Health News Round-up: E-cigarette maker, Bird flu detected, Indiana HIV outbreak

Indiana HIV outbreak among drug users may have been avoidable A years-long HIV outbreak among intravenous (IV) drug users in Indiana might have been avoided if the state's top medical and political leaders had acted sooner on early warnings that the virus was spreading, a recent study suggests.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 06-10-2018 05:41 IST | Created: 06-10-2018 02:28 IST
Health News Round-up: E-cigarette maker, Bird flu detected, Indiana HIV outbreak
From 2011 to 2014, Scott County, Indiana, was the site of a severe HIV outbreak among people who inject drugs. (Image Credit: Twitter)

 

E-cigarette maker Juul files complaints against 'copycat products'

Juul Labs, the e-cigarette maker at the heart of a U.S. crackdown on youth vaping, has filed patent infringement complaints in the United States and Europe against what it said were copycat rivals. The complaints follow the seizure this week by U.S. health regulators of more than 1,000 pages of documents from Juul Labs about its sales and marketing practices, as they investigate growing e-cigarette use among young people that threatens to create a new generation of nicotine addicts.

Bird flu detected at a poultry farm in southern Bulgaria

Bulgaria has reported an outbreak of bird flu virus on a farm in the southern district of Plovdiv, the national food safety agency said on Friday. Due to the virus, found on a farm in the village of Manolsko Konare near the Balkan country's second-largest city of Plovdiv, all birds at the farm will be culled, the agency said without disclosing their number.

Tech breakthrough offers an early warning system for heart attacks

A new method of analyzing images from CT scans can predict which patients are at risk of a heart attack years before it occurs, researchers say. The technology, developed by teams at Oxford University and institutions in Germany and the United States, uses algorithms to examine the fat surrounding coronary arteries as it shows up on computed tomography (CT) heart scans.

Indiana HIV outbreak among drug users may have been avoidable

A years-long HIV outbreak among intravenous (IV) drug users in Indiana might have been avoided if the state's top medical and political leaders had acted sooner on early warnings that the virus was spreading, a recent study suggests. From 2011 to 2014, Scott County, Indiana, was the site of a severe HIV outbreak among people who inject drugs, with a cluster of 215 infections ultimately attributed to the outbreak, researchers note in The Lancet HIV.

J&J, Arrowhead in gene-silencing drug deal worth up to $3.7 billion

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Thursday Johnson & Johnson would develop and market its gene-silencing Hepatitis B treatment and buy a minor stake in a deal that could be potentially worth more than $3.7 billion, sending its shares surging 20 per cent. Under the deal, J&J's Janssen Pharmaceuticals unit will obtain a worldwide license for Arrowhead's ARO-HBV drug and an option to collaborate on up to three new RNA interference (RNAi) drugs, which use gene-silencing technology.

U.S. arm of JBS recalls 6.5 million pounds of beef on salmonella risk

A U.S. unit of Brazil's JBS SA is recalling 6.5 million pounds of beef products processed through an Arizona plant because the meat might be contaminated with salmonella, U.S. government officials said on Thursday. U.S. investigators have identified at least 57 people in 16 states who have become ill due to consuming contaminated ground beef products made from meat traced back to JBS, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

U.S. FDA expands approval of Roche haemophilia drug

Roche on Thursday said U.S. regulators approved expanded use of its drug Hemlibra to include almost all patients with haemophilia A, as the Swiss drugmaker increases its focus on diseases beyond cancer to help replace revenue from older products that have lost patent protection. The Food and Drug Administration cleared Hemlibra to treat adults, children and newborns with the genetic disorder in which blood does not clot properly, putting them at risk of dangerous bleeding.

Non-white elders in U.S. less likely to use low-vision devices

Older white people with very impaired eyesight are more likely to use low-vision devices that may improve independence, compared to elderly people in other racial and ethnic groups, a U.S. study suggests. "Low vision" involves defects in the retina, optic nerve, brain or other parts of the visual system that can't be corrected with glasses. It can be caused by eye diseases like glaucoma and macular degeneration. Rehabilitation services like occupational therapy can train people how to function better with their current vision abilities. Other treatment options include devices like magnifiers or head-mounted computerized glasses that enhance what patients can see.

EMA committee recommends restrictions on fluoroquinolone, quinolone antibiotics

The European Medicines Agency's risk assessment committee has recommended restrictions on the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics fluoroquinolone and quinolone following a review of side effects, the EMA said on Friday. The side effects were reported to be "disabling and potentially long-lasting", though very rare, the EMA said.

Lilly's diabetes drug data impresses, hurts rival Novo's shares

Eli Lilly and Co said on Thursday its new two-in-one diabetes drug was successful in lowering blood sugar and reducing weight, sending its shares to a record high and weighing on those of arch-rival Novo Nordisk. The novel drug targets two key gut hormones at the same time and could pose a threat to currently available single-hormone drugs, which form a large and growing part of Novo's business.

(With inputs from agencies.)

Give Feedback