Ebola

Modelling from US CDC shows Ebola spread could be on ‘dangerous trajectory’, but experts warn outbreaks can be very hard to predictCentral Africa’s Ebola outbreak could spread to be similar in scale to the worst outbreak in history, west Africa’s 2014-2016 outbreak that killed more than 11,000 people, according to a new analysis by US health officials.The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday published a range of scenarios generated by computer models, from 10,000 cases to more than 20,000. In the west Africa outbreak, more than 28,000 cases were reported. Continue reading...

• A rapidly widening epidemic of the Bundibugyo virus, a rare type of Ebola, is currently spreading across Africa. • A World Health Organization (W.H.O.) expert panel has recommended two monoclonal antibodies, maftimivab (by Regeneron) and MBP-134 (by Mapp Bio), for urgent clinical trials. • These treatments are significant because they utilize antibodies from survivors that can bind to glycoproteins across multiple strains, including Bundibugyo and Sudan viruses.

• A proposed White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) rule threatens research by using PEPFAR as a justification to increase political oversight of federal grantmaking. • Vaccine development is accelerating in response to the growing Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak to mitigate the spread of the virus. • The US Secretary of State is facing questioning from multiple Congressional committees regarding the future and strategic direction of PEPFAR.

• Merck & Co. is considering the use of molnupiravir, an antiviral drug previously authorized for COVID-19 treatment, to combat a worsening Ebola outbreak in central Africa. • The move comes as governments and health authorities struggle to respond to the escalating public health crisis in the region. • Repurposing an existing antiviral could provide a faster therapeutic option for patients as the outbreak intensifies.

• The Africa CDC and World Health Organization (WHO) have launched a joint continental response plan to combat an Ebola outbreak. • Running from June to November 2026, the initiative seeks to raise US$ 518 million to fund rapid detection, clinical care, and emergency coordination. • The "One Response" approach integrates governments and partners to strengthen disease surveillance, laboratory testing, and community engagement across affected regions.

• Professor Matthew Herder of Dalhousie University warns that the current Ebola outbreak is exacerbated by a lack of U.S. support for regional responses. • The situation is attributed to significant cuts in public health investments both domestically and abroad under the Trump administration's policies. • Herder highlights that the National Institutes of Health previously served as the primary global funder for biomedical research against infectious diseases.

• The CDC has identified containing the spread of Ebola as its top priority amidst ongoing health concerns. • The Trump administration is reportedly disregarding established infectious disease playbooks, raising concerns about the federal response to outbreaks. • The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is offering funding to accelerate the development of vaccines.

Plan departs from policy of bringing CDC staff back to US for treatment and offering support to all health workersFormer top US officials and other experts are urging the Trump administration to abandon plans for an Ebola quarantine and treatment centre in Kenya, as the union for workers with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls for Americans exposed to Ebola to be brought home for treatment.Soon after the US revealed it was setting up a field hospital in Kenya for the Ebola quarantine and treatment of Americans, the Kenyan high court blocked the order – but the Kenyan and US governments moved forward anyway, with the first American responders reportedly landing at the Laikipia airbase on Saturday. Continue reading...

Islamic State-linked militia blamed for raids in North Kivu as governor says three patients with disease fled clinicsRebel attacks around a town that is one of the centres of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have left more than 30 people dead over the past few days, complicating the response to the disease.At least 10 people were massacred in raids on three villages around the city of Beni, in North Kivu, in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Continue reading...

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the virus ‘had a big head start’ but that the response was catching upThe Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could have begun as early as January, the head of the World Health Organization said, giving the virus “a big head start”.Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said the response was being hindered by blanket travel restrictions and highlighted high levels of community mistrust and low levels of contact tracing as key concerns. Continue reading...

