Health News Roundup: Scientists home in on potential treatments for deadly Nipah virus


Reuters | Updated: 13-12-2019 04:27 IST | Created: 13-12-2019 02:28 IST
Health News Roundup: Scientists home in on potential treatments for deadly Nipah virus
Image Credit: Flickr

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Scientists home in on potential treatments for deadly Nipah virus

Scientists working on how to combat a highly infectious and deadly virus called Nipah, which is transmitted to humans from bats and pigs, say they have found around a dozen potential drugs that might be developed to block the disease. The early-stage molecule-screening research could lead to the development of a drug to target Nipah, which has caused several deadly outbreaks in South Asia and which is seen by some experts as posing a pandemic threat. There are no current treatments or vaccines against viral disease. U.S. watchdog finds $6.7 billion in questionable Medicare payments to insurers

A U.S. government watchdog is raising fresh concerns that health insurers are exaggerating how sick Medicare patients are, receiving billions of dollars in improper payments as a result. Health insurers selling Medicare Advantage plans to seniors and the disabled received an estimated $6.7 billion in 2017 after adding diagnoses to patients' files that were not supported by their medical records, according to a report released on Thursday by the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General's Office. AstraZeneca-Daiichi drug halts cancer for months in first readout

An experimental cancer drug developed by AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo kept metastatic breast cancer at bay for months in women who had exhausted other treatment options, its first clinical study showed. Patients on trastuzumab deruxtecan, also known as DS-8201, who had already undergone roughly six prior treatment courses, were saw no further progression for a median of 16.4 months. CVS to increase genetic testing for some cancer patients

CVS Health Corp said on Thursday it will make it easier for patients with advanced cancer enrolled in some Aetna insurance plans to receive broad genetic gene sequencing tests that can help identify the best drug or treatment for them. CVS has been running an oncology program in 12 states in which patients prescribed treatment regimens that follow National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines automatically receive prior authorization approval, speeding the time to starting their treatment. Maternal diabetes in pregnancy tied to heart disease in adult kids

People whose mothers had diabetes during pregnancy may be at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease by early adulthood, a recent study suggests. The analysis followed more than 2.4 million babies born in Denmark for up to four decades, including nearly 55,000 whose mothers had diabetes during pregnancy. During the study period, cardiovascular disease developed before age 40 in 1,153 people whose mothers had diabetes while pregnant and 91,311 whose mothers did not. South Korea finds some liquid e-cigarette products have ingredient linked to lung illness

South Korean health authorities have found vitamin E acetate, which may be linked to lung illnesses, in some liquid e-cigarette products made by Juul Labs and KT&G, they said on Thursday, but the two companies denied using the material. The results followed an analysis of seven key ingredients in 153 liquid e-cigarettes carried out by the food and drug safety ministry, after a spate of severe lung injuries tied to the devices in the United States. U.S. vaping-related deaths rise to 52, hospitalizations to 2,409

U.S. health officials said on Thursday four more deaths occurred since last week from a mysterious respiratory illness tied to vaping, taking the total toll to 52. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also reported 118 more hospitalized cases from 50 states, the District of Columbia, and two U.S. territories, as of Dec. 10. The number of people hospitalized now stands at 2,409. Only a quarter of U.S. childcare centers require kids to have flu shots

Only a quarter of childcare centers in the United States require children in their care to get a flu shot, and even fewer require childcare workers to be vaccinated, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday. Young children are at increased risk of serious complications such as hospitalization and even death from seasonal influenza, but few centers charged with caring for young children require them to be immunized, Dr. Timothy Shope of UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and colleagues report in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. Brazil's 2020 pork, chicken exports seen growing as China swine fever disruption persists

Brazilian food processors are poised to boost pork and chicken exports in 2020 as Chinese demand for imports remains strong while the Asian country deals with severe disruptions in local production, an industry group said on Thursday. While an outbreak of African swine fever affects solely pork supplies in China and other Asian countries, a fall in production of that type of meat will drive demand for other products including chicken, said ABPA, which represents pork and poultry producers. FDA issues warning letter to Alkermes over opioid addiction treatment ad

A print advertisement of Alkermes Plc's addiction treatment, Vivitrol, is false or misleading as it omits important risk information associated with its use, the Food and Drug Administration said in a warning letter http://bit.ly/2LGVKUM to the company. Users of Vivitrol as a treatment for opioid dependence should be made aware of the vulnerability to potentially fatal overdose at the end of a dosing interval, after missing a dose, or after discontinuing the treatment, the agency said in the letter dated Dec. 2.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Give Feedback