Health Check

With shipping still paused through the Strait of Hormuz, we find out about the 20,000 sailors trapped on board with dwindling resources and minimal health provision.
News from the World Health Assembly where WHO member countries come together for form health policy. 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

An 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 Salisbury
Image: 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

Global 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

We 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

The 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