Category: Health

SANTIAGO, Chile — A lethal virus carried by rodents infected cruise ship passengers with no available treatments or vaccines to help them, highlighting a critical gap in medical preparedness.

The outbreak involved hantavirus, part of a virus family that scientists have studied for decades and believe exists worldwide. Unlike the novel coronavirus that sparked the pandemic, this pathogen has been recognized for years.

Research groups across Chile, Argentina and the United States have worked extensively to create medications and vaccines. However, because these viruses occur infrequently and rarely transmit person-to-person, governments, global health organizations, and pharmaceutical companies haven’t provided sufficient ongoing funding for comprehensive safety and effectiveness studies required for approval.

Nevertheless, recent developments offer hope. Scientists published findings Wednesday suggesting that a medication for autoimmune conditions might help hantavirus patients combat the most severe complications.

Researchers believe the cruise ship incident — along with concerns that hantavirus cases may increase as climate change brings more human-rodent contact — could generate fresh support for their work.

“I hope this situation will help us continue our research and strengthen the collaboration between healthcare workers, the community, and the necessary resources,” said Dr. Fernando Tortosa of the National University of Río Negro in Patagonia, Argentina, the study’s lead author.

These viruses typically transmit when people breathe in contaminated particles from rodent waste. Different hantavirus species exist globally, each with distinct traits and symptoms.

The Andes virus, responsible for the cruise ship cases, draws particular research attention because it’s the only hantavirus believed capable of human-to-human transmission in certain situations. Though infections remain uncommon, they prove extremely lethal.

“That is why it is a public health problem,” said María Inés Barría, a virologist at the Universidad San Sebastián in Chile who studies hantaviruses.

Among the 13 probable cruise ship cases, three resulted in fatalities. Additionally in Chile, the Ministry of Health has confirmed 15 deaths and 42 cases this year. Argentine authorities have documented 32 deaths and 102 cases since June 2025. In the U.S., 35% of hantavirus cases have proven fatal since monitoring began in 1993, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Argentine researchers are examining whether tocilizumab, a rheumatoid arthritis treatment, could combat hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a serious infection from both the Andes virus and Sin Nombre virus found in North America.

Tocilizumab suppresses IL-6, a molecule that causes harmful inflammation in autoimmune and other conditions. IL-6 also appears involved in the inflammatory response to infection, which can quickly cause lung fluid buildup and failure.

Five patients at an Argentine hospital survived after receiving tocilizumab alongside standard hantavirus pulmonary syndrome care, the research team reported in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

This report documents the first patients treated with tocilizumab in an ongoing “compassionate use” study, allowing doctors to administer it to qualifying patients. Five other eligible patients who received only standard treatment died. Two deteriorated too rapidly, while the hospital lacked supplies for the others, researchers noted.

The research team emphasized that the five patients who didn’t receive the drug were older and sicker than those who did. Still, they concluded tocilizumab deserves additional study.

Barría’s team, including Chilean scientists, U.S. National Institutes of Health Rocky Mountain Laboratories researchers, and Robert Koch Institute scientists from Germany, pursues a different strategy — using cloned antibodies from hantavirus survivors to prevent infections. The team published 2018 research showing animal success, but couldn’t secure funding for human trials, partly because resources shifted to coronavirus pandemic response.

“We are truly at the forefront, at a very important stage of moving to the next phase,” Barría said.

Multiple other groups, including teams at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Vanderbilt Center for Antibody Therapeutics, also develop antibody treatments.

Vaccines against Old World hantaviruses have been created and utilized, though the World Health Organization states no currently licensed hantavirus vaccines exist. New vaccines are under development, including ones targeting the Andes virus. A team led by Jay Hooper of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases works on a vaccine that successfully produced antibodies against the virus in early human trials, according to their 2020 study.

Dr. Paul Bollyky, an infectious disease physician and researcher at Stanford Medical Center in California, explained that securing sustained support for rare disease vaccines and treatments like hantavirus proves extremely challenging.

Laboratories typically lack what Bollyky describes as necessary equipment to test and validate vaccines and treatments for uncommon infections. Additionally, because hantavirus outbreaks occur sporadically and unpredictably, studying this virus proves much more difficult than researching common germs like influenza that circulate regularly.

“That also makes clinical trials in this space super difficult because of the number of people you would have to immunize to protect against one infection,” he said. “It’s just impractical.”

This also means limited or inconsistent markets for vaccines or treatments, since predicting exposure timing and populations proves difficult.

Still, researchers and physicians feel frustrated knowing potential treatments could help people now with sufficient sustained investment.

“What happened was a tragedy, but it can happen not only with this but also other diseases,” Tortosa said, referring to the cruise ship outbreak.

A routine medical visit in January 2026 turned into a life-changing moment for Taylor Jacobus, a dedicated turkey hunter from Hanover, when his doctor delivered shocking news: “You have a tumor growing in your head.”

Jacobus had visited his physician seeking relief from headaches, mild ear ringing, facial sensations, and sinus pressure. Instead of simple treatment, the doctor ordered an MRI that revealed a 2.5-centimeter vestibular schwannoma — also called an acoustic neuroma — developing on the nerve connecting his ear to his brain.

The 38-year-old consulted with four neurosurgical teams nationwide before facing a frightening but necessary decision: undergo a craniotomy to extract the tumor before it could further compress his brain stem.

While acoustic neuromas are rare, affecting roughly one in 100,000 people each year, they are usually non-cancerous. Despite various surgical risks, Jacobus faced one particularly devastating possibility — complete hearing loss. For someone who had pursued turkey hunting passionately for more than twenty years, this prospect was heartbreaking.

Sound plays a crucial role in successful turkey hunting. Hunters rely on treetop gobbles and ground-level spitting and drumming to track, locate, and call in their prey. The thought of hunting turkeys with hearing in only one ear seemed insurmountable to Jacobus, though dedicated turkey hunters understand the value of determination.

Seventy-four days after his diagnosis, Jacobus endured more than eight hours of surgery at Duke University Hospital in North Carolina. He awakened to remarkable news: surgeons achieved 90-95 percent tumor removal, preserved his facial nerve completely, and most surprisingly, maintained partial hearing in his right ear. The outcome felt like a miracle, particularly with spring turkey season approaching.

Recovery required 11 days with a walker, 28 days without driving, and 37 days unable to lift his son. Jacobus persevered through the challenging initial weeks and received medical clearance after five and a half weeks — perfectly timed for week three of Virginia’s spring turkey season.

The cool, dewy April mornings soon called Jacobus back to the forest. Armed with specialized hearing aids and physical therapy experience, he headed to his childhood home in Doswell to hunt familiar territory.

His first obstacle was navigating in darkness. With his vestibular system relearning balance, walking became especially challenging without adequate lighting. Step by step, he carefully made his way to a trusted corner of the family land where the powerline intersected with oak trees.

Locating birds presented his next challenge. After sunrise and several mouth calls, gobblers responded from various directions. While ideal for hunting, determining their exact locations proved difficult. Minutes stretched endlessly as Jacobus wrestled with uncertainty, questioning whether to trust his compromised senses or rely on instinct.

Drawing on muscle memory, Jacobus made one final call before falling completely silent, controlling his breathing and calming his racing heart. This strategy paid off when the closest tom immediately responded again, this time clearly moving in his direction. Jacobus knew the bird was approaching.

Using only his eyes to scan the area, Jacobus spotted the gobbler’s fanned tail appearing over the hill, heading directly toward his decoys. The long-awaited moment had arrived. What once seemed impossible was now strutting toward the decoys in full display. After watching the aggressive tom confront his jake decoy and circle once, Jacobus achieved perfect focus and made a clean, lethal shot.

This successful hunt carried extra meaning, occurring exactly six weeks after his surgery. The experience created a feeling and memory he will treasure forever. Life presents challenges similar to turkey hunting, but this story demonstrates that with determination, obstacles can be overcome.

Caitlyn Jacobus is the DWR Digital Marketing Manager and Taylor Jacobus’ wife.

A nutrition company based in Deer Park, New York has voluntarily widened its recall of moringa capsule supplements because of potential salmonella contamination.

Total Nutrition Inc. is expanding the recall of its TNVitamins and Doctor’s Pride Ultra Potent Complete Green Superfood Moringa Capsules after discovering the products may contain salmonella bacteria.

According to health officials, salmonella is a dangerous bacterial organism that has the potential to cause severe infections that can sometimes result in death.

The World Health Organization’s top official acknowledged Wednesday that responders are still trailing behind Congo’s deadly Ebola outbreak, despite improvements in diagnostic capabilities.

“We’re still behind” because the outbreak “had a big head start,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated, though he emphasized “we are catching up” as laboratory testing capabilities expand.

Congolese health officials report 344 confirmed infections and 60 fatalities from the uncommon Bundibugyo strain of Ebola since authorities declared the outbreak in mid-May across the eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu. Suspected case numbers have dropped significantly from 906 to 116.

Uganda’s health ministry reported Tuesday that the neighboring country has documented 15 confirmed infections, resulting in one fatality.

When asked about a controversial U.S. quarantine facility in Kenya that has sparked demonstrations, the WHO chief declined to comment directly, stating “I think based on their risk assessment … they can do whatever they think is right for them.”

Health experts indicate the virus circulated for weeks in one of the globe’s most at-risk areas before laboratory confirmation. Emergency supplies, including protective equipment, have been dispatched to combat this Ebola variant for which no approved treatments or vaccines exist.

Five individuals have successfully recovered from the infection, providing rare encouraging developments.

Doctors Without Borders cautioned Monday about case count accuracy, noting “The true extent of the outbreak remains difficult to assess. Extremely limited testing capacity and difficulties accessing certain areas necessitate interpreting these figures with caution.”

Delivering a potential vaccine to affected areas could require several months.

Dr. Aruna Abedi, a Congolese epidemiologist experienced in managing the country’s previous outbreaks, explained to The Associated Press that “It’s difficult to have an effective vaccine that adheres to the scientific protocol available quickly.”

Despite enhanced laboratory and diagnostic capabilities, Tedros noted that tracking individuals who contacted infected persons in Congo remains inadequate.

“Only about 45% of contacts have been followed up, and to get ahead of the outbreak we need to get that number up to above 90%,” he explained. “Insecurity, displacement and mobile populations make contact tracing especially difficult.”

Military groups operating in the area include the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel organization that captured major cities Goma and Bukavu more than a year ago, plus an Islamic State-affiliated group known as the Allied Democratic Forces active along the Congo-Uganda border. Years of instability have produced a massive and at-risk displaced community.

Suspicious local residents have assaulted medical facilities during the outbreak, sometimes demanding relatives’ remains. Medical personnel are also confronting incorrect beliefs among some community members that Ebola doesn’t exist, preventing some from getting treatment.

Medical researchers have unveiled promising results for a new approach to treating brain cancer that could transform patient outcomes following surgery.

Scientists presented findings at a major oncology conference showing that a small radiation-emitting device implanted during brain tumor removal surgery delivers superior results compared to conventional radiation therapy.

The innovative treatment involves placing a thin collagen tile infused with cesium-131 radiation directly into the space where surgeons removed the tumor. This device immediately begins destroying any remaining cancer cells while traditional treatments require patients to wait up to six weeks after surgery before radiation can begin.

During this waiting period with standard care, leftover cancer cells in the brain can multiply and spread, researchers explained. The new implant eliminates this dangerous gap by providing instant radiation treatment that gradually diminishes as the device dissolves naturally into the body.

A comprehensive study involving 230 patients with operable brain metastases compared outcomes between those receiving the implant versus standard radiation therapy after surgery.

The results showed dramatic improvements: only 1% of patients with the implant experienced tumor regrowth in the surgical site after one year, compared to 11.9% of those receiving conventional treatment.

Patients who received the device had more than a 50% lower risk of cancer returning or dying compared to standard care. Two-year survival rates reached 61.7% with the implant versus 35.7% for traditional radiation.

Side effects and quality of life measures remained comparable between both treatment approaches, according to researchers.

“These patients have faced important challenges with existing treatment approaches,” stated the chief medical officer of the company that developed the technology.

He added that the study data “delivers the high level of evidence to support GammaTile as a new up-front treatment option.”

In related cancer treatment advances, researchers also reported breakthrough results for patients with relapsed multiple myeloma using a new dual-action drug that helps the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells directly.

Additionally, an experimental vaccine combined with immunotherapy reduced melanoma recurrence by nearly half in a five-year study, offering hope for personalized cancer treatments that target specific tumor characteristics.

SAO PAULO – A controversial experimental therapy for spinal cord injuries has created a medical phenomenon in Brazil, attracting patients from countries like Mexico to a small laboratory while propelling a researcher to celebrity status – all without completed safety trials.

The experimental therapy uses polylaminin, a protein derived from placenta tissue designed to encourage nerve tissue regrowth. This treatment has captured worldwide attention from thousands of prospective patients, with many securing legal representation to obtain access to the medication.

Without completed clinical evidence proving both safety and effectiveness, medical professionals are advocating for careful consideration while attempting to distinguish between scientific reality and patient optimism.

Research conducted on animals beginning in the early 2000s indicates polylaminin may encourage damaged nerve tissue to regenerate.

While Phase 1 human trials continue, widespread public fascination with polylaminin surged following promotion of a 2024 preliminary study by Cristalia, the Brazilian drug manufacturer that owns the patent rights.

Brazilian researcher Tatiana Sampaio, who leads the research team, informed Reuters that a peer-reviewed polylaminin study nears publication but would not identify which medical journal will publish it.

Brazil’s public reaction has been extensive, with well-known Brazilian performer Joao Gomes acknowledging Sampaio during this year’s Carnival celebration: “You are the biggest celebrity here,” he declared.

This excitement represents national pride for Brazil.

“A female scientist made a groundbreaking discovery for the world, and she is Brazilian,” Sampaio stated.

**OFFICIALS OPTIMISTIC, RESEARCHERS CAUTIOUS**

Should polylaminin prove both safe and effective, it would represent a significant achievement for Brazil’s pharmaceutical sector, which has traditionally focused on generic medications, and for a nation investing only 1.2% of its economic output in research and development, based on 2023 World Bank statistics.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s administration, currently seeking reelection, has embraced this positive outlook.

“It is something so important to us that it was the first product analyzed by the newly created Innovation Committee at Anvisa,” stated Health Minister Alexandre Padilha regarding the national health regulatory agency. “If the clinical study yields good results, it can be made available to the population as quickly as possible.”

Several medical professionals caution against allowing excitement to outpace scientific rigor.

Marco Baptista, chief science officer at the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, described polylaminin as “innovative” and “promising,” while emphasizing it represents just one among numerous experimental therapies in early development phases.

Baptista explained that the foundation, established by the “Superman” actor following a 1995 horseback riding accident that caused his paralysis, monitors encouraging research globally but avoids placing excessive confidence in initial findings.

“It is not the only approach out there and we need to see if it’s safe and efficacious,” Baptista commented.

Leading figures within Brazil’s research community also recommend caution.

