Reuters - Health Report

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Friday, October 20, 2017

Short on staff: Nursing crisis strains U.S. hospitals

MORGANTOWN, West Virginia (Reuters) - A shortage of nurses at U.S. hospitals hit West Virginia's Charleston Area Medical Center at the worst possible time.

Australia's second largest state edges towards permitting euthanasia

SYDNEY (Reuters) - The parliament of Australia's second largest state passed legislation on Friday to allow terminally ill patients to seek medical help to end their lives, a bill that is expected to act as a catalyst for the rest of the country to adopt similar laws.

In glyphosate review, WHO cancer agency edited out 'non-carcinogenic' findings

LONDON (Reuters) - The World Health Organization's cancer agency dismissed and edited findings from a draft of its review of the weedkiller glyphosate that were at odds with its final conclusion that the chemical probably causes cancer.

Toxic firecracker haze darkens Indian capital after festival of lights

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Air pollution in New Delhi hit 18 times the healthy limit on Friday under a thick, toxic haze after a night of fireworks to celebrate the Hindu festival of Diwali - despite a court-ordered ban on their sales.

New H7N9 bird flu strain in China has pandemic potential: study

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Lab experiments on a new strain of the H7N9 bird flu circulating in China suggest the virus can transmit easily among animals and can cause lethal disease, raising alarm that the virus has the potential to trigger a global human pandemic, researchers reported on Thursday.

White House says rollback of Obamacare must be part of short-term fix

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior White House aide said on Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump would demand steps toward repealing Obamacare in any healthcare legislation, comments that cast doubt on the prospects for a short-term bill to shore up insurance markets.

Celgene abandons Crohn's drug trials, shares drop

(Reuters) - Celgene Corp said it would abandon testing a drug to treat Crohn's disease, in a major setback to the U.S. biotechnology company's pipeline amid attempts to lower dependence on its mainstay Revilimid.

Some middle-class Americans worry Trump health subsidies cut will hurt

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Tom Westerman voted for Donald Trump in last year's election but says he might not do so again after the president cut off billions of dollars in Obamacare subsidies to health insurance companies.

Merck cyber attack may cost insurers $275 million: Verisk's PCS

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Insurers could pay $275 million to cover the insured portion of drugmaker Merck & Co's loss from a cyber attack in June, according to a forecast by Verisk Analytics Inc's Property Claim Services (PCS) unit.

Imprimis Pharma to take on Allergan's Restasis with cheaper product

(Reuters) - Shares of Imprimis Pharmaceuticals Inc sky-rocketed as much as 91 percent on Thursday, after the company said it would launch a cheaper alternative to Allergan Plc's controversial dry eye drug, Restasis, by next month.