A health alert for measles has been issued in the Australian city after a confirmed case traveled through the city's international airport while infectious.

The health department in the state of New South Wales (NSW) said on Friday that the confirmed case arrived in Sydney from Southeast Asia, where there are ongoing outbreaks of measles in several countries, on Monday.

Anyone who was on board Vietnam Airlines flight VN773 that arrived at the Sydney International Airport on Monday or who was in the airport's arrivals and baggage collection areas between 8:00-9:30 a.m. on the same day has been advised to monitor for symptoms of measles.

Mitchell Smith, the acting director of Public Health for the South Western Sydney Local Health District, said that initial symptoms include fever, sore eyes, runny nose and a cough followed days later by a rash that spreads from the face to the rest of the body.

With the screening of 5.72 crore people, India is stepping closer to a sickle cell-free future, said the Union Ministry of Health on Thursday on Sickle Cell Day.

World Sickle Cell Day is observed on June 19 to raise awareness about sickle cell disease (SCD), a genetic blood disorder.

Sickle Cell Disease is a chronic, single-gene disorder that causes a debilitating systemic syndrome characterised by chronic anaemia, acute painful episodes, organ infarction, and chronic organ damage, significantly reducing life expectancy.

The genetic blood disorder affects the entire life of the patient, as it leads to various severe health complications.

"This World Sickle Cell Day, India is stepping closer to a sickle cell-free future!" the Ministry said in a post on the social media platform X.

While social isolation has long been known a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, a new study showed that being more sociable can be an early sign of the neurodegenerative disease.

The study examined the social habits and genetic data of half a million British people whose average age was 56.

Researchers from the University of California San Francisco and Boston University found that Alzheimer’s may make people more sociable rather than less -- at least in the early stages.

The study shows that at its earliest stage Alzheimer’s doesn’t make people less socially engaged.

“Their social lives may even expand,” said co-senior author Ashwin Kotwal, from USCF. “We don’t know for sure if they are engaging more with others, or if those around them are noticing subtle changes and giving them more support," he added.

Indonesia is stepping up its measures to achieve malaria-free status by 2030, and is currently focusing on reducing cases in the country's easternmost region of Papua.

The Southeast Asian country reportedly has the second-highest number of malaria cases in Asia, following India, although it has seen a decrease in cases from around 443,000 in 2022 to around 418,000 in 2023.

According to the 2024 report from the World Health Organisation, Indonesia was lauded for its achievements in malaria control over the last decade. However, malaria cases in the country have increased consistently, following a surge last year to around 543,000 cases.

Countries of the Asia-Pacific region called for urgent action and solidarity in the fight against malaria during the two-day 9th Asia-Pacific Leaders' Summit on Malaria Elimination, held in Indonesia's Bali.

"Time is the most precious commodity we have. And in this time of extraordinary conflict, contraction, and chaos across the global health landscape, what we need most is cooperation and commitment," Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance CEO Sarthak Das said on Tuesday.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recorded more than 260 million global malaria cases, with over 600,000 deaths, three-quarters of them children under the age of five.

A technical session with international experts was held on the first day, discussing the latest evidence, innovations, and malaria control and elimination strategies, while emphasising the importance of solidarity across borders, sectors, and communities.

The Global Fund's Executive Director, Peter Sands, highlighted the progress made in tackling malaria, in line with growing global capabilities in technological and medical innovation.

Women who work nightshifts are more likely to suffer from moderate or severe asthma compared to women who work in the daytime, according to a study of more than 270,000 people.

However, the study, published in ERJ Open Research, found no such link between asthma and working nightshifts in men. The risk of asthma in men did not alter according to whether they worked days or nights.

Women who only work nightshifts were around 50 per cent more likely to suffer from moderate or severe asthma compared to women who only work in the daytime.

"Asthma disproportionately affects women. Women generally have more severe asthma, and a higher rate of hospitalisation and death from asthma compared to men,” said Dr. Robert Maidstone from the University of Manchester, UK.

An increase in the elderly population as well as a rise in smoking are behind the surge in the global rheumatoid arthritis burden since 1980, according to an AI-powered study.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease that primarily affects joints, causing pain, swelling, and stiffness.

The novel analysis published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases details significant socioeconomic disparities and worsening inequalities in disease burden.

The findings revealed that demographic ageing, population growth, and uneven healthcare infrastructure exacerbate rheumatoid arthritis burdens differently across regions.

Using data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), the study integrated the largest spatiotemporal rheumatoid arthritis dataset spanning 953 global to local locations from 1980 to 2021 with a novel deep learning framework.

Australian researchers have launched a pioneering clinical trial that aims to combat aggressive cancers previously deemed untreatable.

The trial led by a team from the Australian National University (ANU) focussed on malignancies driven by the elusive MYC protein -- a protein implicated in 70 per cent of human cancers --, news agency reported.

The success of the trial could redefine treatment paradigms for aggressive malignancies globally, offering a template for tackling other molecularly complex diseases, said the team.

The study will test an experimental drug, PMR-116, designed to disrupt cancer growth mechanisms in patients with prostate, breast, ovarian, and blood cancers, or MYC-driven tumours.

Alcohol-related liver disease deaths are increasing rapidly among women and young adults, according to new research.

Researchers from the Universities Havard, Stanford, and Southern California (USC) attributed the rise to higher drinking during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as to increasing health problems like obesity and high blood pressure.

"The pandemic itself came under control, but the disparities that came with it continued and lingered," said Dr. Nasim Maleki, a psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School.

The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, based on death certificates from across the US showed that between 2018 and 2022, deaths from alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) rose nearly 9 per cent a year. Between 2006 and 2018, ALD deaths stood at 3.5 per cent per year.

While men still had the highest number of deaths -- 17 per 100,000 people -- women's death rates grew faster.

Health authorities in France have confirmed the first locally transmitted case of mosquito-borne chikungunya this year.

The Regional Health Agency (ARS) of Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur (PACA) reported the case in the town of La Crau, located in the southern department of Var, news agency reported.

“We refer to a case as indigenous {domestic] when a person has contracted the disease on national territory and has not travelled to a contaminated area in the 15 days prior to the onset of symptoms,” the ARS said.

A chikungunya case not linked to travel suggests mosquitoes that carry the virus are in the country.

Health authorities in the area are conducting a door-to-door survey to see if other individuals are showing symptoms of the virus.