“We want the research to be successful… but we need to meet certain criteria,” stated Delson Jose da Silva, president of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology.

**VARYING OUTCOMES**

The initial human polylaminin research included eight patients with complete spinal cord damage, with four experiencing paraplegia and four experiencing tetraplegia, all treated within days of their injuries.

Two patients died from their injuries. However, all six surviving patients recovered some voluntary movement ability, and one patient who sustained neck injuries in an automobile crash achieved complete recovery within two years.

“I believe polylaminin was crucial for my recovery,” stated Bruno Drummond de Freitas, 31, who now walks independently.

Freitas, injured at age 23 and treated with polylaminin within 24 hours, has become an advocate for the therapy.

Some medical professionals warned that excessive excitement about the treatment’s potential could result in disappointment.

Luiz Fernando Mozer, a 38-year-old automotive painter, underwent treatment several days following a motocross crash in early December. His only improvement has been restored feeling in his legs.

His gradual progress has caused frustration. “We are eager to get results, but they just don’t happen.”

**EXPENSIVE LEGAL COSTS**

Brazil’s court system permits patients to obtain experimental treatments through legal proceedings. Following public disclosure of the medication, dozens of legal cases requesting polylaminin access have been submitted, according to Anvisa.

This excitement could expose vulnerable patients to financial exploitation. Health law expert Vanessa Patricia reported observing situations where attorneys charge patients with chronic conditions for treatments they cannot receive.

Sampaio explained that animal research and preliminary human evidence suggest polylaminin functions most effectively within 72 hours of injury and up to three months afterward.

Some patients have sought legal assistance because Anvisa may require up to 45 days to decide on such applications.

Anvisa has started expediting approvals when clear treatment indications exist, reducing the need for court involvement, Patricia noted.

Currently, 84 patients have obtained Anvisa’s permission for compassionate polylaminin treatment, with 44 receiving approval through court decisions, the regulatory agency reported.

Attorney fees for representing patients seeking polylaminin access range from 15,000 to 300,000 reais ($3,000 to $60,000).

**CLINICAL STUDY AUTHORIZED**

Sampaio acknowledged she can no longer personally manage all cases, which may include 24-hour court orders requiring immediate treatment before researchers can thoroughly evaluate each situation. However, she remains dedicated to the research and hopes trials will demonstrate the medication’s clinical value.

Rogerio Almeida, vice president of research and innovation at Cristalia, confirmed the company provides the medication at no cost to patients with acute injuries following Anvisa’s approval.

Cristalia, located in rural Sao Paulo state, has invested more than 110 million reais ($22 million) in polylaminin development.

The Phase 1 study approved by Anvisa will evaluate polylaminin’s safety in five patients between ages 18 and 72 who received treatment within 72 hours of complete thoracic spinal cord injuries requiring surgical intervention.

Natalia Pasternak, who directs a nonprofit organization promoting evidence-based public policy, noted that public records do not clarify Anvisa’s rationale for authorizing the study. She is pursuing additional documentation through legal channels.

“Well-detailed clinical trials that follow a solid protocol take time,” she explained, “and rushing them can compromise both quality and safety.”

($1 = 5.0109 reais)

Two women are defying cancer odds thanks to breakthrough treatments that specifically target their tumors’ genetic makeup, representing a growing trend of Americans living longer with the disease.

Cathy Smithwick, age 67, has battled breast cancer followed by ovarian cancer for over two decades using a combination of targeted therapies, immune system treatments, chemotherapy and hormone medications.

Michelle Vacca, recently 59, has managed lung cancer for almost a decade and continues thriving on an investigational treatment that addresses a uncommon tumor genetic change.

These cases reflect a broader shift as researchers decode cancer’s biological foundations and create medications tailored to each tumor’s genetic blueprint.

According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 18 million Americans with cancer histories remain alive currently.

An unprecedented seven in ten cancer patients now live at least five years beyond diagnosis, compared to fewer than half in the 1970s and 63% during the mid-1990s when targeted cellular treatments first appeared, the cancer organization reports.

Traditional chemotherapy that destroys all rapidly dividing cells — which remains central to cancer care — was previously the sole treatment avenue for most malignancies.

“It’s taken decades for us to really understand the biology of cancer,” stated Rebecca Siegel, head of surveillance research at the cancer group. She anticipates survival statistics will keep climbing, though cancer will likely stay the second leading cause of death behind heart disease as it becomes more frequent with aging.

The recently completed American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago featured research demonstrating cancer fatalities among 15 to 49-year-olds decreased 25% since 1990, alongside trial outcomes for innovative life-prolonging treatments for pancreatic, skin and blood malignancies.

Cancer emerges when DNA mutations cause cells to multiply and spread without control. Environmental exposures like tobacco or ultraviolet radiation can trigger these changes, though inherited mutations account for fewer cases.

New treatments must prove safety and effectiveness for regulatory clearance, often measured by tumor reduction rather than extended lifespan. Fewer than one-third of recently approved cancer medications demonstrated life extension benefits.

Trial success rates are advancing partly because studies selecting participants based on particular genetic markers or mutations have nearly doubled the effectiveness of non-selective trials.

Emerging treatments like Revolution Medicines’ daraxonrasib, which targets a RAS gene variant driving cancer progression, enable patients to overcome resistance to conventional therapies, explained Dr. Vincent Chung, pancreatic cancer specialist at City of Hope, a national cancer research and treatment organization.

“This is how you have patients that are living with cancer… if you’ve been on a targeted therapy, you’re going to be probably more sensitive to the older chemotherapy again,” he stated.

Smithwick, who served as a management consultant in Silicon Valley before retiring following a second ovarian cancer return four years ago, received her breast cancer diagnosis in 2005. Her tumor showed positive results for HER2 protein — present in approximately 25% of breast cancers — leading to treatment with Roche’s Herceptin, among the first antibody medications designed to block cancer-promoting proteins.

BRCA1 gene mutation testing occurred only after her sister’s breast cancer diagnosis years later.

Following surgery in 2010, Smithwick faced ovarian cancer diagnosis. When her cancer developed drug resistance, alternative treatments began, but an allergic response to platinum-based chemotherapy eliminated that option.

Currently taking an estrogen-blocking medication, she will undergo biopsy testing for additional genetic markers if tumor growth occurs, with doctors at Kaiser Permanente planning comprehensive marker analysis.

“They will test for all available markers,” said Smithwick, who completed a 4-mile Himalayan climb in Bhutan last November and plans her fourth Kenya trip this summer. “Meanwhile I am living my life.”

Vacca, an office manager in Orange County, California, who never smoked, discovered her early-stage lung cancer through an unrelated chest x-ray.

Post-surgery biopsy revealed an EGFR mutation, leading to treatment with AstraZeneca’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor Tagrisso, though the cancer returned.

Another medication caused an infected rash. City of Hope identified her cancer’s EGFR 20 insertion mutation, found in roughly 2% of lung cancers, resulting in enrollment three years ago in a CLN-081 drug trial.

“It’s still working for me,” Vacca said. “I don’t really have any side effects… It hasn’t stopped me from traveling to K-pop concerts.”

Dr. Saro Armenian, director of City of Hope’s survivorship program, said the center is “doubling down on research to understand the journey of cancer survivors,” while recognizing patients may still face serious prognoses.

Dr. Julie Gralow, the organization’s chief medical officer, stated: “We’re going to have to look at the full genomic profile of every cancer.”

A physician who once had to study outdoors among weeds because her family couldn’t afford a table has been honored for becoming a groundbreaking figure in Israeli medicine. Dr. Nadia Khir recently received the “Habama Shelahen” (“Their Stage”) award from Jewish philanthropist Miriam Adelson for her historic achievement as Israel’s first female Druze doctor.

Speaking to The Media Line following the ceremony, Khir shared how a quote commonly linked to Mahatma Gandhi has shaped her journey: “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” These words, she explained, captured the resolve that enabled her to overcome obstacles and create opportunities for future generations of Druze women.

Currently practicing at four Clalit Health Services clinics throughout the Galilee region – including Julis where she resides, plus Tamra, Jatt, and Yanuh – Khir notes that approximately 40 female Druze doctors now work in Israel. However, when she enrolled at the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology during the mid-1980s, she stood alone as the only one.

Growing up in extreme poverty in Peki’in in northern Galilee, Khir recalled that she “studied on the weeds,” since her family lacked even basic furniture like a table. The village was then a diverse community housing Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Druze residents. When Jewish neighbors relocated to nearby Nahariya, she would use the steps of their vacant houses as a quiet study space.

“There was too much noise at our house, and I couldn’t study,” she remembered.

Khir’s challenging upbringing continues to affect her today. Her father left the family when she was just five years old, and during a recent phone interview, she became emotional discussing her mother, who battled a serious illness while single-handedly raising five children.

Observing her mother’s medical struggles and witnessing how healthcare providers could assist people during their most vulnerable times “was a very strong motive” for pursuing medicine, she explained.

“It touches a painful place for me,” Khir acknowledged. “It still hurts,” she said regarding her childhood experiences. “But I was strong. I overcame it.”

Watching her mother – who served as both the family’s sole income source and only parent – repeatedly fall ill was frightening. Each time her mother required medical treatment, Khir observed directly how physicians could provide crucial help during people’s most desperate moments.

“I said to myself, ‘I also want to help people. I also want to be someone who can take care of others and take care of my mother,’” Khir stated. “I had no support growing up, no one to lean on, so I wanted to grow up and become support for my daughters.”

She admits uncertainty about how she managed to achieve her medical career given the overwhelming challenges she faced. Beyond her economic disadvantages, Druze society maintained very conservative traditions, and women were typically discouraged from seeking advanced education, particularly in medical fields. Many community members worried that girls who left their villages for university studies would abandon their religious beliefs. Consequently, she needed to demonstrate that pursuing higher education was compatible with maintaining loyalty to her cultural traditions.

Two individuals provided crucial encouragement during this period. Her brother offered both financial assistance for her education and emotional support for her goals. He eventually departed from the faith before facing “excommunication,” according to Khir.

Despite her brother’s backing, she remained terrified that her devout mother might face social isolation, which could have devastated their family. Khir witnessed the punishment imposed on families of two nursing students, who were banned from religious services and excluded from community activities.

However, shortly before beginning her studies, Khir encountered former Druze religious leader Sheik Farag Fadool on the street. When she expressed her educational aspirations but voiced concerns about potential consequences for her mother, she recalled that he promised to protect her family from community ostracism. This assurance provided the confidence she needed to proceed with her plans.

Khir understood that her choice would help transform the community.

“I wanted that change to come,” Khir remembered.

However, she never anticipated becoming such an influential symbol for her community of approximately 180,000 people in Israel.

“Dr. Nadia Khir’s story is one of courage, faith, and perseverance,” stated Dr. Yaffa Ashur, director of Yoseftal Medical Center and head of Clalit Health Services’ Eilat region, who participated in presenting the award last week. “One woman who refused to give up on her dream and, in doing so, opened doors for an entire generation of women. She is a tremendous source of pride for Clalit and for Israeli society as a whole.”

When asked whether she ever contemplated abandoning her goals during difficult periods, Khir responded, “That was never an option. Even today, I’m an extreme person in that sense. Once I start something, it has to be completed fully.”

The Technion presented particular difficulties. Accustomed to communicating in Arabic, she suddenly needed to study, attend classes, and interact in Hebrew. She also found herself among some of Israel’s most academically elite students.

“Being among people from wealthy backgrounds was not easy for a girl from a struggling family in Peki’in in the Galilee,” she observed.

During particularly challenging times, she would visit the head of the student advancement unit and break down emotionally in her office. “She used to encourage me,” Khir said. “She would tell me, ‘Nadia, they’ll write a book about you.’ She always treated me like I was some kind of historical figure.”

Khir chose to specialize in gynecology specifically to serve Druze women and advance her community’s progress.

“It’s something I bless every day,” she said. “Being a gynecologist is so essential to women’s lives. … If they get married, they need guidance. If they want birth control, they need a gynecologist. If they become pregnant, they need a gynecologist. … It contributes tremendously.”

She always knew gynecology would be her specialty because strict cultural rules governing physical contact between men and women in Druze society meant that treating male patients would not have been socially acceptable. She needed to select a medical specialty that operated within those cultural parameters.

Currently, she noted, women’s status and societal attitudes toward women have transformed dramatically. Women are no longer regarded as property or merely as household laborers. Women are recognized as human beings with ambitions, desires, and the capacity to make independent decisions. She also credited some of this advancement to the laws of the State of Israel.

She also plays an important role in conversations about contraception within the Druze community, where the topic is not always readily embraced.

“Women often need convincing. Also, today there is more sexual freedom, so I see more women in the clinic with sexually transmitted diseases. But it’s still very uncomfortable to openly lecture in villages about sex, sexually transmitted diseases, and related issues. There isn’t enough openness,” she explained.

Currently, her three daughters are pursuing similar paths. One works as a doctor at Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa. Another is studying electrical engineering at Tel Aviv University, and a third is studying software engineering at the Technion.

“When I left to study medicine, I never imagined I would become a symbol. I simply wanted to fulfill a dream and help people,” Khir said. “Today, when I see young women choosing to study and advance without fear of breaking boundaries, I understand that the journey was worth everything. It is a great privilege for me to be an inspiration to my daughters and to the next generation.”

She described Israeli society as “wonderful,” and believes it is not as divided as people perceive. “I’m a Druze woman, an Arab woman, so you would expect me to encounter racism from Jews. But the opposite has happened. The greatest encouragement I received came specifically from Jewish people. They were the ones who supported me and believed in me.”

She added that during the past two-and-a-half years of war, she observed that people from all sectors of society had come together and supported one another.

“The people who unite society are the ones worthy of leadership, not those who divide us,” Khir declared.

She also expressed appreciation for how Israel supported the Druze community in Syria. “I never imagined that one day Israel would be the country protecting the Druze in Syria,” she admitted. “The State of Israel, strong and stable, is an anchor and support for Druze throughout the Middle East, especially in Syria.”

Severe weather events including hurricanes, floods, wildfires and other natural disasters can trigger intense feelings of anxiety and psychological distress.

Mental health professionals who work with disaster survivors say there are effective strategies to manage this stress. Creating a comprehensive emergency plan stands out as one of the most crucial steps, experts emphasize.

“Preparation is always one of the most powerful tools that I can imagine — not just for safety, but also for mental health,” said Ruben Juarez, a health economist at University of Hawaii professor who directed the Maui Wildfires Exposure Study, which looked at health and social impacts of the deadly 2023 fires.

After a disaster passes, mental health experts recommend working to rebuild normalcy through seeking support networks, returning to daily routines and assisting others in recovery efforts.

Kevin Westmoreland, who co-owns The Corner Kitchen in Asheville, North Carolina, had previously learned meditation and breathing techniques to manage restaurant industry pressures. These skills proved valuable when Hurricane Helene’s remnants brought devastating flooding two years ago, sending water and debris through his establishment and leaving “everything was tossed around inside the building as if it was in a blender,” he recalled.

