Health

India: 164 swine flu deaths in Raj, highest in country

Jaipur, Oct 10 (PTI) Rajasthan recorded 164 deaths due to swine flu till September this year, the highest in the country, according to official data.

According to National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), a total of 1,652 cases of swine flu surfaced in Rajasthan till September 30.

A total of 4,484 positive swine flu cases were recorded in the country and 353 deaths occurred during the period, as per the data.

Weight loss associated with lower risk of breast cancer: study

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- A study published on Monday in the journal Cancer showed that weight loss was linked to lower risk of developing invasive breast cancer for postmenopausal women.

Obesity has been strongly related to breast cancer risk, but previous studies examining whether weight loss might reduce postmenopausal women's risk resulted in mixed results.

UN report on global warming carries life-or-death warning

WASHINGTON; 8 Oct 2018; (AP) — Preventing an extra single degree of heat could make a life-or-death difference in the next few decades for multitudes of people and ecosystems on this fast-warming planet, an international panel of scientists reported Sunday. But they provide little hope the world will rise to the challenge.

The Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued its gloomy report at a meeting in Incheon, South Korea.

Delhi's air quality slips back to poor category: authorities

New Delhi, Oct 8 (PTI) Delhi's air quality has slipped back to poor category due to change in direction of wind, which is now flowing from stubble burning areas in Punjab and Haryana, authorities said Monday.

The air quality Sunday had improved to moderate level with an index of 181 but Monday the air quality slipped to poor category with the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 235, according to data at the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).

Viagra may cause irreversible damage to colour vision

Washington, Oct 2 (PTI) High doses of Viagra -- a popular erectile-dysfunction medication -- can cause irreverible damage to a person's colour vision, a first-of-its-kind study suggests.

Researchers from Mount Sinai Health System in the US based their study on a 31-year-old patient who arrived at an urgent care clinic complaining of red-tinted vision in both eyes that had not gone away in two days.

He reported that his symptoms began shortly after taking a dose of liquid sildenafil citrate, sold under the brand name Viagra.

California affirms car mileage rule despite Trump rollback

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California told automakers Friday they must still comply with the state’s strict vehicle mileage standards even if President Donald Trump rolls back federal rules.

The action by California Air Resources Board was widely expected. It sets up a likely court battle if the Trump administration follows through with an attempt to revoke California’s unique authority to set its own vehicle emissions standards. Those standards have been adopted by 12 other states that account for about a third of vehicle sales in the United States.

Risk of Ebola’s spread from Congo now ‘very high,’ WHO says

JOHANNESBURG; 29 Sep 2018; (AP) — The World Health Organization says the risk of the deadly Ebola virus spreading from Congo is now “very high” after two confirmed cases were discovered near the Uganda border.

The outbreak in northeastern Congo is larger than the previous one in the northwest and more complicated for health officials. Some of their work was briefly suspended in the past week following a deadly attack in Beni by one of several rebel groups active in the region.

New HIV infections rising dramatically in Philippines

MANILA, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- At least 31 Filipinos are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) each day in the Philippines, government data showed with the Department of Health (DOH) voicing alarm over the spread in the Philippines of HIV that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

US, India form alliance to combat TB

New York, Sep 27; PTI: The challenge of tuberculosis cannot be successfully tackled unless special attention is paid to India's tuberculosis epidemic, a top American aid agency official has said as the US and India formed an alliance to combat the deadly disease that kills one person every minute in the country.

The 'USAID-India End TB Alliance' was announced on Wednesday by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) administrator Mark Green at an event in New York in presence of Union Health Minister J P Nadda.

Brunei boasts 2nd cleanest urban air quality in the world: study

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Brunei has the second least polluted urban areas in the world, according to study by the World Health Organization (WHO) measuring ambient air pollution in 1,622 locations across 92 countries.

Australia has the least polluted urban areas, followed by Brunei and New Zealand. Estonia is Europe's top performing nation, followed by Finland and Iceland, said local daily the Borneo Bulletin on Monday, quoting the WHO study.

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