Reuters - Health Report

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Friday, February 16, 2018

Swiss skiers first athletes hit by norovirus at Games

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (Reuters) - Two Swiss freestyle skiers are the first athletes confirmed to have been hit by a highly contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea at the Pyeongchang Winter Games, the Swiss Olympic team confirmed on Friday.

Pot Pharm: Booming Canada weed sector plots next-wave medicines

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canopy Growth Corp, one of the world's biggest medical marijuana producers, now wants to take on the world's pharmaceutical giants.

U.S. FDA looks to pave way for earlier-stage Alzheimer's drugs

(Reuters) - U.S. regulators have proposed lowering the bar for clinical trial success for experimental Alzheimer's drugs to better align with the current emphasis on the need to treat people when they are in the earliest stages of the brain-wasting disease.

U.S. officials warn 'intense' flu season to continue, urge shots

(Reuters) - Adults who get a flu shot are 36 percent less likely to get the disease, while for children the figure was an unexpectedly high 59 percent, U.S. health officials said on Thursday, predicting that the current "intense" season could continue for weeks.

Give women more time to give birth, make choices: WHO

GENEVA (Reuters) - Women in labor should be given more time to give birth and have fewer medical interventions, while participating more in decision-making, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

Nokia starts review of digital health business, cuts jobs in Finland

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish network gear maker Nokia has started a strategic review of its digital health business and announced more than 400 job cuts in its home country.

Roche to buy Flatiron Health for $1.9 billion to expand cancer care portfolio

(Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG said on Thursday it would buy the rest of U.S. cancer data company Flatiron Health for $1.9 billion to speed development of cancer medicines and support its efforts to price them based on how well they work.

Limb amputation rates for blocked arteries vary by race and setting

(Reuters Health) - Patients with severe blockages in leg arteries can sometimes be treated with surgery to reroute blood flow; otherwise they require amputation - which black patients are more likely than whites to get, according to a study of New York State data.

Short kids may have a higher stroke risk as adults

(Reuters Health) - Children who are just a few inches shorter than their peers are more likely to suffer a stroke in adulthood, a large Danish study suggests.

Red tide outbreak in Chile puts salmon farms on alert: industry group

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A growing outbreak of "red tide" has put salmon farms on alert in fish-rich southern Chile, an industry group said on Thursday, though its impact is still far less extensive than in 2016, when a much larger outbreak decimated fish farms.