UN health chief visits China to help with virus containment
BEIJING — 11:20 p.m. The director-general of the World Health Organization has flown to China to meet with government officials…
China shuts transport, temples, Disneyland as virus toll rises to 25
XIANNING, China (Reuters) – China stepped up measures to contain a virus that has killed 25 people and infected more…
Factbox: How a virus impacts the economy and markets
(Reuters) – The outbreak of a new virus in China has sent shivers through world financial markets, with investors drawing…
Pharma firms not making enough progress against superbugs: report
LONDON (Reuters) – Drug companies are not making progress against the spread of antibiotic resistance at a scale and speed…
Russia steps up airport screening of Chinese travelers over coronavirus fears
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian airports have stepped up screening of travelers arriving from China to try to identify people infected…
New China virus claims sixth victim as holiday travel stokes risk
BEIJING (Reuters) – The toll from a new virus in China rose to six deaths and more than 300 cases…
China confirms person-to-person spread of new virus as fourth death reported
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – The Chinese official investigating a pneumonia outbreak stemming from a new coronavirus said the disease can spread…
Czech Republic reports first H5N8 bird flu case in three years
PRAGUE (Reuters) – The Czech Republic has its first case of the highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu virus in three…
Health warning: How Fitbits can help predict flu outbreaks
LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters – The Fitbit on your wrist not only counts your steps and minutes of sleep, it…
Bulgaria to cull 24,000 pigs in African swine fever outbreak
SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgarian veterinary authorities said on Friday they would cull 24,000 pigs after detecting an outbreak of African…
Polish bird flu outbreak spreads, with four more cases
WARSAW (Reuters) – Four more outbreaks of bird flu have been reported across Poland, authorities said on Friday, bringing the…
Congo authorities say Ebola survivor falls ill a second time
GISENYI, Rwanda (Reuters) – An Ebola survivor has fallen ill with the disease for a second time in eastern Congo,…
Malaria fight stalling at ‘unacceptably high level’ of deaths: WHO
LONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Malaria still infects millions of people every year and kills more than 400,000 – mostly…
Samoa measles toll hits 42 as nations dispatch medical teams, supplies
WELLINGTON (Reuters) – More nations were flying medical staff and supplies to Samoa on Friday to battle a measles outbreak…
Four killed in attacks against Ebola response centers in Congo
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – Militia fighters in eastern Congo killed four people and injured several others in…
New Roche flu drug can drive resistance in influenza viruses: researchers
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Roche’s influenza treatment Xofluza, a one-dose pill that can clear flu symptoms within days, may cause a…
Poor hand hygiene may be biggest transmitter of superbug E.coli
(Reuters Health) – One of the best ways to cut down on antibiotic-resistant E. coli infections would be making sure…
Pregnant women may not have safety risks with common travel vaccines
(Reuters Health) – Many common travel vaccines don’t have known safety risks for pregnant women, although a research review also…
Longer-term data fail to clear concern over Takeda’s dengue vaccine
CHICAGO (Reuters) – An additional six months of data from a late-stage trial of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co’s experimental dengue vaccine…
China’s Inner Mongolia reports fresh bubonic plague case
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Inner Mongolia reported a fresh, confirmed case of bubonic plague on Sunday, despite an earlier declaration…
Merck wins European approval for first-ever Ebola vaccine
FILE PHOTO: The Merck logo is seen at a gate to the Merck & Co campus in Linden, New Jersey,…
WHO hails ‘triumph’ as Merck’s Ebola vaccine gets European green light
LONDON (Reuters) – The world’s first Ebola vaccine was recommended for approval by European drugs regulators on Friday in a…
Scientists find how deadly malaria parasite jumped from gorillas to humans
LONDON (Reuters) – Scientists who resurrected a 50,000-year-old gene sequence have analyzed it to figure out how the world’s deadliest…
‘Alarming upsurge’ in measles has devastating impact, WHO warns
LONDON (Reuters) – Measles is staging a devastating comeback in epidemics across the world as the virus exploits dangerous gaps…
U.S. retains measles-elimination status despite worst outbreak in quarter century
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The United States has kept its World Health Organization designation as a country that has eliminated…
Legionnaire’s outbreak linked to hot tubs kills one, sickens dozens in North Carolina
(Reuters) – An outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease that has killed one person and sickened dozens of others in North Carolina…
U.S. travel warning adds to pressure on Tanzania over suspected Ebola cases
DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) – The United States has warned its citizens to take extra care when visiting Tanzania amid…
Congo to deploy second Ebola vaccine
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – Health authorities in Democratic Republic of Congo said on Saturday that they plan…
