Reuters Health News Summary

We are actively monitoring the situation and working with partners across Canada to support our health infrastructure," Holland said in a statement. US CDC confirms two additional bird flu cases in Colorado The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday confirmed two additional cases of bird flu in Colorado poultry farm workers.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Eli Lilly's weight loss drug tirzepatide gets approval in China

Eli Lilly said in a social media post Friday its weight loss drug tirzepatide had received approval from Chinese regulators, further intensifying competition with its Danish rival Novo Nordisk in the key Asian market. Shares of the drugmaker rose 1.6% to $862.39 in midday trading.

One dead from Nipah virus in India's Kerala state, state health minister says on local TV

Authorities in southern India's Kerala state are taking preventive steps after the death of a 14-year-old boy from the Nipah virus and the identification of 60 persons in the high-risk category, the state's health minister said on Sunday.

Parts of Kerala are among those most at risk globally for outbreaks of the virus, a Reuters investigation showed last year. Nipah, which comes from fruit bats and animals such as pigs, can cause a lethal, brain-swelling fever in humans.

Global tech outage creates challenges for Canadian health infrastructure

A global tech outage is creating challenges for doctors and hospitals in Canada and the government is working to support health infrastructure, Health Minister Mark Holland said on Friday. "We are aware of the IT outage and the challenges it is creating for health care professionals and hospitals. We are actively monitoring the situation and working with partners across Canada to support our health infrastructure," Holland said in a statement.

US CDC confirms two additional bird flu cases in Colorado

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday confirmed two additional cases of bird flu in Colorado poultry farm workers. Last week, Colorado reported four confirmed infections of H5N1 bird flu and was checking on the status of a fifth suspected case.

Brazil halts some poultry exports after Newcastle disease case

The world's top chicken exporter Brazil has voluntarily halted poultry exports to some countries after a case of Newcastle disease was detected in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, its agriculture ministry said on Friday. The move comes as local authorities try to contain the viral disease after around 7,000 birds died on a chicken farm in Brazil's southernmost state. The flock's remaining 7,000 birds were culled to comply with health protocols, according to meat lobby group ABPA.

Chicken culling, disposal raise concern as bird flu spreads

The spread of bird flu among poultry and dairy farms has heightened some health experts' concerns that the process of killing and disposing of poultry infected with the virus may pose a risk to humans and livestock. Recent instances of farms dumping carcasses in landfills and using methods to kill chickens that put workers in close proximity to the virus show how the process of getting rid of infected birds could further spread the disease, according to data obtained by Reuters and interviews with officials and disease experts.

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