Health News Roundup: Cholera surge in Yemen; African swine fever measures taken by Korea

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Cholera surge stalks Yemen's hungry and displaced

In the last two weeks, Dr Asmahan Ahmed has seen a surge in suspected cholera cases arriving at her health centre in Abs, a small, Houthi-held town in northwest Yemen. "Every day there are 30-50 cases, no fewer. Suddenly it became like this," she said in the 15-bed diarrhoea treatment centre.

North Korea steps up measures to prevent the spread of African swine fever

North Korea has stepped up measures to prevent the spread of the highly contagious and deadly African swine fever, its main state newspaper said on Wednesday, breaking its silence on the outbreak which was first reported in late May. In late May, North Korea reported an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), South Korea's agriculture ministry said but the North has not made any official comment on its outbreak.

FDA unveils new guidelines for e-cigarette makers

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday carved out new recommendations for makers of e-cigarettes, or vapes, including guidelines on how to address public health issues while designing their products. Currently, there are no authorized e-cigarettes on the U.S. market.

Oral Novo Nordisk diabetes drug poses no more heart risk than placebo: study

An experimental oral form of a Novo Nordisk drug for type 2 diabetes posed no greater risk of serious heart problems or death than a placebo in patients at high risk for such complications, according to data from a large study presented on Tuesday. Patients with type 2 diabetics and either heart disease or at high risk for heart problems who received the drug semaglutide in pill form had a combined rate of heart attack, stroke or heart-related death of 3.8% compared with 4.8% for placebo, successfully demonstrating non-inferiority.

Planned Parenthood sues the U.S. to block a rule that may limit abortions

Planned Parenthood and other nonprofits offering family planning services sued the Trump administration on Tuesday to block a new federal rule letting healthcare workers refuse abortions and other services because of religious or moral objections. The two lawsuits filed in Manhattan federal court said enforcing the "conscience" rule would encourage discrimination against women, minorities, the poor, the uninsured, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people by curbing access to legal healthcare procedures, including life-saving treatments.

Mental illness affects a fifth of people living in war zones

One in five people in war zones has depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, with many suffering severe forms of these mental illnesses. The findings highlight the long-term impact of war-induced crises in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen, the UN's health agency said, and the numbers are significantly higher than in peacetime populations, where around one in 14 people have a mental illness.

For female vets, sex assault in military boosts odds of lasting sexual pain

Military women who are sexually assaulted may be at an especially high risk of developing lasting sexual pain, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers who interviewed more than 1,000 female veterans found the risk of sexual pain was higher among those assaulted while serving in the military than those who experienced sexual abuse as children, according to the study published in Obstetrics & Gynecology. The risk was highest among those who had experienced sexual abuse as children and who were assaulted while serving in the military.

Uganda confirms first Ebola case during the current outbreak, a Congolese child: WHO

Uganda has confirmed its first case of Ebola during the current outbreak, a 5-year-old Congolese child who is receiving care after arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. "This is the first confirmed case in Uganda during the Ebola outbreak on-going in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo," the WHO said in a statement.

HIV prevention pill recommended for healthy people at risk

Healthy people at risk for HIV should take a daily pill to minimize their chances of getting the virus, according to new guidelines from an influential panel of U.S. physicians. Anyone at risk for HIV – including people with HIV-positive partners, people who have unprotected sex with at-risk individuals, and people who inject illegal drugs – should take the daily pill, called Truvada, to prevent the virus, according to recommendations issued today by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). The Task Force, a government-backed panel that reviews medical evidence, helps shape what services are offered by primary care providers and covered by insurance.

Congo declares a measles epidemic after it kills more than Ebola

Congo's government has declared an epidemic of measles, which the latest health ministry figures show has now killed at least 1,500 people, over a hundred more than have died of Ebola. While health officials have focused on the far deadlier hemorrhagic Ebola virus concentrated in Democratic Republic of Congo's lawless east, some 65,000 suspected cases of measles have been reported across the vast central African country.