“All you could do to get through it is try to take a breath and move forward, step by step,” he said.

Advance preparation represents a powerful tool for reducing disaster-related anxiety, including developing detailed response plans for emergency situations.

Creating evacuation strategies and assembling emergency supply kits can help people feel more in control during uncertain times, said Melissa Brymer, a psychologist and director of terrorism and disaster programs at the UCLA-Duke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress.

She recommends a step-by-step guide for families at ready.gov/plan. The American Red Cross also has extensive guides for hurricane preparedness. Make sure to consider special preparations for anyone with disabilities, special needs, new mothers and expectant mothers, Brymer advises. Also make sure that pets are included in disaster plans.

Since weather patterns remain unpredictable, accepting that certain factors will remain beyond personal control can help reduce stress levels.

Staying well-informed through reliable sources can also help people feel more prepared for extreme weather situations. Mental health experts suggest focusing on factual information and monitoring official weather alerts and warnings.

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America recommends discussing worries and concerns with trusted friends, family members, therapists or other supportive individuals.

When speaking with children, parents should use straightforward language while explaining that storms occur naturally. While children may feel scared of severe weather, many are also curious to understand these phenomena better.

Adults should acknowledge when situations feel stressful, Brymer noted. However, some discussions should remain between adults to prevent unnecessarily frightening young people.

“Kids kind of register our panic, and then they’re going to panic if we’re starting to panic,” she said. “We don’t want them to start worrying for us.”

Research from the Maui wildfires study revealed that psychological impacts spread throughout entire communities, affecting many residents who lived outside the directly burned areas, Juarez explained. This highlights the importance of recognizing that community disasters can affect mental health even when homes or neighborhoods escape direct damage.

Westmoreland said maintaining perspective helped him manage stress after Helene’s impact.

“We try to look at it like it’s just a business and equipment — as long as our employees are safe, those are the important things,” he said.

The historic restaurant, constructed around 1895 by American industrialist George Vanderbilt in the Biltmore Village section of Asheville, has reopened following extensive renovation and repair work.

Additional recommendations from the Anxiety and Depression Association include:

— Engaging in meaningful activities like blood donation, assembling care packages or volunteering to assist others. These actions can provide purpose and counter feelings of helplessness.

— Connecting with others facing similar challenges for mutual support.

— Recognizing that persistent symptoms lasting several weeks may indicate post-traumatic stress disorder and warrant professional assistance.

Five American citizens who were aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship during a hantavirus outbreak have been discharged from medical monitoring and allowed to return to their home states, officials announced Tuesday.

The passengers had been under observation for three weeks at the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center following the disease outbreak on the vessel.

Health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had mandated that these individuals remain at the facility until May 31 for monitoring purposes.

Medical center officials stated that the released passengers will undergo continued surveillance for an additional 21-day period under the supervision of their respective local and state health agencies.

The CDC reports that a total of 41 American citizens are currently being watched for potential infection. Of these individuals, 18 were passengers aboard the cruise ship who had already returned to the United States prior to health authorities identifying the hantavirus outbreak.

Two prominent news organizations have disclosed their investigative approach used to examine claims of inadequate medical treatment within immigration detention facilities operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the second Trump presidency.

The news outlets examined thousands of immigration-related court filings to uncover healthcare allegations from individuals held in ICE custody. Due to the absence of a complete, publicly accessible database containing medical grievances from those detained by ICE, the organizations turned to immigration court documents to locate healthcare-related accusations presented in federal court proceedings.

While these court filings are primarily intended to contest the lawfulness of someone’s detention rather than address confinement conditions, they occasionally contain claims about insufficient medical attention.

However, these legal documents aren’t always accessible to the public. Federal regulations limit public access to these petitions filed by immigration detainees. Most case information available on court websites includes only judicial orders and case summaries describing other documents. The original petitions can only be obtained through physical visits to federal courthouses nationwide. A nonprofit organization called the Immigration Justice Transparency Initiative operates Habeas Dockets, which organizes volunteers across the country to collect these documents and publish them online.

The news organizations examined case records from approximately 33,000 cases submitted by detainees between Jan. 20, 2025, and March 2026. Most cases contained only basic procedural details, including filing dates and court decisions. Only around 4,400 cases included the original petitions.

The organizations also collected several dozen additional case files from courthouses, attorneys, and the Massachusetts federal district court website, which publishes most petitions under a special court order.

Reporters conducted keyword and computer-assisted searches of court documents, including petitions, motions, and orders, looking for terms potentially indicating medical neglect, including surgery, medications, insufficient medical care, and treatment for ongoing health conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure.

The search identified approximately 500 cases that potentially contained medical neglect allegations. Multiple reporters manually examined each case, resulting in more than 300 cases that included specific accusations in sworn court documents of delayed, refused, or inadequate healthcare.

To maintain strict standards, the organizations excluded dozens of cases that claimed insufficient medical care but provided no specific details, such as a petitioner stating they were sick but not receiving proper treatment, or a judge noting that a petitioner complained about ICE ignoring medical issues. Cases were also excluded when petitioners only claimed they were denied special diets, exercise, or other health-related accommodations, such as someone with Parkinson’s disease unable to exercise properly or claims that provided food was unsuitable for diabetic patients.

The organizations noted that their analyzed cases were not randomly chosen and do not represent all immigration court filings nationwide. The allegations were not independently confirmed. Many court documents remain unavailable to the public, and not all detainees present medical concerns in court proceedings, meaning their findings provide only a partial view of the overall situation rather than a complete assessment.

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — In the epicenter of Congo’s Ebola crisis, Arlette Basekawike dedicates her days to cooking meals for patients and medical staff from a modest shelter beside a healthcare center.

Wearing a pink head covering, Basekawike works as a volunteer with the United Nations food agency, creating breakfast dishes like porridge, eggs and bread for those receiving care at the Evangelical Medical Center. For other meals, she might serve fresh fish alongside fufu, a traditional dish made from mashed plantains, topped with fruit.

“Even though the patients have this disease, they still feel better when they eat, and the doctors have the energy to treat the sick and give them medication,” Basekawike explained to The Associated Press on Monday while cooking vegetables and potatoes with goat meat in a large pot. “I’m here for them like a parent, preparing food so they feel comfortable.”

While her work might seem straightforward, it has emerged as vital support for the area confronting the fast-moving rare Bundibugyo virus, the Ebola strain identified in eastern Congo during May.

By Tuesday, the World Health Organization reported 321 confirmed Ebola infections and 48 fatalities across the Central African country’s three eastern provinces: Ituri, North and South Kivu. Uganda has documented nine cases and one death according to WHO data, leading Uganda to seal its border with Congo.

Prior to this health emergency, the troubled region was already experiencing one of the planet’s worst food emergencies because of continuing warfare that has forced millions to flee as government troops battle insurgents. The viral outbreak has created additional complications that the United Nations cautions could hinder efforts to control transmission among a population already filled with distrust.

“We are in a region where we already have large segments of the population suffering from acute food insecurity linked to either war or displacement,” explained Olivier Nkakudulu, who leads the World Food Program in Ituri province. “So there are already needs and Ebola is an additional crisis on top of a crisis.”

The financially strained World Food Program confronts difficult decisions as funding reductions from the U.S. and other key donors have disrupted activities in this vulnerable area. Attempts to control the disease, which the World Health Organization has classified as a global health emergency, have been hindered by insufficient funding as international partners have either pulled out or decreased their commitments.

Additionally, assaults by distrustful community members on medical personnel and delayed aid delivery caused by the persistent conflict have made containing the disease’s spread challenging.

Nevertheless, the agency and healthcare workers report they have successfully maintained patients’ nutritional requirements thus far.

“Today we need to increase the amount because the number of patients has gone up,” stated Esther Bao, a nurse and volunteer. Some patients, due to their medical conditions, “don’t eat just any meal,” she noted.

No approved vaccine or cure exists for the Bundibugyo virus. Treatment focuses on managing symptoms, and five individuals have made recoveries.

The outbreak keeps expanding, growing from three affected health zones initially to 22 as of this past weekend, based on Congo’s Ministry of Health data.

On Sunday, 120 meals were distributed across four medical facilities, totaling 404 meals since food support started on May 28, Nkakudulu reported. However, the financial outlook remains challenging, he said.

“Without more funding, we might not be able to prioritize every suspected case,” Nkakudulu warned. “We might have to focus on some and not have food to give to others.”

The Democratic Republic of Congo has restored passenger flight service to the main airport serving the province most severely affected by the current Ebola outbreak, according to an official government announcement that reverses a decision some locals said had isolated them from essential resources.

Authorities in Kinshasa had announced the previous month they were halting commercial passenger service to Bunia, the primary airport serving Ituri province, after the initial Ebola infections were identified there. Medical and humanitarian aircraft operations continued with required government authorization.

According to a statement released Monday evening by Congo’s transport ministry, necessary measures are now established “to allow a gradual and safe resumption of air transport activities” with the airport resuming operations without delay.

The ministry outlined that all travelers will undergo temperature checks prior to departure and upon landing, must sanitize their hands before boarding, and anyone displaying fever symptoms will be prohibited from flying.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, marking Congo’s 17th Ebola outbreak, on May 15, with the World Health Organization quickly designating it a public health emergency of international concern.

Health officials report the outbreak, now ranking as the third-largest on record, went undetected for several weeks, leaving authorities working from behind and facing challenges in containment efforts.

The airport reopening decision came after a visit from WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who informed media Monday that he observed positive developments in the response efforts, citing five certified recoveries. However, he emphasized the necessity to expand testing and treatment capabilities while building trust in health workers.

Monday’s latest government data shows 321 confirmed Ebola cases with 48 confirmed fatalities.

The disease has spread to 15 of Ituri’s 36 health zones, with additional cases documented in North and South Kivu provinces as well as in neighboring Uganda.

The International Rescue Committee issued a warning Monday that the outbreak likely exceeds official statistics in both scale and progression.

The humanitarian organization indicated the virus may have been circulating for as long as three months prior to the first official case confirmations in mid-May.

Five American passengers who were quarantined at a Nebraska medical facility following hantavirus exposure on a cruise ship have been cleared to return home, federal health authorities announced Monday.

The individuals will finish their monitoring period at home after staying healthy and fulfilling requirements for supervision outside the isolation unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

These five passengers are departing Omaha approximately three weeks after they and 13 other Americans were transported to Nebraska following a fatal hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise vessel in the South Atlantic Ocean.

While hantaviruses typically transmit through inhalation of contaminated rodent waste particles, the strain responsible for this outbreak, known as the Andes virus, may occasionally spread between humans.

According to the World Health Organization, 13 confirmed or suspected hantavirus infections, including three fatalities, have been connected to the cruise ship.

Health authorities stated that no Andes virus infections have been verified in the United States, and public risk remains minimal.

A spokesperson for Nebraska Medicine confirmed Monday that none of the American passengers has displayed any symptoms.

Previous outbreaks have shown hantavirus symptoms can emerge up to 42 days after exposure, though medical professionals note most individuals who become ill develop symptoms within 21 days.

Omaha physicians overseeing the passengers had previously indicated they would evaluate each individual case to determine suitability for completing the recommended 42-day isolation period at home.

Government officials coordinated transportation for the five departing individuals, working with state and local agencies. Authorities specified the travel would not involve commercial airlines, with proper containment protocols implemented. State health departments will maintain daily symptom tracking, round-the-clock supervision and advisory services.

Two of those returning to their residences live outside New York City, according to city Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin.

Jake Rosmarin, one of the passengers remaining in quarantine, wrote on his blog Sunday that he intends to complete his final three weeks at the Omaha facility to ensure immediate medical access if needed and to avoid potentially exposing others.

Rosmarin, who shares daily updates about his situation, said he respects others’ decisions to leave.

“For me personally, this experience has been incredibly traumatic,” Rosmarin said. “I don’t think I’ve fully processed everything yet, and right now I don’t want to leave until I know there is no risk of me getting sick or putting my family, friends, or the general public at risk.”

Not all quarantined individuals in Nebraska have been satisfied with the arrangement. Approximately one week after the 18 passengers arrived, federal health officials issued mandatory quarantine orders requiring two passengers who wished to depart to remain at the facility.

A pharmaceutical company executive revealed that the firm is working with international health organizations to potentially deploy its COVID-19 antiviral medication against a devastating Ebola outbreak currently spreading in Africa.

The crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo has infected an estimated 1,100 individuals and claimed 42 lives. Health officials are particularly concerned because this outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain, a rare form of the virus for which no authorized vaccines or treatments currently exist.

Eliav Barr, chief medical officer at the company’s research laboratories, explained the potential application during an interview at the American Society for Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago on Sunday. “Molnupiravir is a non-specific RNA virus drug. We’re thinking about how we could use that,” Barr stated.

“We’re talking a lot with different parties about this,” Barr added.

The medication, created by the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company in partnership with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and marketed as Lagevrio, received emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration during the pandemic. It was approved for treating mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults facing high risk for serious illness.

While not currently authorized as an Ebola therapy, molnupiravir has demonstrated effectiveness against Ebola in laboratory animal testing and might prove valuable for preventing infections in high-risk individuals. However, the medication is not advised for pregnant women.

The company also produces an Ebola vaccine named Ervebo, which has approval for protecting against the more prevalent Zaire Ebola virus. Barr indicated that the vaccine’s underlying technology might prove helpful in creating a new vaccine.

“They may be able to alter it. We’re looking at that,” he explained.

Barr described the expanding outbreak as “very frightening,” pointing out that his company operates HIV research facilities in Uganda, located across one of Africa’s major lakes from the DRC. Uganda has already confirmed nine Ebola cases and recorded one fatality.

“We’re watching with trepidation,” he said.

Congo’s health ministry announced late Sunday that confirmed Ebola cases have climbed to at least 282 during the central African country’s current outbreak, while healthcare workers who beat the disease shared their experiences of survival with The Associated Press.

The eastern Ituri province remains the center of the outbreak, accounting for 264 of the documented cases, according to Congo’s Ministry of Health. Officials report more than 1,000 suspected cases involving the Bundibugyo virus strain of Ebola, for which no approved treatment or vaccine exists.

Health ministry officials identified several key obstacles in controlling the outbreak, including swift case detection and isolation, thorough contact tracing, proper burial procedures, and improving infection control measures at medical facilities.

Current contact tracing efforts have reached 45% coverage, with 220 suspected cases being investigated, ministry officials stated.

Five individuals who have successfully recovered from the illness shared their experiences with The Associated Press, describing their tremendous relief.

Nurse Baraka Bulambulu expressed his overwhelming happiness after receiving two consecutive negative Ebola test results.

The World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus presented recovery certificates to Bulambulu and other survivors during Sunday’s opening of a new Ebola treatment facility in Bunia, Ituri province’s capital.

“The first one came back positive, but the second and third were negative for me,” Bulambulu said with a wide grin. “Coming out of this illness alive is an indescribable joy.”

Another recovering nurse, Ezo Étienne, described how his symptoms began while making hospital rounds to check on patients.

