Health
151 storiesPope Leo XIV to enter hospital Tuesday for surgery to remove lung nodule
Pope Leo XIV will be admitted to hospital Tuesday for surgery to remove a lung nodule discovered during recent medical checks, the Vatican said. The 71-year-old pope said the nodule was detected at a very early stage and was well localized;…
Five people hospitalized in St Petersburg over suspected monkeypox case
Five people have been hospitalized in St Petersburg in connection with a possible case of monkeypox, the regional Rospotrebnadzor office said. They are under medical observation while specialists trace contacts as part of an epidemiological…
Vatican releases first photos of Pope Leo XIV after lung cancer surgery
The Vatican released the first photographs of Pope Leo XIV after lung surgery on October 16, showing him celebrating Mass in hospital, Korean outlets reported. Newsis said the Vatican described his condition as steadily improving, while res…
Five hospitalised after contact with suspected mpox case in Moscow region
Five people who had contact with a person suspected of having mpox have been hospitalised in the Moscow region, the regional health ministry said. The patients have no clinical symptoms, and the regional public health authority has opened a…
Hanmi obesity drug's first-month supply price reported at 129,800 won
Hanmi Pharmaceutical's obesity drug Epe (에페), containing efpeglenatide, is reported to have a first-month supply price of 129,800 won as it prepares for a possible October launch. Hanmi cautions that supply prices differ from what patients …
Nagasaki reports first Japanese encephalitis patient in 25 years
Nagasaki city reported that a teenage male resident was diagnosed with Japanese encephalitis on October 14. He had recovered and left hospital, according to local reports.
Vatican says Pope Leo XIV's lung nodule surgery completed successfully
Pope Leo XIV's surgery to remove a lung nodule was completed successfully on October 13, the Vatican said, according to Newsis. The pope returned to his hospital room, and audiences scheduled through October 20 have been canceled.
South Korea approves nerandomilast for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said on October 15 it had approved an imported orphan medicine containing nerandomilast for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The regulator reviewed the drug through its GIFT fast-track support pr…
Pope Leo XIV recovering after lung surgery confirms adenocarcinoma
Pope Leo XIV underwent successful lung surgery in Rome on October 13, with tissue testing confirming lung adenocarcinoma, the Vatican said. He is expected to remain in hospital for about a week, and Yomiuri reported that events through Octo…
Russia quarantines hospital as lab worker’s death puts nearly 200 under observation
A female employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East died last week of pneumonia of unknown cause, Russian authorities said, and a hospital in the town of Shelekhov was placed under quarantine. Officia…
Russian anti-plague lab researcher dies; US and EU say they are monitoring
A 28-year-old female researcher at the Irkutsk anti-plague research institute in Shelekhov, Russia, died after being diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown cause, the state agency Rospotrebnadzor said. About 200 people who may have had contact…
WHO says risk low as US presses Russia for transparency on plague lab death
The U.S. State Department is monitoring reports of a fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has publicly called on Moscow to be more transparent about the death of a 28-year-ol…
Chiba hospital suspends three nurses over unauthorised videos of inpatients posted online
Chiba Nishi General Hospital in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, said female nurses had filmed inpatients and the hospital interior without permission during working hours and posted the videos on social media with captions such as "so bored". Th…
New York declares measles disaster emergency as rural cases rise
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a statewide disaster emergency on Monday over a measles outbreak, an order CNN reported is the first such declaration by a U.S. state since cases began surging in 2025. The state has reported 108 case…
Russia says woman at plague institute died of unknown pneumonia, not plague
A woman in her 20s who worked at a plague control research institute in Irkutsk, eastern Siberia, fell ill in late September and died on October 2. Russian public health authorities said on October 4 that the cause was “pneumonia of unknown…
Russia denies plague after worker at Siberian institute dies of unknown pneumonia
A woman who worked at a plague-control research institute in Russia's Irkutsk region in eastern Siberia has died; Japanese outlets differ on whether she died on Oct 1 or Oct 2. Russian authorities say the cause was “pneumonia of unknown cau…
Incheon psychiatric hospital referred over four patient deaths; police search it
South Korea’s National Human Rights Commission said on Oct 6 it referred the director of Won Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in Incheon’s Michuhol district, to the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency on charges including professional negli…
MFDS approves Hanmi's EPPE, Korea's first homegrown GLP-1 obesity drug
Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety approved Hanmi Pharmaceutical's EPPE auto-injector (efpeglenatide) on Oct 7, the first domestically developed GLP-1 obesity drug and the country's 45th homegrown new drug. The injectable is indicated…
Pennsylvania measles cases pass 1,000, largest state outbreak in decades
Pennsylvania has reported 1,004 measles cases in 2026, the state Department of Health said Monday, including at least 198 hospitalizations and five deaths. State health officials say it is the largest outbreak in any U.S. state in more than…
Japan flu cases top advisory level for first time this season at 11.35 per institution
Influenza patients reported across Japan in the week to October 4 averaged 11.35 per medical institution, passing the advisory threshold of 10 for the first time this season, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The figu…