Zika will not be issue at Olympics: Rio health official

The risk of Zika virus infections at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro is low and has been overcome, health officials in Brazil said on Sunday, five days before South America's first Games are due to begin. Rio de Janeiro's health secretary, Daniel Soranz, said Zika should not deter travelers from coming to the Games, as cases of the virus had dipped significantly in recent months. The mosquito-borne virus has been linked to microcephaly, a birth defect among babies of pregnant mothers infected by Zika, and its discovery in Brazil last year led to concern over the Games, which are expected to attract some 500,000 visitors.

Florida Zika cases prompt UK advice for pregnant travellers

Public Health England advises pregnant women to consider postponing any non-essential trips to Florida amid concerns over the Zika virus.

Obama signs opioid addiction bill into law -White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday signed a bill passed by Congress aimed at combating a nationwide epidemic of heroin and other opioid addictions, the White House said. The measure aims to help communities develop treatment and overdose programs at a time when fewer than half the estimated 2.2 million Americans who need help for opioid abuse are receiving it, according to U.S. health officials. (Reporting by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Eric Beech)

Zafgen to scrap lead obesity drug, shares slide

(Reuters) - Zafgen Inc said it was suspending the development of its lead obesity drug, beloranib, more than six months after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked the company to halt all tests on the drug following the death of two patients. Zafgen's shares tumbled more than 40 percent in extended trading on Tuesday after the company also said it would reduce its workforce by about 34 percent to 31 employees by December. The FDA has approved drugs made by Vivus Inc, Orexigen Therapeutics Inc and Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc in the past few years, but asked for additional studies to check for safety of these drugs.

Baltimore police lieutenant acquitted in Freddie Gray case

A Baltimore police lieutenant was acquitted of manslaughter and two other charges in the April 2015 death of black detainee Freddie Gray, dealing prosecutors another setback in their efforts to secure a conviction in the highly charged case. Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams found Lieutenant Brian Rice not guilty in a bench trial. Rice, 42, was the highest-ranking officer charged after Gray's death from a broken neck suffered in a police transport van.

Healthcare Spending Increases 'Unsustainable'

(MedPage Today) -- Problem must be dealt with, analyst says

Life-or-death 999 call target missed for year

Ambulances in England have missed their target for responding to the most life-threatening calls for a whole year, new data shows.

Philanthropist Edhi, 'Pakistan's Mother Teresa', buried after state funeral

By Syed Raza Hassan KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, revered as a "living saint" in the South Asian nation, was buried on the outskirts of Karachi on Saturday after a state funeral attended by thousands of people. Edhi, 88, died late on Friday after a long kidney illness, triggering an outpouring of grief in the impoverished nation of 190 million for a man who transcended social, ethnic and religious divisions. At one moment during the country's first state funeral since the 1980s, a crowd broke through military lines at Karachi's National Stadium to help carry Edhi's coffin, which was draped with Pakistan's green and white flag and covered with rose petals.

China launches drive to eradicate violence against hospital staff

China is kicking off a year-long campaign this month to stamp out persistent violence in its overcrowded hospitals by angry patients targeting medical staff, state news agency Xinhua said on Saturday. Healthcare is a flashpoint for many people in China, who have long faced issues from ticket touts illegally trading appointment tickets, snarling queues to see top doctors and rampant corruption that can push up the cost of receiving care. Since 2013, campaigns to discourage abuse of hospital personnel have reined in much of the violence, but as many as 71,000 instances of conflict have still required mediation by authorities, it added.

Google's DeepMind to peek at NHS eye scans for disease analysis

One million anonymised eye scans from Moorfields Eye Hospital are to be used to train an artificial intelligence system from Google.

It's safe to prescribe fewer antibiotics for coughs and colds

A study of 610 general practices has found that efforts to curb the spread of antibiotic resistance do not lead to more complications like meningitis

Morning Break: Robotic Butt; Drunkorexia; End of Chinese Medicine?

(MedPage Today) -- Health news and commentary from around the Web, gathered by the MedPage Today staff