An Indian city has banned public gatherings to contain the spread of deadly swine flu after thousands were infected with the virus, officials said Tuesday.

Authorities in Ahmedabad, the largest city in western Gujarat state, said 219 people had died of swine flu since the start of the year, with more than 3,300 cases detected so far.

A baby died and four young siblings were in critical condition after they were accidentally exposed to bedbug fumigation chemicals at their western Canada home, police said Monday.

Corporal George Cameron of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told Agence France Presse the children were rushed to the hospital Sunday after firefighters responded to a chemical spill in a home in Fort McMurray, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of Edmonton, Alberta.

Early results from an Ebola trial using the experimental drug Avigan (favipiravir) showed Monday it was somewhat effective at saving lives if given early in the illness, but not later.

The antiviral treatment is being developed by the Japanese company Toyama Chemical, and has been shown safe and effective against some other viruses including influenza, West Nile and yellow fever.

Researchers in Japan say black tea could help treat osteoporosis, a bone condition affecting older people, but admit you need to drink an awful lot of it.

Scientists say the humble brew contains an antioxidant that can prevent the loss of bone density commonly seen in old age that makes the elderly more vulnerable to fractures.

An international health mission said Monday more measures are needed to combat the spread of MERS in Saudi Arabia, the country worst hit by the coronavirus.

The team of experts said it identified with health authorities in the kingdom the need for "understanding the animal/human interface" including the "modes of infection and transmission."

It is the early hours of the morning and bars in the Liberian capital are packed as revelers drink, sing and rejoice their first night of freedom with the Ebola curfew lifted.

For long, miserable months people have trudged home in the evenings under tough restrictions to stem the spread of an epidemic which has killed thousands and devastated the economy.

One is a businesswoman and an MBA graduate. Another is a corporate vice president. The third is a registered nurse.

These three mothers — all of them educated, middle-class professionals — are among the vaccine skeptics who have been widely ridiculed since more than 100 people fell ill in a measles outbreak traced to Disneyland. Critics question their intelligence, their parenting, even their sanity. Some have been called criminals for foregoing shots for their children that are overwhelmingly shown to be safe and effective.

North Korea has banned foreigners taking part in its annual international Pyongyang marathon in April because of continuing concerns over the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, specialist tour groups said Monday.

China-based agencies, Koryo Tours and Young Pioneer Tours, both said they had been informed of the decision on Monday morning.

Young babies who are fed formula have far higher levels of arsenic in their bodies than breast-fed infants, according to research released Monday.

Arsenic in the urine of six-week-old babies who were fed formula was 7.5 times higher than babies who were drinking breast milk, said the study in the February 23 edition of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Significant ultraviolet radiation damage to skin can still occur hours after its exposure to sunlight, scientific researchers have determined.

Exposure to sunlight or tanning lamps can damage DNA in melanocytes, the cells that pigment skin by producing melanin which gives skin its color, and that damage can occur not just during exposure but after, according to a study in the latest edition of the journal Science, published Friday.