Health News Roundup: Despite corona, bat meat still popular in Indonesia; Dutch order to keep poultry indoor after German bird flu and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Bat meat still popular in parts of Indonesia, despite coronavirus fears

Bat meat is still popular in some parts of Indonesia, despite research suggesting the coronavirus spreading from China might have originated in bats before being passed on to humans. Bats are traditionally eaten by the Minahasan people from North Sulawesi in the form of a curry-like dish called Paniki. Whole bats are used in Paniki, including the head and wings.

Dutch order poultry to be kept indoors after German bird flu outbreak

The Dutch farm ministry has ordered all commercial poultry farmers should keep their birds confined indoors as of midnight on Tuesday following reports of a German outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu virus. The measures are to ensure that Dutch commercial poultry does not catch the disease from potentially infected wild birds from neighboring Germany, the ministry said in a press release.

Coronavirus emergency 'holds a very grave threat' for world: WHO

The coronavirus outbreak poses a "very grave threat for the rest of the world", the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday in an appeal for sharing virus samples and speeding up research into drugs and vaccines. "With 99% of cases in China, this remains very much an emergency for that country, but one that holds a very grave threat for the rest of the world," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in opening remarks to a meeting of more than 400 researchers and national authorities, including some participating by video conference from mainland China and Taiwan.

China reports record daily virus death toll, but new cases fall

China reported 108 new coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, a daily record, bringing the total number of people killed in the country to 1,016, but the number of new cases fell. There were 2,478 new confirmed cases on the mainland on Feb. 10, down from 3,062 on the previous day, bringing the total to 42,638, the National Health Commission said.

Novartis lung cancer drug gets priority U.S. review

Novartis has won fast-track U.S. regulatory review for capmatinib (INC280) in a hard-to-treat form of lung cancer, the Swiss drugmaker said on Tuesday. Capmatinib is a MET inhibitor being evaluated as a treatment for first-line and previously treated patients with locally advanced or metastatic MET exon 14 skipping (METex14) mutated non-small cell lung cancer.

Countries rush to build diagnostic capacity as coronavirus spreads

A week ago, only two laboratories in Africa could diagnose the novel coronavirus that originated in China and is rapidly spreading around the world. As of Sunday, the World Health Organization (WHO) expected every nation in Africa to be able to diagnose the disease. The rush reflects a global push for diagnostic capabilities, particularly in developing countries, in hopes of averting a global pandemic. But it is being slowed by a desperate need for virus samples necessary to validate the tests.

Vaccine for new coronavirus 'COVID-19' could be ready in 18 months: WHO

The first vaccine targeting China's coronavirus could be available in 18 months, "so we have to do everything today using available weapons", World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva on Tuesday. He said the virus had been named COVID-19, explaining that it was important to avoid stigma and that other names could be inaccurate.

Japan's halt of regular HPV vaccine to cause thousands of cancer deaths: study

A decision by Japan to stop recommending adolescent girls receive a HPV vaccination will likely result in almost 11,000 deaths from cervical cancer if it is not reversed, according to a study in a prestigious medical journal. The HPV vaccine has been a political lightning rod in Japan, where claims of side effects prompted the government to halt active recommendation of the shots in June 2013.

Novacyt biotech company says winning race for high-speed virus test

Franco-British biotech company Novacyt says it can offer a coronavirus test that is faster than rival methods by focusing on a narrow sequence of DNA coding, as it fights stiff competition to turn the outbreak into a business opportunity. In an appeal for sharing virus samples and speeding up research into drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics, the World Health Organization on Tuesday said China's coronavirus outbreak posed a "very grave threat for the rest of the world."

China's Wuhan aims to test all suspected cases of coronavirus by tomorrow

China's Wuhan city, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, has not been able to confirm all existing suspected cases of the coronavirus despite a rush to speed up testing, the city's Communist Party Secretary told a news conference on Monday. Ma Guoqiang said the Wuhan government would, however, aim to test all suspected cases by Tuesday. There have been growing complaints that many patients in the city of 11 million have not been tested or admitted for full-time treatment due to the pressure on medical resources.