A private hospital in South Africa admitted Wednesday that it had carried out heart surgery on the wrong patient after a name mix-up. 

Local media said 83-year-old Rita du Plessis was being treated for a respiratory infection, but ended up in theatre for a procedure to remove excess moisture around her heart.

Danish researchers reported a link Wednesday between a commonly-used antibiotic and a "significantly" higher risk of heart deaths, while observers urged caution in interpreting the results.

In a study published online by the British medical journal The BMJ, the team said clarithromycin use was associated with a 76-percent higher risk of cardiac death, compared to use of penicillin V.

Russians and Ukrainians aged 55 to 59 die from coronary heart disease at a higher rate than Frenchmen who are 20 years older, a study released Wednesday of Europe's cardiovascular health showed.

Drawing on data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the report covering 52 countries noted a generally positive trend, but with huge discrepancies across the region.

Steven Spielberg, Justin Bieber and Bill Gates are among many celebrities pouring buckets of ice water over their heads and donating to fight Lou Gehrig's disease, in a fundraising effort that has gone viral.

Since June, several thousand people worldwide have recorded themselves getting drenched, then posted the stunt online and challenged others to do the same, or pledge $100 to ALS research.

Vietnam and Myanmar are testing three patients for the deadly Ebola virus after they arrived in the Southeast Asian nations from Africa suffering fever, health officials said.

Two Nigerians were sent to Ho Chi Minh City's Tropical Diseases Hospital for isolation after they arrived in the city by plane, Vietnam's health ministry said, adding that they did not have symptoms other than fever.

Liberia said Tuesday it had found 17 Ebola patients who had fled an attack on their clinic, sparking a panicked manhunt across a city in the throes of a seemingly unstoppable epidemic.

The World Health Organization, meanwhile, said the tropical virus had killed 84 people in just three days, a surge that has pushed the overall death toll from the west African outbreak to 1,229.

The World Health Organization said Monday that it had set up a task force with the global airline and tourism industry in an effort to contain the spread of Ebola.

The U.N. agency said it was working hand in hand with the International Civil Aviation Organization, the World Tourism Organization, Airports Council International (ACI), the International Air Transport Association and the World Travel and Tourism Council.

An unusually deadly outbreak of polio in 2010 in the Democratic Republic of Congo was linked Monday to a mutated form of the virus which common vaccines may not prevent.

The outbreak of polio infected 445 people and killed 47 percent of them, a rate much higher than a six percent death rate seen during an outbreak in Tajikistan the same year.

Ever felt like your neighbor's antics could drive you to an early grave?

Well, there may be reason for concern, said researchers who reported a link Tuesday between having good neighbors and a healthier heart.

Sierra Leone on Monday urged caution over the use of experimental drugs to combat Ebola as the United Nations launched an $18 million appeal to help the country cope with the epidemic.

Health Minister Miatta Kargbo told journalists that the country was following advice from the World Health Organization, which was "lukewarm" about using untested serums.