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disease

Climate change threatens to double malaria risk from African dams, say researchers

By Magdalena Mis LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The number of Africans at risk of malaria who live near dams will nearly double to 25 million by 2080 as areas where the disease is not currently present will become transmission zones due to climate change, researchers said on Monday. Without prevention measures, the number of malaria cases associated with dams could triple to nearly 3 million a year over the same period, they said in a study published in Malaria Journal. “While dams clearly bring many benefits … the role of climate change on malaria around dams will fundamentally alter the current impact,” said Solomon Kibret of the University of California and the paper's lead author.

Queen Latifah, grannies join mass anti-AIDS rallies in S.Africa

US singer and actress Queen Latifah joined a mass anti-AIDS march in the South African city of Durban Saturday, where grandmothers bringing up children orphaned by the disease also took to the streets. Holding up signs that read “I care, do you?”, around a thousand grandmothers walked in a colourful procession to draw attention to their plight, as the coastal city readies to host a global AIDS conference from Monday.

Roche therapy helps 24 percent of untreated bladder cancer patients: study

A newly approved immunotherapy from Roche Holding proved effective as an initial treatment for some patients with advanced bladder cancer, according to data presented on Sunday. Results of the mid-stage trial could help make the case that the drug, Tecentriq, should become the first option therapy of choice for patients with metastatic bladder cancer, according to a researcher leading the study. Known chemically as atezolizumab, Tecentriq last month won U.S. approval for bladder cancer that had progressed following chemotherapy, becoming the first new drug for the disease in 30 years.

White House urges Congress to move on Zika funding

By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two senior Obama administration officials wrote congressional leaders on Tuesday to urge legislation be passed to fund the fight against the Zika virus, as concerns mount the United States will soon face locally transmitted cases of the disease. U.S. health officials concluded this month that the virus, spreading rapidly in the Americas, was a cause of microcephaly, a rare birth defect defined by unusually small head size that can hamper development. Zika is also linked to other health problems.

Drug resistance adds to India’s tuberculosis menace

After three years of battling tuberculosis, a disease that claimed the lives of his father and younger brother, Sonu Verma, a patient in northern India, hopes a cure for his illness may be within reach. “Only a few more months and my nightmare will end… it will be my rebirth, free from tuberculosis,” the 25-year-old scrap dealer, who has been left visibly lean and weak by the disease, told AFP. As India marks World TB Day on Thursday, it faces an estimated 2.2 million new cases of the disease a year, more than any other country, according to the World Health Organisation.

Colombia reports more than 47,700 Zika cases

Colombia has seen more than 47,700 cases of Zika, including thousands of pregnant women infected with the mosquito-borne virus, the country's National Health Institute reported Saturday. A total of 8,890 pregnant women have come down with the disease, which has been tentatively linked to a serious birth defect known as microcephaly affecting babies born to women who became infected while pregnant. Among those, 1,237 cases were pregnant women.

New York cooling towers to be tested as Legionnaires’ deaths hit 10

Owners of cooling towers have 14 days to comply with the order, which comes as 100 people have been reported sick with the disease, according to city health department figures. The disease, a severe kind of pneumonia, is contracted by breathing in mist from cooling towers containing the bacteria Legionella. The incubation period for Legionnaires’ disease is 10 days.

Outbreak of Legionnaire’s Disease Sickens 31 in NYC

An outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease has infected at least 31 in New York City and health officials are racing to figure out the cause. The deaths of two patients who also had Legionnaire's disease are being investigated by health officials. Officials from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene are combing the center of the outbreak in the South Bronx to search for the source of the dangerous outbreak.