Bulgaria's Health Ministry announced that the coastal Burgas District has become the third region this year to declare a flu epidemic.

From January 22 to 30, temporary anti-epidemic measures will be enforced in Burgas. These include the suspension of in-person classes, extracurricular activities, and hospital visits.

Similar measures are already in place in two other districts. Varna's restrictions, initially set for January 14-20, have been extended to January 26 due to high case numbers. In Dobrich, measures will remain until the end of this week.

A team of Chinese researchers has developed an autonomous robotic system that is capable of performing delicate eye injections within the confined space of the human eye.

The surgery robot, developed by a team from the Institute of Automation under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, can potentially enhance the precision and safety of surgeries used to treat debilitating retinal diseases, news agency reported.

In the paper published in the journal Science Robotics, the team reported that the robot successfully performed subretinal and intravascular injections in animal tests with 100 per cent success.

For artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver meaningful public value in a linguistically diverse country like India, it must be multilingual and voice-enabled, ensuring that language does not become a barrier to accessing healthcare services, according to Amitabh Nag, CEO, Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD).

Nag said that language AI can significantly enhance citizen engagement, grievance redressal mechanisms, clinical documentation, and the overall accessibility of digital public health platforms.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi has performed over 1,000 robotic surgeries in last 13 months, the Institute said on Tuesday.

Robotic surgery was initiated at the Department of Surgical Disciplines, AIIMS, more than a year ago to address intricate surgical challenges.

The state-of-the-art surgical robot has to date performed surgeries, including hepatobiliary procedures like pancreatic duodenectomy, gastrectomy, esophagectomy, colectomy, anterior resection for gastrointestinal malignancy, various complex abdominal wall reconstructions for hernias, kidney transplantation, and minimally invasive resection of thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, and pancreas for endocrine tumours, AIIMS said in an official statement.

Affirmative action in local government leadership can significantly help improve health outcomes, particularly infant survival and maternal prenatal care, in India, according to a study, led by researchers at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow on Tuesday.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal, offers important insights into how structural interventions can address long-established social and health inequities.

In a world-first discovery, scientists in Australia have found that the human heart can regrow muscle cells after a heart attack, raising hopes for future regenerative treatments for heart failure.

The study, published in Circulation Research, revealed that while parts of the heart remain scarred after a heart attack, new muscle cells are also produced, a phenomenon previously seen only in mice and now demonstrated in humans for the first time, news agency reported.

 In the first-ever study, Australian researchers have demonstrated the feasibility and safety of using stabilised hyaluronic acid (sHA) gel during radiation treatment for gynaecological cancers.

The gel is already approved by Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration for use in prostate cancer radiation treatment.

The team led by experts from Monash University investigated hyaluronic acid gel for the first time in women as a means to gently create more space between the tumour and the rectum during MRI-guided brachytherapy -- a type of internal radiation treatment.

 Mother’s intake of paracetamol during pregnancy does not raise the risk of autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and intellectual disability in children, according to a new study on Saturday, which further refutes claims made by US President Donald Trump about the common painkiller.

Speaking at a White House event in September, Trump had called on mothers-to-be to “tough it out” rather than take acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol) -- the main ingredient in Tylenol.

A team of Australian researchers has tested a new way of treating childhood brain cancer by combining two medicines in lab studies.

The study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, found that using the two treatments together may work better than using either on its own.

The team from the Children's Cancer Institute and University of New South Wales, tested a combined therapy approach on a group of difficult-to-treat brain tumours: diffuse midline gliomas (DMG) in the lab.

South Korea on Saturday confirmed its first case of African swine fever (ASF) in about two months, prompting authorities to cull thousands of pigs and issue a standstill order to prevent the virus from spreading.

According to the provincial government, the outbreak was detected at a farm in Gangneung, about 170 kilometres east of Seoul in Gangwon Province, news agency reported.

Authorities said 29 of 32 pigs that died at the facility on Friday tested positive for the virus, which is fatal to pigs but harmless to humans.

The United States has recorded at least 18 million influenza illnesses, 230,000 hospitalisations and 9,300 deaths so far during the current flu season, according to the latest estimates released by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC said seasonal influenza activity remains elevated nationwide, though it has decreased or remained stable for two consecutive weeks.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) worked to transform India’s scientific ecosystem by reinventing roads using green technology, protecting biodiversity, and boosting healthcare with indigenous diagnostic kits, according to a report.

