New gonorrhoea treatment hailed as breakthrough in fight against drug resistance

Scientists have hailed a new antibiotic treatment for gonorrhoea, the first in three decades, which they said could help combat the global rise of drug-resistant infections.The sexually transmitted infection can result in serious complications if it is not treated promptly, especially for women, for whom it can lead to increased risks of ectopic pregnancy and infertility.Cases of drug-resistant gonorrhoea have increased rapidly in recent years, reducing the options for treatment. There is an urgent need for new treatments for gonorrhoea, with no new antibiotics found since the 1990s.Now a study has suggested that gepotidacin, an antibiotic used to treat urinary tract infections, could be used to fight the infection, ward off drug-resistant cases and improve patient experiences

Prison Service bans dangerous inmates from kitchens after officers attacked

The Prison Service is to suspend the use of kitchens for the most dangerous inmates after the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber attacked three officers at HMP Frankland.Hashem Abedi, a convicted terrorist who was jailed for life after helping his suicide-bomber brother Salman Abedi carry out the Manchester Arena attack in 2017, set upon staff with hot cooking oil and blades made out of cooking trays.Two male prison officers remain seriously ill in hospital after the attack on Saturday. A female colleague was treated in hospital and discharged.The Prison Service will consider whether the ban on inmates in separation units using kitchens should be made permanent

Melanoma patients in England get fast-track access to cancer vaccine

Patients with an advanced type of skin melanoma in England will be given fast-track access to a “revolutionary” new cancer vaccine as part of an NHS trial.The vaccine, known as iSCIB1+ (ImmunoBody), helps the immune system recognise cancer cells and therefore better respond to immunotherapy treatment.The trial is part of the expansion of NHS England’s Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP), a programme to fast-track eligible patients to studies developing vaccines at their nearest participating hospital.The CVLP has already helped thousands of NHS patients access trials of a personalised vaccine against bowel cancer, with more than 350 people fast-tracked for consideration, and has now expanded to include a trial for melanoma. It aims to provide 10,000 patients in England with personalised cancer treatments in the UK by 2030

Ban inmates from cooking after Hashem Abedi assault, says prison union

The union representing prison officers has said inmates should be banned from cooking in jail, with staff fearing copycat incidents after the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber attacked three officers at HMP Frankland.Hashem Abedi, a convicted terrorist who was jailed for life after helping his suicide bomber brother Salman Abedi carry out the Manchester Arena attack in 2017, is alleged to have set upon staff with hot cooking oil and improvised blades.The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has said there will be a full review of how the incident was allowed to happen, alongside a separate criminal investigation. Counter-terrorism police are leading the investigation into the “serious assault”.A female officer who was injured in the attack was treated in hospital and discharged, while her two male colleagues remain seriously ill in hospital, said Mark Fairhurst, the chair of the Prison Officers’ Association

Eleanor Hards obituary

My twin sister, Eleanor Hards, who has died aged 73, worked for a decade as a pharmacist at the Christie hospital in Manchester and then in retail pharmacy in Manchester, Lincolnshire and Oxfordshire. After moving in 1987 to what she called the People’s Republic of Didcot, Eleanor was also active in Labour politics. In May 1995 both Eleanor and her husband, Nick, were elected Labour town and district councillors, Eleanor specialising in housing and public health; she stood down as a district councillor in May 2019.Born in Lincoln, she was the daughter of John Jones, a vicar and hospital chaplain, and Janet (nee Roberts), a former nurse and later a health visitor. Our father liked to tell the story of how, in July 1951, he had to visit the local pram shop to cancel his order

Advice for hay fever that’s not to be sniffed at | Brief letters

I have endured hay fever for decades and have two pieces of advice (Hay fever making your life a misery? Try these 20 tips from doctors and allergy experts, 10 April). First, if you work in an office, stay there five days a week. The air-conditioning filtering the pollen is a dream. And second, under no circumstances, even if they are not itching, touch your eyes. Untouched, I can get by with no drugs, even on the most irritating of days