Health News Roundup: US FDA staff raise concerns over data from J&J, Bristol's CAR-T therapies; Bird flu strain raises alarm as virus kills South American wildlife and more

This strain has already killed a handful of dolphins in Chile and Peru, some 50,000 seals and sea lions along the coasts, and at least half a million birds regionwide. US health department opens probe into UnitedHealth hack The U.S. Department Of Health and Human Services (HHS) has opened an investigation into the cyberattack at UnitedHealth Group's Change Healthcare unit that disrupted pharmacy refills and insurance claims processing.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Lilly partners with Amazon to deliver Zepbound and other drugs

Eli Lilly said on Wednesday it has brought on Amazon.com's pharmacy unit to deliver drug prescriptions sent to its direct-to-consumer service, LillyDirect. Lilly launched the platform in January to enable patients to obtain their migraine, diabetes and obesity drugs, including the popular weight-loss medicine Zepbound, directly from the company via delivery from online pharmacy Truepill.

Texas man who lived seven decades in iron lung dies at age 78

A paralyzed Texas man who lived 70 years inside an iron lung after he survived polio as a child has died, his family said. Paul Alexander, 78, died on Monday, his brother Philip said in a post on Facebook. He gave no cause of death.

Ionis Pharma's fatty liver disease drug succeeds in mid-stage trial

Ionis Pharmaceuticals said on Wednesday its experimental drug to treat a type of fatty liver disease met the main goal of reducing inflammation of the critical organ in a mid-stage trial. The results come as companies race to bring the first approved treatment for the disease and tap into a global market expected to surpass $16 billion by 2030, according to market research firm Vision Research Reports.

US FDA staff raise concerns over data from J&J, Bristol's CAR-T therapies

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's staff on Wednesday raised concerns that it was unclear if Johnson & Johnson and Bristol Myers Squibb's cell therapies would benefit blood cancer patients when given as early treatments. Regulatory approval for the therapies as earlier treatments could expand their use to a larger subset of blood cancer patients who are less sick than those treated with multiple therapies. The therapies - J&J's Carvykti and Bristol's Abecma - belong to class known as CAR-T.

Bird flu strain raises alarm as virus kills South American wildlife

The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has spread more aggressively than ever before in wild birds and marine mammals since arriving in South America in 2022, raising the risk of it evolving into a bigger threat to humans, according to interviews with eight scientists. Of more immediate concern is evidence the disease, once largely confined to bird species, appears to be spreading between mammals. This strain has already killed a handful of dolphins in Chile and Peru, some 50,000 seals and sea lions along the coasts, and at least half a million birds regionwide.

US health department opens probe into UnitedHealth hack

The U.S. Department Of Health and Human Services (HHS) has opened an investigation into the cyberattack at UnitedHealth Group's Change Healthcare unit that disrupted pharmacy refills and insurance claims processing. The investigation, announced on Wednesday, is the first government probe into the Feb. 21 cyberattack that has jolted the U.S. health system as the unit processes about 50% of medical claims in the country.

Eggland's Best is sued over saturated fat claims for its eggs

Eggland's Best, one of the largest U.S. egg producers, has been sued for falsely claiming that its eggs contain less saturated fat than other eggs. The proposed class action filed on Tuesday in federal court in Chicago by Richard Vilchis challenges Eggland's Best's claim on its packaging that its eggs contain "25% less saturated fat than regular eggs."

Why did menopause evolve? New study of whales gives some clues

Menopause is a rare trait among Earth's species, known to exist in only a few. Humans are one. Killer whales and four other toothed whales are the others. New research examines menopause in these whales, with findings that may help explain why this phenomenon evolved, given that it is known in just six of the 6,000-plus mammal species living today. It might be titled: the tale of the helpful grandma whale.

Class action lawsuits pile up over UnitedHealth data breach

UnitedHealth Group has already been hit with at least six class action lawsuits accusing it of failing to protect millions of people's personal data from last month's hack of Change Healthcare, its payment processing unit, with more lawsuits likely to come. In a motion filed late on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., plaintiffs' lawyers asked a federal judicial panel to consolidate the six cases in federal court in Nashville, Tennessee, where Change is headquartered, and said they expected more cases to be filed.

Global child mortality rates dropped in 2022 but progress slow, UN says

The number of children globally who died before their fifth birthday dropped to a record low of 4.9 million in 2022, but that still represents one death every six seconds, according to new United Nations estimates. While the mortality rate for under-5s has roughly halved since 2000, the world is still behind in the goal of reducing preventable deaths in that age group by 2030, and progress has slowed since 2015, the report, released on Wednesday, found.

(With inputs from agencies.)