International aid organisations launched a series of emergency measures across west Africa on Thursday in a bid to contain one of the worst ever outbreaks of the deadly Ebola virus, which is threatening every country in the region.

The tropical bug is thought to have killed more than 110 people in Guinea and Liberia since January, with suspected cases reported in Mali and Sierra Leone and aid workers warning that vital hygiene products could run out.

Almost 100 people in China died from the H7N9 bird flu strain in the first three months of the year, but the number of both fatalities and infections declined in March, government figures showed.

A total of 24 people died from the disease in March, the National Health and Family Planning Commission said in monthly figures for infectious disease, down from 41 in February and 31 in January. The total number of deaths for the period is 96.

An amoeba parasite that causes potentially fatal dysentery in poor countries wreaks its havoc by eating intestinal cells alive, scientists reported on Wednesday.

Called Entamoeba histolytica, the parasite destroys cells lining the colon, causing ulcers and abscesses and sometimes spreading in the blood to the liver and other organs.

French and German researchers on Wednesday said they had found evidence in the lab to back theories that drinking caffeine has a preventive effect on Alzheimer's disease.

French and German researchers on Wednesday said they had found evidence in the lab to back theories that drinking caffeine has a preventive effect on Alzheimer's disease.

Sweden boasts one of Europe's lowest consumption of recreational drugs, but the same strict policy authorities consider key to success could also be pushing up the number of drug-related deaths.

Cocaine, ecstasy and even cannabis are rarely seen in streets and clubs in line with Sweden's official "zero tolerance" approach, whose ambitious target is clear.

What to give the patient who has everything? Well-off Germans in Europe's top economy are increasingly deciding less is more and fasting to cure what ails them.

High-end clinics specializing in deprivation rather than pampering are all the rage in Germany, one of the homes of the fasting movement, and in some cases it is even covered by health insurance plans.

At Bogota's San Ignacio hospital, Cesar Algeciras often spends five hours straight in the neonatal intensive care unit, lovingly clutching his premature son to his bare chest.

"Feeling his heart beat is a delight," said the 36-year-old computer engineer. "Sometimes I don't even have to check the monitor to make sure he's fine."

A small subset of pregnant women could benefit from taking low-dose aspirin to prevent the potentially life-threatening complication called pre-eclampsia, US health authorities said Tuesday.

Women with diabetes, chronic hypertension, those carrying multiple fetuses or who have a history of pre-eclampsia in prior pregnancies could benefit from starting a regimen of low-dose aspirin after their first trimester, said the US Preventive Services Task Force.

In a north London hospital, scientists are growing noses, ears and blood vessels in a bold attempt to make body parts in the laboratory.

It's far from the only lab in the world that is pursuing the futuristic idea of growing organs for transplant. But the London work was showcased Tuesday as Mayor Boris Johnson announced a plan to attract more labs to do cutting-edge health and science research in the area.

After decades in the shadows, South Africa's traditional "sangoma" healers are modernizing and becoming big business, raising questions about the need for strict regulation.

"Granny" Mahlasela Matcheke runs her practice from a squeaky clean white floor-tiled home in Johannesburg's up-and-coming Soweto township.