No more Ebola cases in Mali after patient cured: president

Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (front) checks on measures preventing the spread of Ebola in Kouremale, at Mali's border with Guinea November 17, 2014. DAKAR (Reuters) - Mali has no more confirmed cases of Ebola after the last patient known to be suffering from the virus was cured, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said on Saturday. Mali has registered eight cases of Ebola - seven of them confirmed and one probable...

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Cuban doctor with Ebola 'improving' in Geneva hospital

HAVANA (Reuters) - The Cuban doctor who contracted Ebola while treating patients in Sierra Leone is improving with each day and eating normally, though he is still weak, a Swiss hospital said on Friday. Felix Baez, 43, arrived at University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG) a week ago for treatment of the disease that has killed more than 5,600 people since March, mostly in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.Baez is one of 256 Cuban doctors and nurses sent to West Africa to treat patients, a commitment that has won wide international praise for the poor,...

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Exclusive: U.S. CEOs threaten to pull tacit Obamacare support over 'wellness' spat

Cathey Park of Cambridge, Massachusetts shows her cast signed by U.S. President Barack Obama after he spoke about health insurance at Faneuil Hall in Boston October 30, 2013. NEW YORK (Reuters) - Leading U.S. CEOs, angered by the Obama administration's challenge to certain "workplace wellness" programs, are threatening to side with anti-Obamacare forces unless the government backs off, according to people familiar with...

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Surgeon who died of Ebola eulogized at Maryland service

LANDOVER HILLS, Md. (Reuters) - Martin Salia, a surgeon from Sierra Leone who died in a Nebraska hospital earlier this month after contracting Ebola in his homeland, was remembered as a humanitarian and a hero at his funeral in Maryland on Saturday. The 44-year-old doctor was born and raised in Sierra Leone and lived as a permanent resident of the United States with his wife and two sons in New Carrollton, Maryland, outside of Washington, D.C.He returned to Sierra Leone in August to help treat victims of Ebola, a deadly virus that has killed...

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Breast cancer recurrence risk down since 1980s

The world's largest awareness ribbon made of flowers is seen from above during the UAE leg of the Avon Walk around the world for Breast Cancer Awareness walkathon in Zaabeel park in Dubai, November 16, 2007. (Reuters Health) - Rates of breast cancer recurrence fell by half or more between the 1980s and the early 2000s - likely due to improved treatments and increased screenings, according to a new study from Canada....

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U.S. government says 462,125 people signed up for 2015 Obamacare plans

(Reuters) - Open enrollment for the second year of Obamacare individual health coverage brought in 462,125 people who chose their health plans in its first week, nearly half of whom were first-time customers, the U.S. government said on Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has set a goal of 9 million people for 2015 individual plans. This new coverage was introduced in 2014 for the first time as part of President Barack Obama's national healthcare law, often called Obamacare. After fixing the technology issues that last...

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Cigarette smoking by U.S. adults reaches record low: CDC

A woman smokes a cigarette in this illustration picture taken in Paris, October 8, 2014. ATLANTA (Reuters) - Cigarette smoking among U.S. adults last year touched its lowest on record, a drop spurred by higher prices, smoke-free policies and anti-smoking campaigns, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. About 17.8 percent of American adults smoked cigarettes in 2013, down from 20.9 percent...

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U.S. approves GSK's purchase of Novartis vaccine business: companies

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline won U.S. antitrust approval to buy Novartis AG's vaccine business, with the exception of influenza vaccines, the two companies said on Wednesday. The deal is part of a three-way transaction unveiled in April, which includes Britain's GSK buying the vaccines business of Novartis, the Swiss company purchasing GSK's cancer drugs, and the two groups tying up in consumer healthcare.The U.S. Federal Trade Commission had previously announced on Wednesday that it approved the consumer health care joint venture on...

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Four illnesses you are likely to hear about this summer

Summer is a time for fun in the sun, but those warm, sticky days can also bring an explosion of illnesses. The most common types of illness during summer are often the most unfortunate - gastroenteritis, ear infections, asthma attacks and red rashes to name just a few.     When you’re having loads of fun in the sun and surf, it can be easy to forget the potential ill effects of summer. With that in mind,...

