Health News Roundup: African swine fever in illegally traded pigs; Vietnam culls 2 million pigs

Louisiana lawmakers pass bill to ban abortions as early as six weeks

The Louisiana House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to prohibit abortion after detection of an embryonic heartbeat, which can occur as early as six weeks from conception, often before a woman even realizes she is pregnant. The 79-23 vote by the Republican-controlled House sends the bill to the state's Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards, who has indicated that he would sign it.

China detects African swine fever in pigs illegally transported to Guizhou

China said on Friday it had detected the African swine fever virus in pigs being illegally transported to southwestern Guizhou province. A truck carrying 32 pigs from another province was stopped near the city of Duyun in Guizhou. One pig was already dead and another was sick, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on its website.

Louisiana governor to sign 'heartbeat' ban, latest move to curb U.S. abortion rights

Louisiana's Democratic governor said on Wednesday he would sign a bill passed earlier in the day to ban abortion when a fetal heartbeat is detected, the latest legislation in a movement in mostly Southern and Midwest states to curb abortion rights. Earlier on Wednesday, Missouri's governor renewed his intention to close a Planned Parenthood clinic and become the first state without a medical facility that performs abortions.

Missouri's only abortion clinic faces closure at midnight

Missouri could become the only U.S. state without a legal abortion provider on Friday as its only abortion clinic could lose its license to perform the procedure unless a St. Louis judge intervenes. The legal battle in St. Louis comes a week after Missouri Governor Mike Parson, a Republican, signed a bill banning abortion beginning in the eighth week of pregnancy, making Missouri one of eight U.S. states that have passed anti-abortion legislation this year.

Major Hollywood studios may reconsider Georgia business over abortion law

The producer of the hit television series "The Walking Dead" and other major Hollywood film and TV studios said on Thursday they would reconsider locating productions in Georgia if a new state law restricting abortions takes effect. WarnerMedia, CBS Corp, Viacom Inc, NBCUniversal and "Walking Dead" producer AMC Networks Inc weighed in a day after Walt Disney Co's chief executive, Bob Iger, told Reuters that many people will not want to work in Georgia if the law is implemented, making it "very difficult" for the company to film there.

Congo's Ebola epidemic inflicts heavy toll on children

BUTEMBO, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Eight-year-old Kennedy Muhindo was running a high fever and racked by stomach pain and diarrhea. Health workers told him he had Ebola but his first thought was for his sister who had been battling the virus.

'How can she have HIV?': Pakistan town struggles with surge in infections

Doctors in a town in Pakistan are struggling to cope with a surge in patients infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, with nearly 700 cases since April, most of them children. Health officials suspect the outbreak is linked to reused syringes and needles and improperly screened blood transfusions.

U.S. measles cases in 2019 highest since 1992

The United States recorded 971 cases of measles in the first five months of 2019, surpassing the total for any year since 1992, which was before the disease was declared eradicated in the country, federal officials said on Thursday. The United States declared measles eradicated from the country in 2000, but officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on Thursday that the country risks losing its measles elimination status.

Many older adults fall at home in well-lit rooms

Elderly people who fall may not always be stumbling over things in the dark. A new study suggests most of these falls at home happen when there's plenty of light. Falls are a leading cause of disability and diminished quality of life among older adults, but much of the research to date on the underlying causes of these incidents has relied on medical records that don't illuminate exactly what led to the accident, researchers note in the Journals of Gerontology: Series A.

Vietnam culls 2 million pigs, urges whole nation to fight swine fever

Vietnam said on Friday it has culled 2 million pigs in a bid to curb an outbreak of deadly African swine fever and called on the entire nation to join the fight against the rapidly spreading disease. The virus had spread to 48 of the country's 63 provinces, agriculture minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong said at a meeting of parliament, upping the number of pigs culled from 1.7 million less than a week ago.