Saudi Arabia has taken measures to deal with any epidemic that may break out during the annual hajj pilgrimage, a minister said in remarks published Monday, stressing that the spread of a mystery illness from the same family as the deadly SARS virus was "limited."

The kingdom has taken "preventive measures towards pilgrims ... and has made practical and scientific arrangements to deal with any epidemic that might be discovered," Health Minister Abdullah al-Rabeeah was quoted as saying in Al-Hayat daily.

An outbreak of Ebola fever in the Democratic Republic of Congo may have killed up to 36 people, out of 81 suspected cases, according to a new death toll released by the health ministry on Monday.

The ministry said that 20 confirmed cases have been recorded, as well as 32 likely and 29 suspected as of September 29.

California has become the first state to ban a controversial form of psychotherapy aimed at making gay teenagers straight.

Gov. Jerry Brown announced Sunday that he had signed SB1172 by Democratic Senator Ted Lieu of Torrance. The law, which prohibits sexual orientation change efforts for anyone under 18, will stop children from being psychologically abused, Lieu said.

A deadly version of an intestinal germ has spread through sub-Saharan Africa, helped by genetic mutation and diseases such as HIV that weaken the immune system and expose the body to infection, researchers said Sunday.

The finding comes in a genetic comparison of variants of Salmonella Typhimurium, one of the Salmonella family of stomach bugs.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration launched a national campaign Friday alerting consumers to the risks of phony web pharmacies.

The warning comes as nearly one in four people who shop online say they have bought prescription drugs on the Internet, according to the FDA.

On a muggy evening in the north Indian city of Amritsar, Sunil Sharma prepares for another heroin hit in a decrepit, abandoned building.

Before inhaling the fumes of his brown paste heated on a piece of tinfoil, the 23-year-old explained he had tried heroin for the first time six months ago when his girlfriend left him to marry another man.

U.S. health authorities on Friday approved a heart defibrillator with leads that can be implanted just under the skin instead of connected directly to the heart.

The new subcutaneous device "uses a lead that is implanted just under the skin along the bottom of the rib cage and breast bone," the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a statement.

A new mysterious respiratory virus that has killed at least one person and left another in critical condition does not appear very contagious, the World Health Organization said Friday.

"From the information available thus far, it appears that the novel coronavirus cannot be easily transmitted from person to person," the WHO said in a statement.

German health authorities said at least 4,000 children have fallen ill with vomiting and diarrhea after eating food from school canteens and daycare centers.

The Robert Koch-Institut stated it was alerted to a sudden surge in gastroenteritis cases that began late Tuesday in Berlin and surrounding regions.

It's a medical nightmare: a 24-year-old man endures 350 surgeries since childhood to remove growthsthat keep coming back in his throat and have spread to his lungs, threatening his life. Now doctors have found a way to help him by way of a scientific coup that holds promise for millions of cancer patients.

The bizarre case is the first use in a patient of a new discovery: how to keep ordinary and cancerous cells alive indefinitely in the lab.