Reuters Health News Summary

The recommendation from Europe's drug regulator comes days after global COVID-19 cases surpassed 500 million, according to a Reuters tally, as the highly contagious BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron surges in many countries. WHO says at least one child has died after increase of acute hepatitis cases in children The World Health Organization said on Saturday that at least one child death had been reported following an increase of acute hepatitis of unknown origin in children, and that at least 169 cases had been reported in children in 12 countries.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

New Ebola case confirmed in northwestern Congo, health authorities say

A new case of Ebola has been confirmed in northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo, prompting health authorities to enforce urgent containment measures just four months after the previous outbreak came to an end. The case, a 31-year old male, was detected in the city of Mbandaka, capital of Congo's Equateur province. Around 74 of his contacts are being tracked, the health ministry said in a statement.

Japan's Shionogi says COVID-19 pill shows rapid clearance of virus

An experimental treatment from Shionogi & Co Ltd has shown rapid clearance of the virus that causes COVID-19, according to new data, the Japanese drug maker said on Sunday. The pill, S-217622, "demonstrated rapid clearance of the infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus", Shionogi said in a statement, citing Phase-2b results from the Phase II/III clinical trial of the drug.

Pfizer recalls some batches of blood pressure drug over carcinogen presence

Pfizer said on Friday it was voluntarily recalling five batches of its Accupril blood pressure tablets after finding elevated levels of a potential cancer-causing agent in the medicine. The drugmaker said it was not aware of any reports of adverse events related to the recalled batches, which were distributed in the United States and Puerto Rico from December 2019 to April 2022.

EU regulator backs using Pfizer COVID shot as booster after other vaccines

A European Medicines Agency (EMA) committee on Friday recommended approving the use of Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty, as a booster for adults who have previously been inoculated with other vaccines. The recommendation from Europe's drug regulator comes days after global COVID-19 cases surpassed 500 million, according to a Reuters tally, as the highly contagious BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron surges in many countries.

WHO says at least one child has died after increase of acute hepatitis cases in children

The World Health Organization said on Saturday that at least one child death had been reported following an increase of acute hepatitis of unknown origin in children, and that at least 169 cases had been reported in children in 12 countries. The WHO issued the figures as health authorities around the world investigate a mysterious increase in severe cases of hepatitis - inflammation of the liver – in young children.

Italy reports 56,263 new coronavirus cases, 79 deaths

Italy reported 56,263 new COVID-19 related cases on Sunday, against 70,520 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily number of deaths fell to 79 from 143. Italy has registered 162,688 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February 2020, the second highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eighth highest in the world. The country has reported 16.1 million cases to date.

Shanghai fences up COVID-hit areas, fuelling fresh outcry

Shanghai authorities battling an outbreak of COVID-19 have erected fences outside residential buildings, sparking fresh public outcry over a lockdown that has forced much of the city's 25 million people indoors. The largest district in Beijing, meanwhile, will require everyone living or working in the area to take three COVID tests this week, and put more than a dozen buildings under lockdown, after the Chinese capital reported 22 new cases for Saturday. The district, Chaoyang, is home to 3.45 million people.

People who live, work in Beijing's Chaoyang will have to take 3 COVID tests in coming week

Beijing's Chaoyang district will require people who live and work in the district to undergo three coronavirus tests this coming week, the city government of Beijing said on Sunday. Chaoyang is the biggest district in Beijing and is home to 3.45 million people.

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