Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. U.S. senator asks J&J for documents on talc, baby powder safety

U.S. Democratic Senator Patty Murray sent a letter to Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday seeking information related to allegations in a Reuters Special Report that the healthcare company knew about the presence of asbestos in its talc-based baby powder. The letter addressed to J&J Chief Executive Alex Gorsky asks for documents and information related to testing of its talc products for the presence of carcinogens and "how it presented that information to regulators and consumers." Swine flu outbreak kills 76 in India's desert state of Rajasthan

A swine flu outbreak in one of India's biggest tourist hubs, Rajasthan state in the west of the country, has killed 76 people this year, government officials said on Wednesday. Colder weather has worsened the seasonal outbreak of the H1N1 virus, with Rajasthan recording more than a third of all swine flu deaths in India, officials said. Exclusive: Juul plans India e-cigarette entry with new hires, subsidiary

U.S.-based electronic cigarette company Juul Labs Inc is hoping to launch its products in India by late 2019, a person familiar with the strategy told Reuters, marking one of its boldest bets to expand away from its home turf. After recruiting Uber India executive Rachit Ranjan as a senior public policy strategist, Juul this month hired India-based Mastercard executive Rohan Mishra as head of government relations. Roche, AC Immune drop Alzheimer drug trials after setback

Roche Holding and partner AC Immune SA called a halt to two late-stage clinical trials of their crenezumab drug for early Alzheimer's, the latest in a string of failures to find a treatment for the progressive brain disease. The announcement from Roche and its Swiss-based partner AC Immune came after an interim analysis indicated it was unlikely to be effective, the Swiss drugmaker said on Wednesday. Nasdaq-listed shares of AC Immune fell 65 percent in response. Physical punishment of kids tied to antisocial behavior in adulthood

Children who are spanked, slapped, shoved or otherwise physically punished may be more prone to antisocial behavior as adults, a U.S. study suggests. Four in five children in the U.S. have been spanked at least once by the time they reach kindergarten, researchers note in JAMA Network Open. While spanking and other forms of harsh physical punishment have long been linked to mental health problems in kids, less is known about how these childhood experiences influence adult behavior. As we age, sexual activity still important for wellbeing

The benefits of a healthy sex life aren't limited to young adults, according to a UK study that found intimacy and sexual activity are important for older adults' well-being, too. In the study of nearly 7,000 men and women, ages 50 to 89, quality of life was higher in those who reported any kind of sexual activity in the past year, such as kissing, researchers found. South Korea raises foot-and-mouth alert as second case found

South Korea raised the country's foot-and-mouth alert by one notch to curb wider spread of the contagious virus ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays, its agriculture ministry said on Wednesday. The heightened alert comes as a second case of foot-and-mouth disease was detected on Tuesday at a cattle farm in Anseong city, southeast of the capital Seoul, where the first case in nearly a year was reported at a dairy cow farm on Monday. U.S. lawmakers request info from insulin makers on rising prices

Two powerful U.S. lawmakers sent letters to the three leading insulin manufacturers on Wednesday requesting information on why its cost has skyrocketed in recent years and how much the companies profit from the life-sustaining diabetes treatment. Democratic Representatives Frank Pallone and Diana DeGette, the chairman and a top-ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, respectively, wrote to the heads of Eli Lilly and Co, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi, the long-time leading manufacturers of insulin. The drugmakers have all raised the price of insulin at similar rates over the last several years. Tyson recalls chicken nuggets on possible rubber contamination

Tyson Foods Inc is recalling some chicken nuggets it manufactured because of possible contamination with rubber, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said late on Tuesday. About 36,420 pounds of Tyson's 'White Meat Panko' chicken nuggets will be recalled after several consumers complained of extraneous material in the purchased product, the FSIS said. Undeterred by Sanofi's stumble, Takeda takes similar path with dengue shot

A new vaccine for the dengue virus is taking a potentially risky road to prevent the mosquito-borne disease that infects nearly 400 million people each year. Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd plans to seek approval for the experimental vaccine first in countries where the virus is endemic, rather than starting with the United States or Europe, whose rigorous reviews are often used as a benchmark worldwide, company executives told Reuters.