Healthcare news on October 28, 2026

1. 0101:34 UTC

   Union says Darwin hospital staff sickened by morgue odour

   2 outlets · first: abc.net.au Regulation

   Machine summary The Health Services Union says pathology staff at Royal Darwin Hospital are reporting nausea and psychosocial injury from odours linked to the hospital's morgue, which it describes as routinely overflowing. A union official said the workers share an air-conditioning system with the ageing mortuary, and the union says a replacement morgue announced by the NT's former Labor government in 2023 has not been built. The HSU also raised mould concerns at two NT Health facilities, including Alice Springs Hospital, and says it is considering an application to the Fair Work Commission.

   1. The HSU says Royal Darwin Hospital pathology staff, including medical scientists, work above the hospital's morgue and share one air-conditioning system with it, according to branch secretary Billy Elrick
   2. Mr Elrick said staff report nausea, feeling unwell and psychosocial injury from exposure to the smell of decomposing bodies, with the worst effects when bodies arrive already decomposing
   3. In 2023, the previous Labor administration of the NT said a fresh morgue was going to be constructed; according to the HSU, that proposal has not come to fruition.
   4. The union also raised mould exposure concerns at two NT Health facilities, including Alice Springs Hospital
   5. The HSU has indicated that, if matters go unresolved, an application with the Fair Work Commission is being considered.

   Reported by abc.net.au and UA.NEWS.

   • ABC News
   • Fair Work Commission
   • Health Services Union
   • NT Health
   • Royal Darwin Hospital
   • Alice Springs Hospital

2. 0204:00 UTC

   Nasal breathing brand Intake Breathing raises $62M for retail push

   2 outlets · first: Modern Retail Market trends

   Machine summary According to Modern Retail, Intake Breathing said Camino Partners, the venture created by Kind Snacks founder Daniel Lubetzky, is putting $62 million into the company. CEO Alex Hauck said the DTC brand has sold more than 100 million pairs of breathing tabs since launching in 2023 and plans to use the capital for hiring and a move into mass retail.

   1. According to Modern Retail, Intake Breathing announced that Camino Partners has invested $62 million.
   2. Camino Partners was founded by Daniel Lubetzky, the founder of Kind Snacks, the report states
   3. CEO Alex Hauck said the company has sold more than 100 million pairs of breathing tabs since launching in 2023
   4. Hauck said the company recorded triple-digit growth over the past three years
   5. Products are currently sold through the brand's own DTC site and on Amazon, per Modern Retail

   Reported by Modern Retail and Dealroom.

   • Amazon
   • breathing tabs
   • Kind Snacks
   • Intake Breathing
   • Camino Partners

3. 0314:10 UTC

   Genmab shares hit record after ovarian and colorectal cancer trial data

   2 outlets · first: ibtimes.com.au Market trends

   Machine summary Key facts from the reports:

   1. The move lifted Genmab's market value to about $31.4 billion, with the shares up roughly 54% over the past 52 weeks (IBTimes Australia)

   Reported by ibtimes.com.au and Bloomberg.com.

4. 0423:30 UTC

   Achilles tendon injections show no benefit over sham at 12 months in BMJ trial

   2 outlets · first: MedPage Today Market trends

   Machine summary A randomized trial reported in The BMJ assigned 192 patients with midportion Achilles tendinopathy to bupivacaine plus hydrocortisone, bupivacaine alone, or a sham-site injection, with all arms including saline. Improvement was similar across all three groups at 12 months, and the steroid combination showed relief at 6 weeks that faded by week 12 and appeared worse at week 26.

   1. 192 patients were randomized to three arms, bupivacaine plus hydrocortisone, bupivacaine alone, or bupivacaine at a non-therapeutic site, with all arms including saline, according to the trial report in The BMJ
   2. Improvement levels were similar across all three groups at 12 months, the researchers reported
   3. The bupivacaine-steroid combination showed significantly greater relief at 6 weeks, but the advantage disappeared by week 12 and pain and disability appeared worse with the combination at week 26
   4. No differences between the sham arm and bupivacaine alone were noted at any timepoint in the study
   5. Including the corticosteroid did reduce overall healthcare costs over the follow-up year, according to the findings

   Reported by MedPage Today and news-medical.net.

   • The BMJ
   • Bupivacaine
   • Hydrocortisone

5. 0521:09 UTC

   Study ties water-polluting facilities to higher rare brain disorder risk

   2 outlets · first: MedPage Today

   Machine summary A study published in Neurology reports that U.K. Biobank participants living near industrial facilities that released pollutants into water faced higher odds of progressive supranuclear palsy. Odds ratios ranged from 1.38 for heavy metals to 1.66 for pesticides, and the reported risk fell as distance from the facilities increased. MedPage Today reports that no treatment currently stops or slows PSP progression.

   1. A study in Neurology using U.K. Biobank participants reported higher PSP odds among people living near industrial facilities that released pollutants into water, per MedPage Today and news-medical.net.
   2. Odds ratios by emission type: pesticides OR 1.66 (95% CI 1.12-2.46); other inorganic pollutants OR 1.60 (95% CI 1.19-2.15); other organic pollutants OR 1.52 (95% CI 1.13-2.04); heavy metals OR 1.38 (95% CI 1.03-1.85).
   3. The researchers wrote in Neurology that PSP risk decreased as distance from the facilities increased, and author Charlie Weige Zhao, MD, said time lived near the sites also played a role.
   4. PSP is described as a movement disorder with parkinsonism, eye movement abnormalities and balance problems, and MedPage Today reports no treatment currently stops or slows its progression.
   5. A doctor who was not involved in the study told MedPage Today that gene contributions to PSP are modest and that environmental factors likely contribute; the doctor said PSP was first described just over 60 years ago.

   Reported by MedPage Today and news-medical.net.

   • Neurology
   • U.K. Biobank
   • Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP)

Each summary and its key facts are a machine summary of the reports linked under it; the outlets, times and counts come from those reports' own records. How a rundown is built.