Low-quality drugs, Swine fever, Brazil prosecutors: Health round-up

About one in eight essential medicines in low- and middle-income countries may be fake or contain dangerous mixes of ingredients that put patients' lives at risk, a research review suggests.

Fake, low-quality drugs come at a high cost

About one in eight essential medicines in low- and middle-income countries may be fake or contain dangerous mixes of ingredients that put patients' lives at risk, a research review suggests. Researchers examined data from more 350 previous studies that tested more 400,000 drug samples in low- and middle-income countries. Overall, roughly 14 percent of medicines were counterfeit, expired or otherwise low quality and unlikely to be as safe or effective as patients might expect.

Exclusive: Brazil prosecutors hope to strike deal lifting glyphosate injunction

Brazil federal prosecutors are negotiating with health authority Anvisa and the agriculture ministry to reach a deal that could lift an injunction against the popular weed-killer glyphosate, a prosecutor on the case told Reuters on Friday. Prosecutors have requested a meeting next week to discuss a deal just as a ban on glyphosate products already on the market is expected to go into effect on Monday, Brasilia-based prosecutor Luciana Loureira Oliveira said by telephone.

China says has culled over 38,000 hogs due to African swine fever

China culled more than 38,000 hogs as of Sept. 1 due to African swine fever outbreaks, the agriculture ministry said on Sunday. China, where pork is a staple meat, has reported five swine fever cases in five different provinces in a month, prompting authorities to cull hogs to contain the outbreak.

China confirms sixth African swine fever outbreak in the country

China's Ministry of Agriculture said on Sunday that 134 hogs had died from African swine fever in Xuancheng city of eastern Anhui province, bringing the total number of outbreaks in China over the past month to six. Xuancheng city is around 70 km (45 miles) southeast of Wuhu city, where another African swine fever case in Anhui was reported last week.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)