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Banish the Blues Exercise Eat well Sleep Have fun! Talk

By Abi Gold, Family and Parenting Expert, Juggle Family and Parenting Consultancy Practical tips for staying positive from Abi Gold, Family and Parenting Expert at Juggle Family and Parenting Consultancy. We all get a little low sometimes, but that's ok, because life does tend to serve us the occasional curve ball. But we soon buck up, and before we know it, we're back to our old selves again. But what if we can't shake off the...

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Video games and ageing – an unexpected match

There might be a new target market for video games,  and it may not be who you think! Whilst the impact of video games is widely debated, new research has found that video games can help with one of life’s inevitable processes  - the ageing process. For example..   Do you know video games may help rejuvenate ageing brains?   Ageing is a daunting process, not least because some...

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Monitoring the health of transgender and other gender minority populations: Validity of natal sex and gender identity survey items in a U.S. national cohort of young adults

Background A barrier to monitoring the health of gender minority (transgender) populations is the lack of brief, validated tools with which to identify participants in surveillance systems. Methods We used the Growing Up Today Study (GUTS), a prospective cohort study of U.S. young adults (mean age = 20.7 years in 2005), to assess the validity of self-report measures and implement a two-step method to measure gender minority status (step 1: assigned sex at birth, step 2: current gender identity). A mixed-methods study was conducted in 2013....

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'Dramatic improvement' in Ebola outlook in Liberia: U.S. general

A man walks by a mural with health instructions on treating the Ebola virus, in Monrovia, November 18, 2014. DAKAR (Reuters) - A U.S. general in the force helping Liberia fight the Ebola epidemic reported on Monday a dramatic improvement in the situation there and confirmed the cancellation of two planned treatment facilities. Brigadier General Frank Tate, deputy commanding general of U.S. Operation United Assistance,...

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China considers tougher tobacco controls: Xinhua

Girls stand next to a ''No Smoking'' sign at a park downtown Shanghai April 27, 2014. SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China, the world's biggest tobacco market, is considering a draft regulation that would ban indoor smoking, limit outdoor smoking and end tobacco advertising, the state-run Xinhua news agency has reported. The draft, published by the legislative affairs office of the State Council, or cabinet, and open for public...

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Bayer resumes efforts to sell diabetes device unit: sources

The logo of German drugmaker Bayer is seen in Leverkusen April 26, 2014. FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German drugmaker Bayer AG is considering a fresh attempt to sell its diabetes device business as it sharpens its focus on margin-rich healthcare sectors, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. Bayer is overhauling its structure with plans to list its plastics business on the stock market to free up money...

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Draft U.S. legislation would curb FDA medical software oversight

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A draft U.S. bill is circulating in Washington D.C. that would curb the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's regulatory oversight over electronic medical records and some clinical support software, according to a copy of the legislation seen by Reuters. The Medical Electronic Data Technology Enhancement for Consumers’ Health Act or Medtech Act would limit the FDA's jurisdiction over medical technology that it classifies as posing low risks to patient safety. It builds on previous efforts in the U.S. Senate and House...

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Mali confirms eighth Ebola case, monitoring 271 people

Children watch as health workers spray disinfectants at a mosque in Bamako November 14, 2014. BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali said on Monday that another person had tested positive for the Ebola virus, bringing the total number of cases in the West African nation to eight. Mali is the sixth West African country to be hit by the worst outbreak on record of deadly haemorrhagic fever that has killed some 5,459 since the first case...

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Top Heart Rate Monitors for iPhone

iPhone is unlike any other smart phone. Not only it lets you make phone calls and have a lot of fun with the apps available on iTunes, you can also use it to become more healthy and even lose weight. There are lots of cool applications to choose from in the health and fitness categories. Take heart rate monitors. You can not only track/monitor your heart rate with these apps but also how much you are burning on an everyday basis. A great way to get...

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Top Heart Rate Monitors for iPhone

iPhone is unlike any other smart phone. Not only it lets you make phone calls and have a lot of fun with the apps available on iTunes, you can also use it to become more healthy and even lose weight. There are lots of cool applications to choose from in the health and fitness categories. Take heart rate monitors. You can not only track/monitor your heart rate with these apps but also how much you are burning on an everyday basis. A great way to get...

