Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Coronavirus death toll jumps to 107 in Italy, all schools shut

Italy closed all schools and universities and took other emergency measures on Wednesday to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus in Europe's worst-hit country as the death toll and number of cases jumped. The total number of dead in Italy rose to 107 after 28 people died of the highly contagious virus over the past 24 hours, the Civil Protection Agency said. U.S. House passes $8.3 billion bill to battle coronavirus; Senate vote due Thursday

The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved on Wednesday an $8.3 billion bill to combat the spread of the new coronavirus and develop vaccines for the highly contagious disease, sending it to the Senate for final passage. Reflecting the urgency among lawmakers to address the growing coronavirus crisis, the House voted 415-2 on the bill just hours after negotiators unveiled its contents. U.S. Supreme Court justices divided in abortion case; Roberts may hold key

U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared divided on Wednesday in a major abortion rights case, with Chief Justice John Roberts representing the potential decisive vote on a challenge to a Louisiana law that could make it harder for women to obtain the procedure. The court, with a 5-4 conservative majority, heard arguments in an appeal by Shreveport-based abortion provider Hope Medical Group for Women seeking to invalidate the 2014 law. The measure requires that doctors who perform abortions have a sometimes difficult-to-obtain arrangement called "admitting privileges" at a hospital within 30 miles (48 km) of the clinic. Researchers identify two coronavirus strains as China cases dwindle

Scientists in China studying the outbreak of disease caused by the new coronavirus say they have found that two main strains of the virus are circulating in humans and causing infections. The researchers, from Peking University's School of Life Sciences and the Institut Pasteur of Shanghai under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, cautioned that their study looked only at a limited range of data, and said follow-up studies of larger data sets were needed to better understand the virus's evolution. Prosthetic innovation: 'It's like you have a hand again' - study

Today's artificial limbs can look very natural, and now an innovative process makes prosthetic hands move more naturally as well. In an innovative experiment, scientists have shown that the nerves in patients' arms can be trained to control the movements of prosthetic fingers and thumbs. Washington Democrats cancel event as coronavirus starts to take toll on U.S. campaign season

The highly contagious coronavirus currently making its way around the world had its first impact on the 2020 U.S. election campaign as Washington state Democrats canceled an upcoming weekend fundraiser just days before the party primary there. The liberal northwest state, the second-biggest prize when six states host nominating contests on March 10, postponed a party awards dinner planned for Saturday night after Governor Jay Inslee warned against large public gatherings in the state, where the fast-spreading disease has so far killed 10 people. New TB drug regimen controls resistant disease in 9 of 10 cases: study

(Reuters Health) - The new anti-tuberculosis drug combination of bedaquiline, pretomanid and linezolid cures 90% of people with deadly drug-resistant TB if given for six months, researchers report in The New England Journal of Medicine. "This is extremely significant, probably one of the biggest advances in TB therapeutics since the 1970s," said Dr. Richard Chaisson, director of the Center for Tuberculosis Research at Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, who was not involved in the study. California declares emergency over coronavirus as death toll rises in U.S.

The U.S. death toll from coronavirus infections rose to 11 on Wednesday as new cases emerged around New York City and Los Angeles, while Seattle-area health officials discouraged social gatherings amid the nation's largest outbreak. The first California death from the virus was an elderly person in Placer County, near Sacramento, health officials said. The person had underlying health problems and likely had been exposed on a cruise ship voyage between San Francisco and Mexico last month. Washington state urges patience as Covid-19 test delays stoke anger

Washington state officials urged patience on Wednesday as medical staff reported fear and anger among people told they could not be tested for the coronavirus due to limited capacity in a state facing the United States' deadliest outbreak. Clinics in the Seattle area reported an increase in patients seeking tests as Washington reported 39 cases of coronavirus and 10 deaths. 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.