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Severe Respiratory Illness Confirmed in 12 States

Health officials say 12 states now have respiratory illnesses caused by an uncommon virus — enterovirus 68.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials say Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania together have 130 lab-confirmed cases. All are children.

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Obama: Ebola Crisis 'Spiraling Out of Control'

President Barack Obama issued a global call to action to fight West Africa's Ebola epidemic on Tuesday, warning the deadly outbreak was unprecedented and "spiraling out of control," threatening hundreds of thousands of people.

Speaking as he unveiled a major new U.S. initiative which will see 3,000 U.S. military personnel deployed to West Africa to combat the growing health crisis, Obama said the outbreak was spreading "exponentially."

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Ministry: First Domestic Case of Chikungunya in Brazil

Brazil’s authorities on Tuesday reported the first domestically contracted cases of the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus, prompting the government to announce it was stepping up attempts to control the disease.

The joint disease, which causes high fever and painful arthritis, is endemic to Africa and south Asia but has been moving north as well as west.

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U.N. Security Council to take action on Ebola

Describing the Ebola outbreak as a threat to world peace, the U.N. Security Council is set to adopt a resolution urging countries to provide field hospitals and other urgent aid to West Africa.

A draft of the resolution obtained by AFP on Tuesday also calls on nations to lift travel and border restrictions, and asks airlines and shipping companies to maintain their links with affected countries.

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Smoking Rates on the Rise in New York City

For the first time in years, more than 1 million New Yorkers are smoking, according to data released Monday, marking a disturbing rise of tobacco use in the city that pioneered a number of anti-smoking initiatives that were emulated nationally.

Sixteen percent of adult New Yorkers smoked in 2013, up from 14 percent in 2010, which was the city's lowest recorded rate, according to the findings released by New York City's Department of Health.

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Chinese Ups its Medics in Ebola-Hit Sierra Leone to 174

China will send more medics to Ebola-hit Sierra Leone to help boost laboratory testing for the virus, raising the total number of Chinese medical experts there to 174, the UN said Tuesday.

"The most urgent immediate need in the Ebola response is for more medical staff," World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan said in a statement, hailing the Chinese commitment.

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U.S. to Assign 3,000 from U.S. Military to Fight Ebola

The Obama administration is ramping up its response to West Africa's Ebola crisis, preparing to assign 3,000 U.S. military personnel to the afflicted region to supply medical and logistical support to overwhelmed local health care systems and to boost the number of beds needed to isolate and treat victims of the epidemic.

President Barack Obama planned to announce the stepped up effort Tuesday during a visit to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta amid alarm that the outbreak could spread and that the deadly virus could mutate into a more easily transmitted disease.

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U.N. Security Council to Hold Emergency Meeting on Ebola

The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on the Ebola crisis Thursday to find ways to scale up the global response to the epidemic, the U.S. ambassador announced.

"It is crucial that council members discuss the status of the epidemic, confer on a coordinated international response and begin the process of marshaling our collective resources to stop the spread of the disease," U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said Monday.

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Venezuela's Newest Shortage: Breast Implants

Venezuela's chronic shortages have begun to encroach on a cultural cornerstone: the boob job.

Beauty-obsessed Venezuelans face a scarcity of brand-name breast implants, and women are so desperate that they and their doctors are turning to devices that are the wrong size or made in China, with less rigorous quality standards.

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Fourth Sierra Leonean Doctor Dies from Ebola

A fourth Sierra Leonean doctor, a woman, died Sunday after contracting the dreaded Ebola virus, a top health official said, while a Dutch charity repatriated two doctors suspected of having been contaminated with the disease.

Doctor Olive Buck, who was in charge of Lumley Government Hospital in the Sierra Leonean capital, tested positive for Ebola on Tuesday and was admitted to the Connaught Hospital in central Freetown.

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