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Hundreds Infected by Cholera in Warn-Torn S.Sudan

An outbreak of cholera in South Sudan has killed 23 people and infected at least 670, aid officials said Tuesday, warning the outbreak of the deadly disease could still get worse.

The cases, all in the capital Juba, have raised fears for tens of thousands of people who have sought refuge at U.N. bases from a wave of ethnic violence triggered by a civil war between President Salva Kiir and rebels loyal to former vice president Riek Machar.

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Mexican Man, Once World's Heaviest, Dies at 48

A Mexican man who was once the world's heaviest human, weighing 597 kilos (1,316 pounds) at one point, has died at the age of 48, medical officials said Monday.

Preliminary reports say Manuel Uribe died due to an irregular heartbeat and an ailment linked to the loss of fluids in his legs, an official at the University Hospital in the northern city of Monterrey told AFP.

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Prescription, Synthetic Drug Abuse Worry EU Watchdog

While heroin use in Europe is declining, ever more people are getting their fix from prescription drugs, including some used to treat heroin addiction, a report said Tuesday.

It also warned of a flood of new, synthetic drugs, and of established ones like ecstasy and cannabis becoming more potent.

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France's Stressed, even Suicidal, White-Collar Workers

Competition, pressure and harassment: France's white-collar employees are facing a growing litany of "brutal" psychological risks in the workplace, according to experts.

Despite France's labour laws, some of the strongest in the world, depression, long-term illness, professional burnout and even suicide are becoming increasingly common among service-sector workers.

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Rare Australian Conjoined Twins Die

Australian conjoined twins Hope and Faith, who shared a body and skull but had separate brains and identical faces, have died almost three weeks after they were born in Sydney, medical officials said Tuesday.

The girls, who were born six weeks early by emergency caesarean, were with their parents -- Renee Young and Simon Howie -- when they passed away, the Nine television network reported.

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Sierra Leone Confirms First Case of Ebola as Epidemic Spreads

Sierra Leone on Monday confirmed its first death from Ebola, with several more suspected to have succumbed to the deadly virus that swept across neighboring Guinea earlier this year.

"I can categorically confirm that the Ebola sickness has materialized," said health ministry official Amara Jambai.

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UNHCR: Syria Refugees Denied Cancer Treatment

Lack of funds is forcing aid workers to deny Syrian war victims and other refugees with cancer the care they need, the U.N. refugee agency's top medical expert warned on Monday.

With millions of Syrians driven from their homes by three years of conflict, and huge numbers having fled a decade of violence in Iraq, health systems in the region have been overwhelmed.

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U.S. Approves New Antibiotic for Skin Infections

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new antibiotic from Durata Therapeutics to treat adults with common skin infections often acquired in U.S. hospitals.

Regulators approved the intravenous drug Dalvance to treat bacterial skin infections caused by common bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant strains of those germs.

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In Food Poisoning Probes, Officials Call for Yelp

New York City is using a novel way to uncover cases of food poisoning — reading Yelp restaurant reviews.

Health officials found three unreported outbreaks by sifting through nearly 300,000 reviews on the popular website. The outbreaks were small, together blamed for only 16 illnesses.

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Doctor Exposes China's Medical Corruption Epidemic

Ordering an unnecessary pacemaker, urging a woman to be hospitalized for a sore throat -- a doctor's allegations of corruption spotlight troubles so endemic in China's healthcare system that patients frequently turn violent.

Lan Yuefeng, a former hospital ultrasound chief, ignited fury when she accused her hospital of exploiting the sick by routinely overprescribing medicine and treatment.

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