Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Fund battling AIDS, TB and malaria seeks $14 billion to invigorate fight

At least $14 billion is needed to accelerate the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and quell stubborn epidemics that still kill millions, the head of a global health fund said on Friday. Announcing a fundraising target for the next three-year cycle, Peter Sands, director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said the money could help save 16 million lives, halving deaths from the three diseases.

Heart failure patients need sooner follow-up care

More than half of heart failure patients who visit the emergency room don't receive prompt follow-up care, and a Canadian study suggests the delay is associated with more complications and lower survival. Researchers studied more than 34,000 patients who received emergency care for heart failure in Ontario. Only about 16,000, or 47 percent, saw a doctor within a week after leaving the emergency room.

Statins may help prevent diabetes-related eye problems

Diabetic patients who take statins to treat high cholesterol may get an added benefit: a lower risk of damage to the retina, a new study suggests. Researchers found that diabetic patients taking statins were 14 percent less likely to develop retinopathy than those who were not. And among patients who did develop retinopathy, statin therapy was associated with slower disease progression, according to Dr. Eugene Yu-Chuan Kang, a researcher at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan, and colleagues.

China reports African swine fever outbreak in Gansu province

China's agriculture ministry on Sunday said a new outbreak of African swine fever had been confirmed in Gansu province in the northwest of the country. The outbreak occurred on a farm with 109 live pigs in Qingyang city, infecting 44 of the animals and killing nine, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said in a statement.

Health Canada places restrictions on Allergan's fibroid treatment Esmya

Canada's health regulator on Friday said it was restricting the use of Allergan Plc's uterine fibroid treatment Esmya after discovering a risk of serious liver injury from the drug. Health Canada said the drug, sold under brand name Fibristal in the country, should not be used by women with liver problems, or those who have had such problems in the past.

U.S. medic declared Ebola-free, leaves Nebraska quarantine

A U.S. healthcare worker who was being monitored for the Ebola virus after treating patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo was released from a Nebraska hospital on Saturday after doctors said they had seen no signs of the deadly disease. The individual, whose name was not released for privacy reasons, did not develop Ebola symptoms during 21 days of monitoring at Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, the center said in a statement.

Indonesia seeks to reassure HIV patients over drug supplies

Indonesia's health ministry has sought to reassure HIV patients that sufficient antiretroviral (ARV) drugs will be available for their treatment after some hospitals had run out of supplies. At least 29 hospitals and health centres in Indonesia had exhausted their stocks of a particular type of ARV, known as a fixed-dose combination of Tenofovir, Lamivudin and Efavirens (TLE), Aditya Wardhana of the Indonesia AIDS Coalition, a non-governmental organization, told a news conference.

Lilly eyes more cancer deals, but wary of CAR-T, gene therapy

Eli Lilly and Co remains in the hunt for cancer drugs even after announcing an $8 billion purchase of Loxo Oncology this week, but it plans to remain on the sidelines when it comes to two of the hottest areas of drug development. Lilly Chief Executive Dave Ricks told Reuters that as the company looks for deals to enhance its pipeline of future treatments it will leave CAR-T therapies for cancer and gene therapy for rare diseases to others, for now.

Up to 84,000 Americans hospitalized with flu in past three months: CDC

An estimated 69,000 to 84,000 Americans were hospitalized due to the flu in the last three months, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday. The nation saw one of the worst flu outbreaks in nearly a decade during the 2017-2018 season, with more than 900,000 cases of hospitalizations and over 80,000 deaths, the CDC estimates https://www.cdc.gov/flu/spotlights/press-conference-2018-19.htm#ref1.

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