E Asia Health RSS News Feed by Intellasia.Net

Measles cases rise after decade of decline

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 07:04:00 +0800

Measles outbreaks in parts of Europe and Africa led to some 60,000 more cases worldwide in 2010 over the previous year, after nearly a decade of declines, US health authorities said on Thursday.

The great French breast implant scandal

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:00:00 +0800

In March 2010, a pair of health inspectors acting on a tip paid a three-day visit to a factory in this hilly town on the Mediterranean coast.

Vietnam confirms 2nd human bird flu death in a month

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:00:00 +0800

A Vietnamese official on Thursday confirmed the country's second human death from bird flu in less than a month, after it went nearly two years with no reported fatalities.

Abortion curb restores birth sex ratio in Taiwan

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:07:00 +0800

Taiwanese health authorities said Tuesday that tougher checks on illegal gender-selective abortions prevented nearly 1,000 terminations of female foetuses last year.

China cadmium spill threatens city water supplies

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:04:00 +0800

China's environmental authorities were redoubling efforts Monday to prevent a toxic cadmium spill from further tainting water supplies of cities downstream, as seven chemical company officials were reported detained in connection with the accident.

New lung cancer test predicts survival

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

Clinical trials in the United States and China have shown that a new gene-based test for patients with lung cancer beats standard methods in predicting survival, researchers reported Friday.

Indonesia expects to produce bird flu vaccine next year

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

Indonesia is expected to be able to begin mass production of bird flu vaccine next year, Health minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said on Wednesday.

Taiwan advances to 45th in press freedom ranking: RSF

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

Taiwan moved upward three notches to 45th in the global press freedom rankings for 2011, according to a report released Wednesday by the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), a press freedom watchdog body.

French breast implant company boss charged

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

A French judge has charged Jean-Claude Mas, the founder of a breast implant company at the heart of a global health scare, with "involuntary injuries," his lawyer said.

Bird flu mutation studies must go on, says scientist

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:02:17 +0800

A scientist researching a potentially highly lethal airborne version of the H5N1 bird flu virus said on Wednesday he must be allowed to pursue his studies if deadly pandemics are to be prevented.

Much of Asia expects birth jump in Year of Dragon

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 07:09:00 +0800

Taiwan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, but you wouldn't know that from visiting the obstetrics department at Taiwan Adventist Hospital. The hallways were abuzz this week with dozens of women lined up for ultrasound checks and other appointments with obstetricians.

More labs close to deadly bird flu mutations - researcher

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 07:01:00 +0800

An international debate over whether to censor new research on bird flu may soon prove academic, as other laboratories close in on similar findings showing how one of the most deadly viruses could mutate to be transmitted from one person to another.

Bird flu claims second victim in China

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 07:00:01 +0800

A man in southwest China who contracted the bird flu virus died on Sunday, health authorities said, the second human death from the virulent disease in the country in just under a month.

Meeting to address bird flu research impasse: WHO

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

A small -- in relative terms -- group of technical experts will be invited to Geneva in mid-February to begin the difficult task of trying to break an impasse arising from the proposed publication of controversial bird flu research, the World Health Organization revealed Saturday.

Indonesia reports second bird flu death this year

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 07:07:56 +0800

Indonesia on Friday reported its second human death from bird flu this year, with the death of a five-year-old girl who recently lost her relative to the deadly virus.

Korea approves sales of new stem cell drug

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

South Korea's government drug agency cleared the way Thursday for commercial sales of what it called the world's first approved medicine using stem cells collected from other people.

German researchers pave way to cheaper malaria drug

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

German researchers announced Tuesday they had discovered a process to make the most effective anti-malaria drug cheaper and easier to produce in large life-saving quantities.

Breast milk courier helps Indonesian mums cope

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

Febby Kemala Dewi returned to work at a Jakarta accounting firm after three months of maternity leave but struggled, like many new mums, to balance her home and work lives - especially keeping her infant daughter fed.

Singapore has one of the lowest tuberculosis rates in Asia

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

About 1,380 Singapore residents have been diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) each year over the last five years, with 95 per cent of the infections affecting adults.

China cancer village tests reach of law against pollution

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

Nothing in Wu Wenyong's rural childhood hinted he would end up on a hospital bed aged 15, battling two kinds of cancer.

First bird flu victim of year clings to life

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

A two-year-old boy from Banteay Meanchey province is in critical condition after being diagnosed with avian influenza in the Kingdom's first confirmed case of the virus this year, according to a joint statement from the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization issued on Friday.

Cambodia finds first case of H5N1 infection in human in 2012

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

A 2-year-old boy from northwestern Cambodian province of Banteay Meanchey was infected with avian influenza H5N1 virus, Cambodia's Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization announced Friday.

Japan planning breast milk radiation tests

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

Some new mothers in Japan may soon be adding radiation testing of their breast milk to their list of health checkups.

Spread of HIV virus continues unabated in Philippines

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

With a 50 percent increase in new HIV infections over the past 10 years and decreasing local and foreign funding for anti-Aids programmes, the Philippines is a "long way" from meeting its sixth Millennium Development Goal - halting and reversing the spread of the dreaded disease - by 2015, according to the country coordinator of the United Nations Programme on HIV-Aids (UNAIDS).

Korea to approve world's 2nd batch of stem cell-based drugs

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

Two South Korean biotechnology firms are expected to receive government approval for their stem cell drugs this month, paving the way for the world's second batch of stem cell-based medicines to hit the market, sources said Sunday.

