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After Ebola, two other tropical diseases pose new threats

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) – A little-known bacterial disease may be killing as many people worldwide as measles, scientists said on Monday, while a mosquito-borne virus known as Zika is also raising global alarm. The spread of Ebola in West Africa last year shows how poorly-understood diseases can emerge and grow rapidly while researchers race to design and conduct the scientific studies needed to combat them. Researchers in the journal Nature Microbiology called for the bacterial infection meliodosis, which is resistant to a wide range of antibiotics, to be given a higher priority by international health organizations and policy makers.

Emotions Impact Your Work — So Why Don’t Companies Take Mental Health Seriously?

This story is part of our monthlong “Work Well” initiative, which focuses on thriving in the workplace. You can find more stories from this project here.One somewhat unfortunate reality of living in the United States is that health care is inexorably tied up with employment, for better or for worse.On the plus side, employers generally…

Pfizer hikes U.S. prices for over 100 drugs on January 1

Pfizer Inc , which plans a $160-billion merger with Ireland-based Allergan Plc to slash its U.S. tax bill, on Jan. 1 raised U.S. prices for more than 100 of its drugs, some by as much as 20 percent, according to statistics compiled by global information services company Wolters Kluwer. Company spokesman Steven Danehy could not immediately confirm the remaining price increases, which were compiled by a unit of Wolters Kluwer Health and published in a research note by UBS Securities.

Congolese boy attacked by chimps getting rare face surgery in New York

By Barbara Goldberg STONY BROOK, N.Y. (Reuters) – An 8-year-old boy whose lips were torn off during an attack by chimpanzees as he played near a river in his native Democratic Republic of Congo will undergo a rare double-lip reconstruction at a New York hospital next week. Doctors at Stony Brook Children's Hospital on Long Island will perform the first of several surgeries on Dunia Sibomana on Monday. The goal will be to restore functioning lips that will improve his speech and stop constant drooling.

Hong Kong on holiday health alert after China bird flu death

A woman in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen has died after being infected with the highly contagious H5N6 bird flu virus, days after she was admitted to hospital, Hong Kong’s Health Department said on Wednesday. All border check points between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and the airport, had already introduced disease prevention measures with thermal imaging systems in place, a department spokesman said. Hong Kong culled thousands of chickens and suspended imports of live poultry from mainland China in December 2014 after a H7 bird flu strain was discovered in live chickens.

Baxalta in deal to expand immuno-oncology business

(Reuters) – Drugmaker Baxalta Inc has signed a deal with privately held Symphogen under which the companies will develop immuno-oncology drugs to treat rare cancers. The deal with Symphogen comes as Baxalta approaches the final stages of negotiating a potential sale to rare diseases drugmaker Shire Pharmaceuticals. It would include a cash component of about $20 per share, with the rest of it paid in Shire stock, said the sources, asking not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential.

More patients may be able to safely shower after surgery

By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) – Many patients may be able to shower just two days after their operations without increasing their risk of infections around the incision site, a recent study suggests. The findings, along with results from other recent research, should help convince more doctors to let patients shower after surgery, said Dr. Paul Dayton, a researcher at Des Moines University and UnityPoint Health in Iowa who wasn’t involved in the study. “Traditions are sometimes long to fade away due to lack of good evidence to support change – this paper will certainly help to drive change,” Dayton said by email.

In first court appearance, Cosby cuts a feeble figure

(Reuters) – The sight of 78-year-old Bill Cosby walking with a cane into a Pennsylvania courthouse as he held the hands of his lawyers on Wednesday was in stark contrast to the spry, wisecracking 1980s TV dad most Americans remember. Cosby’s appearance on Wednesday included a stumble as he walked into the courthouse in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia. While Cosby is not reported to have any serious medical conditions, paparazzi photos of him in November leaving his New York townhome with his wife, Camille, supporting him, and looking weak sparked a flurry of rumors on social media that he was dying.

Guinea declared free of Ebola transmissions

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Guinea has been declared free from transmission of Ebola, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, marking a milestone for the West African country where the original Ebola chain of transmission began two years ago leading to the largest epidemic in history.