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.

Time to get your flu vaccine — and a surprising new report shows babies and toddlers seem to be getting protected better than the rest of us.

Last year's flu shot won't shield you this year: Two new strains of influenza have begun circling the globe, and the updated vaccine appears to work well against them, government officials said Thursday.

A breast implant scandal affecting thousands of women this year damaged confidence and highlighted the need to tighten controls in Europe on everyday medical devices, the European Commission said Wednesday.

"We must do our best never to let this happen again," said EU Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner John Dalli, outlining plans for more transparent regulations "better adapted to scientific and technological progress."

The U.N. health agency said Wednesday it knew of no more cases in the Gulf of a mystery illness from the same virus family as the deadly SARS but was advising Saudi Arabia ahead of the upcoming Hajj pilgrimage.

"WHO is working closely with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as in previous years, to support the country's health measures for all visitors participating in the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca next month," the World Health Organization said in a statement.

The African spiny mouse, a desert rodent that has become an exotic pet, can shed up to 60 percent of the skin on its back and fully regrow the lost tissue, scientists reported on Wednesday.

Understanding the trick could one day help burns victims in need of scar-free skin regeneration, they hope.

The number of West Nile virus deaths and infections continued to rise in the United States last week, but at a slower pace, health authorities said Wednesday.

As of Tuesday, 3,545 cases of the mosquito-borne disease were reported this year, including 147 fatalities, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.