Reuters Health News Summary

08/27/2016 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.

Togo slaughters 11,500 chickens after H5N1 bird flu outbreak

Togolese authorities said on Saturday they had slaughtered 11,500 chickens in response to an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu at two farms in the capital Lome and the town of Adetikope, about 25 km north of Lome. "We are in the presence of the H5N1 virus," Agriculture Minister Ouro-Koura Agadazi said on public radio, after the strain was confirmed by laboratory tests in Italy.

Hong Kong's first Zika case tests negative

Hong Kong's first Zika patient tested negative for the virus on Friday and was discharged from hospital, the government said in a statement. On Thursday, the Centre for Health Protection had said the 38-year-old woman, who had returned to Hong Kong after spending two weeks in in the Caribbean, had tested positive.

U.S. judge will not block California school vaccination law

A federal judge on Friday refused to block a California law tightening vaccination requirements for schoolchildren in the state. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit by parents and health and education-related nonprofits, challenging the law at the beginning of the first school year in which it was to go into effect.

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 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 fall 5 percent 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 decision to expand blood screening in the United States was based on concerns about more 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.

Singapore confirms first case of locally transmitted Zika virus

Singapore has confirmed its first case of a locally-transmitted Zika virus, which has been linked to microcephaly, a rare birth defect, in Brazil, the health ministry said. A 47-year-old Malaysian woman working in the city-state was confirmed with the virus, but was "well and recovering." As she had not traveled to Zika-affected areas recently, she was likely to have been infected in Singapore, the ministry said in a statement.

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.

08/27/2016 16:55