Handwashing beats sanitizer for killing flu virus on hands
(Reuters Health) – Health workers who use hand sanitizer between patients may be more likely to spread flu germs than…
FDA approves Boehringer’s lung disease drug
(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim’s Ofev capsules for a rare…
‘Extreme grooming’ not linked to STIs
(Reuters Health) – Researchers say women who frequently remove most or all of their pubic hair are no more likely…
Ebola survivors face kidney problems and risk of premature death
LONDON (Reuters) – People who survive Ebola virus infection face a dramatically higher risk of dying – probably from severe…
WHO welcomes Facebook pledge to curb anti-vaccine misinformation
LONDON (Reuters) – The World Health Organization said on Thursday it welcomed a commitment by Facebook that it would direct…
U.S. records 19 new cases of measles as of last week
FILE PHOTO: A camper’s immunization form and physician’s stamp is seen at the Rosmarins Day Camp and Cottages office in…
Tuberculosis rates down in most U.S. children, but still high in some groups
(Reuters Health) – Over the past decade, the number of children and teens in the U.S diagnosed with tuberculosis has…
Uganda confirms another Ebola case
FILE PHOTO: Ugandan health workers speak to civilians before carrying out the first vaccination exercise against the ebola virus in…
New Zealand measles outbreak prompts travel warning
WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand is asking travelers to make sure they are immunized for measles before traveling to its…
Congolese girl, 9, dies of Ebola in Uganda- hospital official
KAMPALA (Reuters) – A nine-year-old girl has died of Ebola in the East African nation of Uganda, a hospital official…
Congolese girl, 9, dies of Ebola in Uganda: hospital official
KAMPALA (Reuters) – A 9-year-old girl has died of Ebola in the East African nation of Uganda, a hospital official…
Ebola death toll in east Congo outbreak climbs above 2,000
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – The death toll from Democratic Republic of Congo’s year-long Ebola outbreak has climbed…
U.S. to pay for thousands of doses of HIV drugs for Venezuelan migrants
BOGOTA (Reuters) – The United States said on Wednesday it will provide thousands of doses of HIV medication to treat…
WHO says eradicating malaria ‘can be done’, but first aim is to control it
LONDON, Aug 23 – Eradicating malaria is biologically feasible and a lofty aim, the World Health Organization said on Friday,…
Ebola appears contained in Goma, but flares in other parts of Congo: WHO
GENEVA (Reuters) – Ebola appears to be under control in the city of Goma in Congo but it has flared…
Measles-stricken New Zealand girl visited Disneyland, other California destinations
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A teenage girl from New Zealand sick with measles visited Disneyland and other popular tourist stops…
Congo has given over 200,000 people Merck Ebola vaccine: government
GOMA, Congo (Reuters) – Congolese authorities and health workers vaccinated more than 200,000 people against Ebola in August, the government…
HHS to provide $23 million to Merck for Ebola vaccine production
FILE PHOTO: A health worker fills a syringe with Ebola vaccine before injecting it to a patient, in Goma, Democratic…
Nigeria’s three-year milestone takes Africa towards polio eradication
ABUJA/LONDON (Reuters) – Nigeria marked three years free of endemic wild polio on Wednesday, with health officials saying the nation’s…
First two Ebola cases confirmed in Congo’s South Kivu: officials
FILE PHOTO: A woman and child wait to receive an Ebola vaccination in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, August 5,…
Sick hospital workers often expose patients to contagious illness
Hospital workers often come to work with contagious respiratory illnesses, against the recommendations of public health regulators, a Canadian study…
U.S. FDA approves TB Alliance’s treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis
(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved TB Alliance’s treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis as part of a…
U.S. records 10 new cases of measles last week
FILE PHOTO: A vial of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is pictured at the International Community Health Services…
Regeneron’s Ebola treatment proves superior to rival in trial
(Reuters) – Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Monday its experimental treatment for Ebola proved superior to a rival therapy from…
Scientists hail promise of first effective Ebola treatments in Congo trial
LONDON (Reuters) – Scientists are a step closer to finding the first effective treatments for the deadly Ebola haemorrhagic fever…
Three Congolese doctors arrested in connection with WHO official’s death
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – Three Congolese doctors have been arrested for allegedly planning an attack on a…
U.S. recorded eight new cases of measles last week
FILE PHOTO: A vial of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is pictured at the International Community Health Services…
Second Ebola case in Congo’s Goma infected several people: government
GOMA, Congo (Reuters) – The second case of Ebola recorded in east Congo’s main city of Goma had a large…
African swine fever hits sixth pig farm in Bulgaria
SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgaria’s veterinary authorities said on Friday they would cull 8,253 pigs after detecting an outbreak of African…