Health News Summary: Swine fever in Europe; Predictability can help toddlers

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

China says battling swine fever is 'complex and challenging'

Battling the spread of African swine fever in China is "very complex and challenging", the country's agriculture ministry said after chairing a meeting of over a dozen major government bodies. The meeting on Thursday came as more than a dozen African swine fever outbreaks have been reported across China since early August, mostly on small farms.

Western Europe on swine fever alert as Belgium sees wild boar cases

Belgium has confirmed an outbreak of African swine fever, marking a further spread of the disease that has hit farms in Eastern Europe and China and which could now threaten Western Europe's large pig industry. Belgium's food safety agency on Thursday said that African swine fever (ASF) had been detected in the Etalle district near the French border, after the death of several wild boars raised suspicions that the virus was present.

Allergan says revenue from aesthetics unit may double by 2025

Allergan Plc said revenue from its medical aesthetics business could double by 2025, even as it faces increasing competition for its blockbuster wrinkle treatment, Botox. The drugmaker announced earlier on Friday the acquisition of Bonti Inc, which makes a shorter-acting neurotoxin than Botox.

Predictability may help toddlers learn new words

(Reuters Health) - Toddlers may have an easier time learning new words when they hear the words in the context of predictable events, a small experiment suggests. "We know that young children in general are very good at forming expectations about what's going to happen next, and they readily detect when something new or surprising happens," said study co-author Viridiana Benitez, a psychology researcher at Arizona State University in Tempe.

Australia to start powerful public inquiry into aged-care sector

Australia will begin a public inquiry, or Royal Commission, into the country's aged-care sector as a spike in cases of elderly abuse creates a "disturbing trend", Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday. The inquiry comes at a time when the number of Australians moving into residential care is set to jump, with the population aged 65 years and above, according to official data, forecast to more than double to 8.9 million by 2055.

U.S. health secretary backs proposed FDA crackdown on e-cigarettes: CNBC

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told CNBC on Friday he was "completely in support" of the Food and Drug Administration's proposed crackdown on e-cigarettes. "We are not going to permit e-cigarettes to become a pathway to nicotine dependency" or the use of combustible tobacco, Azar said in an interview with CNBC.

Recharge your brain at work with exercise that doesn't require much thinking

A good way to recharge your brain at work might be with a short bout of exercise that doesn't require much concentration, according to a small study from Japan. "The present study suggests that simple exercise is better than cognitively demanding exercise during working hours," lead author Keita Kamijo, an assistant professor on the faculty of sports sciences, Waseda University, Tokyo, told Reuters Health by email.

U.S. regulator approves Teva migraine drug, shares rise

Shares of Israeli drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries rose over 5 percent in after-hours trading on Friday after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the company's new migraine treatment, a drug Teva has been banking on to help revive its fortunes. The wholesale price of the drug, Ajovy, is $575 a month, the same as Aimovig, a similar monthly injection sold by Amgen Inc and Novartis AG that has been available in the United States since May.

Even low levels of traffic pollution tied to heart damage

People exposed to even low levels of air pollution are more likely to develop structural changes in the heart that can be a precursor to heart failure, a UK study suggests. While exposure to air pollution has long been linked to an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, less is known about how pollutants might alter the structure and function of the heart, the study team writes in Circulation.