.Finally, we meet Pat Price, visiting professor at Imperial College London, to learn about the high-energy particles that could kill cancer cells, how they could completely change treatment for patients, and how it’s hoped lasers can help them accomplish it.Image Credit: Credit: Photo by DIEUDONNE DIROLE/EPA/ShutterstockPresenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Dan Welsh and Georgia Christie
Transcribe →Lack of evidence most IVF ‘add-ons’ improve fertility
2w ago00:26:29Tap to summarizeMany people with infertility use in vitro fertilisation (IVF), however the probability of having a baby following IVF is only approximately 30-40% per cycle and decreases significantly with age. It can be a lengthy and expensive process. Providers sometimes offer ‘add-ons’, additional treatments that they claim could help patients conceive, which are themselves also usually expensive. In Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom more than 70% of patients pay for at least one of these add-ons. A new review published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women’s Health journal has found that evidence on the benefits of these add-on treatments is unclear. Claudia Hammond speaks to Dr Sarah Lensen, Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Newborn Health at the University of Melbourne.Joining Claudia from Ghana is genito-urinary consultant and HIV expert, Vanessa Apea. Claudia and Vanessa discuss a draft African Charter on Family, Sovereignty and Values, which claims that comprehensive sex education, as well as a range of sexual and reproductive health rights, are a threat to African families from foreign ideologies.They also discuss a report from the Office of Inspector General of US Agency for International Development (USAID) which reveals that President Donald Trump’s administration has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in storage and transportation costs for $9.7 million worth of contraceptives that are being stored in Belgium rather than distributed to the various low-income countries they were intended for. Many of the withheld contraceptives are now expired or unusable due to their removal from temperature-controlled storage.We also hear from Health Check reporter Jane Chambers in the Chilean city of Valdivia, where wetlands are part of everyday life—and increasingly, part of people’s health. And we hear how faecal-microbiome transplants could improve the efficacy of some antidepressants in patients with major depressive disorder.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producers: Jonathan Blackwell & Georgia Christie
Transcribe →The global toll of food poisoning
3w ago00:26:28Tap to summarizeThe WHO has conducted their first global assessment of food contamination in over a decade and found that more than 1.5 million people are killed by food poisoning every year. Dr Ann Robinson joins Claudia Hammond to discuss the common causes of foodborne illness.Gout is a type of inflammatory arthritis which can cause sudden and severe joint pain. Claudia is joined by Professor Nicola Dalbeth an academic rheumatologist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand to discuss misconceptions about the disease.Reporter Tony Vinyoh then brings us to Cameroon, where Mbingo Baptist hospital is creating its own compressed oxygen supply to address the shortages and high costs of life-saving medical interventions.We also discuss a new wearable ultrasound patch which could detect pregnancy complications in real-time, and we hear about a weekly 5 kilometre run in a park which has grown to become a global phenomenon - with over one million events across 5 continents and 23 countries - promoting regular exercise and well-being.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producers: Jonathan Blackwell and Georgia Christie
Transcribe →How reading fiction impacts our mental health
4w ago00:26:29Tap to summarizeHow does reading shape our mind and spirit? Why do novels make us feel more human? In front of a live audience at the Hay Festival of Literature & Arts in Wales in the UK, Claudia Hammond looks at the science of what reading does to the mind and explores the profound impact it can have on our lives and well-being.She is joined on stage by award-winning novelist and travel writer Joanna Kavenna; Dr Paula Byrne, Jane Austen biographer, writer and co-founder of ReLit: The Bibliotherapy Foundation and Ben Alderson-Day, Professor in Psychology at Durham University and lead researcher on ReaderBank, an ongoing research project studying reading, imagination and wellbeing.With these leading experts in psychology and the literary world, she examines the range of imaginative experiences that fiction readers have, whether novels can deepen our capacity for empathy and the therapeutic effect of reading on our minds.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Helena Selby
Transcribe →Health at the football World Cup
Jun 300:26:29Tap to summarizeFrom heat exhaustion to dengue fever - monitoring public health risks at the biggest tournament in football history. With millions of fans travelling to the USA, Canada and Mexico for the men’s football World Cup, Claudia Hammond speaks to Professor Rebecca Katz from Georgetown University in Washington DC who is the Director of the newly set up Health Security Operations Center, a surveillance hub to track threats to health, monitoring the risk of diseases such as measles, dengue and chikungunya.With the World Cup coinciding with rainy season in Mexico, which also means mosquito season, our reporter Rogelio Navarro in Guadalajara brings us the latest on efforts in Jalisco state to prevent outbreaks of dengue which is transmitted by mosquitoes.And the potential for health issues due to extreme heat has caused concerns amongst players, spectators and scientists. At the men’s FIFA Club World Cup in the USA last year Chelsea and Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez spoke out about the difficulties of playing in high temperatures. We hear from Norwegian international midfielder Morten Thorsby and Douglas Casa, CEO of the Korey Stringer Institute and Professor of Kinesiology at the University of Connecticut, who have written to tournament organisers, FIFA, calling for stronger heat protection measures for players and spectators.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Jonathan BlackwellImage: Aziz Behich and Mathew Leckie of Australia drink water during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group D match between Australia and Denmark at Al Janoub Stadium on November 30, 2022 in Al Wakrah, Qatar
Transcribe →Seafarer welfare in the Strait of Hormuz