In 2015, CSIR’s laboratories across the country played a significant role in developing innovations that strengthened infrastructure, improved healthcare outcomes, enhanced climate resilience, and reinforced India’s strategic autonomy, the Times of Oman reported.

The World Bank on Friday approved a loan of $286 million for a new programme to enhance access to healthcare for over 90 million people in West Bengal.

The West Bengal Health System Reform Programme Operation will support delivery of personalised healthcare services across the state for people over 30 years through digital tracking measures for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension and diabetes.

Your mouth bacteria can significantly affect your gut health, and predict the risk of chronic liver disease, finds a study.

Each year, more than two million people die from advanced chronic liver disease (ACLD).

One day after flu epidemic measures were introduced in Bulgaria's Varna District for the first time this season, neighbouring Dobrich District decided to follow suit.

The measures in the northeastern Bulgarian region will be in effect from January 19 to January 23, local media reported on Thursday.

During the five-day period, in-person classes in all schools will be suspended. Hospital visits, planned surgeries, child immunisations, and pediatric consultations will also be halted.

The prevalence of autoimmune diseases is increasing, especially in women, and the ongoing winter season, along with high pollution, may be worsening the symptoms, said an expert from the All India Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi on Wednesday.

Dr. Uma Kumar, Professor and head of department of Rheumatology, AIIMS, explained that autoimmune diseases develop through a complex process, which may be limited to a single organ or be systemic.

The detection of two suspected Nipah virus cases in West Bengal has put health authorities on alert, prompting the Centre to deploy a National Joint Outbreak Response Team to support containment and public health measures.

Doctors said that the Nipah virus is rare, unpredictable and can be deadly.

On Wednesday, they said that awareness and early action are crucial to prevent its spread.

Increasing taxes on fruit juices, sugary drinks, and alcohol is essential to curb the rising non-communicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancers, and injuries, especially in children and young adults, said the World Health Organization (WHO).

In two new global reports, the WHO flagged concerns that sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages are getting cheaper, due to consistently low tax rates in most countries.

While more than 100 countries tax sugary drinks like sodas, other high-sugar products, such as 100 per cent fruit juices, sweetened milk drinks, and ready-to-drink coffees and teas, escape taxation. The median tax for these accounts for only about 2 per cent of the price of a common sugary soda.

Two nurses from Barasat in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal who have tested positive for the Nipah virus are in a coma and in extremely critical condition, hospital sources said on Wednesday.

In both cases, the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores for eye opening, verbal response, and motor response are below five. The female nurse has tested positive for Nipah, with her samples confirmed by the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune. Doctors said the male nurse, who is currently on ventilator support, is also likely to test positive.

Just five more minutes of sleep, and two minutes of moderate exercise like brisk walking or climbing stairs can add a year to your life, according to a study on Wednesday.

Adding half a serving of vegetables per day more could also lead to an extra year of life for people with the worst existing sleep, physical activity, and dietary habits, revealed the study that followed 60,000 people for eight long years.

South-East Asia Region, home to a quarter of the world’s population, has marked 15 years since recording its last case of wild poliovirus, said the World Health Organization (IANS) on Tuesday.

The region continues to sustain its polio-free status while harnessing innovations and lessons from the polio programme to accelerate broader public health progress, the global health body said.

Women and the elderly are more likely to be vaccine-hesitant, according to a study on Tuesday, which analysed data from more than 1.1 million people.

The study, published in The Lancet, analysed hesitancy based on Covid-19 vaccine uptake and found that hesitancy against vaccines was rooted in concerns about their efficacy. While it reduced over time, it persists in some people.

The researchers from Imperial College London, UK, found that the likelihood of remaining unvaccinated was higher for older people, women, people who were unemployed or living in deprived areas, those with a history of Covid, and people with a lower level of education.

AIIMS Raipur has completed 100 robotic-assisted surgeries within four months of launching its robotic programme, marking an important milestone for advanced surgical care in Central India, the institute said on Monday.

