An 11-year-old boy's refusal to undergo chemotherapy despite doctor's orders challenged Canada's bioethics as the debate heats up over the right to ignore conventional wisdom and seek alternative therapies.

The family of the boy, diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at age seven, was in court Tuesday to fight for his custody. The boy was taken into the custody of the Children's Aid Society after his family supported the boy's decision to stop chemotherapy and seek alternative medicinal help.

Following the outbreak of hand-foot-mouth disease in parts of China, Bahrain authorities say they will provide health advisories to its 11 athletes participating in the Beijing Olympics.

"We will be advising the athletes on good hygiene practice, in addition to precautionary measures like drinking bottled water and not eating outside," Dr.Adel Al Sayyad, head of the Communicable Disease Control Section, told AHN.

Health Canada will launch a study by fall to probe the link between the lack of Vitamin D and major ailments like cancer, heart disease and multiple sclerosis.

The study was triggered by mounting pressure from the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Pediatric Society on Health Canada to look deeper based on the claims by the two medical societies that it has strong evidence on the benefits of taking large doses of Vitamin D.

Around 5,000 families who believe that a mercury-based preservative, thimerosal, found in many vaccines causes the development of autism have filed claims with the U.S. Court of Claims. The families allege vaccines caused autism and other neurological problems in their children.

Autism is a developmental disability which usually appears in children during their first 36 months. Once an uncommon disorder in the United States, the incidence of autism is now occurring at epidemic rates.

South Korea on Monday slaughtered and buried around 15,000 poultry in Seoul to prevent further spreading of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in the capital. Quarantine officials reported culling chickens, ducks, pheasants and turkeys raised in farms, restaurants, schools and homes in the capital.

Monday's culling resulted from a second case of bird flu confirmed in Seoul on Sunday, less than a week after the first one was detected. On Sunday, two outbreaks of the H5N1 virus were reported in poultry farms in Busan, country's second largest city, and Ansung.