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Take precautions during laser hair removal, researchers advise

By Marilynn Larkin (Reuters Health) – The smelly “burning hair” smoke released during laser hair removal could be a health hazard, especially for people with heavy exposure to it, researchers report. The smoke contains chemicals that irritate the airways and are known to cause cancer, Dr. Gary Chuang told Reuters Health by email. Chuang, of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues also measured the concentrations of very fine particles in the plume that could be easily inhaled.

Shire on a roll as U.S. approves keenly awaited eye drug

Shire has won U.S. approval for its most important new medicine, a treatment for dry eyes, in a fresh boost for the company which completed its $32 billion acquisition of U.S. rare diseases specialist Baxalta last month. The Dublin-based drugmaker has been a big stock market winner following Britain's decision to leave the European Union, benefiting from the strength of the dollar against sterling and investor demand for defensive sectors like pharmaceuticals. Shire shares — already up a fifth since the UK referendum on June 23 — gained another 4 percent on Tuesday on news the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved lifitegrast eye drops for treating signs and symptoms of dry eye disease.

Uruguay wins case against US tobacco firm

Uruguay won an arbitration case against US tobacco giant Philip Morris, which sued the state claiming its strict anti-tobacco law harmed the cigarette maker's business, both sides said. “The Uruguayan state has emerged victorious and the tobacco company's claims have been roundly rejected,” Uruguayan President Tabara Vasquez said in a televised address. Philip Morris reacted by saying “we respect” the verdict, which is binding in any case.

Strasbourg, Lyon join race to snatch EMA from London after Brexit

Officials from the cities of Strasbourg and Lyon are pressing France to wrest the European Medicines Agency (EMA) from London following Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. The EMA approves medicines for all EU countries and employs 890 people including temporary staff. Philippe Richert, president of Grand Est regional council in eastern France, urged President Francois Hollande in a July 1 letter to call for the EMA to be headquartered in Strasbourg.

U.S. lawsuit: A McDonald’s worker was fired for being HIV-positive

In its complaint against Mathews Management Co and Peach Orchard Inc, the EEOC said the worker was fired in February 2015 after admitting to the restaurant's general manager to having had “an interest” in a co-worker, and telling that co-worker about his HIV-positive status. The EEOC said the fired worker had been questioned a week earlier by his shift manager, and told he might lose his job because the defendants had previously fired a female worker who was also HIV-positive. “People with HIV face enough obstacles in their lives,” said Katharine Kores, an EEOC district director in Memphis, which has jurisdiction over Arkansas, in a statement.

Testosterone gel boosts sexual desire and activity in older men

By Andrew M. Seaman (Reuters Health) – Older men with low testosterone levels and scant desire for sex report more interest and more sexual activity after testosterone therapy, according to a new study. Compared to men using a fake testosterone gel, those using real medication for one year improved on 10 out of 12 measures of sexual activity, researchers found. “There was a notable clinical difference in sexual function and desire,” said lead author Dr. Glenn Cunningham, of Baylor College of Medicine and Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston, Texas.

Guinea-Bissau records first three cases of Zika

Guinea-Bissau has recorded three cases of Zika, becoming the second country in West Africa where the dangerous viral disease has been detected, the government said on Saturday. “Three cases of contamination by Zika virus have been confirmed,” a statement quoted Health Minister Domingos Malu as saying. The cases occurred in the Bijagos archipelago, a group of 88 islands of which 23 are inhabited, Malu told a cabinet meeting on Friday.

Health officials race to prevent Congo yellow fever disaster

By Tim Cocks DAKAR (Reuters) – It is the stuff of a disaster movie: an outbreak of yellow fever in Congo's capital city, full of unvaccinated people mostly huddled together in slums with too few drains and the kind of sticky, fetid climate that mosquitoes love. Kinshasa's 12 million people – twice as many as there are doses of yellow fever vaccine anywhere in the world – are largely unprotected against this sometimes deadly but easily preventable illness, which has killed at least 353 in Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbor Angola. With three weeks to go before they start a vaccination campaign for 11.6 million people against the hemorrhagic virus in three Congolese provinces, and only 1.3 million doses of the vaccine on their way to Congo, time is not on their side.

Olympics-Pace becomes first women’s golfer to opt out of Rio

South African Lee-Anne Pace, citing Zika concerns, became the first women’s golfer to withdraw from the 2016 Rio Olympics on Wednesday, joining a growing exodus on the men’s side that includes the world’s top-ranked player. Pace, a nine-times winner on the Ladies European Tour who is ranked 38th in the world, said she was eager to represent South Africa at the Aug 5-21 Olympics but felt Zika was too big a risk to take. “After weighing up all the options and discussing it with my family and team, I have decided that due to the health concerns surrounding the Zika virus, I will not be participating,” Pace, 35, said in a statement.