Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

AbbVie prices new rheumatoid arthritis drug at $59,000 a year

AbbVie Inc has priced its new rheumatoid arthritis treatment at $59,000 a year after gaining U.S. approval on Friday, a big boost for the drugmaker struggling with rising competition for Humira, its blockbuster therapy for the same condition. A four-week supply of Humira, the world's best-selling medicine, has a list price of about $5,174, amounting to more than $60,000 for a year.

First two Ebola cases confirmed in Congo's South Kivu: officials

A woman and her child were the first two cases confirmed with Ebola in Congo's South Kivu region this week, opening a new front in the fight against the outbreak. Health officials said on Friday that the latest cases were more than 700 km (430 miles) south of where the outbreak was first detected.

FDA approves Celgene's bone marrow cancer treatment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Celgene Corp's Inrebic to treat certain rare forms of bone marrow cancer called myelofibrosis, making it the second approved drug to treat the disease. Inrebic belongs to a class of drugs known as JAK inhibitors that work by blocking inflammation-causing Janus kinases enzymes. It will compete with Incyte Corp's Jakafi, also a JAK inhibitor, which was approved in 2011 for treating the same condition.

China says pig herd shrinks by 32% in July amid swine fever outbreak

China's pig herd shrank by 32.2% in July from the same month a year ago, its agriculture ministry said on Thursday, as African swine fever continues to spread through the country. The ministry also said the number of sows declined by 31.9% in July, a year after the nation reported its first outbreak of the disease, which is fatal to pigs but does not harm people.

E.coli in water forces Tokyo to cancel swimming at Paratriathlon World Cup

High levels of E.coli bacteria forced Tokyo officials to cancel the swimming segment of Saturday's Paratriathlon World Cup, raising concerns about next year's Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. Water quality tests at Odaiba Marine Park found fecal bacteria levels far exceeded accepted limits, organizers said, forcing them to pull the plug on the swimming events.

Sick hospital workers often expose patients to contagious illness

Hospital workers often come to work with contagious respiratory illnesses, against the recommendations of public health regulators, a Canadian study suggests. Nearly all of the 2,093 health care workers in the study who had such symptoms came to work at some point while sick.

As Americans get heavier, obesity-linked cancers may strike earlier

Increasing numbers of middle-aged Americans appear to be developing cancers that can be associated with obesity, new data suggest. And the increase in these cancers among 50- to 64-year-olds parallels the rising rates of obesity, researchers say.

Roche cancer treatment priced at $17,050 a month, lower than rival Vitrakvi

Roche Holding AG has priced its personalized cancer treatment, Rozlytrek, at about $17,050 per month, nearly half of the monthly price of a rival drug from Bayer AG and Eli Lilly and Co that was approved last year. Roche's drug and Bayer/Lilly's Vitrakvi target tumors with rare genetic anomalies called NTRK fusions, irrespective of where in the body the disease started.

Tobacco industry anti-smoking ads reached less than half of U.S. adults

Court-ordered anti-smoking ads sponsored by the tobacco industry reached only around 40% of adults and about half of all smokers in the U.S., a recent study suggests. Past research has shown that anti-smoking mass media campaigns are an effective public health intervention and work to reverse misconceptions, researchers write in JAMA Network Open.

Nordic walking may benefit breast cancer patients

Nordic walking, an aerobic activity performed with walking poles similar to ski poles, may benefit patients with breast cancer, according to a review of existing research. The low-impact exercise improved swelling, physical fitness, disability and quality of life, the study authors conclude in the European Journal of Cancer Care.