“That was how it started,” he recalled. “I called the team and told them, ‘Something’s wrong here.’ I checked my blood pressure and saw that I was immediately experiencing hypotension (low blood pressure). I decided to rest for a bit, and a few minutes later I started vomiting.”

The WHO confirmed all five survivors work in healthcare – four as nurses and one as a laboratory worker – representing the group most impacted by the outbreak.

Medical care has primarily focused on managing patients’ symptoms, the organization reported.

“Your courage gives hope and your living story, that this outbreak can be stopped,” Tedros told the health workers on Sunday.

Uganda has documented nine Ebola cases and shut down its border with Congo to prevent further transmission.

While Congo and Uganda have experienced more than 20 Ebola outbreaks, the Bundibugyo virus strain occurs infrequently. The absence of approved vaccines and treatments, combined with remote locations and armed conflict in affected areas, has complicated response efforts.

Dr. Dieudonne Mwamba Kazadi, director-general of Congo’s National Institute of Public Health, called the recoveries “a victory worth celebrating” despite ongoing challenges.

“It’s a strong message that it is possible to recover from Ebola when seeking care early in a dedicated health facility,” he added.

Pharmaceutical company Moderna announced Monday that it has joined forces with a global health coalition to create a vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo ebolavirus strain responsible for the current Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The announcement comes amid urgent efforts by health officials around the world to find medical solutions for containing the outbreak, which has resulted in more than 900 suspected cases and over 220 suspected deaths.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations has pledged up to $50 million through this partnership to fund preclinical development and initial clinical trials of Moderna’s experimental BDBV vaccine candidate.

CEPI also announced it would provide up to $8.6 million initially for a vaccine created by the University of Oxford and produced by the Serum Institute of India, plus an initial $3.2 million for a vaccine developed by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.

Last week, the World Health Organization issued recommendations to prioritize multiple experimental treatments, including antibodies, antivirals and vaccines, for both treating and preventing BDBV.

CEPI operates as a global partnership focused on speeding up vaccine development against epidemic and pandemic threats.

In a separate announcement Monday, global vaccine alliance Gavi pledged up to $50 million, with up to $40 million designated to speed up vaccine access and $10 million allocated for outbreak response support.

The Pandemic Fund announced last week that it would provide up to $220.6 million in grants to address critical gaps in the Ebola outbreak response.

A Japanese pharmaceutical company announced Monday that federal health regulators have given the green light to its oral medication designed to prevent COVID-19 in people who have been exposed to the virus.

Shionogi & Co said the Food and Drug Administration has approved Ensitrelvir, which goes by the brand name Xocova, for preventive treatment following COVID exposure.

“XOCOVA is the first and only oral option clinically proven to help prevent symptomatic COVID-19 after exposure among study participants regardless of vaccination status,” Nathan McCutcheon, CEO of Shionogi’s U.S. unit, said in a statement.

The company indicated that potential revenue from the FDA’s approval of Xocova through March 2027 was already factored into financial projections released last month.

Stock prices for Shionogi dropped 4.5% on Monday, even as Japan’s main stock index, the Nikkei 225, climbed 0.9%.

NEUILLY-SUR-MARNE, France — Mental health patients at a psychiatric facility outside Paris are finding healing through an innovative program featuring therapy donkeys in what appears to be a first-of-its-kind initiative in France.

The therapeutic sessions take place within historic 19th century farm structures surrounded by trees at the Ville-Evrard hospital complex in Neuilly-sur-Marne. During a recent Friday session, patients walked alongside five donkeys and provided care for the animals. Several participants confidently lifted the animals’ hooves to clean away debris, with many concluding their time with embraces.

“When you take medication that helps you relax … it’s exactly the same,” said Nathalie, a 60-year-old patient. She and others were identified by their first names only to protect their privacy.

“I’d call it animal medicine,” she said. “It brings relief. You stop thinking about everything else.”

The therapeutic sessions are provided at no cost to patients as part of their care, with funding coming from France’s public health system.

Each participant typically works with one of the donkeys — Nono, Pitou, Oscar, Manolo or Malraux. Through repeated interactions, both patients and animals develop familiarity with one another’s temperaments.

Audrey Seffar, a nurse at the animal therapy unit, said Nathalie’s improvement after just a few sessions was remarkable.

“At first, she wouldn’t get out of the cart (provided for people with physical difficulties). But little by little, with encouragement, she did,” Seffar said. “The animal serves as a mediator. It’s such an extraordinary one that today she was able to leave the cart and stand beside her donkey.”

Another patient, Jérôme, 52, said the program helps reduce loneliness.

“Talking with people, taking part in activities I wouldn’t normally do, it helps me in my daily life,” he said.

He added: “It helps you break away from the routine of treatment and medication. Staying at home isn’t good for me.”

The donkeys first came to Ville-Evrard hospital in 2016 through an initiative started by Ermelinda and François Hadey.

Ermelinda, a nurse specializing in psychiatry, strongly believed in animal therapy benefits and thought donkeys, known for their calm and social nature, would be perfect. Her husband learned how to train donkeys for therapy work. Some of the animals were adopted through shelters after experiencing neglect or mistreatment.

“A donkey is very intelligent. It understands things very quickly, but you have to explain slowly,” François Hadey said. “Donkeys are calm, serene animals that are generally close to people. Once they’re involved in these interactions, they connect very well with patients. They’re emotional sponges.”

Beginning in 2022, the animal therapy program received formal recognition as a health care unit within the hospital, enabling the hiring of three full-time nurses. Volunteers from a nonprofit organization assist with animal care.

The initiative has grown to encompass guinea pigs, chickens, doves, goats, turtles and rabbits. Activities are customized based on individual needs and interests, with smaller animals able to visit patient rooms.

Alicia Fabi, an 18-year-old nursing student, said the activity gives patients a chance to leave the hospital environment.

“Every time we come back from the activity, they say they feel good, calm and relaxed, and that they enjoyed the outing. That’s really positive,” she said.

Walking together also allows patients and health workers to develop a deeper relationship.

“We talk about many different things, their illness, their lives and just about everything else. We don’t focus only on the illness because we don’t want them dwelling on it all the time,” Fabi said.

Medical staff describe the sessions as therapeutic interventions for managing anxiety, depression, autism, schizophrenia or other conditions. Personnel report the activities can enhance emotional regulation, communication, social interaction and self-esteem.

“Everything we do with the animals allows us to work with the patient,” Ermelinda Hadey said. “We work on feeding the animal, which helps us address the patient’s own eating habits. We work on the animal’s hygiene, and by mirror effect, we work on the patient’s hygiene as well.”

Many patients receive intensive treatments, including antipsychotic medications or sedatives, which can make it difficult to find the motivation to participate in activities, she said. That’s where the relationship to donkeys and other animals play a role, she stressed.

“It does not replace a doctor or a medical prescription, but it can help patients regain confidence and a sense of self-worth,” Hadey said.

She said more scientific evaluation is needed. They would like animal therapy to be formally recognized by the psychiatric community as a complementary form of care.

“To do that, we need research. We have plenty of accounts from patients … Caregivers who accompany them see the benefits every day as well. But doctors have so many other responsibilities that they don’t necessarily witness it firsthand,” she said.

As Friday’s session concluded with patients continuing their conversations, a nurse captured the program’s essence: “Donkeys are my best colleagues.”

Brazilian health officials announced Sunday they are investigating two potential Ebola cases after patients who recently returned from Africa developed concerning symptoms.

According to local health authorities, one patient in Sao Paulo state has tested positive for meningitis, while a second suspected case has emerged in Rio de Janeiro state where the patient tested positive for malaria. Officials emphasized that finding these other diseases doesn’t eliminate the possibility that either patient could also have Ebola, and both cases remain under active investigation.

The Sao Paulo patient is a man from the Democratic Republic of Congo who developed a fever following a recent trip to that African nation. The Rio de Janeiro patient had recently returned from Uganda. Health officials noted that both the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda are currently dealing with Ebola outbreaks.

Brazil’s Health Ministry released additional information about the Sao Paulo case, revealing that the patient has been placed on a ventilator and is in serious condition.

African health authorities have documented 263 confirmed cases of Ebola spanning the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda as of May 30, according to Jean Kaseya, the director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Officials are currently examining more than 1,100 additional suspected cases, while 43 fatalities have been confirmed from the uncommon Bundibugyo variant of Ebola, Kaseya stated in an opinion piece published by the Financial Times on Sunday.

Key points from the health crisis include:

• Kaseya emphasized that national incident systems must be activated rapidly, and investments in pandemic preparedness must become permanent

• International partners play an essential role, but their support matters most when it aligns with strategies that are built by African institutions and African governments, he said

• The current Ebola outbreak represents the 17th occurrence in the Democratic Republic of Congo and ranks as the third-largest since the disease was first identified fifty years ago, with the spread surpassing the pace of global response efforts

• Medical personnel and humanitarian workers report shortages of fundamental equipment including masks, following weeks where the outbreak’s expansion went unnoticed

• The World Health Organization has classified the outbreak affecting the DRC and Uganda as a public health emergency of international concern

A promising new cancer treatment from China has shown remarkable results in extending survival for patients battling advanced lung cancer, according to research findings shared at a major medical conference on Sunday.

The experimental medication, ivonescimab, developed by China-based Akeso, demonstrated a 15% improvement in patient survival compared to BeOne Medicines’ immunotherapy Tevimbra. Additionally, the treatment reduced death risk by more than one-third among study participants.

Clinical trial data revealed that patients receiving ivonescimab combined with chemotherapy survived for an average of 27.9 months, while those treated with Tevimbra and chemotherapy lived an average of 23.7 months, based on study summary information.

The research findings were unveiled at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting taking place in Chicago on Sunday. The head-to-head comparison study, conducted entirely in China, enrolled 532 patients recently diagnosed with advanced stage 3 or stage 4 squamous non-small cell lung cancer. Both treatment groups also received chemotherapy alongside their respective medications.

In October, the company had previously announced that ivonescimab achieved the study’s primary objective, demonstrating a 40% reduction in disease advancement or death compared to Tevimbra, though overall survival information wasn’t available at that time.

Dr. David Spigel, chief scientific officer of the Sarah Cannon Research Institute in Nashville, Tennessee, addressed the findings during a Saturday press briefing, noting uncertainty about whether the China-based trial results would apply to broader populations due to ethnic differences that can influence drug effectiveness. However, he described the outcomes as “very encouraging.”

Ivonescimab represents a newer category of treatments called bispecific antibodies, which target two different mechanisms simultaneously. The medication blocks both the PD-1 protein that helps cancer cells evade immune system detection and the VEGF protein that can fuel tumor development.

In contrast, Tevimbra functions as a monoclonal antibody targeting only PD-1, similar to other commonly prescribed immunotherapies including Merck’s Keytruda.

Company representatives stated that given the enhanced survival outcomes from the dual-targeting strategy and the medication’s positive risk-benefit characteristics, it should establish itself as the new treatment standard for managing advanced squamous NSCLC.

Safety data published in The Lancet medical journal showed that approximately 69% of patients receiving the drug experienced serious adverse effects, compared to 59% in the standard treatment group. Treatment discontinuation due to side effects occurred in about 5% of participants across both study arms.

Summit Therapeutics holds licensing rights for the medication in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan through an agreement valued at up to $5 billion, while Akeso maintains rights for China and remaining global markets.

Dr. Julie Gralow, ASCO’s chief medical officer, explained that these new findings won’t support U.S. regulatory approval since the trial was conducted exclusively in China. She noted that a separate, ongoing worldwide late-stage study comparing ivonescimab with Keytruda is anticipated to yield preliminary results this year.

“We’ve kind of moved from monoclonal antibodies to antibody drug conjugates. Now I think bispecific antibodies are the hot new area,” Gralow said. “If we see the same kind of benefits in this global trial, it will undoubtedly lead to an approval in the U.S.”

Medical researchers have announced encouraging results from a clinical trial testing a new medication for advanced pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal forms of the disease.

The experimental treatment, known as daraxonrasib, demonstrated significant benefits for patients whose cancer had spread and stopped responding to previous therapies. In a study of 500 participants, those receiving the daily medication survived for a median of 13.2 months, compared to 6.7 months for patients given standard chemotherapy treatments.

“While not curing the cancer, it is a very large step forward,” said Dr. Zev Wainberg, of the University of California, Los Angeles, who helped lead the study.

The medication works by targeting a mutated protein that drives tumor development in more than 90% of pancreatic cancer patients – a biological target that scientists have struggled to address for decades. The research findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented Sunday at the American Society for Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago.

Dr. Rachna Shroff of the University of Arizona Cancer Center, who was not part of the research team, expressed her emotional reaction to the results. “Having treated pancreatic cancer for 16 years, I actually started crying” when first seeing the study results, she said from the ASCO meeting. She noted how “patients stayed on this treatment because it was providing durable and meaningful benefit to them.”

Patients taking the experimental pills experienced fewer severe side effects and reported better quality of life as their tumors decreased in size. Many participants continued using the medication longer than the comparison group remained on chemotherapy, and some were still taking it when data analysis concluded.

Dr. Brian Wolpin, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, presented the findings Sunday. He indicated the drug should become “a new standard of care” for previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer. Researchers plan to investigate its potential use earlier in treatment progression and explore whether tumor reduction might make more patients eligible for surgical intervention.

The most common side effects that could impact treatment continuation included potentially severe skin rashes and mouth sores, according to Wolpin.

Revolution Medicines, the company that developed the medication, funded the research. The Food and Drug Administration has committed to fast-track review of the drug while simultaneously allowing “expanded access” to qualifying patients. The treatment gained public visibility when former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse discussed on “60 Minutes” how he experienced reduced pain while using it. Cancer specialists report being overwhelmed with patient requests as the special access program launches.

Pancreatic cancer ranks among the most fatal cancer types primarily because early detection proves difficult before it spreads to other organs. The American Cancer Society projects approximately 67,000 new diagnoses in the U.S. this year, with more than 52,000 deaths expected. The five-year survival rate stands at just 13%.

While other cancer types have benefited from diverse treatment alternatives beyond chemotherapy, pancreatic cancer has remained particularly challenging to treat effectively.

Cancer experts not participating in this research expressed hope that these results may represent a breakthrough moment in developing new treatment options, noting dozens of experimental medications currently under development.

The medication targets mutations in the RAS gene family, which typically controls cell growth. KRAS mutations play a particularly crucial role in pancreatic cancer development. However, the protein structure made it difficult for drugs to attach to the mutated proteins, leading scientists to consider this cancer driver “undruggable” for many years.

Revolution Medicines’ treatment uses what researchers describe as molecular adhesive to connect with multiple KRAS variations. Wainberg indicated that future research will examine whether the medication showed greater effectiveness against specific subtypes.

Dr. Andrew Coveler of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, who was not involved in the study, predicted the drug will transform pancreatic cancer treatment approaches. “This thing works drastically differently,” he stated.

