Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Factbox: U.S. vaping-related deaths rise to 20

Michigan and Pennsylvania state health officials confirmed one death each from a mysterious lung illness linked to e-cigarettes, bringing the total number of fatalities to 20 across 17 U.S. states. Latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday listed 1,080 confirmed and probable cases of the illness as of Oct. 1. (http://bit.ly/2IlMmo5) Legionnaire's outbreak linked to hot tubs kills one, sickens dozens in North Carolina

An outbreak of Legionnaire's disease that has killed one person and sickened dozens of others in North Carolina may have spread from contaminated hot tubs at a state fair last month, authorities said. The 120 people who have fallen ill with Legionnaire's, and eight who contracted its milder version Pontiac Fever, attended or worked at the fair, the state's Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement on Thursday. U.S. Supreme Court takes major case that could curb abortion access

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to take up a major abortion case that could lead to new curbs on access to the procedure as it considers the legality of a Republican-backed Louisiana law that imposes restrictions on abortion doctors. The justices will hear an appeal by abortion provider Hope Medical Group for Women, which sued to try to block the law, of a lower court ruling upholding the measure. The Shreveport-based Hope Medical Group said implementation of the law would prompt the closure of two of the state's three abortion clinics. The court will also hear a separate appeal by the state arguing that the abortion clinic lacks the legal standing to sue. Eating nuts might help limit weight gain

Despite their high calorie counts, daily doses of nuts might help people keep off excess weight, especially when nuts are substituted for less healthy foods, a recent study suggests. Researchers followed 126,190 healthy middle-aged adults for 20 to 24 years. At the start, participants were typically at a healthy weight or slightly overweight. By the end of the study, about 17% of participants had become obese. Celiac families may not need two toasters

Often when someone in the family has celiac disease, two sets of kitchenware are used to avoid inadvertent exposures to gluten. But a new study suggests that may not be necessary. In a series of experiments, researchers found that gluten-free bread doesn't pick up the protein when it's cooked in a toaster that's recently been used with regular bread - even when there are crumbs in the bottom. Further, transfer of gluten from pots and pans can be avoided simply through washing them - or even just rinsing - after they've been used to cook regular pasta, according to the study published in Gastroenterology. U.S. retains measles-elimination status despite worst outbreak in quarter century

The United States has kept its World Health Organization designation as a country that has eliminated measles even though it had 1,249 reported cases this year in the worst outbreak since 1992, federal health officials said on Friday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said in a report on Friday that 75% of cases of the highly contagious and sometimes deadly disease this year were associated with outbreaks in New York City and New York State. Officials have blamed the spread on parents who decided against vaccinating their children. Vectura, Sandoz win ruling on inhaler packaging case against GSK

Vectura Group said on Friday a British court had ruled in its favor on the packaging of a generic version of an inhaler made by bigger rival GlaxoSmithKline. Vectura said the court dismissed all GSK claims related to the packaging of AirFluSal Forspiro, which it developed in partnership with Sandoz, owned by Swiss drugmaker Novartis , as a branded version of GSK's asthma inhaler, Seretide Accuhaler. U.S. judge keeps intact Massachusetts' toughest-in-nation vaping ban

A federal judge on Friday denied an industry bid to put on hold Massachusetts' four-month ban on the sale of vaping products, keeping intact the toughest prohibition yet in a rapidly developing response to e-cigarettes and their potential link to a lung disease. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani declined to grant a temporary restraining order sought by the vaping industry, including by trade group Vapor Technology Association (VTA). Australia to fund research on medicinal cannabis as demand grows

Australia will provide A$3 million ($2.03 million) for research on the use of cannabis to help cancer patients, its health minister said on Sunday, as the demand for medicinal cannabis products grows rapidly. While legal in most of Australia, such products are allowed only to patients on the prescription of a doctor, and a license is required to grow and make medicinal cannabis. New York court blocks state ban on flavored e-cigarettes

A New York court on Thursday temporarily halted a state ban on the sale of flavored e-cigarettes, giving the embattled vaping industry a breather just a day before the state's prohibition was due to take effect. The appellate court ruling puts a hold on the ban that was announced by New York state's Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo last month in response to widespread growing concern about the rising use of e-cigarettes among teens and a nationwide spate of lung illnesses.

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