Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Gilead's next step on coronavirus: inhaled remdesivir, other easier-to-use versions

Gilead Sciences Inc is developing easier-to-administer versions of its antiviral treatment remdesivir for COVID-19 that could be used outside of hospitals, including ones that can be inhaled, after trials showed moderate effectiveness for the drug given by infusion. Remdesivir is the only drug so far that has been shown to help patients with COVID-19, but Gilead and other companies are looking for ways to make it work better. Japan allows saliva-based tests to boost coronavirus detection

Japan's government said on Tuesday it has approved saliva-based tests for the new coronavirus, offering a safer, simpler way to diagnose infection than nasal swabs as it looks to boost its testing rates. Currently, nasal swabs are the main source for tests in Japan, but these can expose medical workers to coughs and sneezes at the time of collection, making it necessary for them to wear full protective gear. Proteins in COVID-19 patients' blood could predict severity of illness, study finds

Scientists have found 27 key proteins in the blood of people infected with COVID-19 which they say could act as predictive biomarkers for how ill a patient could become with the disease. In research published in the journal Cell Systems on Tuesday, scientists at Britain's Francis Crick Institute and Germany's Charite Universitaetsmedizin Berlin found the proteins are present in different levels in COVID-19 patients, depending on the severity of their symptoms. UK COVID-19 death toll rises to nearly 50,000, Reuters tally shows

The United Kingdom's COVID-19 death toll neared 50,000 on Tuesday, confirming its place as one of the worst hit countries in the world just as Prime Minister Boris Johnson tries to ease the stringent novel coronavirus outbreak. The toll now stands at 49,646, including death certificate data for England and Wales released on Tuesday up to May 22, previously published figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland, and recent hospital deaths in England. Where U.S. coronavirus cases are on the rise

Several southern U.S. states reported sharp increases in COVID-19 infections, with Alabama, South Carolina and Virginia all seeing new cases rise 35% or more in the week ended May 31 compared with the prior week, according to a Reuters analysis. South Carolina health officials said they expected more increases in the future due to a lack of social distancing and mask wearing at protests triggered by the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minnesota. 'Often mistrusted': UK stats watchdog criticises COVID-19 test data

Britain's statistics watchdog chided the government on Tuesday for publishing data on coronavirus tests that it said were "far from complete and comprehensible". "The aim seems to be to show the largest possible number of tests, even at the expense of understanding," David Norgrove, the head of the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA), wrote in a letter to Health Secretary Matt Hancock. Bristol Myers' treatment succeeds in late-stage bowel disease study

U.S. drugmaker Bristol Myers Squibb Co said on Tuesday its treatment Zeposia, which it gained through its $74 billion buyout of Celgene last year, met the main goals of a late-stage study testing it in patients with an inflammatory bowel disease. Zeposia was approved by U.S. regulators for treating multiple sclerosis patients in March, but the drug became commercially available only on Monday as the COVID-19 pandemic delayed its launch. New virus cluster spurs Hong Kong to extend border curbs and limit on gatherings

Voicing worries over a new cluster of coronavirus cases, Hong Kong decided on Tuesday to keep its borders almost completely closed to foreigners until mid-September, and extended a ban on gatherings larger than eight people by two weeks. Authorities had first announced in March that all arrivals in the Asian financial hub needed to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine period - a measure that has deterred all but a few foreign visitors. COVID cases rising in Russia, Eastern Europe, waning in Western Europe: WHO

New cases of COVID-19 reported daily are steadily declining in Western Europe, but not in hotspots in Russia and Eastern Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. Spokeswoman Margaret Harris told a briefing: "At the moment in Europe, in Western Europe, we are seeing a steady decline. It's not speedy but there's a steady decline in new cases being reported daily, so that means that the number of new cases are still significant but the number is coming down except for Russia and Eastern Europe where we are still seeing the rise." No new COVID sufferers, 300 asymptomatic, after Wuhan-wide tests

The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus outbreak began, has found no new cases of people suffering from COVID-19 after testing almost its entire population, and 300 asymptomatic carriers of the virus, officials said on Tuesday. Authorities launched the vast testing campaign on May 14, and reached 9.9 million out of 11 million people, after a cluster of new cases raised fears of a second wave of infections.