A Belgian man became the first known fatality of a drug-resistant "superbug" originating in South Asia, reinforcing fears the germ could spread worldwide after infecting dozens of people in Britain and Australia.

Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo tolerated the first dose of chemotherapy to treat his lymphatic cancer very well, a cabinet minister said on Friday, a day after the leftist leader vowed to continue his duties despite the illness.

Obese government workers in South Carolina can get stomach-shrinking surgery through the state health plan under a pilot program that starts in January.

Cafes in Khartoum have been forced to implement a ban on the smoking of water pipes, a popular activity throughout the Arab world, in a move welcomed by Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir.

Global sales of vaccines grew by a healthy 16 percent last year, when sales shot up to $22.1 billion, healthcare market research publisher Kalorama Information reported Friday.

VACCINE HEALTH: A healthcare market research firm says vaccines are one of the healthiest segments of the pharmaceutical business, with global sales growing 16 percent in 2009, to $22.1 billion.

A Belgian man died from a drug-resistant "superbug" originating in South Asia, a doctor said Friday, the first reported death from the bacteria.

Fast food restaurants could hand out free cholesterol-busting statin drugs with their burgers and fries so customers can offset the heart disease risks caused by the food, researchers said.

A pair of studies suggests that the common painkiller acetaminophen -- better known as Tylenol in the U.S. -- may be fueling a worldwide increase in asthma.

Bats infected with rabies have attacked more than 500 indigenous people in Peru's Amazon and four children likely lost their lives in an outbreak of the disease, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.

A small study suggests that a nutritional supplement sold over-the-counter may help some people with depression who haven't gotten better with any other drugs.

Patients with advanced head and neck cancer survived just as well on experimental drugs as they did on FDA-approved standard therapies in a new study.

People who are friendly and outgoing and those prone to be nervous and moody have at least one thing in common: their personalities do not seem to be connected to their risk of developing or dying from cancer, a new study finds.

Fears that fires scorching forests polluted by Chernobyl fallout may propel dangerous amounts of radioactivity into the air are overblown, scientists say, and the actual health risks are very small.

Fast food outlets should hand out free cholesterol-lowering statin drugs to their customers to "neutralize" the heart risks of eating fatty foods like burgers and fries, British scientists suggested on Thursday.

Indian doctors warned earlier this year about the threat from a new multi-drug resistant "superbug" -- months before a British study that New Delhi has condemned for scaremongering.

The death of a 29-year-old woman from pneumonic plague has brought the number of plague victims in Peru to three in two months, the health ministry said.

The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says China is improving its oversight of its exporters following a slew of scandals over bogus or substandard drugs and foods ranging from vaccines and infant formula to dog chow.