Health News Roundup: Samoa measles outbreak kills 20, mostly children; FDA approves Aquestive's ALS treatment

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Samoa measles outbreak kills 20, mostly children

Deaths related to measles, mostly among small children, have more than tripled to 20 in the past week on the Pacific island of Samoa, the government has said eight days after declaring a state of emergency over the outbreak. The island state of just 200,000, located south of the equator and half way between Hawaii and New Zealand, declared a measles epidemic late in October after the first deaths.

U.S. Mayo Clinic partners with Abu Dhabi to operate hospital

Abu Dhabi has partnered with U.S. non-profit organization Mayo Clinic in a joint venture to operate one of the largest hospitals in the United Arab Emirates as it seeks to become a regional hub for world-class healthcare. State-owned Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) and Mayo Clinic said on Sunday they would operate Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, one of the UAE's largest hospitals for patients with serious or complex medical conditions.

Longer-term data fail to clear concern over Takeda's dengue vaccine

An additional six months of data from a late-stage trial of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co's experimental dengue vaccine again showed it failed to protect against one of the four types of the virus in an important patient group, researchers said on Saturday. The longer-term data, presented at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene meeting in Maryland, also showed a slight waning of the overall effectiveness of the vaccine, TAK-003.

Takeda says cancer drug Alunbrig shows longer benefit vs. crizotinib

Japan's biggest drugmaker, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd , said long-term data show better outcomes for its Alunbrig drug in certain lung cancer patients compared to an existing treatment. Oncology is a pillar for Takeda as it refocuses on core businesses following last year's $59 billion takeover of Britain's Shire. The announcement followed a week of investor conferences at home and in the United States intended to show that its drug pipeline is robust enough to fuel continued growth.

French doctor still treating patients at 98

When French doctor Christian Chenay saw his first patients in 1951, penicillin was state of the art. Now 98 years old, he is still working and opens his surgery in the Paris suburbs two mornings a week for patients, some of whom he has treated for decades.

FDA approves Aquestive's ALS treatment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved http://bit.ly/2pIFzi5 Aquestive Therapeutics' treatment for neurological disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Shares of the company, which developed riluzole oral film (ROF) and will market the film under the brand name Exservan, rose 4% at $6.76 after the bell.

Argentine health chief quits in abortion fight with conservative president

Argentina's health secretary resigned on Friday after a protocol he signed the day before, aimed at making abortion more available, was revoked by conservative President Mauricio Macri, less than a month before he is to leave office. "Unfortunately, the repeal of the protocol forces me to resign my position as the nation's secretary of health," Adolfo Rubinstein said in his resignation letter, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.

Trump says ban of some flavored e-cigarette products could lead to illegal sales

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday expressed concerns that enacting his administration's proposed ban on many flavored e-cigarette and vaping products would lead to people obtaining them illegally. Trump also raised worries during a raucous meeting with public health and industry representatives that illegal e-cigarette and vaping products could be substandard.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)