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Dengue Outbreak Affects at Least 22 in Japan

An outbreak of dengue fever in Japan -- the first since World War II -- has affected at least 22 people, the government said Monday, with all cases believed to be linked to a Tokyo park.

The health ministry said 19 new infections have been confirmed since last week.

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Gene Clues to Glaucoma Risk

Scientists on Sunday said they had identified six genetic variants linked to glaucoma, a discovery that should help earlier diagnosis and better treatment for this often-debilitating eye disease.

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New Test Fast-Tracks Diagnosis for Malaria

A new invention can cheaply and accurately diagnose malaria infection in just a few minutes using only a droplet of blood, researchers reported Sunday in the journal Nature Medicine.

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Guinea-Bissau in Nationwide anti-Ebola Clean-Up

Guinea-Bissau launched a nationwide hygiene drive on Saturday, declaring itself "on alert" after the announcement that the Ebola epidemic ravaging west Africa had spread to neighbouring Senegal.

The campaign will involve the cleaning and disinfection of public places "across the entire country" on the last Saturday of every month, Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira's office said.

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Morocco Keeps Flying to Ebola-Hit States in 'Solidarity'

Morocco, the last country to maintain regular scheduled flights to Ebola-hit nations after Air France halted departures, is carrying on through "solidarity", an airline official has said.

In a bid to stop the spread of the virus that has killed more than 1,500 people across West Africa, many African governments have sought to ring-fence Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.

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'Ice Bucket Challenge' Passes $100 mn Mark

The "Ice Bucket Challenge" viral craze has raised more than $100 million after sweeping the globe since its launch last month, organizers said Friday.

The phenomenally popular stunt -- which sees participants being doused in a bucket of ice-cold water before challenging others to take part -- was set up to raise awareness and cash about Lou Gehrig's disease.

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Ebola Hits 5th WAfrican State as Senegal Confirms First Case

The Ebola epidemic that has killed more than 1,500 people across West Africa spread to a fifth country in the region on Friday with the first confirmed case of the deadly virus in Senegal.

The case marks the first time a new country has been hit by the outbreak since July and comes a day after the World Health Organization warned the number of infections was increasing rapidly.

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Study: We Travel With our Own Germs

Sorry, clean freaks. No matter how well you scrub your home, it's covered in bacteria from your own body. And if you pack up and move, new research shows, you'll rapidly transfer your unique microbial fingerprint to the doorknobs, countertops and floors in your new house, too.

In fact, researchers who studied seven families in Illinois, Washington and California could easily match up who lived where using their microscopic roommates.

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Pollution, Smoking, Roads, Obesity Kill 4.7m Chinese a Year

Air pollution, smoking, obesity and accidents, especially on the road, kill at least 4.7 million Chinese a year and cost the country tens of billions of dollars, researchers said on Friday.

In an overview published in The Lancet, they said China had in some respects made great strides in health, boosting the average lifespan from 40 years in 1950 to 76 years in 2011 and rolling back many infectious diseases.

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U.N.: Ebola Disease Caseload Could Reach 20,000

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is accelerating and could grow six times larger to infect as many as 20,000 people, the World Health Organization said Thursday. The U.N. health agency unveiled a new road map for containing the virus, and scientists are fast-tracking efforts to find a treatment or vaccine.

Ebola has menaced Africa for 40 years, but previously struck in remote villages and was contained fairly quickly. This time, it has spread to major cities in four countries, provoking unrest as whole neighborhoods and towns have been sealed to the outside.

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