Health News Roundup: Almost 400,000 deaths in Europe in 2021 attributable to filthy air -EU report; Japan detects season's first bird flu case, to cull 40,000 birds - NHK and more

Pollution from nitrogen dioxide (NO2), most harmful to people with diabetes, resulted in 52,000 deaths and short-term ozone (O3) exposure led to 22,000 deaths. Japan detects season's first bird flu case, to cull 40,000 birds - NHK Japan detected the first case of highly pathogenic H5-type bird flu this season at a poultry farm in the south of the country, public broadcaster NHK reported on Saturday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Almost 400,000 deaths in Europe in 2021 attributable to filthy air -EU report

Almost 400,000 deaths in Europe in 2021 were related to three main air pollutants and some could have been avoided if pollutants had been reduced to World Health Organisation-recommended levels, an EU report said on Friday. The European Environment Agency (EEA) said that within the European Union, pollution caused by fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which affects people with heart diseases in particular, led to 253,000 deaths in 2021. Pollution from nitrogen dioxide (NO2), most harmful to people with diabetes, resulted in 52,000 deaths and short-term ozone (O3) exposure led to 22,000 deaths.

Japan detects season's first bird flu case, to cull 40,000 birds - NHK

Japan detected the first case of highly pathogenic H5-type bird flu this season at a poultry farm in the south of the country, public broadcaster NHK reported on Saturday. The local government in Saga prefecture will cull about 40,000 birds on the farm, NHK said, citing agriculture ministry officials it did not name.

Zimbabwe restricts gatherings, food vending as cholera cases spike

Zimbabwe's government has started restricting public gatherings and food vending, while monitoring burials in all areas affected by cholera, after cases of the disease spiked this week. New cholera cases in the southern African country trebled from 437 to 1,259 this week, the biggest jump since the latest outbreak of the water-borne disease started in February. This has triggered panic in Zimbabwe, where more than 4,000 people died from cholera in 2008.

Novo Nordisk invests $2.3 billion in France to boost obesity drug production

Novo Nordisk on Thursday announced a $2.3 billion investment to boost production of its wildly popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs at a site in Chartres, France as it races to meet soaring demand. The investment will significantly increase production capacity for current medicines including Ozempic and Wegovy as well as other obesity treatments that are being developed, the Danish drugmaker said.

Novo to launch Wegovy in Asia with February roll-out in Japan

Novo Nordisk will launch its hugely popular anti-obesity drug Wegovy in Japan on Feb. 22, its first launch in Asia, the company said on Thursday, even as it struggles to keep up with demand in existing markets. The Danish company has picked Japan as the sixth country in which to launch Wegovy despite obesity being a much smaller problem in the Asian country relative to the West.