Health News Roundup: Brazil halts beef exports; bird flu resistant chickens

U.S. health officials report 41 new cases of measles last week

The United States recorded 41 new measles cases last week, bringing the year's total number of cases to 981 in the worst outbreak of the disease since 1992, federal health officials said on Monday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the number of cases of the highly contagious and sometimes deadly disease rose 4% in the week ended May 31 from the prior week. The 2019 outbreak, which has spread to 26 states, is the worst since 1992 when 2,126 cases were recorded.

Preemies and early arrivals have higher risk of heart disease as adults

Babies who are born too soon may be more likely to develop heart disease as adults than full-term infants, a new study suggests. Adults who were born before 37 weeks gestation were 53 per cent more likely to develop heart disease than people who were full-term babies, researchers found. And people who'd been born just a little bit early - at 37 to 38 weeks gestation - were 19 per cent more likely to develop heart disease.

Brazil halts beef exports to China after atypical mad cow case

Brazil has temporarily halted beef exports to China following an atypical case of mad cow disease in leading farm state Mato Grosso, the agriculture ministry said on Monday. China, Brazil's largest beef importer by sales, spent $1.5 billion on Brazilian beef last year, totalling 322,400 tonnes or almost 20% of all shipments, according to local beef exporters association Abiec.

Even mild brain injuries tied to lasting functional deficits

People who have mild traumatic brain injuries may be more likely to have lasting functional deficits that get in the way of daily activities than patients who experience other types of injuries, a U.S. study suggests. Although long-term cognitive and physical impairments are well-known after-effects of moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries, doctors are less certain of the expected course of recovery for people with mild traumatic brain injuries, researchers note in JAMA Neurology.

Without older subjects, cancer drugs trials rely on atypical patients

Patients selected to participate in studies of cancer drugs tend to be younger than most people with the disease in the general population, researchers say. In one recent study, in fact, they were more than six years younger than the median age of patients with the same kind of cancer, researchers reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago.

Scientists edit chicken genes to make them resistant to bird flu

By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - Scientists in Britain have used gene-editing techniques to stop bird flu spreading in chicken cells grown in a lab - a key step towards making genetically-altered chickens that could halt a human flu pandemic.

Merck wins U.S. FDA approval for expanded use of antibiotic

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Monday it approved expanded use of Merck & Co Inc's antibiotic to treat hospital-acquired pneumonia in patients 18 years and older. The approval is based on the treatment's late-stage trial results, which showed that Merck's drug, Zerbaxa, was as effective as another antibacterial drug.

In states with most overdose deaths, poor patients struggle to find treatment

Poor people with opioid use disorders may struggle to find doctors to prescribe the anti-addiction drug buprenorphine in U.S. states with the highest overdose death rates, a new study suggests. In 2018, researchers posing as patients called to schedule appointments for a buprenorphine prescription at 1,092 clinics with 546 clinicians who could offer the drug. The clinics were located in the places with high rates of opioid overdose deaths in 2016: Massachusetts; Maryland; New Hampshire; Ohio; West Virginia; and Washington, D.C.

Seattle Genetics, Astellas drug rapidly shrinks tumours in bladder cancer study

An experimental drug developed by Seattle Genetics Inc and Astellas Pharma Inc led to significant, rapid tumour shrinkage in patients with advanced bladder cancer who had been previously treated with immunotherapy and chemotherapy in a midstage trial, according to data presented on Monday. Seattle Genetics shares rose 4.3% to $67.84.

Therapy in the office: banks take mental health fight in-house

In 'Billions', a U.S. television show set in the world of hedge funds, traders at the fictional Axe Capital regularly attend sessions with an in-house psychiatrist. In real life, finance professionals are rarely so open about seeking psychological help.