Health News Roundup: Ebola outbreak in Uganda "not getting out of hand"; Merck lifts full-year forecast as Keytruda sales soar and more

The health crisis has particularly hit the response to TB and led countries to fall behind in meeting targets to curb the infectious disease. Merck lifts full-year forecast as Keytruda sales soar Merck & Co on Thursday reported higher-than-expected third-quarter sales and profit on a jump in demand for blockbuster cancer immunotherapy Keytruda and human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Tuberculosis deaths rose during pandemic, reversing years of decline - WHO

Global deaths from tuberculosis are estimated to have increased between 2019 and 2021, reversing years of decline as the COVID-19 pandemic severely derailed efforts to tackle the disease, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. Global efforts to tackle deadly diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria have suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic. The health crisis has particularly hit the response to TB and led countries to fall behind in meeting targets to curb the infectious disease.

Merck lifts full-year forecast as Keytruda sales soar

Merck & Co on Thursday reported higher-than-expected third-quarter sales and profit on a jump in demand for blockbuster cancer immunotherapy Keytruda and human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil. Merck shares were up about 2% in midday trading as the U.S. drugmaker also raised its full-year sales and profit forecast despite the impact of a weak euro and pound. The company's shares are up over 30% year-to-date, well outperforming the broader market.

New frontline of U.S. abortion battles emerges in New Mexico

The new frontline of the U.S. abortion battle is on the remote plains of New Mexico, where two conservative towns are set to outlaw the medical procedure despite it remaining legal in the state after Roe v. Wade was struck down. The towns of Clovis and Hobbs do not even have abortion clinics but are strategic, activists and clinicians say, because they are near the border with Texas, to the east. Texas was one of the first states to impose a near-total ban on abortion and providers could face up to life in prison there.

GSK to skip regulatory submissions for experimental arthritis drug

British drugmaker GSK said on Thursday it would not be proceeding with regulatory submissions of its experimental treatment for moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) after the drug failed to meet a key goal in a study. In a late-stage study, the antibody-based drug, otilimab, did not make a meaningful difference to improving swelling and tenderness in joints to aid movement in patients who had not responded to other forms of treatment before.

Chinese cities double down on zero-COVID as outbreaks widen

Chinese cities from Wuhan in central China to Xining in the northwest are doubling down on COVID-19 curbs, sealing up buildings, locking down districts and throwing millions into distress in a scramble to halt widening outbreaks. China on Thursday reported a third straight day of more than 1,000 new COVID cases nationwide, a modest tally compared with the tens of thousands per day that sent Shanghai into a full-blown lockdown earlier this year but enough to trigger more restrictions across the country.

Africa CDC: Ebola outbreak in Uganda "not getting out of hand"

Africa's top public health body said on Thursday that the Ebola outbreak in Uganda was "not getting out of hand" and that it was still under control, despite an increase in cases that have spread to the capital Kampala. "The Ebola outbreak in Uganda is not getting out of hand ... it is still under control," Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, acting director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said at an online briefing.

Gilead profit tops expectations despite lower COVID drug sales, shares rise

Gilead Sciences Inc on Thursday posted a higher-than-expected third-quarter profit despite lower sales of its COVID-19 antiviral drug and acquisition expenses, as demand for HIV and cancer drugs remained strong. The U.S. biotech company also increased its forecast for full-year revenue and earnings.

For those with HIV or weak immune systems, monkeypox can be fatal -U.S. study

People with severely weakened immune systems, such as those infected with HIV, can experience severe symptoms and even die from a monkeypox infection, according to a U.S. study released on Wednesday. The study looked at cases of 57 U.S. patients hospitalized with severe monkeypox complications. Almost all (83%) had severely weakened immune systems, most often because of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Many of those patients were not being treated for the virus that causes AIDS.

McKinsey reaches deal with U.S. local governments over opioids

Leading consulting firm McKinsey & Co has agreed to settle claims by hundreds of U.S. local governments and school districts around the country that it fueled an epidemic of opioid addiction through its work for bankrupt OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP and other drug companies. The deal was disclosed in a court filing Wednesday evening in San Francisco federal court. Its terms were not made public, and McKinsey and a lawyer for the settling plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Dutch cull 25,000 hens to contain bird flu

Dutch health authorities have culled around 25,000 hens on a farm in the south of the country after the detection of a highly infectious strain of bird flu, the government said on Thursday. The farm is in the town of Neerkant, 30 km southeast of Eindhoven. A transport ban has been imposed on 83 additional nearby farms, the government said in a statement.

(With inputs from agencies.)