The centre has performed a range of procedures, including nephrectomy, cystectomy, hemicolectomy, prostatectomy, pyeloplasty, hernia repairs, gastrectomy, hysterectomy, reflecting both rapid adoption and growing clinical capability.

Even as India is seeing a rapid rise in childhood obesity, diabetes, and heart-disease risk, a new study showed how school-based behavioural interventions can help reduce consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) that are rich in salt and sugar among adolescents.

The scientific study led by researchers from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, found that simple school-based behaviour programmes can dramatically reduce junk food consumption by over 1,000 calories per day.

A team of Australian researchers has developed a new targeted therapeutic approach that could improve treatment for myelofibrosis -- a rare and serious form of blood cancer.

Myelofibrosis disrupts the body’s ability to produce healthy blood cells, leading to fatigue, pain, enlarged spleen, and reduced quality of life.

Although current treatments can help relieve symptoms, there are no treatments to cure the disease.

Yoga can aid in the speedy recovery of people with opioid withdrawal, as well as improve anxiety, sleep, and pain in them, according to a study.

Opioid withdrawal involves physical symptoms like diarrhoea, insomnia, fever, pain, anxiety, and depression, and autonomic signs such as pupil dilation, runny nose, goosebumps, anorexia, yawning, nausea, vomiting, and sweating. These symptoms result from sympathetic nervous system overactivity due to dysregulated noradrenergic outflow.

Heart surgery that begins late in the morning may raise the risk of cardiovascular deaths when compared to other times of the day, according to a study.

Researchers at The University of Manchester, UK, suggested that integrating body clock biology into the planning of heart surgery could support a more personalised, precision medicine approach, as some people’s body clock makes them early birds and others make them night owls.

 Pakistan will vaccinate more than 45 million children during its first nationwide polio eradication campaign of 2026, scheduled to run from February 2 to February 8, health authorities said on Saturday.

The country's emergency operations centre said the week-long campaign will be conducted across the country, with vaccination teams administering oral polio vaccine to children under the age of five.

Daylight can help improve metabolic health, enabling people with type 2 diabetes to achieve better glycaemic control, according to a study.

Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) in Switzerland and Maastricht University in the Netherlands found that people exposed to natural light had blood glucose levels in the normal range for more hours per day, with less variability.

India’s dairy sector is undergoing a remarkable digital transformation that will help not only to enhance its productivity but also boost transparency and inclusiveness with farmer welfare, said the government on Friday.

India is the world’s largest producer of milk, accounting for 25 per cent of global output.

The transformation, including the development of digital platforms that connect farmers, cooperatives, and stakeholders across the dairy value chain, is being spearheaded by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).

Even a single drinking binge -- roughly four drinks for women or five for men within about two hours -- can weaken the gut lining, according to a study.

The study showed that a single session of binge drinking can decrease the gut’s ability to keep bacteria and toxins from entering the bloodstream -- a phenomenon known as “leaky gut.” The findings are published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Maternal use of antibiotics during pregnancy may raise the risk of babies developing Group B Streptococcus (GBS) disease -- a common bacterial disease, according to a study.

While the bacteria usually live harmlessly in the gut or genital tract, they can cause serious infections, especially in newborns, older adults, and immunocompromised individuals, leading to sepsis, meningitis, and pneumonia.

India accounted for 26 per cent of Asia‑Pacific healthcare private equity (PE) deal volume in 2024, making it the largest PE market in the region by volume, a report said on Thursday.

The report from Bain & Company said that the global healthcare PE deal value hit a record $191 billion in 2025.

India was the largest market in the region by volume as buyout activity shifted away from China toward India, Japan, and South Korea due to the countries’ macroeconomic fundamentals, the report said.

OpenAI has introduced ChatGPT Health, a dedicated experience to securely connect people’s medical records and wellness apps.

The San Francisco-based artificial intelligence (AI) giant has developed the new experience, with close collaboration from more than 260 physicians practicing across 60 countries.

People who eat more industrially processed foods and beverages laced with preservatives, widely used to extend shelf-life, may increase the risk of cancer, according to a study.

The study, published in The BMJ, showed that higher intakes of several preservatives (mostly non-antioxidants, including potassium sorbate, potassium metabisulfite, sodium nitrite, potassium nitrate, and acetic acid) were associated with a higher risk of cancers, compared with risks in non-consumers or lower consumers.