Reuters Health News Summary

09/05/2016 8:58

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

AstraZeneca seeks edge over rivals in severe asthma treatment

AstraZeneca hopes to convince doctors its experimental injection for severe asthma has an edge over two approved rivals after clinical trials data on Monday showed it worked well when given just once every two months. The drugmaker has previously flagged benralizumab, which is likely to reach the market next year, as a potential $2 billion-a-year seller.

Singapore says will no longer isolate Zika patients

Singapore will no longer isolate people who test positive for Zika or are suspected of carrying it as the number of cases of the mosquito-borne virus increases across the city-state, the health ministry said on Monday. Tropical Singapore, a global financial and transit hub, has reported just over 240 Zika cases since the first locally infected case was detected on Aug. 27, and media has quoted the deputy health minister as saying the virus was "here to stay."

Philippines confirms first case of Zika virus this year: ministry

The Philippines confirmed on Monday its first case of the Zika virus this year and said it was "highly likely" it had been locally transmitted, and it expected more cases after stepping up surveillance. A 45-year old woman who lives in Iloilo city in the central Philippines has the virus, Dr Eric Tayag, spokesman at the health ministry, told a media briefing.

Singapore confirms 27 more locally transmitted Zika cases

Singapore authorities on Sunday confirmed 27 more cases of locally transmitted Zika virus infection, bringing the total to 242. Twenty-five new cases were linked to the initial outbreak area, one was linked to a potential new cluster and the remaining new case had no known links to any existing cluster, the Ministry of Health and National Environment Agency said in a joint statement.

Too costly for Indonesia to thoroughly test for Zika: health official

Indonesia can not afford to thoroughly check for a possible Zika outbreak, a health ministry official said, as Southeast Asia's most populous country must focus on fighting dengue, a potentially fatal virus also carried by mosquitoes. The World Health Organisation (WHO) lists Indonesia among Asian countries with possible endemic transmission of, or evidence of, local Zika infections, but authorities in the sprawling nation of 250 million people have yet to report any recent infections.

Malaysia expects more Zika cases as virus spreads in Southeast Asia

Malaysia is bracing for more Zika cases, officials said on Sunday, after detecting the first locally infected patient, which could further stretch a health system struggling with dengue, another mosquito-borne virus that can be fatal. Both Zika, which is of particular risk to pregnant women, and the dengue virus are spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is common in tropical Malaysia, Southeast Asia's third largest economy, and across the region.

09/05/2016 8:58