Health News Roundup: Cuba confirms first monkeypox case in visitor from Italy; Congo health officials investigating possible Ebola case and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Congo health officials investigating possible Ebola case – WHO

Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo are investigating a suspected case of Ebola in the country’s east, the World Health Organization said on Saturday. A 46-year-old woman died on Monday in the city of Beni, one of the centres of an Ebola outbreak from 2018 to 2020 that killed nearly 2,300 people.

Indonesia confirms first monkeypox case in citizen returning from abroad – ministry

Indonesia has confirmed its first monkeypox infection, detected in a person who had returned from an unidentified country with documented cases, a health ministry spokesman said on Saturday. The 27-year-old male tested positive in the capital Jakarta late on Friday, Mohammad Syahril told a news conference.

North Korea imports of Chinese masks, gloves surged before declaring COVID victory

North Korea imported more than 1 million facial masks and 15,000 pairs of rubber gloves from China in July, shortly before declaring victory over COVID-19, Chinese trade showed on Saturday. Pyongyang last week declared victory over the coronavirus, ending a little-detailed fight against “fever” cases that had risen to 4.77 million. It has registered no new such cases since July 29.

FDA asks Pfizer to test second Paxlovid course in patients with COVID rebound

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked Pfizer Inc to test the effects of an additional course of its antiviral Paxlovid among people who experience a rebound in COVID-19 after treatment, the regulator said on Friday. The drugmaker must produce the initial results of a randomized controlled trial of a second course of the antiviral by Sep. 30 next year, the FDA told Pfizer in a letter dated Aug. 5.

Explainer-What is the impact of Philips’ recall of sleep apnea devices?

A massive recall of Philips breathing devices in 2021 due to a risk of potential injury has left physicians scrambling to find alternatives for the growing number of people who use them. Philips said last week it is about halfway through replacing the 5.5 million devices, which include mechanical ventilators as well as non-invasive breathing devices used to treat sleep apnea, a condition marked by brief pauses in breathing during sleep. The company recently named a new chief executive, Roy Jakobs, to lead it through the recall.

Cuba confirms first monkeypox case in visitor from Italy

Cuba confirmed its first case of monkeypox late on Saturday, the country’s Public Health ministry said, after detecting the viral disease in a tourist who had arrived from Italy this week. The Italian man stayed in a rental home and traveled to various destinations in the western provinces of the Caribbean island nation before falling ill, the ministry said in a brief statement.

(With inputs from agencies.)