Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Monstrous rumors stoke hostility to Pakistan's anti-polio drive

His bearded face was half-covered by a shawl, but Hameedullah Khan's fear and ignorance was on full display as he delivered a chilling message for anyone who tries to vaccinate his children against polio. "I will stab anyone who comes to my house with polio drops," Khan growled, refusing to be filmed or photographed as he shopped in a fly-blown bazaar on the outskirts of Peshawar, a city scarred by years on the frontline of Islamist militancy in Pakistan. As measles returns, U.S. states look to cut vaccine exemptions

Maine could soon prohibit parents from citing religious or personal beliefs to avoid vaccinating their children, making the U.S. state one of a half dozen cracking down during the nation's largest measles outbreak in 25 years. State legislatures in New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Minnesota and Iowa are looking at similar bills that would only allow exemptions from vaccinations for medical reasons as determined by the child's doctor. Few at risk for opioid overdose get potentially life-saving naloxone

A tiny percentage of people at high risk for opioid overdose are getting prescriptions for naloxone, a medication that could potentially save their lives, a new study finds. Researchers determined that a mere 1.5 percent of high-risk patients were prescribed naloxone, which can reverse an overdose, according to the study published in JAMA Network Open. Congo Ebola deaths surpass 1,000 as attacks on treatment centers go on

The death toll from an Ebola outbreak in Congo rose above 1,000 on Friday, with attacks on treatment centers continuing to hamper efforts to control the "intense transmission" of the second-worst epidemic of the virus on record. The World Health Organization said it expected the nine-month outbreak to continue spreading though the east of Democratic Republic of Congo, and announced plans to expand vaccinations in the coming weeks once a new treatment by Johnson & Johnson is approved. Newly adopted children need specialized health exams

Children who are adopted, whether domestically or internationally, have unique healthcare needs that should be assessed as soon as possible, according to new guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Pediatricians and other healthcare workers should play a significant role in the adoption process, the guideline authors emphasize. AIDS drugs prevent sexual transmission of HIV in gay men

A European study of nearly 1,000 gay male couples who had sex without condoms – where one partner had HIV and was taking antiretroviral drugs to suppress it - has found the treatment can prevent sexual transmission of the virus. After eight years of follow-up of the so-called serodifferent couples, the study found no cases at all of HIV transmission within couples. Founder, execs of drug company guilty in conspiracy that fed opioid crisis

The founder of Insys Therapeutics Inc on Thursday became the highest-ranking pharmaceutical executive to be convicted in a case tied to the U.S. opioid crisis, when he and four colleagues were found guilty of participating in a scheme to bribe doctors to prescribe an addictive painkiller. A federal jury in Boston found John Kapoor, the drugmaker's former chairman, and his co-defendants guilty of racketeering conspiracy for engaging in a scheme that also misled insurers into paying for the drug. Scientology cruise ship leaves St. Lucia after measles quarantine

A cruise ship quarantined for a reported case of measles left the Caribbean island of St. Lucia late on Thursday after health officials provided 100 doses of vaccine to the ship, media reports said. The Church of Scientology cruise ship was confined in port this week by island health officials after the highly contagious disease was detected on board. Healthy plant-based diet (but not plant-based junk food) may protect kidneys

While a healthy-plant based diet is tied to a lower risk of kidney disease, people who fill their plates with starchy, sugary vegetarian fare may actually increase their risk of kidney damage, a new study suggests. Researchers examined data on eating habits and kidney function for 14,686 middle-aged adults, following half of them for at least 24 years. Overall, 4,343 participants developed chronic kidney disease. Maine Senate rejects ending religious exemptions for vaccinations

An effort to end all non-medical exemptions for childhood vaccinations in Maine was in limbo on Thursday after the state Senate voted to amend it to allow parents to keep opting out on religious grounds. The bill had passed the Democratic-controlled state House of Representatives last month, making Maine one of at least seven states considering ending non-medical exemptions amid the worst outbreak of measles in the United States in 25 years.