Authorities in South Africa's Western Cape have confirmed new outbreaks of bird flu in the province, urging the public to "stay alert," but "not alarmed."

"The Western Cape Department of Agriculture wishes to alert poultry farmers and the general public to new outbreaks of high pathogenicity avian influenza, commonly referred to as bird flu," said the department in a statement released on Friday night.

Recent outbreaks have been confirmed in chickens in the North West and Mpumalanga provinces, along with a single outbreak in the Western Cape, detected in farmed ducks near Paarl in early July, the statement said, adding that the affected ducks, along with related flocks of chickens, were voluntarily and humanely culled to prevent further spread of the disease, news agency reported.

Children under the age of five with severe malnourishment could be at significant risk of developing antimicrobial resistant bacteria, according to an alarming study.

Globally, 45 million children under the age of five are estimated to be severely malnourished. These children are also at a higher risk of developing life-threatening infections such as tuberculosis or sepsis due to their weakened immune systems.

The new study led by researchers at the Ineos Oxford Institute for antimicrobial research (IOI) has found that antimicrobial-resistant bacteria are spreading rapidly among children being treated for severe malnutrition in a hospital facility in Niger.

The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, showed that 76 per cent of children carried bacteria with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) genes, which can break down many commonly used antibiotics.

Multiple sclerosis may begin far earlier than previously thought. Canadian researchers have decoded that the earliest warning signs of the immune system disorder may emerge more than a decade before the first classical neurological symptoms occur.

The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, challenge long-held assumptions about when the disease truly begins, offering the most comprehensive picture to date of how patients engage with a range of health care providers in the years leading up to a diagnosis as they search for answers to ill-defined medical challenges.

"MS can be difficult to recognise as many of the earliest signs -- like fatigue, headache, pain and mental health concerns -- can be quite general and easily mistaken for other conditions," said senior author Dr. Helen Tremlett, Professor of neurology at the University of British Columbia.

"Our findings dramatically shift the timeline for when these early warning signs are thought to begin, potentially opening the door to opportunities for earlier detection and intervention," she added.

Scientists have found inflammatory pathways that contribute to asthma flare-ups in children that occur despite treatment.

Eosinophilic asthma is characterised by high levels of eosinophils -- a type of white blood cell involved in the body's immune response. While eosinophils typically help fight infections, in eosinophilic asthma, they accumulate in the lungs and airways, causing chronic inflammation, swelling, and damage to the respiratory system.

Eosinophilic asthma is driven by type 2 (T2) inflammation -- an immune response involving cytokines that promote the production and activation of eosinophils.

Because of this, therapies targeting T2 inflammation are used to reduce eosinophil levels and prevent asthma flare-ups.

The phase III clinical trial for India’s 1st dengue vaccine has enroled 70 per cent participants, said Union Minister of State for Health, Prataprao Jadhav, in the Parliament on Friday.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Jadhav shared details on the Phase III clinical trial of the indigenous one-shot dengue vaccine, DengiAll.

“The trial involves over 10,000 participants, out of which more than 70 per cent enrolment has been completed,” Jadhav said. The trial is likely to be completed by October.

“The trial has been implemented in 20 sites across India. The approximate budget is Rs 1.3 to 1.5 crore per site for the trial,” he added.

A total of 1,704 centres dialysis centres are operational till June 30 in India, said Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav on Friday.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Jadhav said that the dialysis centres, under the Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme (PMNDP), are operational in 751 districts in 36 states.

"There is a total of 1,704 centres operational as of June 30,” Jadhav said.

He informed that the government has recommended setting up of haemodialysis centres in all the district hospitals initially and on saturation scale down till the Community Health Centres (CHCs) at the taluka level.

Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) has been reported in cattle from 10 states in the country in 2025, the Centre informed the Parliament.

LSD is a transboundary animal disease that has gained significant attention in India due to its severe impact on cattle health and the dairy industry. The disease is characterised by the development of skin nodules across the body, fever, swollen lymph nodes, decreased milk yield, and difficulty in movement.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel, said that till July 24, “LSD has been reported in 10 states namely Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram, Maharashtra and Karnataka”.

Ayush sector has the potential to define India’s leadership in integrative medicine, said Prataprao Jadhav, Union Minister of State for Ayush, on Thursday.

Addressing the ‘Ayush Stakeholders Consultative Meeting 2025’ organised by FICCI, jointly with the Ministry of Ayush, Jadhav reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the holistic growth of the Ayush sector.

Emphasising the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat, he urged the industry to collaborate in elevating ayurveda, siddha, unani, sowa-rigpa, naturopathy, yoga, and homoeopathy to global prominence.

“We must collectively strive to make Ayush systems the first choice in preventive and therapeutic healthcare -- locally and globally,” Jadhav said.

“From ‘Vocal for Local’ to ‘Global for Local’, this sector has the potential to define India’s leadership in integrative medicine,” he added.

One person died and six more were treated in hospital amid an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in an inner-Sydney suburb, the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (SESLHD) said in a statement on Thursday.

Seven people from Potts Point, an affluent inner-city suburb less than two km from the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House, have contracted Legionnaires' disease since May, News Agency reported.

The cases include a man aged in his 80s who became ill in late June and has since died.

The remaining six people were hospitalized for treatment. Five have been discharged and the sixth is recovering.

None of the patients, all of whom were aged between 45 and 95, were known to each other but may have been exposed to a common source of infection in the area, the SESLHD said.