Health News Roundup: J&J's experimental dengue pill prevents infection in mice, monkeys; Chinese doctor who blew the whistle on SARS dies at 91 and more

Authorities raised the limit to three in 2021, but even during the stay at home COVID times couples have been reluctant to have babies. China's pig farms battle new surge in African swine fever A surge in African swine fever infections in China is set to reduce hog output later this year, farm managers and analysts said this week, pushing up prices in the world's top pork consumer as demand recovers.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Chile culls 40,000 poultry amid industrial bird flu outbreak

Around 40,000 poultry were culled and buried in central Chile on Wednesday after the country detected its first case of bird flu in an industrial setting. Carlos Orellana, head of livestock protection for Chile's farming and livestock SAG agency, said it was a "limited event" and authorities haven't detected more cases in the surrounding area.

Time and money for love: China brainstorms ways to boost birth rate

Concerned by China's shrinking population, political advisors to the government have come up with more than 20 recommendations to boost birth rates, though experts say the best they can do is to slow the population's decline. China dug itself into a demographic hole largely through its one-child policy imposed between 1980 and 2015. Authorities raised the limit to three in 2021, but even during the stay at home COVID times couples have been reluctant to have babies.

China's pig farms battle new surge in African swine fever

A surge in African swine fever infections in China is set to reduce hog output later this year, farm managers and analysts said this week, pushing up prices in the world's top pork consumer as demand recovers. The incurable disease has plagued China for years, with an initial wave during 2018 and 2019 killing millions of pigs and leading to a dramatic decline in meat output that roiled global markets.

Mozambique records rise in cholera cases, Malawi sees decline - WHO

Mozambique recorded an increase in the number of cholera cases in the last few weeks, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, even as many other African countries reported a decline. The country has received approval for an additional 1.3 million cholera vaccine doses to help control the spread, the agency said, but the shortage of vaccines still remains to be addressed.

J&J's experimental dengue pill prevents infection in mice, monkeys

An experimental pill for dengue developed by Johnson & Johnson proved effective against all four types of the virus in mice and prevented infection from two types in monkeys, according to data published on Wednesday. The promising early animal results appearing in the journal Nature add hope for what could become the first antiviral treatment for a mosquito-borne disease that causes 96 million symptomatic infections and 10,000 deaths each year.

Chinese doctor who blew the whistle on SARS dies at 91

A Chinese military doctor who exposed the full extent of the SARS epidemic when it ripped through Beijing in 2003 has died at the age of 91, according to his friends and local media reports. Jiang Yanyong accused the government of deliberately underreporting the spread of the respiratory disease in an open letter sent to state media in 2003. The disease killed nearly 800 people worldwide.

Judge mulls banning abortion pill in US, questions regulatory approval

A U.S. judge on Wednesday questioned lawyers for President Joe Biden's administration on whether the regulatory approval given to the abortion pill mifepristone 22 years ago was proper as he considered a request by anti-abortion groups to ban sales of the drugs nationwide. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo also pressed the groups, led by Texas-based Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, to explain how he could reverse approval of a long-established drug. The judge raised the possibility of a more limited ruling keeping the drug on the market but reimposing some restrictions lifted by the Biden administration including requiring it to be dispensed in person rather than by mail.

How GSK plans to replenish its depleted medicine cabinet

GSK's chief scientist says an overhaul of the drugmaker's R&D unit has begun delivering results - citing an RSV vaccine and promising hepatitis B and asthma treatments - and pledged a tighter focus than his predecessor on infectious disease and HIV. Tony Wood only took the helm of R&D last August. But in an interview with Reuters he said he had worked closely since 2018 with his predecessor Hal Barron to drive a culture shift that Chief Executive Emma Walmsley had said was needed to improve performance after her appointment in 2017.

Factbox-US government to impose inflation penalties on 27 drugs

The U.S. government said on Wednesday it will subject 27 drugs to inflation penalties, a move that will require the pharmaceutical companies to pay Medicare rebates if they raise prices at a faster pace than the rise in inflation rate. Under the new provisions, the government will start invoicing the companies for the rebates in 2025, but Medicare members will see a reduction in out-of-pocket costs starting April.

US to impose inflation fines on first set of drugs, lowering costs

The U.S. government said on Wednesday it would subject 27 drugs to inflation penalties, a move that will reduce out-of-pocket costs for Medicare recipients by $2 to as much as $390 per average dose. The move comes ahead of a scheduled speech from President Joe Biden in Las Vegas later on Wednesday to highlight his administration's efforts to lower prescription drug prices for most Americans, a key priority for Democrats.