China's Xiamen airlines to stop serving pork on flights due to African swine fever

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Patient satisfaction not influenced by surgery complications

Patients' satisfaction with surgeon care doesn't seem to be tied to whether or not they have complications after a procedure, a small U.S. study suggests. Researchers compared how 529 patients rated their surgeons in satisfaction surveys after their operations and the number and severity of any complications these patients might have experienced.

China's Xiamen airlines to stop serving pork on flights due to African swine fever

China's Xiamen airlines said it would stop serving pork on flights from Nov. 24 due to African swine fever outbreaks, CAAC News, a publication run by China's aviation regulator, reported on Friday. The world's top pig producer has reported more than 70 cases of the deadly disease since early August, including one outbreak found in wild boar.

China worries about hog supply as African swine fever reaches Beijing

China will adjust its rules on controlling the spread of African swine fever to keep pork supplies stable, said an official on Friday, even as the country reported the first cases of the disease to be discovered in its capital. The highly contagious disease was found on two farms in a southwestern district of sprawling Beijing.

Toddlers may sleep better in cribs until age 3

Parents who wait to start the crib-to-bed transition until toddlers are 3 years old may find that both they and their children get better sleep, researchers say. In a survey of parents and caregivers across five countries, those who delayed the transition from crib to bed longer were more likely to report less resistance at bedtime, fewer night awakenings and longer sleep duration for children, the study authors report in the journal Sleep Medicine.

Caffeine in tea, coffee may be equally risky to fetus

Pregnant women who consume caffeine - whether it's from coffee or tea - have smaller babies than those who abstain from the stimulant during pregnancy, new research suggests. Even women who took in less than 200 milligrams of caffeine, the safe cutoff during pregnancy according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), had a significantly increased risk of delivering prematurely or having a low-birthweight baby.

U.S. benefits manager baulks after Novartis values gene therapy at $4-5 million

Just weeks after Novartis floated the idea that $4-5 million was fair value for its new gene therapy against a deadly neuromuscular disease, a major benefits manager is pushing back. The Swiss drugmaker's assessment of AVXS-101's value for treating spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) has put the company front-and-center in the debate over what "super drugs", for rare diseases afflicting relatively few patients, are really worth.

Mother's age at puberty tied to puberty timing for sons and daughters

The age when a girl goes through puberty has long been linked to when her mother started menstruating, and a new study adds to evidence suggesting the same holds true for boys. Researchers surveyed almost 16,000 youth in Denmark about their progression through puberty every six months starting when participants were 11 years old and continuing until they fully matured or reached 18. Researchers also surveyed mothers during pregnancy about their age when they first began menstruation.

China reports H5N6 bird flu outbreak in Jiangsu province

China's agriculture ministry said on Friday it had confirmed an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N6 avian flu in Yangzhou city in eastern Jiangsu province. The case occurred on a farm with 11,810 birds. It did not specify if they were chickens or other types of poultry.

BioMarin sets stage early for hemophilia cure off-Broadway

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc is turning to the theater to establish its name with hemophilia patients, long before its experimental cure for the bleeding disorder could reach the market. Earlier this month, BioMarin hosted 25 teenagers and their chaperones for an all-expenses paid trip to New York City, where they performed a Broadway-style musical based on their own experiences with bleeding disorders. Some came from as far away as Hawaii to work with a professional theater crew, have their headshots taken and meet members of the show Hamilton.

Novartis gets European approval for sight therapy Luxturna

Novartis on Friday said it had received European Union approval for its Luxturna gene therapy to restore sight to people with a rare retinal disease. Luxturna is a one-time treatment for children and adults who have suffered impaired vision from an early age due to mutations in both copies of the RPE65 gene. Such mutations, which can lead to blindness, affect roughly 1 in 200,000 people, according to Novartis.