No need for routine removal of breast implants-UK

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

Britain said on Friday a group of experts had concluded there was no need for the routine removal of breast impants made by a now defunct French company at the heart of a global health scare.

HK finds two infected birds?

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

The Hong Kong government said Friday that two dead birds found in the New Territories earlier this week have tested positive for a lethal strain of bird flu, the latest development in the global resurgence of the deadly virus.

American surgeon to remove 1 metre, 90 kilo tumour from Vietnam man's leg

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

An American surgeon, known for removing big tumors, will operate on a Vietnamese man Thursday to remove a one metre long, 90 kilogramme tumor in his right leg.

Disease outbreak sparks fears in Philippines' storm-hit Mindanao

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 07:05:00 +0800

The Philippines is struggling to help about 429,000 people on the southern island of Mindanao after the country's worst storm in three years as the first outbreaks of disease are reported and more rains forecast.

HK government offices hit by deadly bug

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 07:04:00 +0800

The bacteria that cause Legionnaires' disease have been found at several sites in the new Hong Kong government complex after one minister fell ill, in a major embarrassment for the authorities.

Dengue fever kills 72 Cambodian children in 2011, up 89pct

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

Cambodia's Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday that at least 72 Cambodian children had been killed by dengue fever in 2011, an increase of 89 percent, compared with the 2010's deaths of 38 kids.

Indonesia to launch family-planning to slow population growth

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

Indonesia says it's launching an ambitious family-planning programme in an effort to slow population growth in the capital of Jakarta, home to 9.6 million people.

China says finds no more excess toxins in milk

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

China's quality watchdog said it has found no further problems with milk tainted by high levels of carcinogenic mildew in tests of products by major dairy producers.

China reports first bird flu case in 18 months

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:34:03 +0800

China has reported its first human case of bird flu in 18 months, after a bus driver in the massive southern boomtown of Shenzhen tested positive for the deadly virus.

WHO 'deeply concerned' by mutant bird flu

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 07:05:00 +0800

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was "deeply concerned" about research into whether the H5N1 flu virus could be made more transmissible between humans after mutant strains were produced in labs.

Indonesia remains global bird flu 'hot spot'

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

The number of bird flu infections has declined over the past few years, but Indonesia remains the virus' "hot spot", as backyard poultry farms remain the backbone in supplying meat for the population, a senior health official says.

Taiwan bans doctors from revealing babies' sex early in pregnancy

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0800

Taiwan's health authorities issued an order calling all doctors to refrain from telling a pregnant woman the sex of her child during early stages of pregnancy when abortion is still an option, media reported Friday.

China jails six over tainted pork

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 07:00:00 +0800

A court in east China has jailed six butchers for selling pork tainted with the carcinogenic chemical clenbuterol, which is fed to pigs to produce leaner meat, state press reported Wednesday.

Malays researchers claim to have successfully mapped Malay genome

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 07:00:00 +0800

Researchers at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) have successfully mapped the Malay genome, a scientific breakthrough which is expected to generate billions of ringgit for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

China: Mildewed feed behind toxin in milk

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 07:00:00 +0800

Mildewed feed given to cows caused the high levels of a cancer-causing toxin found in milk from China's biggest dairy company and a smaller one, according to a government safety agency investigating the troubled dairy industry's latest scandal.

French firm focus of world breast implant worry

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 07:00:00 +0800

Hundreds of thousands of women worldwide may have defective and potentially harmful breast-enhancement implants produced by a small French company that went into bust in March 2010 after its silicone gel product was ordered off the market.

Indonesia probes Bali tattoo HIV infection report

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 07:05:00 +0800

Indonesia is investigating the case of an Australian who is believed to have been infected with HIV while getting a tattoo on the resort island of Bali, an official said Monday.

Details of lab-made bird flu won't be revealed

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 07:00:00 +0800

The US government paid scientists to figure out how the deadly bird flu virus might mutate to become a bigger threat to people and two labs succeeded in creating new strains that are easier to spread.

Taiwan culls 1000 pigs in foot-and-mouth outbreak

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 07:00:00 +0800

Taiwanese authorities said Thursday they had slaughtered nearly 1,000 pigs following the island's worst outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in more than 14 years.

Details of lab-made bird flu won't be revealed

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 07:08:57 +0800

HIV trial is 'breakthough' of 2011

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 07:08:19 +0800

A landmark clinical trial that showed HIV drugs can be as effective as condoms in preventing transmission of the virus that causes AIDS was declared Science magazine's breakthrough of the year on Thursday.

Disease fears grow for Philippine flood survivors

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 07:13:00 +0800

Survivors of devastating Philippines flash floods face a growing threat of disease including cholera and typhoid, officials warned Wednesday as the death toll rose above a thousand.

HK culls chickens at market, bans trade, as bird flu found

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 07:05:00 +0800

Workers began culling 17,000 chickens at a wholesale poultry market in Hong Kong on Wednesday after a dead chicken there tested positive for the deadly H5N1 avian virus, a government spokesman said.

'Indonesia's family planning campaign is in trouble'

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 07:00:00 +0800

The recent population census found that Indonesia has experienced rapid population growth, and this will likely continue from what some have attributed to the stagnation of its family planning programme.

Victims of Burma's HIV/Aids struggle

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 07:00:00 +0800

Ma Soe Soe Kyi's skeletal frame is visible above her blanket; she is too weak to keep her eyes open. Her husband waves away the flies and looks on helplessly.