Health authorities in Australia's second-most populous state have issued a warning over the spread of a flesh-eating ulcer.

The Department of Health in Victoria on Friday said that cases of Buruli ulcer are spreading across the state, including in inner Melbourne, news agency reported.

Buruli ulcer is a bacterial infection that researchers believe is spread from possums to humans by mosquitoes. Cases initially present as a painless lump or wound that can slowly develop into a destructive ulcer.

If left untreated, the flesh-eating ulcer can lead to permanent disfigurement and long-term disability.

The Department of Health's warning said that the highest risk of infection occurs during warmer months but that it can take four to five months for an ulcer to develop.

Some people with artificial hearts can regenerate heart muscle, according to a study, an advance that may open the door to new ways to treat and someday may also cure heart failure.

There is currently no cure for heart failure. The treatment for advanced heart failure includes a transplant, and a pump replacement via an artificial heart. Known as the left ventricular assist device, this can help the heart pump blood.

Researchers from the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine in the US said that “skeletal muscle has a significant ability to regenerate after injury”.

The team began the study with tissue from artificial heart patients. They included researchers from Sweden and Germany and used their own innovative method of carbon dating human heart tissue to track whether these samples contained newly generated cells.

The results, published in the journal Circulation, showed that people with these artificial hearts could regenerate muscle cells at more than six times the rate of healthy hearts.

Lebanon is facing "staggering unmet health needs" as thousands of civilians cry out for reconstructive surgeries and physical rehabilitation after the Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire, the World Health Organization Lebanon Office said.

Over 4,000 people have been killed and 17,000 others injured in Lebanon since last October, and the death toll has been climbing continuously "as more bodies are found in the 16,000 buildings that have been partially or completely destroyed, leaving an estimated 8 million tonnes of debris," the office said in a news release.

"One in four people with life-changing injuries will need long-term rehabilitation," it noted.

Most hospitals in Lebanon are running below capacity due to financial restraints and shortages of health workers, long-standing challenges in Lebanon, it said.

Rwanda on Friday announced the end of the Marburg virus disease outbreak, initially declared on September 27.

The announcement, by Minister of Health Sabin Nsanzimana at a press conference in the capital, Kigali, follows 42 consecutive days with no new cases after the discharge of the last confirmed patient, meeting World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

Rwanda recorded its last confirmed case on October 30 and its last Marburg-related death on October 14.

"This is an important milestone for Rwanda's public health system. While we mourn the lives lost, we are encouraged by the progress made," Nsanzimana said.

Foetus suffering from major congenital heart defects (MCHDs) may triple the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preeclampsia and preterm birth, finds a study.

MCHDs occur in approximately 1 in 100 live births, and can negatively impact both the health of the mother and the long-term outcomes for the child.

Researchers from the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen showed that about 23 per cent of pregnancies affected by foetal MCHD also result in adverse obstetric outcomes including preeclampsia, preterm birth, fetal growth restriction, and placental abruption.

The findings were based on data from 534,170 pregnancies, including 745 cases complicated by foetal MCHDs in Denmark. Pregnancies resulting in live births after 24 gestational weeks and without chromosomal aberrations were included in the study.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a significant health burden in India, according to a study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal, on Friday.

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurological and developmental disorder. The condition majorly affects how people interact, communicate, and behave with others.

The study, based on the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021, ranks autism among the top 10 causes of non-fatal health burden in youth under 20 years old.

The study showed that India had 708·1 case of ASD per 100, 000 persons in 2021. Of these, 483·7 were females, while 921·4 were males. About 140 per 100,000 persons suffered poor health and disability due to ASD in India in 2021.

Scientists from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST) Mohali, an autonomous institution of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), have found that nanoplastics derived from single-use plastic bottles (SUPBs) may be contributing to the spread of antibiotic resistance.

Amid growing concerns about the joint threats of plastic pollution and antibiotic resistance, the new study, published in the journal Nanoscale, underscores an unrecognised public health risk.

Nanoplastics and microorganisms coexist in diverse environments, including the human gut, and research has shown them to affect health.

In the study, the INST team traced how plastic nanoparticles could impact bacteria. They focussed on Lactobacillus acidophilus -- which plays a central role in the gut microbiota.

Walking speed can be a quick, equipment-free tool for identifying metabolic health risks among people with obesity, according to a study.

The study, published in the Scientific Reports journal, suggests that a faster walking pace can prevent metabolic diseases in obese people. More than helping in increasing mobility, it can also signal poor health. Past studies have suggested that a slow walking speed is correlated with the development of cardiovascular diseases and an increased risk of mortality in the elderly.

The study by researchers from Doshisha University in Japan explored the connection between subjective walking speed and metabolic disease risk, particularly in individuals with obesity. The findings suggest that assessing how a person perceives their walking pace relative to peers could become a vital tool for public health.

The first blood-stage malaria vaccine RH5.1/Matrix-M has the potential to be a component within a developing malaria vaccine strategy, said a report on Thursday.

The report by GlobalData, a data and analytics company, showed that there are 11 other malaria vaccines currently in Phase II development.

As per a recent study by researchers in Burkina Faso and the UK, RH5.1/Matrix-M is safe, effective, and highly immunogenic.

California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in response to the outbreak of Avian influenza A (H5N1), commonly known as bird flu, which has infected 34 people in the Golden State.

According to the governor's office, this action came on Wednesday as cases were detected in dairy cows on farms in Southern California, "signaling the need to further expand monitoring and build on the coordinated statewide approach to contain and mitigate the spread of the virus."

To date, no person-to-person spread of bird flu has been detected in California and nearly all infected individuals had exposure to infected cattle, a press release from the office said, adding the state had already established the largest testing and monitoring system in the country to respond to the outbreak, news agency reported.

As of Wednesday, the H5N1 virus has spread in 16 states among dairy cattle, following its first confirmed detection in Texas and Kansas in March 2024, data from the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) showed.