People from town of potential site for US citizens with Ebola symptoms say it puts them at risk in country with no known casesPeople from a town in central Kenya where the US wants to set up an Ebola quarantine facility for its citizens have strongly criticised the plan, saying they fear it will expose them to the virus and that it is indicative of double standards on the part of the US.“Everybody should be quarantined in their home country. We shouldn’t allow foreigners to bring us diseases,” said Charles Mathenge, a taxi driver who lives near Laikipia Air Base, the proposed site in Nanyuki, 120 miles from the capital, Nairobi. “Kenya is our country, and we should be careful with it.” Continue reading...

• The Ebola outbreak is continuing to worsen, creating significant collateral health and safety risks specifically for women and girls. • In a surprising leadership change, Kyle Diamantas has been appointed as the new acting head of the FDA. • Global health data reveals a staggering 1.17 billion people are currently living with mental disorders.

• Evidence suggests the current Ebola outbreak is broader, more fragmented, and more entrenched than the initial assessment of a regional emergency. • Public health officials are struggling to contain the virus, indicating that critical lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic have not been applied. • The crisis is exacerbated by pandemic fatigue, geopolitical rivalries, and fiscal retrenchment, which have weakened the global mechanisms required for early containment.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus makes appeal after protests against protocols for handling bodies in Ituri province Containing the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo requires community cooperation and is “everybody’s business”, the World Health Organization has said.Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the organisation’s director general, made the plea on Sunday during a visit to eastern Congo where some residents have protested against stringent medical protocols for handling victims’ bodies. Continue reading...

• WHO chief visited Bunia in eastern Congo on May 30, 2026, to address a current Ebola outbreak at its epicentre. • During the visit, the WHO leader urged international communities to reconsider imposing travel bans against the affected region. • This intervention is critical to ensure that essential medical supplies and personnel can reach the outbreak zone without disruption.

• UAE health authorities have confirmed that the country's public health situation remains stable while they actively monitor developments regarding the Ebola virus. • To ensure national safety, the government is currently reviewing the virus's spread and reinforcing its medical preparedness and response protocols. • Simultaneously, a World Health Organization (WHO) delegation visited the UAE field hospital in Rafah to evaluate medical and humanitarian services provided in the southern Gaza Strip.

In today’s newsletter: As the virus spreads across borders, health workers warn that weakened global support is making a prolonged crisis more likelyEbola is spreading rapidly in parts of east Africa. The deadly disease, which kills around half of those it infects, is suspected to have claimed the lives of at least 240 people since the outbreak began in Ituri province in the Democratic Republic of Congo earlier this month.Public health officials are scrambling to contain the virus in one of the toughest environments: Ituri province, the centre of the crisis, is a mining hub where thousands of people work in close proximity every day, and a conflict zone, with ongoing fighting between rebel groups. Medical facilities are modest, while waves of displaced people are being forced into overcrowded camps to escape fighting, making it even harder to control transmission. The virus has already spread to other regions in eastern DRC and the Ugandan capital Kampala.UK news | Britain risks a financial hit worth £125bn a year after a rise in the number of young people not in employment or education to more than 1 million.US-Israel-Iran | Donald Trump has circulated a draft peace agreement for the war with Iran among allies including Israel as both sides try to prevent fresh breaches of the ceasefire escalating out of control.UK politics | Andy Burnham has rolled back from his previous calls for ministers to scrap a restriction on immigrants claiming benefits as the Makerfield byelection places greater scrutiny on him.Ukraine | A Russian drone that was part of an overnight attack on Ukraine crashed into an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two people, authorities said, in what an official statement condemned as an “irresponsible escalation” by Moscow.Climate crisis | Abandoning net zero and drilling for more oil and gas would be a massive setback for the UK and would not help the economy, leading experts have said in response to Tony Blair. Continue reading...

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus heads for Ituri province where epidemic is centred and calls for halt to fighting that hampers medical relief effortsThe deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo can be stopped, the World Health Organization (WHO) head, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said as he arrived in Kinsasha.Tedros landed in the DRC on Thursday evening and was due on Friday to travel to Ituri province in the north-east, where the epidemic is centred. Continue reading...

