Reuters Health News Summary

09/01/2016 16:56

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Singapore Zika outbreak a concern for Formula One

Outbreaks of the mosquito-borne Zika virus in Singapore and Malaysia have barely registered with Formula One drivers due to race there this month but there is some concern behind the scenes. Five of the last eight rounds of the championship are in regions where Zika has been reported -- Singapore and Malaysia before Texas and Mexico in October and Brazil in November.

Florida finds first local mosquitoes with Zika virus

Florida officials on Thursday said they have trapped the first mosquitoes that tested positive for the Zika virus in the Miami area, further confirming reports of local U.S. transmission of the illness that can cause severe birth defects. Three mosquito samples tested positive from a small area in Miami Beach where increased trapping and intensified mosquito control measures are being implemented, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said.

Proton therapy demand wave drives expansion of Belgium's IBA

When Yves Jongen stood at the controls of his proton therapy machine fifteen years ago to treat a cancer patient for the first time he was petrified. Now Jongen's company IBA is hiring 400 engineers to cope with demand for the technology, increasing its workforce by a third, and expanding its production capacity to make up to 30 machines a year, from a maximum of eight now.

Cancer surgeons hesitant to tell patients the odds of a cure

When surgeons sit down with cancer patients before operations to talk through how procedures work and what they may accomplish, the conversation rarely includes mention of the possibility of a cure, a small study suggests. "There are many reasons why physicians find it so difficult to discuss cure," said study co-author Dr. Timothy Pawlik, a cancer researcher at Ohio State University in Columbus who did this work while he was at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Hurricane Hermine will complicate Florida's Zika fight: experts

Hurricane Hermine, set to cause flooding and damage when it hits Florida overnight, will make it harder for the state to fight Zika, a mosquito-borne virus shown to cause birth defects, experts in infectious diseases and mosquitoes said on Thursday. Forecasters are warning of potentially life-threatening storm surges and as much as 20 inches of rain. Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in most of Florida's 67 counties ahead of the first hurricane to strike the state in more than a decade.

Expectations may influence side effects of breast cancer hormone therapy

Side effects from taking tamoxifen for breast cancer may be worse if a patient expects they will be bad before therapy even begins, according to a study from Germany. Over a two-year period, women who expected more serious side effects before treatment started experienced almost twice as many symptoms as women who thought the therapy wouldn't be too terrible.

Singapore Zika cases top 150; China steps up arrivals checks

China intensified its checks on people and goods arriving from Singapore on Thursday, as an outbreak of the Zika virus in the small city-state was confirmed to have spread to at least one person in neighboring Malaysia. Authorities in Singapore, a leading regional financial center and busy transit hub for people and cargo, said they had detected 151 people with the Zika virus, including a second pregnant woman, as of midday Thursday. The first locally-transmitted Zika infection was reported on Saturday.

Takeda joins effort to develop Zika vaccine with U.S. funding

Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co on Thursday said it is developing a vaccine to prevent the Zika virus, which has been linked to severe birth defects, and has secured funding from a U.S. government agency. Takeda, which is also working on vaccines for other mosquito-borne viruses such as dengue, said it would initially receive nearly $20 million over the next 18 months to fund pre-clinical research and manufacturing in preparation for early human trials.

Roche's new-drug strategy buoyed by lung-cancer study

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG, seeking to expand uses for its drug Tecentriq beyond bladder cancer, said on Thursday a study had shown the new immunotherapy helped people with lung cancer live longer than with chemotherapy. The world's biggest maker of cancer drugs is seeking U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of Tecentriq for advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer as early as October. It won the regulator's blessing in May for its use in bladder cancer.

Study leads to insulin injection recommendations

Many people who inject themselves with insulin to control diabetes are improperly performing this vital task, according to a large new study. Based on the results, experts have crafted recommendations for people who use insulin that touch on everything from what type of needle to use to where the shot should be administered.

09/01/2016 16:56