Health News Roundup: WHO says contaminated cough syrup sold in Cameroon; Elevance forecasts strong 2023, maintains medical cost outlook and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Intensifying heat waves prompt health warnings for Europe, US

A global pattern of heat waves scorching parts of Europe, Asia and the United States intensified on Tuesday, with the World Meteorological Organization warning of an increased risk of deaths linked to excessively high temperatures. Americans were facing a medley of extreme weather, from blazing heat from Texas to Southern California to smoke-choked air wafting into the Midwest from Canada's wildfires. Flood warnings were up for Vermont towns that were inundated just last week, while Tropical Storm Calvin was expected to hit the Pacific island state of Hawaii later on Tuesday.

Explainer-How El Nino is helping drive heatwaves and extreme weather

Countries around the world from China to the United States are battling heatwaves, with the onset of the climate phenonenon El Nino helping push temperatures higher. Scientists told Reuters that climate change and El Nino are the major drivers of extreme heat that have seen temperature records broken in Beijing and Rome, while leaving some 80 million Americans under excessive heat warnings.

Juul seeks US authorization for new e-cigarette

Juul Labs said on Wednesday it was seeking U.S. authorization for a new e-cigarette that has age-verification capabilities and prevents the use of unauthorized refill cartridges.The vaporizer, which has a unique Pod ID chip to prevent the use of counterfeit cartridges and an app to restrict underage access, is already on sale in Britain after its launch in 2021 as JUUL2 System. In its latest premarket tobacco product application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration submitted on Tuesday, Juul Labs said it was seeking to sell tobacco-flavored pods at a nicotine concentration of less than 2%.

Louisiana lawmakers reassert ban on gender-affirming care, overriding veto

A ban on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender children is due to take effect in Louisiana on Jan. 1, after the state legislature overrode Governor John Bel Edwards' veto of the bill, according to state officials. The legislature, which acted late on Tuesday, becomes the latest Republican-led state to ban trans-focused healthcare.

Ipsen says European Commission rejects marketing authorization for bone disorder drug

French drugmaker Ipsen said on Wednesday the European Commission has not granted marketing authorization for palovarotene, an investigational treatment for fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), a condition that causes abnormal bone growth. The decision follows a negative opinion issued in May by the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), the company said in a statement.

WHO says contaminated cough syrup sold in Cameroon

The World Health Organization on Wednesday said a batch of cough and cold syrup sold in Cameroon under the brand name Naturcold contained extremely high levels of a toxic ingredient, the latest in a series of recent warnings about contaminated cough syrups. The packaging label on the syrup showed it was manufactured by a company called Fraken International (England), but the UK health regulator said no such company exists in the country, the WHO said.

J&J must pay $18.8 million to California cancer patient in baby powder suit

Johnson & Johnson's must pay $18.8 million to a California man who said he developed cancer from exposure to its baby powder, a jury decided on Tuesday, a setback for the company as it seeks to settle thousands of similar cases over its talc-based products in U.S. bankruptcy court. The jury ruled in favor of Emory Hernandez Valadez, who filed suit last year in California state court in Oakland against J&J, seeking monetary damages. Hernandez, 24, has said he developed mesothelioma, a deadly cancer, in the tissue around his heart as a result of heavy exposure to the company's talc since childhood. The six-week trial was the first over talc that New Brunswick, New Jersey-based J&J has faced in almost two years.

China's Stemirna halts work at planned mRNA vaccine factory, cites lack of demand

China's Stemirna Therapeutics said on Wednesday it had suspended work at a factory it had planned to use to manufacture its COVID-19 vaccine candidate that uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, citing a lack of demand. Stemirna, whose backers include private equity firm HongShan, previously known as Sequoia Capital China, said in a statement it had only been testing production and would now focus on research instead. It did not give more details on the trial operations.

WHO urges govts to set up surveillance for people at risk from heatwaves

The World Health Organization on Wednesday urged governments and local authorities to set up a strong surveillance system for people who are most at risk of severe symptoms from a heatwave that is baking the northern hemisphere.

People with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and diabetes, as well as pregnant women, children and homeless people, are seen as the most vulnerable to heatwaves that have scorched parts of Europe, Asia and the United States this week.

Elevance forecasts strong 2023, maintains medical cost outlook

Elevance Health said higher premiums and a limited hit from increased surgeries kept costs under control for the health insurer that on Wednesday raised its full-year profit forecast above estimates, sending its shares up 5%. The company kept its outlook for medical costs unchanged and reported a better-than expected second-quarter profit, despite a warning from industry bellwether UnitedHealth Group last month that a spurt in non-urgent surgeries, especially among older patients, would push up costs.

(With inputs from agencies.)