Reuters Health News Summary

08/26/2016 16:55

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Zika likely spread sexually from asymptomatic man to woman: study

New Zika research released on Friday has found that the virus may spread sexually from a man to a woman even if the man had no symptoms of Zika infection. The finding came from a report in Maryland where a man who was infected with Zika in the Dominican Republic but had no symptoms infected his female partner who had not traveled to a place where Zika is being transmitted.

Rights organizations can avoid further harming victims

Lawyers interview victims of human rights violations to document their stories and seek justice, but victims who have to relive the violence during a single interview may be traumatized anew, researchers argue. In the journal BMJ Global Health, psychiatrists and human rights advocates jointly propose a research agenda to find the best ways to protect both the legal rights and mental health of these victims.

Nicaragua confirms first microcephaly birth linked to Zika virus

Nicaragua has confirmed its first case of a baby born with microcephaly linked to the Zika virus, authorities said on Friday. "The girl was born very underweight, at less than four pounds (1.81 kg) and with confirmed microcephaly," said Rosario Murillo, government spokeswoman and the country's first lady.

St. Jude says report by short sellers 'false and misleading'

Medical device manufacturer St. Jude Medical Inc said on Friday that a report by short-selling firm Muddy Waters and a cyber-security researcher alleging its heart devices were riddled with bugs was "false and misleading." The report, which caused St Jude shares to decline after its release on Thursday, alleged there were significant security bugs in the company's Merlin@home device for monitoring implanted heart devices.

FDA recommends Zika testing for all blood donated in U.S.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended on Friday that all blood donated in the United States and its territories be tested for Zika virus, as it moves to prevent transmission of the virus through the blood supply. The agency said its move to expand blood screening in the United States was based on concerns about increasing cases of local transmission in Florida, the growing number of travel-related infections and concerns that Zika-tainted blood could unwittingly be given to a pregnant woman, putting her unborn baby at risk of severe birth defects.

Yellow fever vaccination drive in Congo's capital hits target

A vaccination campaign against yellow fever in Congo's capital is almost complete, but the gains may be reversed by the looming rainy season and the spread of the disease to areas where people have not yet been vaccinated, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. Health officials began a campaign to vaccinate 7.5 million people in Kinshasa last week to combat the worst outbreak in decades of the hemorrhagic virus. More than 400 people have died in Congo and neighboring Angola since December.

Miami hotel bookings slow, airfares fall since Zika outbreak

Travelers have booked fewer hotel rooms in downtown Miami, and leisure airfares to the greater Miami area have inched down in the weeks since the Zika virus was detected there, data reviewed by Reuters shows. Hotels sold 2.9 percent fewer rooms in Miami's central business district and northern neighborhoods during the first three weeks of August than they did a year earlier in the same period, according to hotel data and analytics firm STR.

Self-injury is a 'major killer' in U.S

When deaths from substance abuse are counted as self-inflicted, then deaths from self-injury in the U.S. are tied with deaths attributed to diabetes and outnumber those from flu and pneumonia or kidney disease, new research suggests. "Self injury is a major killer and it encompasses more than suicide," said study leader Ian Rockett, of West Virginia University School of Public Health in Morgantown.

Why childhood celiac disease should be checked with lab tests

Even though many children with celiac disease can ease symptoms by going on a gluten-free diet, kids should still get blood tests and other exams to confirm whether they actually have the disease, some doctors argue. The testing recommendations, published in the journal Pediatrics, mirror guidelines for diagnosing the disorder in adults. Because children may have a harder time eliminating gluten from their diets, they may also require long-term follow-up to support good nutrition habits and check for complications that can develop when the disease isn't well managed.

Devastating bird flu strain found in U.S. wild duck - USDA

The type of avian flu that led to the deaths of about 50 million U.S. chickens and turkeys last year has been found in the country for the first time in 14 months, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday. The USDA said it detected the H5N2 strain of the disease in a wild duck in Alaska as part of surveillance testing it has been conducting on birds since last year's devastating outbreak. That strain has not been found in any wild birds or poultry since June 2015, according to the agency.

08/26/2016 16:55