Wainberg noted that other medications in development focus on specific KRAS variations. Additional experimental approaches include vaccines designed to prevent cancer recurrence following pancreatic surgery by training the immune system to identify the mutated protein.

An experimental medication for treating pancreatic cancer has achieved unprecedented results in clinical trials, offering new hope for patients battling one of the most lethal forms of cancer, according to research findings released Sunday.

The once-daily pill, called daraxonrasib and developed by Revolution Medicine, demonstrated remarkable effectiveness in a study involving 500 participants. Patients taking the medication lived significantly longer than those receiving conventional chemotherapy treatments, with researchers finding the drug cut the overall death risk by 60% for those with advanced pancreatic cancer.

The clinical trial focused on patients whose cancer had not responded to an initial round of chemotherapy. Results showed the experimental treatment stopped or reversed cancer progression in nearly one-third of patients, compared to just 10% of those receiving standard chemotherapy. These findings were unveiled Sunday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference.

“It ticks all of the boxes,” stated Dr. Rachna Shroff from the University of Arizona Cancer Center, who serves as an expert in pancreatic cancer for the medical organization. She emphasized that such dramatic improvements in survival rates and death risk reduction have never before been observed in patients whose cancer continued advancing after chemotherapy.

Earlier data released on April 13 revealed the medication extended patient survival from diagnosis to 13.2 months, compared to 6.7 months for those receiving standard chemotherapy. This announcement caused the company’s stock value to surge by 40%.

Dr. Brian Wolpin from Harvard’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, who led the clinical trial, predicted significant impact from these findings. “These results will change how scientists, clinicians, and patients think about treatment for pancreatic cancer,” he said.

While the medication showed promise, researchers noted that 86.3% of patients developed skin rashes after beginning treatment. However, Dr. Wolpin indicated this side effect can typically be managed effectively using antibiotics and topical steroids.

Pancreatic cancer ranks among the deadliest of all major cancer types. The American Cancer Society projects approximately 68,000 Americans will receive pancreatic cancer diagnoses this year, with roughly 53,000 expected to die from the disease.

Statistics show only 3% of patients whose cancer has metastasized beyond the pancreas survive five years. About 80% of cases are identified when the disease has already reached advanced or metastatic stages.

Revolution Medicines’ chief executive Mark Goldsmith revealed the company is currently conducting additional trials testing daraxonrasib in earlier disease stages and in combination therapies, aiming to further “significantly elevate” patient survival rates.

Among those participating in expanded trials is Menta “Steve” Wallace, a 74-year-old Houston, Texas resident. After experiencing abdominal pain, he received his pancreatic cancer diagnosis in January and began the experimental treatment on February 12 through the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Following initial symptoms including nausea, diarrhea, and what he described as a rash that was “not bad at all,” Wallace reports feeling well and being “very pleased” with his progress. His most recent medical scan revealed his tumor had decreased in size by 46%.

The improvement has allowed Wallace, who enjoys traveling, to resume retirement plans with his wife that had been postponed. After receiving medical clearance last week, he intends to bring his medication on ice during a Caribbean cruise planned for late June.

Daraxonrasib represents the first medication in a new category called RAS(ON) inhibitors, which target specific variants of the RAS gene responsible for driving cancer growth.

For patients carrying a particular RAS mutation known as G12, tumors remained controlled for an average of 7.3 months among those taking daraxonrasib, versus 3.5 months with chemotherapy. Similar results were observed across the entire study population.

Among patients with the G12 mutation, approximately 33.2% experienced tumor shrinkage or disappearance, compared to about 11.8% in the chemotherapy group. In the broader study population, 31.6% of patients saw their tumors shrink or disappear, versus 11.2% who received chemotherapy.

The most frequently reported side effects included mouth inflammation, nausea, diarrhea, and skin rash, with 86.3% of patients experiencing rashes. Serious or life-threatening side effects occurred in 43.6% of patients taking daraxonrasib, compared to 57.5% in the chemotherapy group, representing higher rates than observed in earlier, smaller studies.

Skin rash was the most common serious side effect, affecting 14% of patients, followed by mouth sores and inflammation in 12% of cases. A Jefferies analyst had hoped to see severe rash rates below 10% before the results were announced.

Only 1.2% of patients taking daraxonrasib discontinued the trial due to side effects, compared to 11.2% of those receiving chemotherapy.

On May 1, the Food and Drug Administration approved expanded access to the medication and has committed to conducting an expedited review process.

Dr. Shubham Pant from MD Anderson, who served as a co-principal investigator, shared an example of treatment benefits. He described one patient, an enthusiastic golfer who had been forced to abandon the sport, who was able to decrease his narcotic pain medication dependence and return to playing golf after one month of treatment.

“I have multiple patients like that,” he noted.

A major clinical study has shown promising results for men facing high-risk prostate cancer, with findings that could transform how doctors treat the disease.

Research presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago revealed that Johnson & Johnson’s cancer medication Erleada, when combined with hormone-suppressing treatment before and after prostate removal surgery, dramatically improved patient outcomes.

The comprehensive study tracked more than 2,000 patients over five years and found striking differences between treatment approaches. Men who received the combination therapy were nine times more likely to show minimal detectable cancer in their prostate during surgery compared to those who only received testosterone-blocking treatment.

Additionally, adding Erleada to the treatment plan cut the risk of cancer progression or death by 20%, according to the pharmaceutical company’s announcement.

The trial examined two different treatment timeframes. For patients receiving six months of the combined therapy before and after surgery, only 8.9% had little to no detectable cancer at the time of operation, versus just 1% of those getting hormone therapy alone.

When researchers extended the treatment to a full year before and after surgery, the benefits were even more pronounced. These patients averaged more than six years before needing additional treatment – nearly twice as long as those receiving only hormone therapy. This extended approach reduced recurrence and death risk by 29%.

“No ARPIs are approved for localized high-risk prostate cancer with either surgery or radiation. So the (data) would be paradigm changing,” said Dr. Mary-Ellen Taplin, the study’s lead researcher from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

The findings address a significant medical need. Johnson & Johnson reports that approximately 40% of the 330,000 Americans diagnosed annually with prostate cancer fall into the high-risk category. Currently, nearly half of patients who undergo standard prostate removal surgery and radiation experience cancer recurrence requiring further treatment.

Erleada, scientifically known as apalutamide, works by blocking cellular signals that fuel prostate cancer growth. It belongs to a medication class called androgen receptor pathway inhibitors.

“The patient benefit here is unequivocal,” said Mark Wildgust, Johnson & Johnson’s medical affairs lead for oncology, in an interview. “I think that the evidence is really showing that Erleada is adding something that we had not seen before.”

The medication received initial approval from U.S. regulators in 2018 and is currently prescribed alongside hormone treatments that suppress testosterone production, which drives prostate cancer development.

Side effects from the combination treatment remained consistent with previous research, including hot flashes, urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. The company noted that the safety profile was in line with earlier studies.

Johnson & Johnson announced plans to collaborate with regulatory agencies worldwide to secure approval for using this combination therapy in earlier stages of prostate cancer treatment.

Other widely prescribed medications in the same drug class include Pfizer’s Xtandi and Bayer’s Nubeqa.

The director-general of the World Health Organization announced Sunday that five individuals have successfully beaten a rare strain of Ebola during his visit to Bunia, a city in eastern Congo that has become the center of an ongoing outbreak.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the announcement while inaugurating a new Ebola treatment facility in Bunia, which serves as the provincial capital of Ituri.

“Four people will be discharged today and there was one that was discharged the day before yesterday,” Tedros stated during the facility’s opening ceremony.

“Of course, we’re still working on vaccines and treatments but that doesn’t mean that people cannot recover from Ebola,” he added.

According to WHO officials, one patient had previously recovered from the Bundibugyo virus strain – the specific type of Ebola currently circulating – marking the first documented recovery of a confirmed Bundibugyo patient since this outbreak began. This particular strain has no approved treatment or vaccine available.

Current official statistics reveal 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths from the outbreak. In nearby Uganda, health ministry officials reported Friday that nine cases have been confirmed with one fatality.

Despite improved health infrastructure and additional aid resources, the virus is spreading more rapidly than response efforts can contain it, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which issued a statement Saturday demanding immediate expansion of testing capabilities, quicker deployment of medical personnel, and reliable access for medical supplies.

Health workers are facing increased dangers due to community anger over strict medical procedures for handling deceased victims, which conflict with traditional burial customs. At least three attacks on health facilities have been carried out by local residents.

During Sunday’s treatment center opening, Tedros emphasized the critical need for community participation in outbreak response efforts.

“If you come to health facilities when you have symptoms, you can get the support and recover, so the key is to come forward as early as possible and to get the necessary support,” the WHO chief said.

“We can stop this Ebola and anyone who has it can also recover. But the rule … is this thing is everybody’s business and every citizen should be involved,” he added.

Response efforts have also been complicated by attacks from the Allied Democratic Forces, a rebel organization with ties to the Islamic State group, along with a coalition of ethnic militias operating in Ituri.

The disease has also appeared in the Congolese provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, located south of Ituri, where the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group maintains control over major cities including Goma and Bukavu. The rebel group has documented two cases.

“The final message we would like to share with the Ituri community is that there is hope,” Pierre Akilimali, Incident Manager at Congo’s National Institute of Public Health, said during the inauguration on Sunday.

“With the symptomatic treatment that we are currently providing, we are seeing patients recover,” Akilimali added.

“We truly have hope. The virus here is not as complicated as those we have dealt with in the past, and with the support of all our partners, we believe we will be able to bring this outbreak under control as quickly as possible,” said Davin Ambitapio, another doctor at the treatment center.

Medical officials in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state are examining a potential Ebola infection that was reported over the weekend in the state’s capital city, according to authorities.

A man from the Democratic Republic of Congo developed fever symptoms following a recent trip to that African nation, which is currently dealing with an Ebola outbreak.

Medical officials confirmed in a statement that the patient has been placed in isolation at a medical facility that specializes in treating suspected or confirmed cases of the illness.

When Jenna Carberg’s newborn daughter was placed on her chest immediately following delivery, something felt wrong.

“I felt a disconnect right away,” she remembered.

Back at her Orlando, Florida home, Carberg found herself crying daily while battling overwhelming exhaustion and anxiety. Medical professionals later determined she was suffering from postpartum depression — a serious mental health condition that can transform what should be a happy period into one filled with overwhelming sadness.

This mental health challenge is becoming increasingly common. Research published in 2024 in JAMA Network Open revealed that rates in the United States have more than doubled over approximately ten years, rising from 9.4% in 2010 to 19% in 2021. This increase is attributed in part to better screening methods and improved diagnostic practices.

Distinguishing this condition from the much less severe and more widespread “baby blues” caused by dropping hormone levels can be challenging. However, identifying and addressing postpartum depression is essential, according to OB-GYN Dr. Tiffany Moore Simas from the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School.

Women who don’t receive treatment may struggle to form bonds with their infants and have difficulty providing proper care. Additionally, they face a heightened risk of taking their own lives.

“A healthy you will ultimately be important for a healthy baby,” Moore Simas explained.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

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Approximately 8 out of 10 new mothers experience baby blues, which typically begins soon after giving birth.

“Moms will feel kind of more emotional than normal,” explained Dr. Jennifer Payne, a reproductive psychiatry specialist at the University of Virginia.

However, the emotional outbursts and sad feelings aren’t intense enough to disrupt daily functioning. Mothers should remain capable of taking care of both themselves and their newborns.

Assessment tools can help determine whether the situation is more concerning. A frequently used 10-question survey, typically administered during a postpartum visit, evaluates how frequently a mother has experienced emotions like sadness, panic, or anxiety. An elevated score suggests the need for additional assessment.

Medical professionals say postpartum depression doesn’t have a single root cause. Hereditary factors, bodily changes, and psychological stress may all play a role.

“We’re pretty sure that having a case of the baby blues doesn’t increase your risk of postpartum depression,” Payne noted. “But it does seem that both conditions can develop in the same person.”

When sadness persists beyond two weeks, that serves as one warning sign.

Additional symptoms include overwhelming feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, lack of interest, guilt and worthlessness, fatigue, and reduced focus and appetite. Mothers might constantly fret about their infants, experience insomnia, or go without bathing for extended periods.

They “feel negatively and badly about themselves. They’ll feel that they’re a bad mother. They might not feel attached to the baby very much,” Payne described.

Some may even consider harming themselves.

Carberg, whose daughter was born in 2016, experienced such thoughts on multiple occasions — including once while driving with her child. She spent several days at a psychiatric treatment center and showed improvement temporarily.

However, she later experienced a serious mental health crisis. She sent apologetic text messages to her husband, Chris, before shutting off her phone. Chris frantically attempted to contact her, fearing she might harm herself.

“She luckily went to the hospital ER,” he recalled.

Eventually, discovering the appropriate medication became crucial for Jenna Carberg’s healing process.

“I felt like myself again,” she shared after beginning treatment with the stimulant Vyvanse.

Additional treatment options include antidepressant medications like Zoloft or Prozac, or Zurzuvae, the first oral medication specifically approved for postpartum depression. Counseling represents another standard approach, and medical professionals emphasize the significance of adequate rest and support from loved ones.

To assist others facing similar challenges, the Carbergs created an online resource — postpartumdepression.org — designed to offer support and connect patients with professional assistance.

Medical professionals recommend that anyone suspecting they or someone they care about might have postpartum depression should contact their OB-GYN, primary care physician, or mental health specialist.

When needed, be assertive, advised Dr. Kerry Hudson, an OB-GYN at Newport Women’s Health Services in Rhode Island. When she experienced postpartum depression twenty years ago, her physician dismissed her concerns, claiming she was simply an overwhelmed medical resident. She eventually received help after having an emotional breakdown during a professional presentation in front of coworkers.

Following therapy and medication treatment, Hudson went on to have another child. The Carbergs also had a second baby. Everyone is thriving now.

“When we get people help, I think they can have a good future ahead of them,” Hudson stated. “You don’t have to suffer in silence.”

A pharmaceutical company’s cancer drug combination has demonstrated effectiveness in treating an aggressive form of blood cancer, though it comes with increased risks of adverse reactions.

The drug combination featuring the company’s Monjuvi medication, along with a Bristol Myers Squibb treatment called Revlimid and a standard chemotherapy protocol known as R-CHOP, lowered the chances of disease advancement, return, or patient death by 25% when compared to the standard treatment by itself.

The pharmaceutical firm initially shared these findings in January and indicated that comprehensive survival statistics for the drug mixture would be available at a future time. The company’s research chief, Pablo Cagnoni, described the survival analysis as being in its “early” stages while noting it demonstrated a distinct pattern of enhancement.

The clinical study examined the effectiveness of combining Monjuvi, Bristol Myers Squibb’s Revlimid, and R-CHOP against R-CHOP treatment alone. The trial involved approximately 900 patients who had recently been diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, which represents the most prevalent form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Medical experts and financial stakeholders had been eagerly awaiting additional information about side effects and treatment discontinuation rates from this intensive multi-medication approach.