May 2700:26:26Tap to summarizeThree months into the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, we find out about the 20,000 sailors trapped on board with dwindling resources and minimal health provision. We hear from Mohamed Arrachedi, Network Co-ordinator for the Arab World and Iran for the International Transport Workers’ Federation, and Helen Sampson, Emeritus Professor in the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University.News from the World Health Assembly where WHO member countries come together for form health policy for the year ahead. Global Health journalist Andrew Green reports.Lots of us love a video game, but for a few the games can start to take over their lives, and the impact of a gaming disorder can be very serious – especially for children. Our reporter Kate Ferguson reports from a specialist clinic in Western Australia to find out how they have been tackling the issue One in four surveyed doctors thought preservation was likely to work in the future, but how might we be preserved and why would we want to be? We unpack the reality of what’s possible now and what might be next.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Hannah Robins, Clare Salisbury, Researcher: Scarlett VictoriaThis programme was edited on 29/05/2026
Transcribe →Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo
May 2000:26:29Tap to summarizeAn Ebola outbreak that started in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is spreading in the region and has been declared a health emergency. Health Check’s Claudia Hammond has the latest with BBC reporter Emery Makumeno in Kinshasa, Heather Kerr, Country Director for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in the DRC, and Professor Trudie Lang, head of the Global Health Network at Oxford University. Claudia is joined in the studio by BBC health reporter Laura Foster. They discuss the call for more testing of drugs with under-represented groups, after a study of Black African Americans, smokers, and people with complex health conditions in the US showed that an asthma drug, Tezepelumab, led to 70% fewer asthma attacks in people with severe asthma.They also hear about new hearing technology which can read peoples’ brainwaves to help people to pick out the single voice they want to listen to in a noisy room. Claudia speaks to Nima Mesgarani, Associate Professor at the Zuckerman Institute at Columbia University in New York.And Claudia and Laura discuss why some cancer patients would fancy a pre-consultation with an AI avatar before a consultation with their real-life doctor? It's the subject of research by Dr Adam Raben, Chair of Radiation Oncology at the Helen F Graham Cancer Center at Christiana Care in Newark, Delaware, USA; presented at the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology Congress.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Jonathan Blackwell & Clare SalisburyImage: A Congolese health worker checks the temperature to screen a traveller at the Grande Barrier border following confirmation of an Ebola outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain, at the border crossing point between Congo and Rwanda, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo May 18, 2026
Transcribe →Why renaming a health condition matters
May 1300:26:27Tap to summarizeGlobal health reporter Dorcas Wangira joins Claudia Hammond to discuss how renaming a common health condition affecting millions of women worldwide hopes to improve understanding, treatment and diagnoses. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been renamed polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS).Dorcas also brings Claudia Hammond news of a controversial AI algorithm being used by the Kenyan Government to work out how much people should be charged for healthcare costs. We hear from Peru where researchers have been mapping pesticide use and cases of people getting cancer in a major new study. And from the USA where a study on our disease-fighting T cells shows that they become more effective after we’ve eaten a meal.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Hannah Robins, Georgia Christie and Jonathan Blackwell
Transcribe →Hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship
May 600:26:27Tap to summarizeWe bring you the latest on the hantavirus outbreak on the cruise liner MV Hondius with BBC health reporter Smitha Mundasad.Endometriosis, where cells similar to the lining of the womb grow elsewhere in the body, can take up to a decade to get diagnosed despite leaving some women in debilitating pain. A new scanning technique hoping to speed up that diagnosis. Dr Tatjana Gibbons, from Oxford University, who developed the test, explains how it works.We unpack how the way operations are schedules affects patient outcomes with transplants. How electricity is improving treatment for patients with a heart rhythm disorder. Professor Oussama Wazni explains how it works.And how seven rings can translate sign language into text.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Hannah Robins & Georgia Christie
Transcribe →Psychedelic drugs as treatment
Apr 2900:26:27Tap to summarizeThe American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just awarded fast track status to three companies developing psychedelic drugs as a treatment for addiction and other mental health issues. It comes after President Trump directed $50million dollars to increase their availability. Claudia Hammond is joined by BBC Brazil reporter Camilla Mota to discuss what claims are made for the effectiveness of these drugs.A novel house design, called “Star Homes”, which promote airflow, block insects, and feature rainwater collection systems, can reduce child mortality, demonstrated by a randomised controlled trial in Tanzania. We hear from Professor Lorenz Von Seidlein from the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit in Bangkok about what makes these homes effective in lowering rates of malaria, diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections.We hear that the Russian health minister has called for 1 in 3 Russians to be tested for HIV annually. Russia has long had high rates of HIV, but it now has the highest prevalence in Europe, with particularly high rates among Russian troops since the beginning of the Ukraine war.We also hear from David Méary, associate professor at the Université Grenoble Alpes, about whether infants have a sense of beauty. And Claudia and Camilla discuss habits that drive salt consumption in older people.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Hannah Robins and Jonathan Blackwell
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