Some experts criticize White House approach and say not allowing Americans to return to US hurts treatment effortsThe Trump administration is building a quarantine and treatment center in Kenya for Americans affected by the Ebola outbreak, instead of bringing them home.The White House on Wednesday confirmed that the US is setting up a facility in Kenya for Americans to quarantine after Ebola exposure in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Continue reading...

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warns of ‘catastrophic collision of disease and conflict’ as suspected cases reach 900The head of the World Health Organisation has called for an immediate ceasefire in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to help tackle the Ebola outbreak there.Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on social media that the region was in the midst of a “catastrophic collision of disease and conflict with the Ebola outbreak in Ituri province outpacing the response.” Continue reading...

Director general of World Health Organization urges neighbouring countries to take immediate actionThe World Health Organization has warned that the Ebola outbreak is outpacing response efforts and countries neighbouring the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are at high risk from the disease.“We are urgently scaling up operations, but at the moment the epidemic is outpacing us,” said the WHO’s director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as he urged neighbouring countries to take immediate action. Continue reading...

Ever-growing influence of social media and AI means such ideas spreading at faster rates than before, experts sayHantavirus and Ebola outbreaks carry with them familiar attendants in the US: extreme conspiracy theories about a planned pandemic, or “plandemic”, designed to upend midterms elections or push new vaccines or any one of a myriad of wild ideas.Ebola, which the World Health Organization warned Friday is spreading rapidly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and poses a “very high” risk at the national level. In the upside-down world of conspiracy theories it could be a bioweapon, a financial plot, or a scheme to extract national resources. Continue reading...

World Health Organization says outbreak poses ‘very high’ risk for Congo, but risk of disease spreading globally remains lowCongolese authorities say that suspected Ebola cases have now passed 900 in the ongoing outbreak in the east of the country.The Congolese Ministry of Communication, in a post on X on Sunday, said there were 904 suspected cases and 119 suspected deaths. Continue reading...

But Trump administration will not return detainees deported to third countries in disease-struck regionThe Trump administration will temporarily pause the removal of refugees to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during a spiraling Ebola outbreak, according to reporting by Politico, but experts say the move won’t help prevent the spread of the disease.At least one woman is now in limbo after officials moved her to Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, and now say they won’t bring her back because of the Ebola travel ban – despite a judge’s order for her return. Continue reading...

New strain of virus, aid cuts, and cultural norms around burials and touch add to difficulties in stemming outbreakThe warnings from aid groups and healthcare workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been stark, their calls for coordinated international action impassioned.As the country reels from the return of the Ebola virus, there is growing concern that its fragile healthcare system will struggle to cope with an outbreak that experts say goes well beyond the number of confirmed cases. Continue reading...

Situation described as ‘deeply worrisome’ by officials as aid cuts and community distrust impede respondersThe Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo poses a “very high” risk to the country, the World Health Organization said on Friday, revising its threat assessment upwards.The outbreak is spreading rapidly, WHO leaders said, with almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths, up from 246 cases and 65 deaths when it was first reported a week earlier. Continue reading...

Plus, John Travolta’s beret, Rachel Reeves reclaims basic civility and Judy Garland comes to east London Much discussion in my household this week about the possibility of hantavirus or Ebola becoming Covid-like in their spread. As darkening news from central Africa throws the withdrawal of US international aid into terrible relief, so we revisit memories of those early months of 2020 when reports of a strange virus in China slowly crept from final item on the news list to blaring emergency. Continue reading...

Africa CDC says restrictions could increase public health risks and highlight ‘deeper structural injustice’ in global healthA US travel ban for people coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in response to the Ebola outbreak could make the situation worse, critics have warned.Declared a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday, the outbreak continues to spread with a new case reported in the DRC’s South Kivu province, an area under the control of armed rebel groups. Continue reading...