Study strengthens Zika-microcephaly link, women and babies at risk

Josemary da Silva, 34, bathes Gilberto, five months old, her fifth child and born with microcephaly, at her house in Algodao de Jandaira,In the study in the Lancet medical journal which analyzed a 2013-14 Zika outbreak in French Polynesia, researchers said the risk of microcephaly is about 1 for every 100 women infected with the virus during the first trimester of pregnancy. While more research is needed to understand the biological mechanisms by which Zika might cause microcephaly, the researchers said, these findings suggest the World Health Organization&;s (WHO) advice that pregnant women should protect themselves from mosquitoes is a sound precaution.

Go to Source

Drugmaker Valeant cuts 2016 outlook, says it faces default risk

The headquarters of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. seen in Laval QuebecThe Canadian drugmaker, the target of U.S. investigations into its business and accounting practices, reiterated that it would put off filing its annual report with U.S. regulators but for the first time raised the specter of a default. Defaulting on debt could prompt lenders to demand faster repayment and place restrictions on Valeant&;s ability to borrow further. As of Sept. 30, Valeant had about $30 billion of long-term debt.

Go to Source

Syrian children’s memories of home fade in Jordan camp

The Wider Image: Born in a refugee campBy Bushra Shakhshir ZAATARI CAMP, Jordan (Reuters) – Over five years of Syria&;s civil war, tents have given way to sturdy shacks in Jordan&039;s Zaatari Refugee Camp, dusty tracks have been paved, acquiring names, and a generation has been born to parents who fear their children will never see home. Hudhayfah Al Hariri, who fled from Deraa four years ago, witnessed Zaatari as it mushroomed to a settlement of 85,000 refugees, becoming by population Jordan&039;s fourth largest "city". Children play between their makeshift homes, schools operate, doctors attend to all, babes in arms to the elderly. The father of two worries his children later born in the camp – Retaj, 2, and Yaman, 8 months – might lose any link to home and family left behind.

Go to Source

1 4 5 6 7 8 11