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Health

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Health

CDC and FDA Link Salmonella Illnesses in 12 States to Raw Oysters From Virginia's Little Wicomico River

Twenty-seven people are sick and five were hospitalised, and the recalled shellfish went to restaurants and retailers in 15 states and Washington, DC. Here is what to check.

Oct 20, 2026/2 min read

Five oysters in their shells on crushed ice with lemon wedges on a white plate, photographed on 16 December 2017, a file photograph illustrative of raw oysters and not of the recalled Little Wicomico River product

Health

FDA Approves Dostarlimab for dMMR Rectal Cancer, an Option That May Spare Some Patients Surgery

The first immunotherapy cleared for locally advanced rectal cancer with a specific tumour fingerprint, approved four months early on interim data that still needs confirming.

Oct 19, 2026/2 min read

A pink anatomical model of the small and large intestines laid out on a green board outdoors, photographed on 1 June 2016, a file photograph illustrative of digestive anatomy and not of any patient or treatment

Health

Kenya's Ebola Count Rises to Seven After Three Health Workers Who Treated the First Patient Test Positive

The health ministry reported four new Bundibugyo cases on Saturday, all linked to the man who died on 5 October, and says there is no evidence of community spread.

Oct 17, 2026/2 min read

A colourised electron micrograph of an Ebola virus particle in blue on a red background, published by the US Centers for Disease Control, a file image illustrative of Ebola viruses in general and not of Kenya's cases

Health

BMJ Analysis Warns Fast-Growing Private Testosterone Prescribing Could Land on the NHS

Two UK clinicians say subscription clinics may be treating vague symptoms and borderline blood tests, leaving the health service to monitor patients it never diagnosed.

Oct 14, 2026/2 min read

A 10 ml vial of Depo-Testosterone, an injectable form of testosterone, an undated U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration file photograph illustrative of testosterone medicine and not of any private clinic or product in the analysis

Health

Cochrane Review Finds Medical Cannabis Has No Clear Benefit for Insomnia, With Weak Evidence Either Way

Pooling nine small trials of 537 adults, reviewers found little to no meaningful gain in sleep from regulated cannabis products, more mild side effects, and evidence too weak to guide treatment.

Oct 13, 2026/2 min read

A cannabis plant in leaf, photographed in September 2010, a file photograph illustrative of the plant and not of any product tested in the trials

Health

Lancet Commission Names 17 Threats to Global Health Through 2100, With Obesity the Largest by Burden

Launched at the World Health Summit in Berlin, the assessment counts avoidable lost healthy life to 2100 and puts nuclear conflict and malicious AI top for extinction risk, but is no ranking.

Oct 12, 2026/2 min read

The Berlin skyline with the Fernsehturm and the River Spree in evening light, photographed in June 2023, a file photograph of the city where the commission was launched and not of the World Health Summit

Health

Ebola in Eastern Congo Passes 8,700 Confirmed Cases as North Kivu Takes a Growing Share and Kenya Watches Its Contacts

WHO's latest figures show weekly cases holding near 480 across seven provinces, no approved vaccine or treatment, and contact tracing short of its target. Kenya's imported case remains a single one.

Oct 11, 2026/2 min read

Health

FDA Approves Pritelivir for Herpes Lesions That Resist Standard Antivirals in Immunocompromised Adults

Hovilpri, a daily tablet with a new mechanism, beat investigators' choice of older drugs in a 101-person trial. It is aimed at people with transplants, blood cancers or HIV whose sores will not heal.

Oct 10, 2026/2 min read

A cluster of herpes-infected cells with enlarged, moulded nuclei seen under a microscope in a stained cervical smear, a file micrograph illustrative of herpes simplex virus infection and not of any patient in the trial

Health

Two Days After the Nobel for Optogenetics, a Small NEJM Trial Shows It Helped Some Blind Patients Detect Objects

Ten people with advanced retinitis pigmentosa got a light-sensing gene and wore camera goggles. Light sensitivity improved in seven, but sight was not restored and the trial was built for safety.

Oct 9, 2026/3 min read

A fundus photograph of the retina of a patient with end-stage retinitis pigmentosa, showing pigment deposits across the retina, published in 2006, a clinical illustration of the disease and not an image from the trial

Health

WHO Launches a Global Roadmap on Pre-Eclampsia and Pregnancy Hypertension, Tied to 42,000 Maternal Deaths a Year

The plan to 2035 targets a research gap, since few medicines exist for the condition, and the basic checks and drugs that many women still cannot reach in time.

Oct 8, 2026/3 min read

A blood pressure reading being taken on an upper arm with a cuff, an aneroid gauge and a stethoscope, photographed in 2009, a file photograph illustrative of routine blood pressure checks and not of any patient in this report

Health

WHO Says Diet and Exercise Come First and Children Under 10 Should Not Get Weight-Loss Drugs or Surgery

The agency's first global guideline on child obesity backs structured eating, activity and behaviour programmes, and allows medicines for teenagers only after those have failed.

Oct 7, 2026/3 min read

The headquarters of the World Health Organization in Geneva, photographed on 21 May 2007, a file photograph