Serious negative reactions occurred more frequently among patients receiving the Monjuvi combination, affecting nearly 87% compared to 76% of those who received only R-CHOP, a treatment involving five different medications.

Treatment cessation due to therapy-related complications was also elevated at 25.7%, in contrast to 18% for the standard approach. Fatalities attributed to adverse reactions reached 6% in the group receiving the company’s drug combination, while the standard care group experienced 3.8%.

Despite these concerns, the overall mortality rate was actually lower for the combination therapy at 18.5%, compared to 21.7% for R-CHOP alone.

“Sometimes when you add another drug, you obviously see a little bit more side effects, which is why it’s so important to report the survival data, because all of this gets integrated into survival,” explained the company’s Cagnoni.

These comprehensive findings were shared at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference held in Chicago.

Cagnoni noted that more than half of high-risk patients currently receiving R-CHOP treatment could qualify for this new treatment approach as their initial therapy once regulatory approval is obtained.

Government statistics indicate that between 18,000 and 25,000 Americans receive this cancer diagnosis annually.

The medication Monjuvi, scientifically known as tafasitamab, has already received expedited approval in the United States when used alongside Revlimid for patients whose condition has returned or failed to respond to previous treatments, particularly those ineligible for stem cell transplantation.

The company plans to pursue broader approval in both the United States and Europe for using this combination therapy as an initial treatment for newly diagnosed patients.

“This doubles the potential eligible population,” Cagnoni stated.

The head of the World Health Organization urged local communities on Saturday to take a leading role in battling Congo’s current Ebola crisis.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday to help organize efforts against the Ebola emergency, which had reached 1,028 suspected cases as of Friday, Congolese officials reported.

“The communities understand the problems better and they know the solution as well,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said to media representatives following his arrival in Bunia, Ituri province’s capital city and a center of the current Ebola crisis.

“Yes, the international community is involved, under the leadership of the government of DRC. At the same time, community ownership is important. That’s why we are here to discuss with the community to see how the response is running and, if there are challenges, to help,” Tedros said.

Upon reaching Congo’s capital city Kinshasa on Thursday, Tedros appealed for increased global assistance for combating Ebola, noting the WHO had received just one-third of its required funding.

French humanitarian organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) issued a warning Saturday that the current Ebola emergency — the 17th occurrence since 1976 — was advancing at an unparalleled rate.

“Never before has an Ebola outbreak recorded so many cases so soon after its declaration,” Alan Gonzalez, MSF deputy director of operations, said in a statement.

The quantity of specialized medical organizations working on-site to address the crisis, along with the assistance level being offered to combat the emergency, remains significantly below what is necessary, Gonzalez stated.

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — The World Health Organization’s top official touched down Saturday in Bunia, located in eastern Congo, where a dangerous strain of Ebola continues to spread more rapidly than containment efforts can manage, even with improved medical facilities and increased international assistance.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus plans to tour a medical treatment facility and hold meetings with regional officials, healthcare personnel and families impacted by the disease outbreak in Bunia.

“The best way to address this is to provide all the necessary support to fight the disease at its epicenter and to continue offering every assistance needed,” Tedros stated to media representatives on Friday evening.

Health officials reported Friday that 906 potential cases and 223 suspected fatalities have been documented, according to WHO data. In neighboring Uganda, nine confirmed cases and one death have been recorded, the Ugandan health ministry announced Friday.

The current outbreak involves the Bundibugyo virus strain of Ebola, which lacks any authorized treatment options or preventive vaccines.

“This is a difficult situation, and we recognize that. But the Democratic Republic of Congo has faced the Ebola virus many times before. We are confident that it can once again bring this outbreak under control,” Tedros informed reporters Friday following discussions with Congo’s Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka.

European Union medical supplies reached Ituri province, the center of Congo’s Ebola crisis, on Thursday, with additional deliveries scheduled over the coming eight days. The United States pledged an extra $80 million in assistance the same day, raising its overall financial commitment beyond $112 million.

Medical response activities at Bunia’s Rwampara and General hospitals show improved coordination, featuring additional personnel, safety equipment and medical resources, although new patients arrive continuously throughout each day, an AP journalist noted Friday.

However, containment measures have failed to match the pace of what ranks among the most rapidly expanding outbreaks in recorded history, Doctors Without Borders, known as MSF, cautioned Saturday.

“Never before has an Ebola outbreak recorded so many cases so soon after its declaration,” Dr. Alan Gonzalez, MSF’s deputy director of operations, stated in a released announcement.

“Nobody knows the true scale and severity of this outbreak,” Gonzalez added, demanding urgent expansion of diagnostic testing, accelerated deployment of medical personnel and reliable access for essential supplies.

Healthcare workers face increased risks due to community frustration over strict medical procedures for managing deceased victims’ remains, which conflict with traditional funeral customs. Community members have conducted at least three assaults on medical facilities.

Violence in Ituri by the Allied Democratic Force, a militant organization connected to the Islamic State group, and a coalition of ethnic militias have further complicated response activities.

The disease has also appeared in the Congolese regions of North Kivu and South Kivu, located south of Ituri, where the Rwanda-supported M23 rebel faction controls numerous important cities, including Goma and Bukavu. The militants have documented two infections.

Uganda and Rwanda have sealed their frontiers, while the Trump administration implemented restrictions last week prohibiting entry of non-U.S. passport holders who recently traveled to Congo, Uganda or South Sudan.

Tedros criticized border shutdowns and travel restrictions Friday as “not effective at all” for preventing the outbreak’s expansion.

“Closing borders, as some countries have done, only discourages transparency. The Democratic Republic of Congo is reporting the situation openly and transparently,” he stated, encouraging nations to reconsider these policies.

Laboratory testing has ruled out Ebola in two individuals who were suspected of carrying the deadly virus, Zambian health officials announced as the country increases disease monitoring efforts amid a regional outbreak.

The heightened vigilance comes as authorities in Democratic Republic of Congo reported Friday that suspected infections from the uncommon Bundibugyo variant of Ebola have climbed to 1,028 cases. This particular strain has no available vaccine for prevention.

Uganda has also documented infections within its borders.

Health officials in Zambia acknowledged Friday evening that the risk of the disease spreading across their nation’s borders remains elevated, though laboratory analysis confirmed the two suspected patients do not have Ebola.

“Zambia has developed screening tools and protocols, which are already being used to screen for Ebola at entry points into Zambia and on people within the country who have Ebola-like symptoms,” the ministry added in its statement.

The Bundibugyo variant, which takes its name from the Ugandan region where researchers first documented it almost two decades ago, has concerned health experts due to its prolonged undetected transmission through heavily populated communities, complicating efforts to track and quarantine those who came into contact with infected persons.

The World Health Organization describes Ebola as initially presenting symptoms similar to influenza, including elevated body temperature, exhaustion, general discomfort, aching muscles, head pain and throat irritation that can begin abruptly, progressing to nausea and loose stools, and ultimately resulting in internal and external hemorrhaging along with failure of multiple organs.

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — At Kinshasa’s bustling Masina Market, sellers of bushmeat don’t always put their products on full display. Shoppers need to specifically request what they want, from large swamp rodents to pieces of antelope meat.

Some merchants do sell openly, including women managing enormous baskets filled with wriggling caterpillars throughout the market.

Throughout Congo and other parts of Central and West Africa, bushmeat represents both a culinary desire and an integral element of local culture. Even a devastating illness like Ebola, which is currently destroying communities in eastern Congo’s remote areas, hasn’t reduced the appetite for wild game from the Congo Basin, a vast forest region often referred to as the planet’s second lung.

The Congo Basin contains diverse wildlife ranging from large primates to snakes — both hunted for consumption. This creates exposure risks for residents to diseases that jump from animals to humans, including Ebola.

While Ebola typically doesn’t transmit through food consumption, African cases have been linked to hunting, slaughtering and preparing meat from diseased animals, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Once there is human, animal and environment interface, we have these kinds of outbreaks on a frequent level,” said Dr. Tolbert Geewleh Nyenswah of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. “And this is why one health approach in dealing with virus outbreaks is important, because we still interact with the bats, and our hunters are still killing monkeys, and we are close to the environment.”

Congo’s government has verified over 1,000 potential cases with no fewer than 220 fatalities since announcing the Ebola outbreak on May 15. The virus appears to have circulated unnoticed for weeks, with the World Health Organization believing the actual scope exceeds reported numbers.

Ebola, which takes its name from a Congo River tributary, was initially identified in 1976 during concurrent outbreaks in Congo and what is now South Sudan. Outbreaks typically begin when the virus jumps from infected animals like fruit bats into human populations. These animal-to-human transmissions frequently occur during wild meat handling and consumption, according to specialists.

However, because Ebola outbreaks occur infrequently in areas where bushmeat consumption is routine, some residents “don’t believe the linkage” while others remain “totally ignorant” about health risks from eating wild game, explained Dr. Misaki Wayengera, a microbiologist who counsels Uganda’s Ministry of Health on disease outbreaks.

“It is very difficult to change some of these core practices,” he said.

Communities have suffered severely from periodic Ebola outbreaks, with the disease’s gruesome symptoms terrorizing entire settlements and leading many to think they’re cursed.

The Ebola virus has caused 17 outbreaks in Congo plus numerous others across the region. The most devastating outbreak occurred in West Africa from 2014 to 2016, infecting approximately 28,000 individuals and causing over 11,300 deaths.

The Food and Agriculture Organization — which examined Ebola risks from bushmeat consumption and handling following West Africa’s epidemic — found that animal-to-human Ebola transmission is uncommon, but “their consequences are nonetheless disastrous.”

After Ebola infects an initial person, the virus spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids from ill or dead patients, including perspiration, blood, waste or vomit. Healthcare workers lacking adequate protection face particularly high risks.

The present eastern Congo outbreak involves the Bundibugyo virus, an uncommon Ebola strain without approved treatments or vaccines.

This outbreak is happening in a Congo region also experiencing armed conflict from rebel forces and mass population displacement from fleeing violence.

Though Congolese officials have banned hunting threatened wildlife, including great apes pushed toward extinction by poachers, no comprehensive wildlife trade prohibition exists and illegal hunting continues for symbolic animals like bonobos.

Numerous Congo Basin residents rely on bushmeat as their main animal protein source. Annual wild meat harvesting from the Congo Basin reaches an estimated 4.5 million tons, based on Center for International Forestry Research data.

Viande de brousse, the French term for wild meat, enjoys popularity as food, even appearing in upscale restaurants. This has increased pressure on the Congo Basin’s declining resources. Despite continuing biodiversity loss, the Congo Basin remains the world’s largest carbon sink, exceeding the Amazon’s carbon capture and storage capacity.

Public health advocates must intensify educational efforts about Ebola’s origins and transmission in communities facing repeated outbreaks, according to Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder of Uganda’s Conservation Through Public Health organization.

Communities need education that “eating meat from an unknown source, or a dead animal, is a no-no,” Kalema-Zikusoka said. “It’s a very cultural thing.”

Certain fruit bats are thought to naturally carry Ebola-causing viruses, the WHO reports. Yet bats remain delicacies across much of Central and West Africa. Roasted fruit bat soup is highly prized, along with various monkey parts.

At Kinshasa’s Masina Market one recent morning, before the current Ebola outbreak, merchants reported selling antelope, rodent and snake meat obtained from the Congo Basin.

They indicated they had long since ceased selling monkey meat, which could harbor the Ebola virus.

Vendor Guyva Mputu was offering python, its frozen meat beginning to steam in the moisture-heavy air.

Another seller, Charles Ntanga, used a flywhisk against flies landing on a spoiled giant rodent carcass, with each kilogram priced at roughly $17. Ntanga reported serving customers from diverse backgrounds.

“We sell wild meat,” he said. “We make our lives through this business.”

A musician from London has found an innovative way to continue creating music after Parkinson’s disease affected his ability to play guitar, turning to artificial intelligence technology to complete his latest recording project.

Samuel Smith, a singer-songwriter who has spent years crafting Americana music with guitar as his primary instrument, received his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2020. The 49-year-old artist recently completed his second album, “The Art of Letting Go,” using AI music generation platforms to help translate his creative ideas when his physical abilities became limited.

For an instrumental track called “Horizon” on the eight-song collection, Smith utilized AI-powered music generators after humming melodies into his phone. He then uploaded these recordings to platforms including Suno and Udio to create demonstration arrangements that communicated his artistic vision to the session musicians who would record the final version.

Smith emphasized that these AI-generated demos were not incorporated into the finished studio recording. However, as Parkinson’s symptoms including tremors, stiffness, and fatigue progressed during the album’s year-long creation process, his guitar abilities declined significantly.

“So then I’m faced with a question,” Smith said. “‘Don’t play, don’t be creative, or find a way out, find a route.’ And for me, this was the route.”

The use of generative AI technology has created controversy within the music industry, with artists and record companies expressing concerns about copyrighted material being used to train AI models. Major labels Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Records filed lawsuits against Suno and Udio in June 2024, though Universal and Warner later reached settlement and partnership agreements with the respective companies.

However, Smith’s situation highlights a different application of these tools – assisting musicians whose medical conditions impact their traditional creative processes. His debut album “In the Springtime” was released in 2023, which he described as wanting to preserve memories of his musical abilities for his two sons.

“I’d always written, I’d also played, I always sung,” Smith explained. “And immediately it became clear to me that I was in trouble, that my music was going to be seriously compromised.”

The AI music generation systems operate by analyzing large collections of recorded music and audio, studying patterns in melody, harmony, and rhythm to create new audio based on user prompts or uploaded recordings. These platforms allow users without traditional musical training to produce complete songs.

Smith described the process of creating usable demos as requiring “50, 100, 150 attempts” along with extensive editing “to get something that sounds close to my music.” After recording himself humming melodies and uploading the audio, he provides detailed prompts describing the desired instrumentation, mood, and musical style.

“AI is not replacing anything for me,” Smith stated. “It’s unlocking, it’s enabling. It’s allowing me to keep writing. I upload my lyrics; AI doesn’t create my lyrics. I upload my music; AI does not create my music.”

He continued: “It then brings it to life in a way that I can play to session players and say, ‘Here, that’s what I’m thinking, that is what I’m hearing.’”

Grammy-winning pianist and producer Matt Rollings produced the album, assembling a group of accomplished roots and bluegrass musicians for the recording sessions. The lineup included dobro player and 16-time Grammy winner Jerry Douglas, Grammy-winning banjo player Alison Brown, fiddler Stuart Duncan, guitarist Bryan Sutton, bassist Viktor Krauss, and vocalists Jonatha Brooke and Glen Phillips.

Smith described performing in a Nashville studio alongside musicians he had long admired as “an extraordinary moment.”

Grammy-nominated guitarist Julian Lage, recognized for his jazz and acoustic work with Blue Note Records, contributed to both the album’s title track and “Horizon.” The “Horizon” recording became particularly meaningful for Smith, as he managed to perform a guitar duet with his friend despite his condition’s progression.

