Australia is set to strengthen food labeling laws after a series of hepatitis A infections were linked to frozen berries from China, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Thursday.

Nanna's and Creative Gourmet brand raspberries and mixed berries were recalled after being linked to some 19 hepatitis A cases across the country this month, with poor hygiene or contaminated water at their packing factory thought to be responsible.

A nasty intestinal bug sickens nearly twice as many Americans each year as was previously thought, according to the largest U.S. study to look at the problem.

The germ — Clostridium difficile, or C-diff — flourishes in the gut after antibiotics kill off other bacteria and causes diarrhea. It can be severe and is blamed for about 15,000 deaths annually — mainly in the elderly.

Studies of baby animals have long suggested that going under anesthesia can have some harmful effects on a developing brain. Now some scientists want to find out whether those same drugs may pose subtle risks for human babies and toddlers.

It's a balancing act: Doctors don't want to unnecessarily frighten parents whose tots need general anesthesia for crucial surgery. There's no clear evidence of side effects, such as learning or attention impairment, in youngsters.

Suspicions that genes play a part in peanut allergy were confirmed in a study Tuesday that said environmental factors may contribute to the problem.

Researchers in the United States compared the genomes of more than 1,300 children of European ancestry, most of whom had some kind of food allergy, to those of their biological parents.

An HIV prevention pill taken by gay men before and after sex reduced the risk of virus transmission by 86 percent, according to the results of a clinical trial released Tuesday.

Truvada contains HIV treatment drugs tenofovir and emtricitabine, and is made by Gilead Sciences in California. In the study Truvada was taken up to one day before sex and the two days after.

An Indian city has banned public gatherings to contain the spread of deadly swine flu after thousands were infected with the virus, officials said Tuesday.

Authorities in Ahmedabad, the largest city in western Gujarat state, said 219 people had died of swine flu since the start of the year, with more than 3,300 cases detected so far.

A baby died and four young siblings were in critical condition after they were accidentally exposed to bedbug fumigation chemicals at their western Canada home, police said Monday.

Corporal George Cameron of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told Agence France Presse the children were rushed to the hospital Sunday after firefighters responded to a chemical spill in a home in Fort McMurray, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of Edmonton, Alberta.

Early results from an Ebola trial using the experimental drug Avigan (favipiravir) showed Monday it was somewhat effective at saving lives if given early in the illness, but not later.

The antiviral treatment is being developed by the Japanese company Toyama Chemical, and has been shown safe and effective against some other viruses including influenza, West Nile and yellow fever.

Researchers in Japan say black tea could help treat osteoporosis, a bone condition affecting older people, but admit you need to drink an awful lot of it.

Scientists say the humble brew contains an antioxidant that can prevent the loss of bone density commonly seen in old age that makes the elderly more vulnerable to fractures.

An international health mission said Monday more measures are needed to combat the spread of MERS in Saudi Arabia, the country worst hit by the coronavirus.

The team of experts said it identified with health authorities in the kingdom the need for "understanding the animal/human interface" including the "modes of infection and transmission."