Health News Roundup: Fears of waterborne disease rise in Bangladesh as floods recede; WHO eyes decision on monkeypox 'emergency', Africa says it's long overdue and more

"We have decided as a government to do away with the vaccine mandate," Rauch told a news conference. Indonesia to buy 29 million foot and mouth disease vaccine doses as outbreak worsens Indonesia will procure 28.7 million vaccine doses for foot and mouth disease by year-end and limit livestock transportation between regions amid a surge in cases, a senior minister said on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Fears of waterborne disease rise in Bangladesh as floods recede

Authorities in Bangladesh are bracing for the spread of waterborne diseases and racing to get drinking water to people stranded in their homes by flooding across a quarter of the country, an official said on Thursday. Nearly 2,000 rescue teams were trying to reach flood victims in 17 of the country's 64 districts and bring them water and other supplies, Atiqul Haque, director-general of the Department of Disaster Management, told Reuters.

WHO eyes decision on monkeypox 'emergency', Africa says it's long overdue

The World Health Organization will decide on Thursday whether to declare monkeypox a global health emergency, stirring criticism from leading African scientists who say it has been a crisis in their region for years. The deliberations and scrutiny of the WHO's response to the outbreak follow concerns over how the United Nations agency and governments worldwide handled COVID-19 in early 2020.

Siga Technologies gets orders worth $13 million for antiviral drug

Drugmaker SIGA Technologies said on Thursday it has received orders worth about $13 million for its oral antiviral drug Tpoxx, as monkeypox cases spread globally.

U.S. expanding monkeypox testing capacity as cases rise

The Biden administration announced on Wednesday it is expanding monkeypox testing capacity to five commercial laboratory companies amid rising cases. As of Tuesday, there have been 142 reported monkeypox cases in the United States across 24 states and Washington, D.C. The first U.S. case was reported to the CDC on May 17.

Macau extends COVID shutdown of city, casinos stay open

Macau extended its COVID-19 restrictions including the closure of bars, cinemas, hair salons and outdoor parks from Thursday, its chief executive said as the world's biggest gambling hub battles to curb a rise in locally transmitted cases. Casinos are allowed to remain open while theatres, fitness centres, and leisure facilities must halt operations from 5 p.m. local time on Thursday, Ho Iat Seng said in a statement on the government's website.

GSK, Novartis pledge funds for diseases that mostly affect the poor

GSK and Novartis reinforced commitments on Thursday to tackle neglected tropical diseases, as world leaders and health experts gather in Rwanda to discuss ways to better combat illnesses affecting more than a billion people, mostly in impoverished communities. The intention is to spur a renewed effort to address some 20 diseases that have been eradicated in the developed world - ranging from leprosy to rabies - after the work in these areas was disrupted by the economic toll of the pandemic.

Austria scraps already-suspended COVID vaccine mandate

Austria is scrapping an already-suspended COVID-19 vaccine mandate as it has divided the country and is unlikely to raise one of western Europe's lowest vaccination rates, Health Minister Johannes Rauch said on Thursday. "We have decided as a government to do away with the vaccine mandate," Rauch told a news conference.

Indonesia to buy 29 million foot and mouth disease vaccine doses as outbreak worsens

Indonesia will procure 28.7 million vaccine doses for foot and mouth disease by year-end and limit livestock transportation between regions amid a surge in cases, a senior minister said on Thursday. The country launched a nationwide livestock vaccination programme last week, as the disease has been found in 19 of the country's 34 provinces, with the number of infected livestock growing quickly from 20,000 last month to 232,549 this week.

Novartis wins U.S. approval for targeted cancer drug combination

A targeted oral drug combination by Novartis won U.S. approval for use in a wide range of advanced solid tumours that are driven by a certain genetic contributor, widening the use of a novel treatment approach that is known as tumour agnostic.

The Food and Drug Administration early on Thursday granted accelerated approval for the combination of the two drugs Tafinlar and Mekinist for adults and children as young as six with inoperable or metastatic solid tumours with a mutation known as BRAF V600, who have exhausted other treatment options.

South Africa confirms first monkeypox case, not linked to travel

South Africa's Health Minister Joe Phaahla said on Thursday that he had been notified by the country's laboratory services that they had confirmed the first monkeypox case in South Africa. The patient was a 30-year-old male from Johannesburg who had no travel history, "meaning that this cannot be attributed to having been acquired outside South Africa," Phaahla told a news conference.

(With inputs from agencies.)