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said-on-tuesday

Florida Health Department Investigates Possible Local Zika Transmission

(Reuters) – Florida health officials said on Tuesday they are investigating a case of Zika virus infection that does not appear to have stemmed from travel to another region with an outbreak. The statement from the Florida Department of Health did not specify whether the Zika case was believed to have been transmitted via mosquito bite, sexual contact or other means. The department also reiterated guidance to Florida residents on protecting themselves from mosquitoes that may carry the virus.

South African health authorities wants Roche to reduce cancer medication prices

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – South Africa is negotiating with pharmaceutical company Roche to reduce the price of its breast cancer drug Herceptin, which cost 500,000 rand ($32,745) a year to treat one person and was unaffordable to most women, the health minister said on Tuesday. “I met the CEO in April and told him women won’t be able to afford this. Let’s talk, maybe something can come out of this,” minister Aaron Motsoaledi told reporters. ($1 = 15.2695 rand) (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by James Macharia)

Alberta plans hefty spending to revive battered economy

By Nia Williams and Mike De Souza CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – The Canadian province of Alberta will post a C$6.1 billion ($4.6 billion) deficit this fiscal year and borrow heavily to fund infrastructure in a bid to revive an economy hammered by low oil prices, its left-leaning New Democratic government said on Tuesday. Alberta, whose oil sands are the largest source of U.S. crude imports, will continue to run deficits until 2019/20 and will spend C$38 billion on a capital plan investing in infrastructure, as well as health and education projects over the next five years. It estimates total debt will increase to C$36.6 billion, 10 percent of Alberta’s nominal gross domestic product, by fiscal 2017/18.

World health chief says US, Saudi discussing MERS vaccine

By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) – The United States and Saudi Arabia may prepare a vaccine for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) to try and head off the next outbreak of the disease, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. Margaret Chan said Saudi Health Minister Khaled al-Falih was discussing this with U.S. public health officials. “They communicated and looked at collaboration and to see whether we can, in terms of preparedness, get some vaccines ready in advance of another MERS outbreak,” Chan told reporters.

Spread of deserts costs trillions, spurs migrants: study

By Alister Doyle OSLO (Reuters) – Land degradation, such as a spread of deserts in parts of Africa, costs the world economy trillions of dollars a year and may drive tens of millions of people from their homes, a U.N.-backed study said on Tuesday. Worldwide, about 52 percent of farmland is already damaged, according to the report by The Economics of Land Degradation (ELD), compiled by 30 research groups around the world. It estimated that land degradation worldwide cost between $6.3 trillion and $10.6 trillion a year in lost benefits such as production of food, timber, medicines, fresh water, cycling of nutrients or absorption of greenhouse gases.

Chocolate may be good for your heart, study suggests

New research has added to tentative evidence that eating chocolate in modest quantities may be good for the heart, scientists said on Tuesday. The top fifth of chocolate-eaters were 12 percent less likely to develop heart disease and 23 percent less likely to suffer a stroke compared to the bottom fifth of consumers, the researchers found. The study, published in the British journal Heart, noted that most consumers of the confectionary ate milk chocolate, not dark chocolate which famously has a higher percentage of protective molecules called flavonoids.