Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Ebola spread concentrated in Congo, not a wider emergency: WHO

An outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that has killed more than 700 people and is continuing to spread does not constitute an international emergency, the World Health Organization said on Friday. Declaring the epidemic a "public health emergency of international concern" would have signaled that greater resources and international coordination are needed. China's Ant Financial amasses 50 million users, mostly low-income, in new health plan

A mutual health aid plan launched by Ant Financial Services Group, the dominant fintech player in China, has amassed more than 50 million users and is aiming for 300 million within two years, the company said late on Thursday. The plan, dubbed Xiang Hu Bao or literally "mutual protection", is marketed on Ant Financial's flagship mobile payment app Alipay and provides participants a basic medical coverage with the risks and expenses distributed across all members. U.S. FDA approves Johnson & Johnson's bladder cancer drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Johnson & Johnson's treatment for patients with a form of bladder cancer. The green signal to the drug, Balversa, makes it the first approved treatment for bladder cancer that targets a genetic alteration known as FGFR3 or FGFR2, the FDA said. Female firefighters' health needs often unaddressed

Women firefighters, particularly in North America, are less likely to have access to female-specific personal protective equipment and appropriate strength training and conditioning support, according to a new study. In addition, women reported numerous counts of sexism on the job, and others talked about logistical issues such as sanitary conditions and toilet facilities, especially when tackling fires for several hours, researchers wrote in Women's Health Issues. U.S. CDC says ground beef possible source of E.coli outbreak

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday preliminary information suggested ground beef could be responsible for a recent E.coli outbreak that has spread across six states. No common supplier, distributor, or brand of ground beef has been identified yet and the CDC said the investigation was ongoing. (http://bit.ly/2KwyHhl) French court finds Bayer's Monsanto liable for farmer's sickness

A French court has ruled that Monsanto was liable for the sickness of a farmer who inhaled one of its weedkillers, in another legal setback for the Bayer-owned business over health claims. In the latest stage of a decade-long legal tussle, the appeals court in Lyon on Thursday found in favor of farmer Paul Francois' claim that Monsanto's Lasso weedkiller had made him sick and that the product's labeling had been inadequate. Top cancer hospitals' outcomes may be better than affiliates'

Patients often assume that surgical outcomes at all hospitals in a healthcare network are equally good. But a new study comparing outcomes from top-ranked cancer hospitals to their affiliates finds significant differences when it comes to complex cancer surgeries. Researchers found that the likelihood of surviving a complex cancer surgery was greater at top-ranked cancer hospitals compared to affiliated hospitals that shared their "brand," according to the study published in JAMA Network Open. Disease outbreaks feared in Libya, as supplies stretched: WHO

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday that it feared outbreaks of infectious diseases due to dirty water and people fleeing fighting nearing Tripoli, where it has about two weeks of emergency supplies for hospitals and health facilities. After a week of fighting, 75 people have been killed and 323 wounded, including seven civilians killed and 10 wounded, Dr Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO representative in Libya, told a Geneva news briefing by telephone from Tripoli. Bayer says to comply with court mediation order in glyphosate case

Bayer said on Friday it would comply with a U.S. federal judge's order to enter mediation with a plaintiff who claims the company failed to warn against an alleged cancer risk from its Roundup weedkiller. Bayer has seen billions wiped off its market value since August, when a first U.S. jury found Bayer liable because Monsanto, acquired by Bayer for $63 billion last year, had not warned of the alleged risk from Roundup, which is based on active ingredient glyphosate. Novo Nordisk and Gilead team up to test fatty liver disease treatment

Novo Nordisk and Gilead Sciences will join forces on a clinical trial combining drugs from the two pharmaceutical firms to treat a progressive fatty liver disease known as NASH. The clinical trial will be a study combining Novo Nordisk's semaglutide drug and Gilead's cilofexor and firsocostat for treatment of patients with Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), Novo Nordisk, best known for its diabetes drugs, said on Friday.