Congo confirms near-record number of new Ebola cases

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Congo confirms near-record number of new Ebola cases on Wednesday

Thirteen new cases of Ebola were confirmed on Wednesday in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo - one of the highest daily counts since the start of the outbreak in July, the health ministry said. "It's pretty exceptional," health ministry spokeswoman Jessica Ilunga said, commenting on the data published in its daily bulletin on the epidemic.

Two studies find probiotic therapy ineffective against stomach flu, diarrhea

A widely-used probiotic therapy is ineffective against diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain of gastroenteritis, two large studies in the U.S. and Canada have concluded. Five days of treatment with a key ingredient in many products, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, was no better at stopping symptoms than placebo among children ages 3 months to 4 years.

U.S. appeals court declines J&J bid to stop generic Zytiga sales

A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday declined a request by Johnson & Johnson for a temporary restraining order blocking sales of generic versions of its blockbuster prostate cancer drug Zytiga from hitting the U.S. market. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said it would not block Mylan NV and other companies from selling copycat versions of Zytiga while J&J seeks emergency relief at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Confusion about health insurance plans may lead to avoiding care

People who don't understand how their health insurance works or how to estimate out-of-pocket costs are more likely to avoid needed care than those with a firm grasp of what services should cost, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers surveyed 506 insured adults to determine their "health insurance literacy," or how much they know about which preventive services – such as vaccinations and cancer screenings - should be provided at no cost and which come with out-of-pocket fees like co-payments and deductibles.

Romaine is on the menu at some New York delis despite E.coli warning

Romaine lettuce still had a place at the salad bars of some cafes and delicatessens in New York City on Wednesday despite a blanket warning to Americans from U.S. public health officials that none of the lettuce was safe to eat because it might be contaminated by E.coli. The warning, precipitated by an E.coli outbreak in 11 states and Canada, was issued on Tuesday. Some shops said that romaine was still being sold because officials had not specified the source of potentially contaminated romaine, such as a farm or company.

CDC says U.S. abortion rate plunged in decade ending 2015

A U.S. government agency said on Wednesday that abortion rates among American women of all ages fell to a decade low in 2015, which both opponents and supporters of abortion rights attributed in part to individual states' efforts to restrict women's access to the procedure. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that statistics for 2015, the most recent year for which data is available, show the abortion rate was 11.8 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44. That is down 26 percent from 2006, when the study began and the rate was 15.9 abortions per 1,000 women.

Judge strikes down Mississippi ban on abortions after 15 weeks

A U.S. federal judge on Tuesday struck down a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks, ruling that it "unequivocally" violates women's constitutional rights. The law, considered one of the most restrictive in the country, was passed in March. It had already been put on hold by U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves after the state's lone abortion clinic, Jackson Women's Health Organization, immediately sued.

FDA approves new blood cancer treatment from Pfizer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved Pfizer Inc's drug to treat a form of blood cancer in newly diagnosed patients as a combination therapy. Pfizer plans to launch the drug, Daurismo, in the United States by early December with a monthly list price of $16,925, a Pfizer spokeswoman told Reuters.

EU court stands by ban on Swedish tobacco product 'snus'

The European Union's top court on Wednesday stood by an EU ban on the sale of snus, a moist snuff tobacco product made by Swedish Match, in line with advice earlier this year. Snus is banned in all EU countries except Sweden, which gained an exemption when joining the bloc in 1995.

Suicide rate rising among U.S. workers

Suicide rates are rising among U.S. workers, and the risk may depend partly on the types of jobs people do, government researchers suggest. From 2000 to 2016, the U.S. suicide rate among adults ages 16 to 64 rose 34 percent, from 12.9 deaths for every 100,000 people in the population to 17.3 per 100,000, according to the study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).