Health News Roundup: Shanghai Disney visitors told to stay home after COVID case, Foxconn ups bonuses; Indonesia revokes firms' fever syrup licences amid inquiry into 150 deaths and more

In the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, meanwhile, Apple iPhone manufacturer Foxconn announced a big increase in bonuses to stem an exodus of workers rattled by coronavirus curbs at its vast facility there, as China's strict zero-COVID policy exacts a rising toll on the world's No.2 economy. Indonesia revokes firms' fever syrup licences amid inquiry into 150 deaths Indonesia's food and drug agency said on Monday it had revoked licences for syrup-type drug production by two local firms for violating manufacturing rules, as it investigates the deaths of more than 150 children due to acute kidney injury (AKI).

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Shanghai Disney visitors told to stay home after COVID case, Foxconn ups bonuses

Several Shanghai residents received fresh stay-at-home orders and mandatory testing notices on Tuesday as authorities raced to trace contacts linked to a COVID-positive woman whose visit to the city's Disney Resort prompted its temporary lockdown. In the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, meanwhile, Apple iPhone manufacturer Foxconn announced a big increase in bonuses to stem an exodus of workers rattled by coronavirus curbs at its vast facility there, as China's strict zero-COVID policy exacts a rising toll on the world's No.2 economy.

Indonesia revokes firms' fever syrup licences amid inquiry into 150 deaths

Indonesia's food and drug agency said on Monday it had revoked licences for syrup-type drug production by two local firms for violating manufacturing rules, as it investigates the deaths of more than 150 children due to acute kidney injury (AKI). The decision by the BPOM agency came after Indonesia temporarily banned sales of some syrup-based medications and identified the presence in some products of ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol as possible factors in the AKI deaths, most of which were of children under five.

Italy delays EU-required justice reform, scraps vaccine mandate for medics

Italy's new government on Monday delayed the application of a justice reform required to obtain European post-pandemic funds and scrapped a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health workers. Both moves mark discontinuity from the previous administration of Mario Draghi, who imposed tough COVID curbs and pushed through the contested justice reform aimed at speeding up Italy's slow judicial proceedings.

Battling cholera, Lebanon gets first vaccines, and sharp words, from France

Lebanon took delivery on Monday of its first vaccines to combat a worsening cholera outbreak - together with sharply worded criticism of the crisis-hit country's crumbling public health infrastructure from donor nation France. By Sunday, cases of cholera - a disease typically spread through contaminated water, food or sewage - stood at 1,447, with 17 deaths, since the first were recorded in the country a month ago, the health ministry said.

In Africa's monkeypox outbreak, sickness and death go undetected

At a village clinic in central Congo, separated from the world by a tangle of waterways and forests, six-year-old Angelika Lifafu grips her dress and screams as nurses in protective suits pick at one of the hundreds of boils that trouble her delicate skin. Her uncle, 12-year-old Lisungi Lifafu, sits at the foot of her bed, facing away from the sunlight that pours through the doorway and pains his swollen, weeping eyes. When nurses approach, he raises his chin, but cannot look up.

China bars GSK from bulk-buy drug program for 18 months

China has blocked GSK from participating in its bulk-buy drug procurement program focused on off-patent medicines from Oct. 31 until April 29, 2024, over quality problems with a prostate drug, the British drugmaker said on Monday. First reported by CCTV state television, the ban was imposed by authorities after a batch of GSK's prostate treatment - known chemically as dutasteride and sold under the brand name Avodart - made by a Polish contract manufacturer for GSK failed a recent quality check.

Macau mass tests its population after COVID-19 infections

Macau carried out mass testing of its 700,000 residents on Tuesday after the emergence of COVID-19 cases in the past week, including at a major casino that prompted authorities to seal 1,500 people inside. All residents in the world's biggest gambling hub have been told to take a PCR test on Tuesday and then test themselves daily with rapid antigen tests. The order comes as Typhoon Nalgae approaches southern China with authorities hoping the PCR tests can be completed in one day.

Apple supplier Foxconn quadruples bonuses to staff hit by China COVID lockdown

Apple supplier Foxconn said on Tuesday it has quadrupled bonuses on offer for workers at its Zhengzhou plant in central China as it works to quell employee discontent at the major iPhone manufacturing site over COVID curbs. Daily bonuses for employees, who are part of a Foxconn unit responsible for making electronics including smartphones at the site, have been raised to 400 yuan ($54.72) a day for November from previously announced bonuses of 100 yuan, according to the official WeChat account of Foxconn's Zhengzhou plant.

Gambia says it has not yet confirmed cough syrup as cause of child deaths

Gambia has not yet confirmed that toxic cough syrup was the cause of the deaths of 70 children from acute kidney injury, a representative of the country's Medicines Control Agency said on Monday. The small West African state has been investigating a mysterious slew of child deaths in recent months, which police said in a preliminary investigation was linked to four cough syrups made in India.

U.S. FDA warns of tracheostomy tube shortage

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Monday there was a shortage of tracheostomy tubes, a surgical device that helps patients to breathe, including those manufactured by ICU Medical. The agency said the shortage was due to difficulties in raw material procurement and would most likely impact pediatric patients.