“I hadn’t been able to play for months, but I kept telling myself that if I wrote something to take to the studio, perhaps the clouds would part for a few minutes,” Smith recalled. “That’s what happened. I had a window of about 10 minutes in the studio when my arm freed up. … So in the end, I was able to capture the last breath of my guitar playing.”

Music experts suggest that AI-assisted tools could provide benefits for other individuals dealing with disabilities or illnesses that affect their musical abilities.

Ruaidhri Mannion, a composer, music producer, and sonic artist who teaches at Brunel University of London, noted that affordable digital recording technology “effectively democratized the making of music” in recent years. He believes AI tools that create polished-sounding material from voice or text inputs could serve a similar function by helping songwriters and musicians communicate concepts and collaborate more effectively.

“If these tools are able to enable people to be able to participate with other creative groups and encourage more people to feel confident to be able to reach out to an ensemble or an orchestra or something, then I think that is all for the better,” Mannion explained.

However, Mannion cautioned that excessive dependence on technology might interfere with the trial and error, frustration, and creative synergy that are essential components of a musician’s artistic growth.

“What makes a lot of music-making meaningful is the collaborative element,” he noted. “There’s a lot of experimentation and development and failure that’s part of musical discovery.”

Both Udio and Suno have rejected copyright infringement claims and expressed interest in working cooperatively with the music industry. Some musicians remain skeptical of these platforms. A coalition of recording artists and activists, including singer-songwriter Tift Merritt, David Lowery from bands Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven, and ECR Music Group President Blake Morgan, released an open letter in February titled “So no to Suno.”

“Many in our community are embracing responsible AI as a tool for creation, and as a means for fans to explore and interact with our artistry. That’s wonderful,” the letter stated. “But it’s not the same as creating an environment where AI-generated works sourced from our music are mass distributed to dilute our royalties or, worse yet, reward those actively seeking to commit fraud. Artists need to know the difference.”

Smith believes his experience demonstrates how AI technology could benefit society and expand creative opportunities when developed responsibly.

“My message would be that if these companies want to show they’ve got a place, a role in society, then step up,” Smith said. “Engage with health professionals, engage with music therapists, engage with society and show us what you can do.”

On May 21, Smith partnered with the Berklee Music and Health Institute for a New York event that brought together music industry executives, researchers, and medical professionals to explore how music can support individuals living with neurological conditions. Smith shared his experience with Parkinson’s disease and performed again with musicians from “The Art of Letting Go.”

Continuing to create music remains essential to the legacy Smith wants to establish for his children, who are 4 and 17 years old.

“My 4-year-old is probably never going to remember me playing, and it’s heartbreaking,” he said. “But I’ve been able to pull this into something and refuse to be defined by this disease.”

President Donald Trump issued an executive order Friday backing a January report from the Department of Health and Human Services that advocates for reducing childhood vaccine recommendations across the United States.

Trump’s directive instructs federal agencies to coordinate their policies with the report’s findings, which supports changes long advocated by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The research determined that America suggests more childhood immunizations than numerous comparable countries.

Earlier efforts by the Trump administration to reduce recommended childhood vaccines based on this report were halted by a federal judge in Massachusetts. Officials are currently challenging that court ruling.

The report suggests immunizing all children against 11 specific diseases. Additional vaccines would only be suggested for high-risk populations or through what researchers call “shared decision-making” between doctors and families. These conditional recommendations include immunizations for influenza, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, certain types of meningitis and RSV.

Trump’s directive strengthens support for the study during a period when his administration seemed to be shifting attention from Kennedy’s more controversial vaccine positions toward widely accepted topics such as nutritional wellness.

The executive order instructs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to examine the study and “take any appropriate steps” to modify its vaccination guidance. It states the CDC should “provide maximum flexibility to parents and doctors” and requires agencies to ensure all policies, rules and funding match the study’s recommendations.

The directive also specifies that any modifications must preserve Americans’ existing vaccine access.

Individual states, rather than federal authorities, control vaccination requirements for school attendance. Although CDC guidelines frequently shape state policies, several states have started forming coalitions to resist the Trump administration’s vaccine direction.

Trump ordered HHS to conduct the study in December.

Kennedy has long opposed vaccines and has worked to incorporate his doubts about immunizations into federal recommendations. He previously announced the CDC would stop recommending COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women, a decision questioned by public health professionals who found no new evidence supporting the change.

In June, he dismissed a 17-member CDC vaccine advisory panel and subsequently appointed his own members, including several vaccine critics.

The January analysis determined that vaccine recommendations for American children have grown significantly over recent decades. The report also noted countries where no immunizations are mandated for school enrollment.

A newly released government survey reveals that adult cigarette smoking across America has reached an unprecedented low, with just 1 in 11 adults reporting they currently smoke cigarettes.

The habit remains linked to lung cancer, heart disease and stroke, and health officials have long identified it as the top preventable cause of death in the country.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gathered these preliminary results through survey responses from over 24,200 adults. Researchers classified current cigarette smokers as those who have smoked at least 100 cigarettes during their lifetime and continue smoking either daily or occasionally.

Back in the mid-1960s, 42% of American adults used cigarettes. The numbers have steadily declined over the decades thanks to tobacco taxes, higher product costs, smoking restrictions, public awareness efforts and shifting social attitudes about smoking in public spaces.

The 2024 data shows current adult smoking dropped below 10% for the first time ever, landing at 9% in the latest survey.

Meanwhile, adult use of electronic cigarettes has been slowly rising but remained stable in 2025 at approximately 7%.

“The continued decline in smoking is a monumental public health achievement that has saved millions of lives and billions in healthcare costs,” said Yolonda Richardson, president and chief executive of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy and research organization.

Richardson noted that current anti-smoking initiatives have suffered setbacks due to cuts made by President Donald Trump’s administration that shut down the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office on Smoking and Health and ended its “Tips from Former Smokers” advertising campaign.

She referenced studies indicating that the “Tips” campaign by itself helped over 1 million Americans stop smoking and prevented more than $7.3 billion in healthcare expenses.

“This critical work must be restored and sustained to continue reducing smoking-related disease, death and healthcare costs nationwide,” Richardson said.

BUNIA, May 29 – Health officials in Congo are tracking a growing outbreak of Ebola after suspected infections jumped to 1,028 cases, according to the country’s health minister Samuel Roger Kamba, who briefed the media Friday evening. The figure represents an increase from 906 suspected cases reported just one day earlier.

Among the total suspected cases, 225 have received laboratory confirmation, Kamba stated.

Federal health officials announced Friday they have cleared the way for children with diabetes to use a breakthrough inhaled insulin treatment, eliminating the need for traditional needle injections in younger patients.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s decision allows MannKind Corporation to market its fast-acting inhaled insulin to patients under 18 years old, providing families with an alternative to conventional injection methods.

Following the announcement on May 29, MannKind’s stock price climbed 5% during afternoon market activity.

The regulatory green light creates new possibilities for young diabetes patients who typically need insulin multiple times daily to control their condition, which prevents the body from managing blood sugar properly.

MannKind’s Afrezza product differs from traditional insulin by being delivered through inhalation via a compact device rather than injected under the skin. The treatment helps manage blood glucose during meals and originally received FDA clearance for adult use in June 2014.

According to the company, qualifying patients will be able to obtain Afrezza for $35 monthly or less.

A comprehensive investigation has uncovered troubling allegations surrounding a private residential treatment facility in Missouri that serves adopted children and receives significant taxpayer funding while operating with minimal oversight.

The facility, known as Calo Programs or Change Academy at Lake of the Ozarks, charges families up to $20,000 monthly and draws clients from across the nation who send their children across state boundaries for treatment.

While Calo markets itself as a therapeutic lakeside retreat where troubled adopted youth can recover through activities like bonding with therapy dogs, with staff members who “create joy,” the investigation reveals a far more troubling reality.

Local law enforcement frequently responds to the facility for assault investigations and to locate runaway residents. State agencies that fund placements there have raised concerns about the center’s operations, staff training protocols, and lack of transparency. Both parents and former staff members report inadequate treatment services and minimal educational programming, with young, undertrained personnel supervising the children. Two mothers compared the environment to something from “Lord of the Flies.”

In written responses, Calo rejected the allegations and pointed to student success rates as evidence of their effective methods: “For nearly two decades, Calo has provided innovative treatment and critical mental health services for young people who have been failed by the system. Over and over again, parents across the country have come to us in their moment of need, and we are proud of the track record we’ve established helping treat their children and return them to their families with the skills and tools they need to get ahead.”

The investigation utilized extensive state records and documents obtained through public information requests, along with interviews of recent residents, parents, former staff members, and attorneys involved in more than a dozen legal cases against the organization.

Sheriff’s office records from Camden County spanning 2020 to fall 2025 document hundreds of pages of incident reports involving children at the facility as alleged victims, witnesses, and perpetrators of various incidents.

One incident last summer involved multiple girls fleeing toward wooded areas and jumping into the lake to escape, with staff pursuing and returning them, only to witness additional escape attempts. Calo stated no injuries occurred during these incidents.

Prior to that event, sheriff’s deputies documented reports of two children allegedly using methamphetamine that a staff member reportedly brought onto the premises in her personal bag. Calo confirmed the employee’s termination and stated the substance was never verified as methamphetamine.

Another incident involved deputies responding to reports of overwhelmed staff as teenagers “stormed” a room to attack another resident. During this altercation, one boy climbed onto the facility’s roof and jumped, landing on rocks below and requiring helicopter transport to a hospital. Calo acknowledged that conflicts occur among troubled youth, stated staff followed proper protocols in requesting assistance, and claimed the jumping victim sustained only a sprained ankle.

An Illinois mother filed a 2024 report alleging her daughter and another girl were sexually assaulted by another child at the facility. She claimed Calo failed to notify families, state authorities, or law enforcement, and accused the facility of concealing the incident.

Her daughter’s placement was funded by Illinois through the Family Support Program, administered by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services for behavioral health care funding. This mother and other Illinois parents told investigators they assumed the state had properly vetted the program due to the number of children Illinois sent there.

Both the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Illinois State Board of Education include Calo on their lists of approved residential treatment facilities they fund. Over the past decade, these two Illinois agencies have invested more than $35 million in sending children to Calo, according to obtained data.

In the previous year alone, the Board of Education spent over $1.6 million sending 13 children there for special education services, while Healthcare and Family Services invested $1.2 million for 19 children. Some families utilized funding from both sources.

Bill Hayden reported using Illinois education funding to send his daughter, adopted from Russia, to Calo ten years ago. The retired physician was among families Calo suggested for interviews. Hayden expressed his belief that Calo transformed his daughter’s life.

“I felt that they were dedicated professionals who were trying to do their best with about the toughest group of kids you could probably ever house,” Hayden stated.

Calo operates within what experts call the troubled teen industry, an extensive network of loosely regulated, for-profit residential facilities, boarding schools, and wilderness programs that have been quietly serving adopted children at exceptionally high rates.

The facility opened in 2007 with 40 beds and has undergone significant expansion, reaching a capacity of 144 this year. It focuses on adoption trauma treatment and reports that 90% of its clients are adopted.

Around 2011, a private equity firm led by Stanford graduate Alex Stavros acquired Calo, and over the following 13 years expanded the operation by merging with other treatment centers to create parent company Embark Behavioral Health. Stavros, who stepped down in 2024, did not provide comment for the investigation.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Stavros claims to have grown Embark to 38 programs across 20 states and achieved a 40-fold revenue increase to $180 million. Under his direction, Calo changed its financial model “from entirely private pay to majority third party reimbursed,” including private health insurance, Medicaid, and various government programs.

During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, as residential programs faced enrollment challenges, Embark organized dozens of industry professionals to discuss business strategies. “DOING EPIC SH$T” appeared on the cover of the August 2020 “Embark Academy Sales & Marketing Conference” handbook, which included a session on “overcoming objections” with sales techniques to “build your client base and keep your pipelines full!”

In a session promoting admissions as an essential component of the treatment team, the handbook stated: “The admissions person sells hope when the family is at their lowest and most hopeless, scary, and vulnerable time.”

The company defended its marketing strategies targeting families in crisis.

“It is a common misconception that for-profit entities are more expensive or less ethical than non-profit organizations,” Calo stated. “Reaching them through thoughtful outreach and advertising helps break down the mental health stigma that keeps people from seeking treatment …”

Some local officials have questioned Calo’s business approach.

Stacy Roberts, who operates the local juvenile detention center, said his agency experiences frustration with Calo and handles as many as a dozen cases annually involving out-of-state children from Calo.

Numerous families have criticized conditions at Calo as resembling a jail. Roberts dismissed this comparison, noting that traditional juvenile detention centers like his operate under higher standards. Unlike Calo, Roberts reports to the public, judicial oversight, and the juvenile justice system, which monitors children’s stays within his facility.

“It’s a business,” Roberts stated. “They’re not doing this because they want to help. They’re making money off these kids.”

A recent clinical trial has demonstrated that Eli Lilly’s diabetes medication tirzepatide delivers superior results compared to other drugs in its class for certain type 2 diabetes patients.

The research focused on individuals who had received their type 2 diabetes diagnosis within the previous four years and were not achieving adequate control through metformin, dietary changes, and physical activity. Tirzepatide is marketed as Mounjaro for diabetes treatment in the United States and for both diabetes and weight management in international markets.

The SURPASS-EARLY clinical trial enrolled nearly 800 adult participants who were randomly assigned to receive either tirzepatide or alternative medications. The majority of control group participants were given other GLP-1 medications including semaglutide, marketed by Novo Nordisk as Ozempic or Rybelsus, or Lilly’s Trulicity (dulaglutide).

After 24 months of treatment, participants who received weekly tirzepatide injections demonstrated superior improvements in blood sugar management as measured by hemoglobin A1c levels, along with better outcomes for body weight and waist measurements compared to the control group.

The results, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, revealed that approximately 60% of tirzepatide recipients achieved normal blood glucose levels after two years, while only 24% of control group patients reached this milestone.

According to researchers’ statements, the data indicates that initiating tirzepatide treatment earlier when conventional care proves insufficient may deliver more robust and lasting metabolic improvements than other standard treatment options.

In separate research developments, scientists have made significant discoveries about long COVID’s neurological effects. Two studies suggest that the condition’s debilitating brain-related symptoms may result from the immune system mistakenly attacking the body itself, findings that could pave the way for new treatments and influence blood donation guidelines.

Researchers in both investigations gathered autoantibodies from the blood of long COVID volunteers. While normal antibodies protect against threats, autoantibodies – frequently observed following acute viral infections and continuing during long COVID – erroneously target the body’s own tissues.

When scientists introduced these human autoantibodies into healthy laboratory mice, the animals developed neurological characteristics similar to patient symptoms, including exhaustion, coordination problems, heightened pain sensitivity, and nerve damage.

One experiment demonstrated that these effects persisted even when autoantibodies were obtained from patients two years following their original infection, according to findings published in Cell Reports Medicine.

