According to a World Health Organization (WHO) official Monday, the cholera outbreak in Papua New Guinea had struck 2,000 people, with poor water sanitation making it difficult to contain the disease.

WHO representative Eigil Sorensen said the first cholera outbreak to affect the country in 50-years first emerged in the province of northern Morobe last July, spreading along the north coast within months to Madang and East Sepik. The transmission is ongoing in all three provinces and gradually spreading, with 2,000 confirmed cholera cases.

After looking at interview data of 7524 civil servants, aged 35 to 55-years, from 1985 to 1988 about their levels of boredom, researchers at University College London have reached the conclusion boredom can kill you.

They then found out whether or not they had died by April last.

Researchers found that study participants who reported feeling greatly bored were 37% more likely to have died by the end of the study. They believe unhappiness with their lives made them resort to unhealthy habits like smoking or drinking, greatly reducing their life expectancy.

Three-month-old Landina Seignon severely injured in the Haitian earthquake could die within a week unless she can be flown to the UK for specialist head surgery.

Plucked from the rubble of a hospital, originally Landina was being treated for a burn.

However, she has also suffered major head injuries with burns to her head, and has had her right arm amputated after the collapse of the hospital that killed an orthopaedic surgeon along with 20 nurses.

The Financial Times reporting Monday says, Montagu, the private equity house that put German bandage manufacturer BSN Medical up for sale 18-months ago, but was compelled to abandon the auction in the wake of the financial crisis, now plans to make an initial public offering (IPO) of BSN, after hiring Morgan Stanley to plan a flotation that values BSN as high as €2-billion ($2.7-billion).

According to researchers, beer is a rich source of a nutrient that helps prevent weak bones, making the likelihood of suffering from osteoporosis less likely. As one of the nation’s favourite drinks, it is a rich source of dietary silicon that reduces the chance of developing diseases like osteoporosis.

Following a decrease in swine flu cases, the National Pandemic Flu Service (NPFS) will be closed down on Thursday.

After the Department of Health (DoH) announced the disease since the outbreak of the virus was at its lowest level, the Swine Flu phone line and website set up for dealing with the outbreak is to be shut down, as there has been a huge decline in the number of people requesting anti-viral medication via the NPFS.

However, there are still 124 patients quarantined in hospital, 29 of which are in critical care.

There is a growing black market for legal drugs, commonly bought with deadly results.

Nationwide, there are nearly 7 million Americans abusing prescription drugs, an 80% increase from a decade ago, more than the combined numbers of those abusing cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, ecstasy and inhalants, according to the US Health Department.

With a growing number of overdose deaths from taking illegal prescription drugs, there is growing concern amongst the authorities as to who is selling these drugs, and frustrated they are complaining about a lack of resources to stop the trade.

The discovery of 25 different spots on leukemia cells by Japanese researchers means each of them could be used for designing a new drug to fight the disease.

Scientist publishing their study in Science Translational Medicine said 25 different stretches of DNA especially active in the leukemia cells had been found, with each one having the potential to be targeted by a new drug.