Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Coronavirus has spread to nearly all Iran provinces: president

Novel coronavirus has affected almost all of Iran's provinces but the country will get through the outbreak with a "minimum" number of deaths, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday. "This disease is a widespread disease," he said during a cabinet meeting, according to the official presidency website. Thousands wait for hospital beds in South Korea as coronavirus cases surge

South Korea reported hundreds of new coronavirus cases on Wednesday as many sick people waited for hospital beds in Daegu, the city at the center of the worst outbreak outside China. The new cases bring South Korea's total to 5,621, with at least 32 deaths, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said. 'False fears' about vaping stopping smokers using e-cigs: UK report

More than half of UK smokers now wrongly believe that nicotine-containing "vapes" or e-cigarettes are as dangerous as tobacco cigarettes and these "false fears" are preventing smokers from switching, health experts said on Wednesday. In a report commissioned by the health agency Public Health England (PHE), scientists at King's College London said the mistaken belief that e-cigarettes are more harmful than smoking had gained ground rapidly following thousands of reported cases of lung injury in the United States in late 2019. In major abortion case, U.S. Supreme Court weighs curbs on doctors

The U.S. Supreme Court returns to the issue of abortion rights on Wednesday when it considers a challenge to a Louisiana law that imposes restrictions on doctors in a major case that could make it harder for women to obtain the procedure. The court, with a 5-4 conservative majority, is set to hear an hour of arguments beginning at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT) in an appeal by Shreveport-based abortion provider Hope Medical Group for Women seeking to invalidate the 2014 law. Two of Louisiana's three clinics that perform abortions would be forced to close if the law is allowed to take effect, according to lawyers for the clinic. Roche gets U.S. breakthrough tag for liver cancer diagnosis approach

Roche has won fast-track review status in the United States for a new diagnostic approach the Swiss drugmaker hopes will support its push into treating liver cancer with drugs including its immunotherapy Tecentriq. The company said on Wednesday that its Elecsys GALAD score, which combines factors including age, gender and biomarker results to more quickly and accurately diagnose early stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), was awarded U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Breakthrough Device Designation. What you need to know about coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about coronavirus: Fed misfire? Others resist pressure to act Coronavirus claims three more lives in Seattle-area as outbreak goes cross-country

Three more deaths from the coronavirus were reported by Washington state on Tuesday as the nation's largest and only fatal outbreak of the respiratory disease reached beyond the Seattle area in what appeared to be the first known instance of coast-to-coast transmission. A North Carolina resident tested positive after returning from a trip to Washington state, where the individual was exposed, and apparently infected, during a visit to a nursing facility at the center of a recent surge in cases in suburban Seattle. Japan's Takeda Pharma says it is developing coronavirus drug

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co said on Wednesday it was developing a drug for high-risk patients infected with the new coronavirus, joining several other drugmakers seeking to develop a treatment for an illness that has killed over 3,000 people. The Japanese firm said it was working on a plasma-derived therapy which had previously been shown to be effective in treatment of severe acute viral respiratory infections. China approves use of Roche drug in battle against coronavirus complications

China has approved the use of Swiss drugmaker Roche's anti-inflammation drug Actemra for patients who develop severe complications from the coronavirus as it urgently hunts for new ways to combat the deadly infection that is spreading worldwide. China is hoping that some older drugs could stop severe cytokine release syndrome (CRS), or cytokine storms, an overreaction of the immune system which is considered a major factor behind catastrophic organ failure and death in some coronavirus patients. WHO warns of global shortage of medical equipment to fight coronavirus

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday warned of a global shortage and price gouging for protective equipment to fight the fast-spreading coronavirus and asked companies and governments to increase production by 40% as the death toll from the respiratory illness mounted. Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Tuesday in an emergency move to try to prevent a global recession and the World Bank announced $12 billion to help countries fight the coronavirus, which has taken a heavy toll on air travel, tourism and other industries, threatening global economic growth prospects.