Health News Roundup: Viral 'croup' that affects children; glyphosate weed killer is not carcinogen

Sydneysiders find their happy place catching a wave on 'Fluoro Friday'

The sun is rising over Sydney's Bondi Beach and surfer Grant Trebilco, clad in a colourful striped long-sleeved shirt and bright yellow shorts with black polka dots has just caught his first wave. Whether he catches one wave or a hundred, this salt water therapy, as Trebilco calls it, is where he finds his happy place.

Merck steps up U.S. measles vaccine production with increased demand

Merck & Co said on Wednesday it has increased the production of the measles vaccine to meet an uptick in demand in the United States in the midst of the country's biggest outbreak in 25 years. Merck, the sole U.S. supplier of measles vaccines, said the increased demand was noticeable, but did not amount to a surge, and has not required a significant increase in distribution across the country.

U.S. environment agency says glyphosate weed killer is not a carcinogen

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Tuesday that glyphosate, a chemical in many popular weed killers, is not a carcinogen, contradicting decisions by U.S. juries that found it caused cancer in people. The EPA's announcement reaffirms its earlier findings of the safety of glyphosate, the key ingredient in Bayer's Roundup. The company faces thousands of lawsuits from Roundup users who allege it caused their cancer.

Patients' drug costs surge for some neurologic conditions

Many patients with neurologic disorders like multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and Parkinson's diseases have seen steep increases in their out-of-pocket costs for drugs in recent years, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers examined data on out-of-pocket drug costs from 2004 to 2016 for more than 912,000 people with private health insurance who had multiple sclerosis, peripheral neuropathy, epilepsy, dementia or Parkinson's disease.

Healthineers sees diagnostics drag on full-year profitability

Siemens Healthineers said measures to speed up installations of its new blood and urine testing machines were bearing fruit, but ramp-up challenges would squeeze full-year profit margins at its diagnostics division. The German health technology firm is pinning its hopes on its Atellica machine to turn around its In-Vitro diagnostics business which lags market leader Roche, but lengthy installation times at large and complex laboratories have dragged down profit in the division.

AstraZeneca ties up with France's Transgene to develop viral immunotherapies

British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc and French biopharmaceutical firm Transgene SA entered into an agreement on Thursday to co-develop five cancer-killing viral immunotherapies. Viral immunotherapy represents a new way of treating cancer by using transgenes, or genes that are artificially introduced into the genome of another organism. A number of companies are working to harness the power of specific viruses to fight tumours using this technology.

Caribbean nation of St. Lucia quarantines cruise ship over measles case

The Caribbean nation of St. Lucia has imposed a quarantine on a visiting cruise ship, barring any passengers or crew from leaving the boat while in port, after a case of measles was diagnosed on board, the island's chief medical officer said. Dr. Merlene Frederick-James said in a video statement posted to YouTube on Tuesday that the St. Lucia Ministry of Health ordered the restriction after conferring with the Pan American Health Organization and others about the risk of exposure to islanders.

Pediatricians explain viral 'croup' that often affects young children

Croup, a common upper respiratory tract infection in young children under age 6, can become severe and require hospitalization, doctors say in a new patient resource published in JAMA. Best known for the distinctive hoarse cough it produces, croup is caused by a virus and is typically contagious during the first few days of the infection. Its spread can be prevented through good hand hygiene and good cough hygiene, the authors write.

Sanofi wins U.S. approval to sell dengue vaccine but with major restrictions

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday gave Sanofi SA's dengue vaccine Dengvaxia a very narrow approval as the company continues to suffer from the evidence that its vaccine, which took 20 years to develop, can cause severe infections in some people. The FDA says the drug may only be given to people aged 9 through 16 who have laboratory-confirmation of previous dengue infection and live in areas where the disease is prevalent, such as Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa.

Medication use drops when local drugstores close

People are less likely to take their heart medicine when their local pharmacies close, and the drop-off persists for at least a year, according to a U.S. study. The effect is especially noticeable in neighbourhoods with fewer pharmacies, including rural and lower-income areas, and when the local pharmacy was not part of a chain or network, the study authors note in JAMA Network Open.