Health News Roundup: Lock-down strands millions in China's Wuhan; Vietnam confirmed to have coronavirus and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Epizyme prices rare tissue cancer treatment at $15,500 a month

Epizyme Inc on Thursday priced its treatment for an ultra-rare, slow-growing type of cancer that affects soft tissue at $15,500 per month after getting approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Epithelioid sarcoma (ES) affects nearly 800 people in the United States and in most cases begins in the soft tissue under the skin of a finger, hand, forearm, lower leg or foot.

Roche's Tecentriq fails trial in the form of urothelial cancer

Roche's immunotherapy Tecentriq failed a late-stage clinical trial in a form of urothelial cancer, the Swiss drugmaker said on Friday. The study evaluating Tecentriq as an after-surgery monotherapy did not meet its primary endpoint of disease-free survival compared to observation in people with muscle-invasive urothelial cancer, Roche said.

Vietnam says two Chinese citizens in Vietnam confirmed to have coronavirus

Two Chinese citizens in Vietnam have tested positive for coronavirus, Vietnam's health ministry said on Thursday, as the Southeast Asian country suspended flights to the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the new virus was first identified. China has stepped up measures to contain a virus that has killed 25 people and infected more than 800, with public transport suspended in 10 cities, the shutting of temples and the rapid construction of a hospital to treat the infected.

Lam courts Davos elite with dim sum, as Hong Kong scrambles to contain a virus

With dim sum, cocktails and gold chocolate coins, Hong Kong wrapped up its Davos charm offensive confident the financial hub is back on track, even as officials fly home to tackle a deadly flu-like virus. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam arrives back to Hong Kong on Saturday, the first day of the Year of the Rat, to face with what could be a perfect storm - an outbreak of coronavirus, lingering protests and an economic downturn.

Parties unite over Taiwan's exclusion from WHO anti-virus planning

Taiwan's exclusion from World Health Organisation meetings on the coronavirus outbreak has united the island's political parties, who normally agree on little, especially to do with China. Taiwan is not a member of the WHO due to the objection of China, which considers it a Chinese province with no right to participate in international organizations as a separate entity. 'What choice do I have?'

Lock-down strands millions in China's Wuhan

A trickle of passengers at the train station in the Chinese city of Wuhan put on a brave face on Friday as they arrived in the epicenter of a coronavirus outbreak that has killed 26 people, infected hundreds and raised fears of a pandemic. Authorities have all but shut down Wuhan, a city of 11 million and a major transport hub, at what is normally the busiest time of year - the Lunar New Year holiday - when millions of people travel home to visit their families.

Texas student who traveled to China being tested for possible coronavirus

A university student being treated for respiratory illness in Texas after traveling to Wuhan, China, is being tested for the newly discovered coronavirus that has killed 18 people in China, state and local officials said on Thursday. If the patient, who has not been publicly identified, tests positive for coronavirus it would mark the second known U.S. case of the illness, which has already sickened an estimated 650 people worldwide. The first U.S. case was diagnosed in Washington state.

Yemen's frontline port struggles to fight deadly fever

On the grounds of a bombed-out building in the port that has become the main front of Yemen's war, workers use a hose mounted to a truck to suck up a green, insect-filled expanse of stagnant rainwater, then shovel in the soil to fill it, trying to save lives. The trash-strewn pools are perfect breeding grounds for the mosquito that spreads dengue fever, which aid workers say is killing people every day near the frontlines in Hodeidah. China shuts part of Great Wall as virus toll hits 26

China ramped up measures to contain a virus that has killed 26 people and infected more than 800, suspending public transport in 10 cities, shutting temples over the Lunar New Year and even closing the Forbidden City and part of the Great Wall. The week-long holiday to welcome the Year of the Rat began on Friday, raising fears the infection rate could accelerate as hundreds of millions of people travel to their homes and abroad in what is usually a festive time of year.

Bayer faces fourth U.S. Roundup cancer trial in Monsanto's hometown

Bayer AG is set to face a fourth U.S. jury trial over allegations that its Roundup weed killer causes cancer, with four cancer patients in the hometown of its agricultural subsidiary Monsanto scheduled to begin making their case on Friday. The lawsuit marks the first multi-plaintiff trial in the litigation over whether glyphosate, Roundup's active ingredient, is carcinogenic, and is the first trial outside of California. It is being held in St. Louis, where Monsanto was headquartered before Bayer bought the company in a $63 billion deal in 2018.

(With inputs from agencies.)