Your favourite chips, cookies, soda -- ultra-processed foods -- can trigger addictive behaviours that meet the same clinical criteria used to diagnose substance-use disorders, warned a study.

Researchers argued that failure to recognise this in diagnostic systems is a dangerous oversight with grave consequences for global public health.

"People aren't becoming addicted to apples or brown rice," said lead author Ashley Gearhardt, Professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, US.

Dengue fever cases in Vietnam's two largest cities, Ho Chi Minh City and the capital Hanoi, surged last week, reported on Monday.

Hanoi reported 72 new infections last week, double the previous week's figure, bringing the total to 475 cases and 15 outbreak clusters since the beginning of 2025, according to the city's Centre for Disease Control, the newspaper reported.

In southern Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City, more than 15,500 dengue cases and 10 deaths had been reported by mid-July, up 157 per cent year on year, the report added.

Health authorities are urging the public to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds and remain vigilant as rainy and humid conditions persist, news agency reported.

According to the World Health Organisation, dengue (break-bone fever) is a viral infection that spreads from mosquitoes to people. It is more common in tropical and subtropical climates.

Using a single pill comprising two blood pressure medicines is a safe and highly effective way to treat hypertension among South Asians, particularly Indians, finds a study led by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.

The study, in partnership with the Centre for Chronic Disease Control (CCDC) and Imperial College London, UK, compared three widely used drug combinations: amlodipine plus perindopril, amlodipine plus indapamide, and perindopril plus indapamide.

The first randomised trial to test three different two-drug combination pills among South Asians involved over 1,200 patients with uncontrolled hypertension across 32 hospitals in India.

Hepatitis B is a stealthy and silent virus; enhancing screening and vaccination is very important to fight it, said experts on World Hepatitis Day on Monday.

World Hepatitis Day is observed every year on July 28 to raise awareness about hepatitis and strengthen efforts to prevent and manage it. The theme this year is ‘Hepatitis: Let's Break It Down’.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Global hepatitis report 2022, India had 29.8 million hepatitis B cases which is equivalent to 11.7 per cent of the total global hepatitis B cases. Globally, 254 million people were living with hepatitis B in 2022.

“Hepatitis B is a stealthy, silent virus. It only activates at a later age -- 40, 50, or 60 years -- and remains silent until one day you hear someone has liver cancer,” said Dr. (Prof.) S K Sarin, Senior Professor, Department of Hepatology and Director, Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, New Delhi, at an event held in the national capital.

Hepatitis B is transmitted from mother to baby.

People with dementia are diagnosed an average of 3.5 years after symptoms are first noticed, according to a new study.

Early signs of dementia may include memory loss, difficulty finding words, confusion, and changes in mood and behaviour.

The study, published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, showed that younger age at onset and having frontotemporal dementia were both linked to a longer time to diagnosis.

For those with early-onset dementia, the diagnosis can take 4.1 years, with some groups more likely to experience longer delays.

"Timely diagnosis of dementia remains a major global challenge, shaped by a complex set of factors, and specific health care strategies are urgently needed to improve it. Timely diagnosis can improve access to treatments and, for some people, prolong the time living with mild dementia before symptoms worsen,” said lead author Dr. Vasiliki Orgeta, from the Division of Psychiatry at the University College London (UCL).

Vaccines prevented more than 2.5 million deaths from SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind Covid-19 infections, worldwide, according to a study.

The study, led by researchers from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Italy, showed that one Covid death was avoided for every 5,400 doses of vaccine administered.

The Union government has informed that Parliament has approved 297 new day care cancer centres across the country for FY26.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav stated the measures undertaken by the government in tackling cancer incidences in the country.

In the Union Budget announced in February, the government had proposed that “all district hospitals will have day care cancer centres. About 200-day care cancer centres will be established in 2025-26".

To prevent the rising burden of cervical cancer and related deaths in India, more than 10.18 crore women aged 30 years and above have been screened for the condition across the country at the Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs), the government informed the Parliament during the ongoing Monsoon session.

India accounts for 25 per cent of global cervical cancer deaths -- largely due to delayed diagnosis.

“Till July 20, data from the National NCD Portal indicates that 10.18 crore women out of an eligible population of 25.42 crore females aged 30 years and above have been screened for cervical cancer,” Jadhav said.

“This reflects the government’s strong commitment to comprehensive and preventive healthcare delivery through Ayushman Arogya Mandirs,” he added.

A commonly used type 2 diabetes medication in the US -- Glipizide -- may be linked to a higher rate of heart-related conditions, claimed a study.

Researchers from Mass General Brigham examined nationwide data from nearly 50,000 patients treated with different sulfonylureas. They found that glipizide was linked to a higher incidence of heart failure, related hospitalisation, and death compared to dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors. The findings are published in JAMA Network Open.

“Patients with type 2 diabetes are at heightened risk of adverse cardiovascular incidents such as stroke and cardiac arrest,” said corresponding author Alexander Turchin, Division of Endocrinology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH).

“While sulfonylureas are popular and affordable diabetes medications, there is a lack of long-term clinical data on how they affect cardiac health in comparison to more neutral alternatives like dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors,” he added.

Uganda has recorded a 69.9 per cent decline in mpox cases over the past four weeks, according to a new situation report released on Friday by the Ministry of Health.

The report shows that weekly reported cases dropped consistently from 233 in epidemiological week 26 to 173 in week 27, 108 in week 28, and 70 in week 29.

"This corresponds to a 25.8 per cent decrease from week 26 to 27, 37.6 per cent from week 27 to 28, and 35.2 per cent from week 28 to 29," the report noted.