‘HMPV infections in China declining’
Beijing, Jan 12: The rate of infections with the flu-like human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in northern China is declining, a health official said Sunday, amid some international concern over a potential pandemic. HMPV, which belongs to the same family as the respiratory syncytial virus, causes flu or cold-like symptoms including fever, cough and nasal congestion. The symptoms often clear up by themselves, though they can cause lower respiratory tract infections among children, older adults and those immunocompromised. (AP)
Fire in restaurant kills 6 in Czech Republic
Prague, Jan 12: A fire broke out in a restaurant in northern Czech Republic, killing six people and leaving six others with serious injuries, officials said on Sunday. Firefighters said the U Kojota restaurant in the city of Most, some 100 kilometers (63 miles) north of Prague, was still open when the fire started before midnight Saturday. Police and firefighters said the likely cause was a gas heater that overturned. It took more than 60 firefighters until 1 a.m. to get the fire under control. The injured were treated in hospitals in Most and nearby cities. An investigation was underway. (AP)
Pope baptises 21 babies in annual ceremony
Vatican City, Jan 12: Pope Francis baptised 21 babies in the Sistine Chapel on Sunday under the ceiling frescoed by Michelangelo, in what has become an annual tradition that marks the end of the Christmas holiday period at the Vatican. Francis celebrated the Lord’s gift of faith to the children, stressing they were the protagonists of the ceremony. The celebration marks the feast day that recalls Jesus’ baptism in the River Jordan and was established in 1981 by St John Paul II. (ap)
Cholera outbreak leaves 12 dead in Angola
Luanda, Jan 12: Ministry of Health has reported 12 deaths following a cholera outbreak since the first confirmed case was reported on Tuesday. More than 170 cholera cases have been recorded, with 14 cases confirmed through laboratory testing. The outbreak’s epicentre is Cacuaco Municipality, a suburban area in Angola’s capital province of Luanda, home to over 1.2 million residents. (ANI)
‘Pak has highest number of hepatitis C cases in world’
Islamabad, Jan 12: Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath, Coordinator to the Pakistan Prime Minister on Health, said on Saturday that Pakistan has the highest number of hepatitis C patients in the world, with 10 million of the global 60 million cases. While addressing participants of a seminar organised by the Health Foundation on hepatitis elimination, he said, “This places us at the heart of the global effort to eliminate this disease.” Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath emphasised the urgent need for collective action to combat Hepatitis C, a significant public health challenge faced by Pakistan, according to Dawn report. (ANI)