The deadly Ebola virus is changing, and new genetic mutations that have arisen in the past four decades could thwart the experimental drugs that some pharmaceutical companies are developing, researchers said Tuesday.

There is no drug on the market to treat Ebola, and no vaccine to prevent it, but clinical trials were accelerated last year after the worst outbreak in history began sweeping West Africa, killing more than eight thousand people so far and infecting more than 21,000.

Nigeria was on Tuesday awarded $8.1 million in funding for a final push to eradicate polio, as it nears six months without a case of the disease.

Rotary International, which is working with the World Health Organization (WHO) to wipe out the virus, said the money would go towards vaccination, research and surveillance programs.

Joining a walking group is one of the easiest ways to boost health and morale, according to an investigation published Monday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Researchers at Britain's University of East Anglia analysed 42 published studies of people who took up organised walking -- regular outings that typically lasted less than an hour.

A little-known side to the government's health insurance website is prompting renewed concerns about privacy, just as the White House is calling for stronger cybersecurity protections for consumers.

It works like this: When you apply for coverage on HealthCare.gov, dozens of data companies may be able to tell that you are on the site. Some can even glean details such as your age, income, ZIP code, whether you smoke or if you are pregnant.

A virulent group of TB germs spread from East Asia in waves propelled by industrialisation, World War I and Soviet collapse to yield some of the drug-resistant strains plaguing the world today, a study said Monday.

Researchers' massive trawl through nearly 5,000 TB samples from 99 countries pinpointed changes in the DNA code to draw a partial family tree of the germ Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Karunawathie isn't hungry for breakfast. She rarely is these days, but she forces herself to choke down a few bites of rice, dried fish and a simple coconut mix. The doctors say it's better to have something in her stomach before the four-hour dialysis treatments.

She's going for her second session of the week, dressed all in pink, right down to her flip-flops. Her fingers and toes are fat with fluid, and her spongy arms feel like soft water balloons. Since she can no longer pass liquids on her own, doctors have told her to drink only 500 milliliters a day — equal to less than a can and a half of soda.

Prevention of waterborne diseases is a priority in Malawi where floods have killed at least 176 people, an aid official said Sunday.

Malawi's heavy flooding has displaced at least 200,000 people, submerged whole villages in some areas, destroying homes, drowning crops and washing away livestock.

Diseases linked to lifestyle choices, including diabetes and some cancers, kill 16 million people prematurely each year, the World Health Organization said Monday, urging action to stop the "slow-moving public health disaster".

Unhealthy habits like smoking, alcohol abuse and consuming too much fat, salt and sugar have sparked an epidemic of diseases which together constitute the leading cause of death globally, WHO said.

The Malian government and the United Nations on Sunday declared the country free of Ebola after 42 days without any new cases of the deadly virus.

Health Minister Ousmane Kone said no confirmed cases had been registered since December 6 when the last Ebola patient had tested negative.

A 32-year-old Taiwanese man has died after a three-day gaming binge at an Internet cafe in the island's south, the second such case this year, a report said on Saturday.

The man, identified by his family name Hsieh, was found slumped motionless in his chair in the cafe in Kaohsiung city.