Health News Roundup: Measles cases rise globally; Ebola outbreak in E. Congo now world's 2nd biggest; U.S. lawsuit puts cannabis claims to the test

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

CVS to pilot stores with additional floor space for health

CVS Health Corp plans to roll out a handful of pilot stores early next year that will devote more floor space to healthcare services such as nutrition and exercise counseling as well as blood draws, Chief Executive Officer Larry Merlo said on Thursday. Merlo, speaking at the Forbes Healthcare conference, said that in the pilot stores the company will dedicate 20 percent or more of the floor space currently occupied by "front of the store" health and beauty items to the healthcare services.

Genome editing summit organizers condemn Chinese scientist's gene-editing baby claims

The organizers of a conference where a Chinese scientist claimed to have edited the genes of twin babies condemned the work on Thursday, calling it "deeply disturbing" and "irresponsible". "Even if the modifications are verified, the procedure was irresponsible and failed to conform with international norms," the organizing committee of the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing, being held in Hong Kong this week, said in a statement released by email and posted online.

'Echo chamber' surrounds parental decisions about childhood flu vaccine

Although the annual flu vaccine is recommended for all children older than 6 months, about a third of parents say their child won't receive one this year, according to a new U.S. poll. Parents seem to make decisions in an "echo chamber" of information that reinforces their beliefs about flu vaccines, the co-directors of the National Poll on Children's Health write in the report on their latest survey.

Elective cesareans tied to higher risk of overweight babies

Pregnant women who opt for surgical cesarean deliveries may be more likely than those who have vaginal deliveries to have a child that is overweight by its first birthday, a small study suggests. For the analysis, researchers examined data on 727 infants born at two major hospitals in Singapore. Overall, 222 deliveries were surgical, and 74 of these procedures were elective - not done because of medical issues with the mother or baby. The rest were emergency surgeries.

FDA warns e-cigarette liquid maker against products resembling food for kids

The U.S. health regulator on Thursday warned a California-based manufacturer and retailer against advertising its e-cigarette liquids with nicotine in a way that may cause the products to resemble kid-friendly food like juice boxes and cookies. The Food and Drug Administration's warning letter to privately held Electric Lotus LLC is part of its drive to limit the use of tobacco products among youth.

With back pain, depression tied to higher healthcare spending

When patients with painful back problems are also depressed, they have significantly higher healthcare costs than back-pain patients without depression, a U.S. study suggests. Getting treatment for both depression and back pain may reduce pain episodes and the economic burden, the study authors write in the journal Pain Medicine.

Measles cases rise in Europe, Latin America: WHO report

Measles is on the rise around the world and especially in Europe and Latin America, in part because parents shun vaccines, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday. Some 173,000 measles cases were officially reported worldwide in 2017, a jump of more than 30 percent from the previous year, the WHO said in a report. The true number of cases is estimated at 6.7 million last year, it said.

Ebola outbreak in east Congo now world's second biggest

The Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo is now the second biggest in history, with 426 confirmed and probable cases, the health ministry said late on Thursday. The epidemic in a volatile part of Democratic Republic of Congo is now only surpassed by the 2013-2016 outbreak in West Africa, where more than 28,000 cases where confirmed, and is bigger than an outbreak in 2000 in Uganda involving 425 cases.

Many incidental findings spotted on MRIs, few turn out to be cancer

Many people who get magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) for a variety of common health problems may get an unexpected cancer scare that turns out to be a false alarm, a research review suggests. Researchers focused on what they called "potentially serious incidental findings," that is, accidentally discovered abnormalities that aren't related to the symptoms that led a doctor to order the test and that may be serious. For example, a chest X-ray to look for pneumonia reveals an unexpected spot on the lung that may or may not be cancer.

Patents on pot? U.S. lawsuit puts cannabis claims to the test

In October, the U.S. government issued Axim Biotechnologies Inc a patent for a cannabis-based suppository to treat irritable bowel syndrome. Britain's GW Pharmaceuticals Plc , which recently brought to market a drug derived from marijuana for epilepsy, is now seeking patent protection for another one to treat eczema.

(With inputs from Reuters)

(With inputs from agencies.)