A recently emerged strain of bacteria called Streptococcus dysgalactiae subspecies equisimilis (SDSE) is leading to a concerning rise in global rates of severe invasive infections becoming resistant to key antibiotics, according to a study.

A person infected with SDSE is likely to have an infection in the skin, throat, gastrointestinal tract, and female genital tract that can range in severity from strep throat (pharyngitis) to necrotising fasciitis (flesh-eating disease).

Although SDSE is closely related to group A streptococcus (also commonly known as Streptococcus pyogenes), which has been very well studied, little is known about SDSE, said the team at the Houston Methodist Research Institute in the US.

A study of 34,000 Americans, published on Thursday, showed that Covid-19 has led to a decline in outdoor activities.

The study noted that people are spending nearly an hour less a day doing activities outside the home -- a behaviour that researchers say is a lasting consequence of the pandemic.

The team from Clemson University and University of California Los Angeles in the US reveals an overall drop since 2019 of about 51 minutes in the daily time spent on out-of-home activities. They even found an almost 12-minute reduction in time spent on daily travel, such as driving or taking public transportation.

In a paper published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Planning Association, the team documented a trend toward less and less out-of-home time stretching back to at least 2003.

Australian researchers have identified a previously unknown gene that influences the immune defence among indigenous people across Oceania, according to research published on Wednesday.

The research, which was published by The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, was the first of its kind to comprehensively map natural killer cells in Oceania's indigenous populations, news agency reported.

Natural killer cells are a type of white blood cell that play a crucial role in the body's first line of immune defence by destroying infected and diseased cells, restricting viruses from replicating in the earliest stages of infection.

Researchers from Bose Institute, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in Kolkata, have developed a new way to create hydrogels using tiny protein fragments of just five amino acids from the SARS-CoV-1 virus.

The novel method may help improve targeted drug delivery and reduce side effects.

Hydrogels are known to be suitable for drug delivery because of their swelling behaviour, mechanical strength, and biocompatibility.

While short peptide-based hydrogels have great potential for a wide range of applications, it is very challenging to control the gelation of these systems.

After custom duty exemption and a reduction in GST rates, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has now directed the drug manufacturers to reduce the MRP on three anti-cancer medications, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers said on Tuesday.

The NPPA in an office memorandum dated October 28 directed “the concerned manufacturers to reduce the MRP on three anti-cancer drugs, Trastuzumab, Osimertinib and Durvalumab”.

“This is in line with the Government’s commitment to ensure the availability of drugs at affordable prices,” the ministry added.

In the Union Budget 2024-25, the government exempted customs duty on the three cancer drugs to reduce the financial burden of people suffering from cancer and also to facilitate accessibility. The government also slashed the GST rate from 12 per cent to 5 per cent on these three cancer medicines.

Long-Covid -- continued illness post Covid-19 -- is common after other respiratory infections, according to a study.

A team of researchers from the University of Oxford in the UK analysed data from 190,000 participants. They classified them into: people hospitalised with Covid and those hospitalised with other lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). These were then compared with a reference group with no LRTI hospitalisations.

Participants completed surveys reporting on 45 different physical and psychological symptoms observed across the ear, nose, and throat; respiratory; neurological; gastrointestinal; and musculoskeletal systems.

The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, showed that people hospitalised with Covid had higher risks of 23 out of 45 symptoms. Similarly, those hospitalised for non-Covid LRTIs had 18 out of 45.

A team of researchers has linked a specific gene in the ulcerative colitis (UC) disease to an increased risk of colon cancer.

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease that afflicts an estimated five million people worldwide and that is linked to an increased risk of colon cancer.

The research, published in the journal Science Advances, points to a new way to stop the disease from progressing.

The number of chronic kidney disease (CKD) cases in women has nearly tripled in the past three decades globally, according to a new study led by researchers from the Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Sciences (GAIMS).

Type 2 diabetes and hypertension were the leading causes of CKD-related deaths in women, said research which was presented at the ‘ASN Kidney Week 2024’ in San Diego in the US from October 23–27.

“This calls for immediate policy interventions, targeted prevention programmes, and investment in health care infrastructure to curb the rise of CKD, particularly in high-risk regions,” senior author Hardik Dineshbhai Desai, independent clinical and public health researcher at GAIMS.

Two people have died of cholera in the eastern part of Ghana's capital of Accra, authorities said.

The Ghana Health Service (GHS), a public service body, on Friday confirmed the outbreak of this acute diarrhoeal disease in the Ada East and West districts within the Greater Accra Region, with a total of 43 cases having been reported so far.

The health authorities have mobilised resources to contain the situation to avert more fatalities, according to GHS.

According to the World Health Organization, cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, news agency reported.

South Korea has reported an additional case of lumpy skin disease (LSD) in cattle, raising the total number of confirmed cases this year to 14, the agriculture ministry here said on Saturday.

The latest case was detected at a cattle farm in Munkyong, some 140 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The ministry has issued a 24-hour standstill order for personnel and vehicles associated with the farm and related facilities in six neighbouring regions. On Friday, South Korea also confirmed three more separate cases, reports news agency.

The government will deploy all available disinfection vehicles to prevent the spread of the disease, it added.