Health News Roundup: Dengue fever numbers soar; homemade sunscreens might get you burned

Until broadband access improves, telemedicine won't help rural communities

Telemedicine has been touted as a solution to the dearth of doctors in rural America. But the same places where residents must drive many miles to see a physician often also have limited broadband access, a new study suggests. About 25 per cent of Americans live in rural communities while a mere 10 per cent of physicians practice there, said the study's lead author, Coleman Drake, an assistant professor in the department of health policy and management at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. And making matters worse, people who live out in the country tend to be older and sicker than their urban counterparts.

Dengue fever numbers soar on La Reunion: WHO

Tens of thousands of people are thought to have caught dengue fever in an unprecedented outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease on the French overseas territory of La Reunion, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. Authorities in the popular Indian Ocean tourist destination notified WHO of the outbreak in March 2018, since when 50,000 probable cases have been reported, including 22,000 so far this year, the global health agency said in a statement.

French court says doctors must resume life support for paralyzed patient

A French appeals court on Monday ordered doctors to resume giving food and water to a French quadriplegic, lawyers said, some 12 hours after medics switched off the man's life support against his parents' will. The fate of Vincent Lambert has renewed a fierce debate over the right to die that has split his family and the country.

Relying on homemade, natural sunscreens might get you burned

Homemade sunscreens on Pinterest may look pretty and smell even prettier, but most of them won't shield you from sunburn or skin cancer, new research shows. "Ninety-five percent of the pins really positively portrayed the effectiveness of homemade sunscreens, yet about 65% were recommending recipes that offered insufficient ultraviolet radiation protection," Dr. Julie Merten of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, the lead author of the new study, told Reuters Health by phone.

Teens made up most of e-cigarette maker Juul's Twitter following - study

Almost half of the people who followed Juul Labs Inc on Twitter last year were not old enough to legally purchase e-cigarettes in the United States, according to a study published on Monday. Researchers analyzed data collected in April 2018 on public followers of Juul's Twitter account (@JUULvapor) with at least one public tweet. About 45 percent of those who followed Juul were 13 to 17 years old, according to the study published online in JAMA Pediatrics.

Little Caesars to use Impossible Foods' meatless sausages in pizzas

Little Caesars will use meatless sausages made by Impossible Foods in some of its pizzas, making it the latest food chain to tap into growing demand for plant-based alternatives to meat. Plant-based substitutes have been gaining popularity with more people opting for vegan or vegetarian diets, and companies like Beyond Meat Inc and Impossible Foods are fighting to get a share of the pie by launching new products in North America.

Merck's Keytruda fails as monotherapy in breast cancer study

Merck & Co Inc said on Monday its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda failed to meet the main goal of a late-stage study testing the drug as a standalone treatment in patients with an aggressive type of breast cancer. Shares of the drugmaker fell 0.8% to $78.27, in extended trading.

Missouri governor expected to sign eight-week abortion ban into law

Missouri's Republican governor could sign law as early as this week banning most abortions in the Midwestern state after the eighth week of pregnancy, part of a wave of restrictions aimed at driving a challenge of abortion to the U.S. Supreme Court. Republican Governor Mike Parson told reporters on Friday he planned to sign the bill, which was approved by the Republican-controlled state legislature last week and would enact one of the United States' most restrictive bans. He has not yet set a date for the signing, a spokeswoman in his office said, but he has until July 14 to do so, according to local media reports.

Array BioPharma's colorectal cancer combo treatment meets main goals

Array BioPharma Inc's cocktail of three therapies helped patients with a type of colorectal cancer live longer than those on standard treatment, according to interim results of a late-stage study on Tuesday. The combination therapy, comprising Array's Braftovi and Mektovi and Eli Lilly and Co's Erbitux, helped half the patients enrolled in the study survived nine months.

Measles outbreak spreads to Oklahoma as U.S. reports 41 new cases

The worst measles outbreak in the United States in 25 years has spread to Oklahoma, federal health officials said on Monday as they reported 41 new cases nationwide, raising the total number sickened this year to 880 people. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a 4.9% increase in the number of measles cases from May 10 to May 17 in an outbreak that has now reached 24 states. The agency has been providing weekly updates with every Monday.