Health News Roundup: Japan detects season's first bird flu case, to cull 40,000 birds; Zimbabwe restricts gatherings, food vending as cholera cases spike and more

The local government in Saga prefecture will cull about 40,000 birds on the farm, NHK said, citing agriculture ministry officials it did not name. Zimbabwe restricts gatherings, food vending as cholera cases spike Zimbabwe's government has started restricting public gatherings and food vending, while monitoring burials in all areas affected by cholera, after cases of the disease spiked this week.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

China ministry seeks more fever clinics to combat respiratory illness surge

China's health ministry on Sunday urged local authorities to increase the number of fever clinics as the country grapples with a surge in respiratory illnesses in its first full winter since easing COVID-19 restrictions. The spike become a global issue last week when the World Health Organization asked China for more information, citing a report on clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children by the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases.

Japan detects season's first bird flu case, to cull 40,000 birds - NHK

Japan detected the first case of highly pathogenic H5-type bird flu this season at a poultry farm in the south of the country, public broadcaster NHK reported on Saturday. The local government in Saga prefecture will cull about 40,000 birds on the farm, NHK said, citing agriculture ministry officials it did not name.

Zimbabwe restricts gatherings, food vending as cholera cases spike

Zimbabwe's government has started restricting public gatherings and food vending, while monitoring burials in all areas affected by cholera, after cases of the disease spiked this week. New cholera cases in the southern African country trebled from 437 to 1,259 this week, the biggest jump since the latest outbreak of the water-borne disease started in February. This has triggered panic in Zimbabwe, where more than 4,000 people died from cholera in 2008.

(With inputs from agencies.)