The death toll of the Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria has risen to 127, public health authorities said.

A total of 674 confirmed cases have been recorded from 4,025 suspected cases reported since the onset of the outbreak in January, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) said in a statement on Tuesday.

Eighteen out of the 36 states in the most populous African country have been affected by the viral hemorrhagic disease so far this year, with the southern states of Ondo and Edo and the northern state of Bauchi the worst-hit, accounting for more than 70 per cent of the total confirmed cases, the NCDC said.

The NCDC put the case fatality rate at 18.8 per cent, slightly higher than the 18.5 per cent reported during the same period in 2024.

If you are having ice-cold feet and feel heaviness in the legs it may indicate the presence of varicose veins -- swollen, twisted, and enlarged veins in legs or ankles, according to a study.

Varicose veins are usually caused by impaired functioning of the deep or superficial veins, and the perforator veins (short veins that link the superficial and deep venous systems in the legs).

The prevalence of varicose veins ranges from 2 to 30 per cent in adults, with women at higher risk. Typical symptoms include sensations of heaviness, aching, throbbing, and itching; restlessness in the legs; fluid retention and swelling; muscle cramps; and leg ulcers in severe cases.

Cold hypersensitivity is often underestimated as a subjective symptom, said researchers from Chung Shan Medical University in Taiwan.

People suffering from chronic pain -- or pain that lasts at least three months -- may be up to four times more likely to experience depression, according to a study.

Almost 30 per cent of people worldwide suffer from a chronic pain condition such as low back pain and migraines, and one in three of these patients also report co-existing pain conditions.

The study published in the journal Science Advances shows that having chronic pain in multiple parts of the body was linked to a greater risk of depression than having pain at a single site.

"Pain isn't only physical," said Dustin Scheinost, Associate Professor of radiology and biomedical imaging at Yale School of Medicine (YSM).

People with a certain heart valve abnormality may be at an increased risk of developing severe heart rhythm disorders also known as arrhythmias, according to a study on Tuesday.

Researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden showed that the valve abnormality called Mitral annular disjunction (MAD) increases the risk of ventricular arrhythmias -- a dangerous type of heart rhythm disorder that, in the worst case, can lead to cardiac arrest.

The team found that the risk of arrhythmias persists even after successful valve surgery.

MAD is often associated with a heart disease called mitral valve prolapse, which affects 2.5 per cent of the population and causes one of the heart's valves to leak. This can lead to blood being pumped backward in the heart, causing heart failure and arrhythmias. The disease can cause symptoms such as shortness of breath and palpitations.

A new pill has shown promise against antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea -- a common sexually transmitted infection (STI) --, according to a study published in the journal The Lancet.

Cases of drug-resistant gonorrhoea have been increasing rapidly in recent years. If not treated promptly, gonorrhoea can result in serious complications, especially for women, in whom it can lead to increased risks of ectopic pregnancy and infertility.

The new pill gepotidacin -- developed by British drugmaker GSK and currently approved to treat urinary tract infections -- could be the new treatment against gonorrhoea, as there have been no new antibiotics since the 1990s for the STI.

The phase 3 trial, including 622 patients, found that gepotidacin is as effective as the current standard treatment for treating the infection.

A team of Candian researchers has found plasticisers called phthalates, flame retardants, and other harmful chemicals in mattresses of babies and young children who are likely to breathe and absorb these while sleeping, increasing several health risks.

Researchers from the University of Toronto said these chemicals are linked to neurological and reproductive problems, asthma, hormone disruption, and cancer.

"Sleep is vital for brain development, particularly for infants and toddlers. However, our research suggests that many mattresses contain chemicals that can harm kids’ brains,” said Miriam Diamond, Professor at the University of Toronto.

“This is a wake-up call for manufacturers and policymakers to ensure our children’s beds are safe and support healthy brain development,” she added.

Treating patients earlier with a combination of statins and the cholesterol-lowering drug ezetimibe could prevent thousands of new heart attacks, strokes, and death over a decade, according to a new study.

Cardiovascular disease is by far the most common cause of death worldwide, with heart attack (myocardial infarction) being the most common acute event.

For those who survive a heart attack, the risk of a new heart attack is most significant in the first year after the initial event because the blood vessels are more sensitive, making it easier for blood clots to develop.

Reducing LDL or “bad” cholesterol in the blood can stabilise changes in the vessels, decreasing the risk for new events, said researchers from Lund University in Sweden and Imperial College London.

Imbalance in the digestive system may disrupt brain signals and influence behavioural symptoms in children with autism, according to a study on Monday.

Researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) demonstrated that gut metabolites impact the brain, and the brain, in turn, affects behaviour.

The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, adds to a growing body of science implicating the “gut-brain” axis in autism.

“The brain acts as the intermediary between gut health and autism-related behaviours,” said first author Lisa Aziz-Zadeh, Professor at the Brain and Creativity Institute at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences.

Eating bananas or broccoli, rich in potassium, may effectively help lower hypertension -- affecting over 30 per cent of adults globally, according to a study on Monday.

Hypertension or high blood pressure is the leading cause of coronary heart disease and stroke and may also lead to other afflictions like chronic kidney disease, heart failure, irregular heartbeats, and dementia.

Researchers from the University of Waterloo, Canada, found that increasing the ratio of dietary potassium to sodium intake may be more effective for curbing blood pressure levels than simply reducing sodium intake.

"Usually, when we have high blood pressure, we are advised to eat less salt," said Anita Layton, Professor of Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Pharmacy and Biology at the University of Waterloo.

Mongolia's National Centre for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) confirmed 11 new cases of measles infection, raising the national tally to 506.

More than half of the latest confirmed cases were among school-age children who have had only one shot of the measles vaccine, the NCCD said in a statement.

In this regard, the NCCD advised parents to protect their children from a potentially severe disease by getting them two doses of the measles vaccine.

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease transmitted by respiratory droplets and direct contact, news agency reported.

Common complications include fever, dry cough, runny nose, sore throat and inflamed eyes.

According to the World Health Organisation, measles spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. It can cause severe disease, complications, and even death.