A Spanish hospital has successfully used stem cells culled from healthy donors to treat seven heart attack victims, in what officials said was a world first. 

Madrid's Gregorio Maranon hospital plans to treat 55 patients in all with the technique in a clinical trial, the regional Madrid government which runs the hospital said in a statement.

A British company's plan to unleash hordes of genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida to reduce the threat of dengue fever and other diseases has sparked an outcry from fearful residents.

As of Friday, more than 145,000 people had signed a petition at change.org urging regulators to "say no" to allowing the tourist-friendly fishing and diving haven to become "a testing ground for these mutant bugs."

With California gripped by a measles outbreak, Dr. Charles Goodman posted a clear notice in his waiting room and on Facebook: His practice will no longer see children whose parents won't get them vaccinated.

"Parents who choose not to give measles shots, they're not just putting their kids at risk, but they're also putting other kids at risk — especially kids in my waiting room," the Los Angeles pediatrician said.

African leaders meet Friday for their annual summit with conflict topping the agenda, especially Nigeria's Boko Haram insurgents, as well as efforts to stem Ebola.

While the official theme of the African Union meeting will be women's empowerment, leaders from the 54-member bloc will once again be beset by a string of crises across the continent.

Nigeria on Thursday confirmed that the H5N1 strain of bird flu has spread from seven to 11 states within a week, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of poultry but no human cases.

Agriculture Minister Akinwumi Adesina told an emergency meeting on the outbreak that "as of yesterday (Wednesday) a total of 11 states, have reported positive cases".

The Ebola epidemic is decreasing but is still present in a third of the areas of the three worst affected west African nations, U.N. Ebola coordinator David Nabarro warned Thursday.

"The number of cases is decreasing week by week and getting to zero in many places... but we still see occasional flare-ups and we still see some surprises with new cases out of our contact lists," Nabarro told Agence France Presse.

The Cambodian government has ordered a hospital to stop advertising so-called virginity restoration procedures, saying it harms the "morality" of society.

A number of Cambodian clinics quietly offer hymenoplasty -- a procedure commonly sought after in countries where a woman's virginity is prized -- but Phnom Penh's Victoria International Hospital is unusual in publicly advertising their services.

The African Union plans to launch an Ebola Solidarity Fund, officials said Wednesday, as aid agency Oxfam warned the continent's leaders needed to keep their promises to boost healthcare.

Oxfam called for a "massive post-Ebola Marshall Plan", referring to the United States aid package to rebuild Europe after World War Two.

Doping in sport is a public health issue, the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said Wednesday, because of the spread of substance abuse from elite athletes to school gyms.

"Too many people are taking too many substances they don't even know," WADA director general David Howman told Agence France Presse in an interview in Tokyo.

Lebanon's agriculture ministry took the necessary precautionary measures against the highly pathogenic bird flu virus H5N1 that hit an Israeli poultry farm 37 km from Lebanon's southern border.

Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb told LBCI in an interview on Wednesday that “it is crucial to drive the people's attention to report to the ministry or related authorities any danger they sense in their poultry farms or elsewhere.”