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WHO rejects calls to move Olympics over Zika fears

The World Health Organization has ruled out any change in timing or the location of the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, shunning a call by doctors and scientists to shift the event over the Zika virus. An open letter addressed to the global health body signed by 150 international doctors, scientists and researchers Friday had called for the August Games to be moved or delayed to help prevent the spread of Zika virus. Holding the Games in Rio, the second worst affected city in Brazil, would be “irresponsible” and “unethical” and could risk spreading the virus to “poor, as-yet unaffected places” like Africa and South Asia, said the letter.

Zika virus may spread to Europe in coming months, WHO warns

By Kate Kelland LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) – The Zika virus, an infectious disease linked to severe birth defects in babies, may spread into Europe as the weather gets warmer, although the risk is low, health officials said on Wednesday. In its first assessment of the threat Zika poses to the region, the World Health Organization's European office said the overall risk was small to moderate. It is highest in areas where Aedes mosquitoes thrive, in particular on the island of Madeira and the north-eastern coast of the Black Sea.

How can the world improve the lives of women and girls by 2030?

With women and girls facing discrimination and violence in every part of the world, the United Nations last year committed to work toward gender equality in the next 15 years as part of a new set of global goals. The Women Deliver conference, billed as the largest women’s event in a decade, is being held from May 16-19, organized by a global advocacy organization fighting for girls’ and women’s health, rights and wellbeing.

White House urges Congress to move on Zika funding

By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two senior Obama administration officials wrote congressional leaders on Tuesday to urge legislation be passed to fund the fight against the Zika virus, as concerns mount the United States will soon face locally transmitted cases of the disease. U.S. health officials concluded this month that the virus, spreading rapidly in the Americas, was a cause of microcephaly, a rare birth defect defined by unusually small head size that can hamper development. Zika is also linked to other health problems.

Teens most drawn to e-cigarettes by online ads

To see which e-cigarette ad formats were most persuasive to teens, researchers analyzed data from a recent nationwide survey of about 22,000 middle school and high school students from grades 6 through 12, when youth are typically about 12 to 18 years old. When middle school kids said they routinely viewed e-cigarette ads online, they were almost three times more likely to use the devices than their peers who never saw ads. “E-cigarette ads use many of the same themes used to sell cigarettes and other conventional tobacco products, such as independence, rebellion and sex,” said lead study author Dr. Tushar Singh of the Office on Smoking and Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

New AbbVie hepatitis C regimen shows high cure rates: studies

An experimental once-daily combination hepatitis C treatment being developed by AbbVie Inc demonstrated very high cure rates across a wide range of disease genotypes, according to data presented on Saturday, likely giving the company a more competitive product if approved. Cure rates of 97 percent to 100 percent over either eight or 12 weeks of treatment were achieved in the clinical trials with the one pill, once-a-day combination of ABT-493 and ABT-530, which use different methods to block virus replication. The combination would provide greater convenience for a wider variety of patients than AbbVie's Viekira Pak, improving chances of making inroads into the market domination currently enjoyed by Gilead Sciences Inc. Viekira Pak, which is approved for genotype 1, the most common form of the serious liver disease in the United States, consists of four drugs and involves taking three pills in the morning and one in the evening.

Formula One’s ‘Halo’ protection device on track for 2017

By Ian Ransom MELBOURNE (Reuters) – The prototype “halo” head protection device, aimed at shielding Formula One drivers from flying debris, is on track to be adopted for the 2017 season pending a safety review, race director Charlie Whiting said on Friday. The halo, which is fixed to the cockpit at three points including a central pillar right in front of the driver, made its debut in Spain earlier this month. F1 outfit Red Bull, whose team principal Christian Horner has expressed misgivings over the halo's design, are developing a separate device but Whiting said it was unlikely to be ready in time for 2017.

Sharapova’s peers stunned, but support doping system

By Mark Lamport-Stokes INDIAN WELLS, California (Reuters) – While Maria Sharapova's fellow players were shocked by the Russian's announcement that she failed a drug test at the Australian Open, most of them felt the “huge mistake” could have been avoided. World number three Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland described it as “a very sad day for tennis” but expressed the views of many by saying it was down to every player, via their doctor, to check whether prescribed medications were legal. Five-times grand slam champion Sharapova tested positive for meldonium, which some researchers have linked to increased athletic performance and endurance, after failing by her own admission to realize that it had been outlawed since Jan. 1.

S.Sudan oil production pollution threatens thousands: monitors

Dangerous heavy metals used in oil production in war-torn South Sudan have leaked into drinking water sources used by 180,000 people with life-threatening health risks, a rights group said Friday. Toxicological tests carried out on hair samples from 96 volunteers living around the Thar Jath oil processing plant in South Sudan's northern Unity region revealed they were “highly intoxicated with pollutants such as lead and barium,” said Klaus Stieglitz, from the German-based Sign of Hope organisation. “The total toxic stress — as found in the hair samples — of the human population of the area is life-threatening,” said Klaus-Dietrich Runow, from Germany's Institute for Functional Medicine and Environmental Health, one of two separate independent toxicologists who assessed the samples.

Cyclone-hit remote Fiji islands begin to receive aid, death toll 42

By Jane Wardell and Jarni Blakkarly SYDNEY (Reuters) – The Fijian government and international aid agencies began delivering much needed aid on Wednesday to the Pacific nation's remote islands and coastal villages devastated by a powerful cyclone that killed 42 people. The death toll has crept up in the days since Cyclone Winston struck Fiji late on Saturday as communication has gradually been restored with the outer reaches of the archipelago that is home to some 900,000 people. Thousands of people are still sheltering in evacuation centers, their homes destroyed by winds or flooded by the most powerful storm to ever strike a Pacific nation.