Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Explainer: Rapid spread of China coronavirus fuels global alarm

International alarm over the coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China in December is driven by its rapid spread and the fact that infectious disease experts cannot yet know how deadly or contagious it is. Within weeks, the virus has infected nearly 8,000 people in China and killed 170. To mask or not to mask: confusion spreads over coronavirus protection

"Do not wear a mask if you are well" read a warning plastered across the front of Singapore's main newspaper on Friday, as authorities around the world sought to calm panic buying of masks seen as a guard against the fast-spreading coronavirus. In neighboring Malaysia, the government urged people to always have masks and hand sanitizers ready, similar to advice by authorities in Thailand and Vietnam. U.S. EPA reaffirms that glyphosate does not cause cancer

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday it finished a regulatory review that found glyphosate, the most widely used weed killer in the United States, is not a carcinogen. The conclusion reaffirms the agency's stance on glyphosate, the key ingredient in Bayer AG's Roundup, despite judgments by U.S. juries that have found that use of the weedkiller was responsible for plaintiffs' cancer in some trials. U.S. confirms its first person-to-person coronavirus transmission

The husband of an Illinois woman diagnosed with coronavirus after returning from a trip to China has also become infected, marking the first known person-to-person transmission of the disease within the United States, health authorities said on Thursday. The latest Illinois case brought the tally of confirmed U.S. coronavirus infections to six, none fatal, according to the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC), as the number of Americans potentially exposed to the virus and placed under medical observation continued to rise. European drug panel recommends approving Novo Nordisk's new diabetes pill

A panel of the European medicines regulator has recommended approving Novo Nordisk's new diabetes pill, Rybelsus, further boosting prospects for the Danish drugmaker with its first-of-a-kind, non-injectable treatment. The European Medicines Agency said https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/summaries-opinion/rybelsus its human medicines committee (CHMP) adopted a positive opinion on the treatment, chemically called semaglutide, for the treatment of type-2 diabetes - the most common form of the disease. Healthcare company Novacyt launches new coronavirus test

Healthcare company Novacyt said on Friday it had launched a new molecular test for the coronavirus currently afflicting China and other parts of the world. The company said its Primerdesign coronavirus test could detect the 2019 strain of the virus, adding it believed this would differentiate it from other current tests which it said were less specific. U.S. and others tighten curbs on travel to China, virus toll hits 213

The United States and other countries tightened travel curbs on Friday and businesses said they were facing supply problems because of the coronavirus in China, a day after the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency. With the death toll rising to 213, all of them in China, the United States warned Americans not to travel to the Asian country, where the outbreak first appeared in Wuhan, capital of the central Hubei province. Where Democratic presidential candidates stand on 'Medicare for All'

Perhaps no issue has divided the field of Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls more than "Medicare for All." Liberal candidates favor the sweeping proposal, which would replace private health insurance with a single government-run plan. Moderate candidates have embraced less drastic measures they say would achieve broader healthcare coverage while allowing individuals to choose their plan. Bayer wins EU recommendation for prostate cancer drug

Bayer on Friday won an endorsement from the European Union's drug regulator for its prostate cancer drug darolutamide, putting it on track for approval, as it takes on rival products by Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. An expert panel at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended the drug for approval for use in early-stage prostate cancer that does not respond to hormonal therapy to slow its spread to other body parts, the German drugmaker said on Friday. Facebook to remove coronavirus misinformation after WHO declares global emergency

Facebook Inc said on Thursday it will take down misinformation about China's fast-spreading coronavirus in a rare departure from its approach to health content, after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global health emergency. The world's biggest social network said in a blog post that it would remove content about the virus "with false claims or conspiracy theories that have been flagged by leading global health organizations and local health authorities," saying such content would violate its ban on misinformation leading to "physical harm."