Health News Summary: Cholera emergency in Zimbabwe; Acorda patents on MS drug

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Zimbabwe declares cholera emergency in capital after death toll rises to 20

Zimbabwe declared a cholera outbreak in the capital Harare after 20 died from the disease and more than 2,000 people were infected after drinking contaminated water, new Health Minister Obadiah Moyo said on Tuesday. Harare city council has struggled to supply water to some suburbs for more than a decade, forcing residents to rely on water from open wells and community boreholes.

Orexo soars after winning opioid drug appeal against Teva

A U.S. appeals court on Monday revived Swedish pharmaceutical company Orexo AB's lawsuit accusing a unit of Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd of infringing a patent for its opioid addiction drug Zubsolv. Shares of Orexo closed 30.9 percent higher in Stockholm after the decision by the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., which handles intellectual property cases.

Traditional gender roles don't keep men from becoming caregivers

Elderly husbands may devote just as much effort to caring for a sick spouse as their wives might do if the situation were reversed, a German study suggests. Plenty of research on gender roles among older couples has found women do the bulk of housework even if both spouses have similar amounts of time available for domestic chores, the study team notes. Less clear, however, is whether men take on more caregiving or housework when women get sick.

U.S. appeals court says Missouri can enforce abortion laws

A federal appeals court on Monday cleared the way for Missouri to enforce state laws requiring doctors who perform abortions to be affiliated with hospitals and abortion clinics to be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis overturned a 2017 ruling that blocked enforcement of those laws and opened the door for more abortion providers to operate in the state, which at the time had only one.

U.S. appeals court invalidates Acorda patents on MS drug

A U.S. appeals court on Monday invalidated Acorda Therapeutics Inc patents covering its multiple sclerosis drug Ampyra, opening the door to generic competition for the company's flagship product. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a lower court ruling that four Acorda patents on Ampyra were invalid because they described obvious ideas.

Meat tracking key to fight African swine fever: OIE

Tracking meat and meat products from pigs infected with African swine fever is key to fight the spread of the highly viral disease as it can survive in processed food, the Deputy head of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Monday. African swine fever (ASF) has spread rapidly in eastern Europe and China, the world's largest pork producer, where new cases are appearing every day and the disease is traveling vast distances.

NZ's Fisher & Paykel Healthcare files complaint in the U.S. against Resmed

Medical device maker Fisher & Paykel Healthcare said on Tuesday it had filed a patent infringement complaint against California-based Resmed, alleging it infringed five of its patents related to sleep apnea devices. The company said in a statement that it sought an exclusion order from the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to prevent the importation and sale of Resmed's AirFit P10 range of nasal pillows masks in the United States.

Ebola fight has new science but faces old hurdles in restive Congo

When Esperance Nzavaki heard she was cured of Ebola after three weeks of cutting-edge care at a medical center in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, she raised her arms to the sky with joy and praised the Lord. Her recovery is testament to the effectiveness of a new treatment, which isolates patients in futuristic cube-shaped mobile units with transparent walls and gloved access, so health workers no longer need to don cumbersome protective gear.

China detects new African swine fever case in Anhui province

China on Monday reported another outbreak of the deadly African swine fever in the eastern province of Anhui as the highly contagious disease spreads further in cities that have already reported infections. China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said in a statement on its website http://www.moa.gov.cn that 23 hogs have died and 63 were infected in the new case in Tongling city in Anhui.

Chronic pain may contribute to suicide, study warns

Nearly one in 10 suicide deaths in the U.S. occurs in people with chronic pain, a new study indicates. The finding suggests chronic pain may be a risk factor for suicide, the study authors say.