Health News Roundup: Mad cow disease, African swine fever, bird flu outbreak

The United States suspended imports of pork from Poland on Thursday over an outbreak of the highly contagious hog disease African swine fever in that country.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Long-term safety of silicone breast implants still unclear

Women with silicone breast implants may have a higher risk of certain medical problems than women who don't get implants, but more research is needed to get a complete picture of implant safety over the long term, a new U.S. study suggests. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned silicone breast implants in 1992 over concerns about an increased risk of cancer, connective tissue diseases and autoimmune disorders that were disproved by subsequent research. As a condition of approving a new generation of silicone implants in 2006, the FDA required manufacturers to gather long-term safety information.

FDA snubs Novartis bid to repurpose inflammation drug for heart attacks

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has rejected Novartis's bid to repurpose a drug now approved for rare inflammatory diseases to be used in a group of heart attack survivors, the Swiss drugmaker said on Thursday. The company received an FDA letter turning down its bid to make canakinumab a targeted therapy for those cardiovascular patients who in tests had quickly responded to treatment, as levels of a protein in their blood associated with inflammation and heart disease quickly plunged.

French foie gras makers say they are ready if bird flu returns

French foie gras makers, still recovering from two severe bird flu crises that ravaged flocks, said on Thursday they would be able to face any new outbreak thanks to strict security measures but prices will remain high to make up for increased costs. France, which has one of the largest poultry flocks in the European Union, is one of the countries that was most affected by the H5N8 bird flu virus that spread through wild birds across the continent last year.

Bulgaria reports bird flu outbreak on two farms in south

Bird flu has broken out on a duck farm and a poultry farm in southern Bulgaria, the country's food safety agency said on Thursday. All ducks and chickens at the farms in the village of Voivodovo will be culled, the agency said, without identifying the strain of the virus.

AbbVie settles Humira biosimilar dispute with Fresenius Kabi

U.S. drugmaker AbbVie Inc said on Thursday it has settled a patent dispute regarding its Humira biosimilar with Fresenius Kabi Oncology Ltd and will grant the Germany-based company non-exclusive marketing rights for the drug. In the European Union, Fresenius Kabi can launch its biosimilar upon approval from the European Medicines Agency, while the license period in the United States will begin on Sept. 30, 2023, AbbVie said.

U.S. blocks pork from Poland over African swine fever

The United States suspended imports of pork from Poland on Thursday over an outbreak of the highly contagious hog disease African swine fever in that country. African swine fever has spread rapidly in eastern Europe and China, the world's largest pork producer, where new cases are appearing and the disease is travelling far distances.

Scottish government identifies case of mad cow disease

Scotland's government said on Thursday that a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, had been discovered on a farm in Aberdeenshire, the first in Britain since 2015. A quarantine area has been put in place around the farm while inspectors try to identify the origin of the disease.

Merck, Pfizer combo treatment meets main goals of kidney cancer trial

Merck & Co said on Thursday a combination treatment of its cancer drug Keytruda and Pfizer Inc's Inlyta met the main goals of a late-stage study in patients with the most common form of kidney cancer. The combination resulted in statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in overall survival of the patients and helped patients survive without cancer worsening when compared to Pfizer's kidney cancer drug, Sutent.

Fitness trackers' accuracy varies widely for calories burned

Even though many people swear by fitness trackers to help lose weight and stay in shape, a review of existing research confirms that many of these gadgets are not very good at measuring how much energy we burn. For the analysis, researchers examined data from 60 previously published studies that tested the accuracy of energy expenditure measurements for 40 different devices worn on the arm or wrist. Accuracy varied widely, but it was a bit better when devices factored in other measurements like heart rate to calculate calories burned.

Older vets often leave hospital on increased dose of blood pressure pills

Doctors may be overtreating high blood pressure in U.S. Veterans Administration hospitals, a new study suggests. One in seven older veterans with hypertension are sent home from hospitals with increased doses of blood pressure medication even though half of those given more medication had well-controlled blood pressure before hospital admission, researchers found.

(With inputs from Reuters)