Health News Roundup: Fish oil cuts heart attack risk; African swine fever; antibiotics consumption


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 13-11-2018 15:19 IST | Created: 13-11-2018 10:27 IST
Health News Roundup: Fish oil cuts heart attack risk; African swine fever; antibiotics consumption

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Docs should screen kids' daily physical activity as a 'vital sign' for health

More than half of U.S. children may not be getting the recommended amount of physical activity and doctors can help by making exercise one of the "vital signs" assessed in routine health checks, researchers say. "We need to start asking children and their parents questions about physical activity on a routine basis. Exercise guidelines for families should be specific, and education about what counts as 'moderate to vigorous physical activity' should be included," said the lead author of a study presented November 3 at the American Academy of Pediatrics annual conference in Orlando, Florida.

Nestle raises stake in food allergy drug developer Aimmune

The health science arm of Nestle SA will pay $98 million to raise its stake in Aimmune Therapeutics Inc, the drug developer said, as it prepares to submit a marketing application for its peanut allergy drug by the end of the year. The deal raises Nestle's stake to about 19 percent from 14.5 percent as of Feb. 26 and its total investment in Aimmune to $273 million.

Helicopter emergency medical services uneven across Europe

The availability of helicopter ambulance service varies widely across different European countries, a recent study suggests. This inconsistency could lead to greater inequity in access to healthcare, the authors write in the Emergency Medicine Journal.

Concussions in World Cup soccer often missed or ignored

Concussions are still often missed or ignored in World Cup soccer games despite rule changes designed to sideline players with head injuries, a new study suggests. After reviewing videos from this year's World Cup games, researchers concluded that more than 63 percent of players who showed two or more concussion symptoms did not get evaluated by a licensed healthcare professional - which was slightly more than in the 2014 tournament - according to the results in JAMA Neurology.

China confirms African swine fever outbreak in Hubei province

China's agricultural ministry said on Tuesday it had confirmed an outbreak of African swine fever in central Hubei province. The disease was found to have killed six of a combined 147 pigs on two neighboring farms in Wuxue city, the ministry said.

Fish oil cuts heart attack risk, vitamin D lowers odds of cancer death

A large U.S. study designed to gauge the health benefits of vitamin D and fish oil supplements concludes that the omega-3 oil can dramatically reduce the odds of a heart attack while vitamin D's benefits seem to come from lowering the risk of death from cancer. Neither vitamin D nor fish oil lowered the odds of stroke or of getting cancer in the first place in the trial, whose participants did not know whether they were taking the real supplements or a dummy pill.

China proposes new laws on vaccine management

China has proposed new draft laws on vaccine management which seek to tighten the supervision and management of how vaccines enter the country's market and will also require stricter management of their production, research and distribution. The State Administration for Market Regulation, which published the draft laws on its website late on Sunday, is soliciting public views up to Nov. 25.

WHO uncovers big national variations in antibiotics consumption

Antibiotics are used far more in some countries than in others, a survey by the World Health Organization showed on Monday, suggesting that urgent action was needed to slash unnecessary consumption of the medicines. The "WHO Report on Surveillance of Antibiotic Consumption" looked at antibiotic use in 65 countries and found the Netherlands used 9.78 defined daily doses (DDD) per 1,000 people, while Britain used twice as much and Turkey almost twice as much again, at 38.18 DDD per 1,000 inhabitants.

(With inputs from Reuters)

(With inputs from agencies.)

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