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Saudi Arabia tackles MERS virus, still hunting source

LONDON, (Reuters) - (This story corrects to make clear that the finding that 97 percent of cases were hospital-acquired was from a study of an outbreak in Jeddah, paragraph 10) Saudi Arabia has not yet traced the source of a mysterious camel virus, leaving many questions about a disease that has killed 346 people in the Kingdom.The lack of scientific evidence about how camels contract the virus, which causes an often fatal illness called Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in people, echoes wider concerns about the threat posed to human health...

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Mali records new Ebola case, linked to dead nurse

Children watch as a health worker sprays disinfectants outside a mosque in Bamako November 14, 2014. BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali has recorded a new case of Ebola in the capital Bamako after the friend of a nurse who died of the hemorrhagic fever earlier this month tested positive for the disease, health and medical officials said on Saturday. The nurse contracted the disease after treating an imam from neighboring Guinea,...

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Predictors of onset of cannabis and other drug use in male young adults: results from a longitudinal study

Background The use of cannabis and other illegal drugs is particularly prevalent in male young adults and is associated with severe health problems. This longitudinal study explored variables associated with the onset of cannabis use and the onset of illegal drug use other than cannabis separately in male young adults, including demographics, religion and religiosity, health, social context, substance use, and personality. Furthermore, we explored how far the gateway hypothesis and the common liability to addiction model are in line with the...

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Association between physical and mental health-related quality of life and adverse outcomes; a retrospective cohort study of 5,272 Scottish adults

Background Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is associated with adverse outcomes in disease-specific populations. This study examines whether it is also independent predictor of incident cancer, coronary heart disease (CHD) and mortality in the general population. Methods The records of adult participants in the Scottish Health Survey 2003 were linked with hospital admissions, cancer registrations and death certificates. Cox proportional hazard models were used to explore the associations between quintiles of physical and mental component...

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The Origin of the Baby New Year

Every year it's the same thing. Some diapered little baby is paraded around wearing a sash with the new year written on it. Who hasn't been to a New Year's Party that ended that way, huh? Okay, me neither. But the Baby New Year is still an iconic image that even popped up in a really bad sequel to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Baby. Usually in concert with the Baby New Year there is also a wizened old man with a ZZ Top beard. But this article isn't...

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With gene mutations, second breast cancer risk rises over time

(Reuters Health) – Women who are genetically susceptible to breast cancer and develop it in one breast are at higher than average risk for a tumor in the other breast, and that risk may increase as time goes on, according to a new analysis. Mutations in the BRCA 1 or 2 genes increase the risk for several types of cancer and account for 5 percent to 10 percent of breast cancers, according to the National Cancer Institute.Researchers from Spain reviewed 20 studies of the risk of cancer in the second breast of BRCA 1 and 2 carriers.For breast cancer...

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Appeals court order keeps Mississippi's sole abortion clinic open

JACKSON Miss. (Reuters) - Mississippi's sole abortion clinic will remain open after a federal appeals court refused on Thursday to reconsider its decision to block a state law that would have closed it. The law, passed in 2012, required doctors at the clinic to have admitting privileges at local hospitals, a standard they could not meet.A three-member panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in July upheld a lower court ruling blocking the law as a legal challenge continues. On Thursday, the appeals court denied Mississippi's request for...

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'Kissing disease' outbreak closes Oklahoma school district

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - A small Oklahoma school district has ordered all of its students to stay away from classes until December due to an outbreak of mononucleosis, officials said on Thursday. Woodland Public Schools in Fairfax, about 100 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, said it made the decision so as not to put the nearly 200 students in the district at risk of the contagious disease."The closure is due to a high infection frequency of mononucleosis in our community," the school board said.During the closure, all school buildings will...

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Bird flu outbreak hits second Dutch farm, exports to remain frozen

Police tape and warning signs are seen outside a duck farm in Nafferton, northern England November 17, 2014. AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A second Dutch farm was hit by an outbreak of bird flu, the government said on Thursday, prompting the destruction of 43,000 chickens and prolonging restrictions on trade in the world's leading egg-exporting country. A three-day, nationwide ban on the transportation of all poultry, eggs and...

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