Manila - The Philippines has stepped up screening of travellers from Mexico and other countries affected by an outbreak of a deadly swine flu virus, health authorities said Monday. Health Secretary Francisco Duque stressed that there was still no case of swine flu among humans in the Philippines.

"There is no report of swine flu among humans in the Philippines," he told a press conference.

But Duque urged the public to practice good hygiene to avoid getting sick amid growing concern over the outbreak of the swine flu virus in Mexico, the United States and Canada.

London, April 27 : Do you have a neurotic personality? Well then it's time to relax or else you could end up developing asthma, says a new study.

Researchers at Heidelberg University in Mannheim, Germany, conducted a study and found that neurotic personality could triple the chances of developing asthma.

Adrian Loerbroks and colleagues used a questionnaire to evaluate tendencies to hysteria, anxiety and depression in 4010 adults without asthma, reports New Scientist.

Washington, April 27 : Adult circumcision lowers the risk of contracting the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the risk of coital injury without reducing pleasure or causing sexual dysfunction, two new studies have shown.

The first study, conducted by Australian researchers, has shown that the inner foreskin has the largest concentration of Langerhans'' cells, which are the initial cellular targets in the sexual transmission of HIV.

Tokyo  - Japan on Monday decided to upgrade health inspections on travellers returning from Mexico to prevent swine flu outbreaks in the nation while pushing to develop vaccines to prevent an epidemic.

As Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso ordered his cabinet ministers at a crisis meeting held Monday to ensure public safety, the Health Ministry vowed to begin developing vaccines against swine influenza.

Washington, April 27 : A new study has shown that obesity is associated with a higher risk of urinary tract infections (UTI).

To identify whether obesity is associated with a UTI diagnosis, Baltimore researchers evaluated insurance claims of 95,962 subjects over a five-year period (from 2002 through 2006).

They found that, as BMI increased, the odds of being diagnosed with a UTI increased as well.

This association was strongest for morbidly obese patients.

Singapore  - In light of the outbreak of swine flu cases in Mexiko and the United States since Monday all passengers arriving at Singapore's main Changi airport are being screened for flu symptoms.

Thermal scanners at the arrival halls measure the temperature of passengers just before they undergo immigration checks, the Ministry of Health and the Civil Aviation Authority said in a joint statement.

Passengers with higher-than-normal temperature would undergo a more thorough medical assessment.