“This new awareness of the physiology of long COVID will enable us to identify a number of effective treatments for autoimmunity that could significantly improve the symptoms of millions of people with this chronic condition,” stated Dr. David Putrino from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, who co-authored a related study in Cell.

“Before we had no way of predicting who would benefit from (existing) therapies,” he explained. “Our study now shows that if you are in a subgroup of long COVID patients who have autoantibodies circulating in your body… you may be a good candidate for these drugs.”

A Cell commentary noted that both studies “provide compelling evidence that autoantibodies directly contribute to symptom generation in a subset of people with long COVID,” while acknowledging that neither investigation establishes definitive proof of one central mechanism driving the condition.

Beyond their medical implications, Putrino emphasized that these findings raise important public health concerns regarding blood donation practices.

“In the UK, having long COVID is an exclusion for donating blood, while in the United States these individuals are still allowed to donate,” he noted.

“Given the dangers that (autoantibodies in) plasma from people with long COVID can pose for others, this country should be considering fundamental changes to its donation policies.”

The World Health Organization’s director-general touched down in Kinshasa, Congo’s capital city, Thursday evening to observe response efforts against an outbreak of an uncommon strain of Ebola virus. Medical teams are battling equipment shortages, community skepticism, and violence from armed factions in an unstable area.

“To come here is to really show to the community that they’re not alone,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters at the airport.

“Pushing orders from my comfortable office in Geneva is easy, but I’m asking my colleagues to work with the community and I am asking communities to protect themselves,” he added.

The European Union delivered medical supplies to Ituri province, where Congo’s Ebola outbreak is centered, on Thursday. The same day, the United States pledged an additional $80 million in assistance, pushing its total contribution beyond $112 million.

Healthcare workers operating with limited resources have been fighting to control an outbreak of the Bundibugyo virus, an Ebola variant with no approved treatment or vaccine available. In certain locations, medical professionals have been forced to use outdated protective masks when caring for potential patients.

The WHO reports 1,077 suspected cases and 238 suspected deaths as of Tuesday.

Healthcare workers face increased risks due to community anger over strict medical procedures for handling victims’ remains, which conflict with traditional burial customs. Local residents have carried out at least three assaults on medical facilities.

Tedros noted that additional obstacles are making outbreak control more difficult, including large numbers of people forced from their homes by armed violence in the area, along with food shortages.

On Wednesday, he requested a ceasefire in an area where armed factions have conducted violent attacks for many years.

“We cannot build community trust or isolate the sick while bombs are falling,” Tedros said.

Located in northeastern Congo near the Ugandan border, Ituri province has suffered from attacks by the Allied Democratic Force, a rebel group allied with the Islamic State group, and a coalition of ethnic militias. In early May, the ADF killed at least 40 people and burned several homes in Ituri.

The disease has also appeared in the Congolese provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, south of Ituri, where the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group controls many key cities, including Goma and Bukavu. The rebels have reported two cases.

The area’s primary airport in Goma, which also serves as a base for humanitarian operations in the region, has remained shut since January 2025, when M23 captured the city.

The fighting has created one of the globe’s most severe humanitarian emergencies, with at least 7 million people forced from their homes in eastern Congo.

The WHO leader said Thursday he opposes countries implementing travel restrictions against citizens of nations affected by the outbreak.

“There are ways to manage workers and to manage cases without having a strong, restricted travel ban and we don’t encourage that as WHO,” Tedros said.

The Trump administration announced a temporary prohibition last week on entry for people without U.S. passports, as well as U.S. green-card holders, who have visited Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the past 21 days. It said Wednesday it plans to send Americans who are exposed to Ebola to a new facility in Kenya instead of flying them to the U.S. Congo’s neighbors, Uganda and Rwanda, recently closed their borders.

A decade has passed since Naomi “Nonie” Lynn received a diagnosis of agoraphobia, a condition characterized by anxiety about being in public spaces. Recently, Lynn opened up about her experience in a conversation with Mandy Lashay, discussing how their relationship evolved from casual visits into a meaningful bond.

During their discussion, Lynn reflected on how Lashay’s regular visits provided support during her journey with the anxiety disorder. What began as simple check-ins gradually developed into a genuine friendship that has helped Lynn navigate the challenges associated with her fear of public places.

The conversation between the two women highlights how personal connections can flourish even when mental health challenges create barriers to traditional social interactions.

Federal health officials have identified serious safety and record-keeping violations at a manufacturing facility operated by Dabur India, following an inspection conducted in January at the company’s plant in Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

The Food and Drug Administration’s inspection report, released publicly this week, detailed multiple concerns including potential contamination hazards and deliberate falsification of production records. Dabur India represents one of the country’s most established consumer goods manufacturers, operating for more than 140 years and marketing itself as a leading global distributor of Ayurvedic health products.

The company distributes various over-the-counter health items in the American market, including products for cough and cold relief, antifungal treatments, pain management gels, and dental care items.

According to the inspection findings, certain areas within the manufacturing facility presented microbiological contamination dangers. Federal inspectors discovered that essential production documentation had been deliberately altered to hide the fact that equipment designated for specific products was actually being utilized for manufacturing multiple different items.

The report documented unsanitary conditions including the presence of a live bird and bird waste in the raw materials storage facility, located approximately 30 feet from packaging supplies. Additionally, inspectors observed an unidentified dark substance covering more than one-quarter of ceiling areas in both the raw materials warehouse and the finished product storage facility.

These discoveries occur during a period of increased regulatory oversight of Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers regarding quality control standards for medical products shipped to the United States, which represents their primary international market.

Federal inspectors also raised questions about the facility’s testing procedures, noting that while laboratory results for microbiology tests appeared to meet acceptable standards, substantial contamination was actually observed in numerous samples during the on-site inspection.

The company has not yet provided a response to requests for comment regarding the inspection findings.

After receiving a form 483 notice, which is standard procedure following FDA facility inspections, companies typically submit detailed responses outlining corrective measures they plan to implement to address identified issues.

The inspection report additionally noted that facility management had failed to properly review production and quality documentation to ensure regulatory compliance before releasing product batches for sale, and identified shortcomings in equipment cleaning and maintenance protocols.

International financial commitments to battle the escalating Ebola crisis in Africa have dramatically declined by almost 50% since earlier this week, according to the continent’s primary health organization.

The World Health Organization has classified the outbreak of the uncommon Bundibugyo variant of Ebola affecting the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda as a global public health emergency.

Latest statistics from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) indicate 1,077 suspected infections and 246 suspected fatalities in Congo. The data also revealed that confirmed cases in Uganda have increased from seven to eight.

During a virtual news briefing on Thursday, Director-General Jean Kaseya revealed that Africa CDC’s international partners had committed nearly $500 million earlier in the week to combat the outbreak. However, that amount has since dropped to approximately $290 million after several contributors withdrew their commitments, though he declined to identify specific donors.

“People are dying! How can we come and say: we commit X million dollars, and the next day they are calling me to say no, it was a mistake?” Kaseya stated.

“We know some big global health institutions are sitting with billions of dollars… How can you come to say: I want you to focus on this development program, and I have money for that, but I don’t have money for Ebola?”

During his remarks to the media, Kaseya commended the World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB) for their willingness to redirect existing funds to support the emergency response efforts.

Medical officials are working urgently to stop the rapidly expanding outbreak across the African continent, but face challenges including shortages of essential medical supplies and community distrust stemming from previous epidemic experiences.

The crisis has led governments to implement stricter travel controls. The United States has established temporary entry limitations for individuals who visited Congo, Uganda or South Sudan within the previous 21 days, including permanent residents.

Kaseya questioned the inclusion of South Sudan in travel restrictions, noting the country has reported no Ebola cases or fatalities.

“We cannot afford to stop this outbreak without resources… and more importantly, we cannot afford to stop this outbreak with travel restrictions that Western countries start to impose to African countries.”

Ebola represents a serious and frequently deadly illness spread through direct exposure to infected body fluids or contaminated materials.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday it has approved new regulations designed to make the process of resolving payment disagreements between healthcare providers and insurance companies more efficient and affordable.

The updated regulations are connected to federal legislation that prohibits unexpected medical charges from healthcare providers who are not covered by a patient’s insurance plan. The goal is to eliminate inappropriate disputes while reducing expenses for both medical providers and insurance companies.

“The No Surprises Act protects patients from unexpected medical bills while creating an arbitration process to resolve certain types of payment disputes between payers and providers, and this rule makes significant improvements to the arbitration,” said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz.

When healthcare providers and insurance companies cannot reach agreement on payment amounts for services provided outside a patient’s insurance network, they can use the Federal Independent Dispute Resolution process for arbitration.

According to the agency, the new regulations will dramatically reduce administrative costs from $115 down to $15 per party for each dispute, which could encourage more participation in the process.

The updated rules also allow for greater flexibility in handling multiple related claims together as a group, which the department says will lower costs and accelerate decision-making.

Insurance companies will now be required to use uniform claim codes when discussing services provided outside their networks, which will help healthcare providers quickly identify whether a claim is eligible for the dispute resolution process and reduce inappropriate filings, according to the department.

The regulations establish a new unified system for managing disputes that will be implemented gradually starting this year.

The federal legislation was enacted in 2020 to shield patients from unexpected billing situations, which typically occurred when patients received care at hospitals covered by their insurance but were later charged by physicians who were not included in the same insurance network as the hospital.

Yoselin Sanchez has lived with constant pain from cervical scoliosis since birth. Though few things provide relief from her discomfort, she’s discovered methods to take her mind off the pain.

Her routine includes yoga and free flow dance. During work hours, she often plays house music set to 432 hertz, a frequency that’s lower than standard concert tuning.

“Music is medicine. Sound is medicine,” explained Sanchez, who works in telehealth services for a California healthcare management organization. “It helps me focus and be engaged with the patient I’m assisting, and it also helps me relax.”

Songs recorded at 432 hertz (cycles per second) are gaining popularity across social media and streaming platforms, where listeners can discover growing collections of tracks and playlists featuring this alternative tuning. The selection ranges from meditation soundscapes to reggae tracks by Ziggy Marley.

Supporters claim 432 hertz connects with the natural world. Some attribute healing qualities to this frequency or believe it can lower blood pressure. However, solid scientific research hasn’t validated these assertions.

“There are frequencies going on right now that are higher than what we can hear and lower than what can hear. And they’re not special because they’re one of the billions and billions of frequencies that we’re receiving right now,” explained Susan Rogers, a professor emeritus at Berklee College of Music who served as Prince’s sound engineer in the 1980s. “To set one aside and say that it is the frequency of the universe is, as far as the science community is concerned, nonsense.”

For Sanchez, whether the pain relief and emotional benefits she connects to 432 hertz music have scientific backing doesn’t matter.

“When it comes to music, it could activate different feelings in people, the vibrations of it. It’s not like a one-size-fits-all,” she explained.

Across musical history, when people performed together, they matched their instruments to the same pitch for harmonious sound. Vocalists and instrumentalists typically selected a musical note — usually the A above middle C on a piano — as their reference point.

The “432 Hz” music style gets its name from its tuning method, where the A above middle C gets adjusted to vibrate at 432 hertz rather than the conventional 440 hertz. This lower frequency is audible, creating slightly deeper notes. Some listeners believe this adjustment creates a warmer, more balanced sound that connects with human physiology and nature.

Most orchestras and performers today tune to 440 hertz. However, this wasn’t historically standard.

Before the 19th century, musicians tuned according to regional practices that differed between countries, noted Fanny Gribenski, a music historian at New York University. “For most of music history, people are just singing within their own vocal range,” she added.

Over time, orchestras and ensembles began tuning to higher frequencies, causing some composers to worry that singers wouldn’t be able to perform historical pieces, Gribenski explained.

“The idea that it should be mainly a lower frequency than the ones that were in use at the time is really the cultural concern for protecting music from the past, protecting the voices of singers,” she said.

Meanwhile, as global travel expanded, the need for universal tuning standards increased. In 1939, delegates from several European nations and the U.S. established 440 hertz as the worldwide standard.

Musicians kept experimenting with pitch in subsequent decades. During the 1980s and ’90s, sound engineers would sometimes accelerate or decelerate recorded tracks to create brighter or slower sounds, departing from 440 hertz, Rogers noted.

However, Rogers questions whether retuning entire bands or orchestras to 432 hertz would enhance their sound, since contemporary instruments were built to sound optimal at 440 hertz.

“Some of those instruments might sound a little sweeter, but it’s likely that most won’t,” she said.

Higher pitch typically creates more brilliance or additional power in certain instruments, Gribenski noted. For listeners who prefer lower 432 hertz music, “I wonder if there is a sense of deceleration, slowing down slightly, and also taking one step down from the bright sounds of modernity,” she said.

People who work with 432 hertz soundtracks give various explanations for their preference.

Amelia Beamer, who manages marketing at Andrews Apothecary, the North Carolina pharmacy her parents operate, believes taking work breaks to hear 432 hertz music helps manage her attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. She’s observed improved focus when she listens before beginning projects.

Beamer follows a pattern of working 25 minutes, taking five-minute listening breaks, then returning to her tasks. She also explores other frequencies, including 528 hertz music.

“It definitely helps me feel more grounded and more centered,” Beamer said about 432 hertz music. “It helps me slow down and to take some intentional space and time for myself.”

Diana Wolf Torres, who produces videos and writes a newsletter about robots, regularly experiences migraines and has noise sensitivity. When a neighbor’s gardener operates a leaf blower, she struggles to block it out. Playing 432 hertz music or sounds like white noise through noise-canceling headphones provides relief.

“I just want to be there and get it done and feel like I’m doing my best writing possible, and anything that keeps me in the zone is a fantastic tool,” Torres said.

Torres doesn’t believe there’s scientific basis or unique properties in 432 hertz music but thinks “maybe some people find this lower tuning more soothing.” She pointed out that most people can’t verify if music marked as 432 hertz on social platforms is correctly labeled.

“What does it matter? If you’re getting an effect, are you really going to check the resonance? Do you care?” Torres asked.

Sanchez, the telehealth professional, also enjoys music set to other alternative frequencies, including 528 hertz and 963 hertz.

“It’s something worth exploring and finding out for yourself whether it has any benefits or not,” Sanchez said. “For me, I find that grounding is beneficial to my overall wellbeing, so I see how it helps my livelihood.”

BUNAI, Congo (AP) — Emergency medical equipment was delivered to the epicenter of Congo’s deadly Ebola crisis on Thursday, as healthcare teams continue battling severe shortages, community resistance, and violent threats in an unstable area.

A white cargo aircraft touched down Thursday morning in Bunia, a northeastern community at the outbreak’s center, carrying protective masks, gloves, boots, and medicines provided by the European Union. U.N. forklifts loaded multiple crates onto waiting transport vehicles.

Associated Press journalists witnessed vacant emergency treatment facilities in Bunia, while medical staff in the neighboring community of Bambu were observed using outdated protective masks when caring for individuals suspected of having Ebola.

Health facilities in Ituri province have faced at least three documented attacks as community members objected to strict health measures that conflicted with traditional burial customs, increasing risks for medical personnel.

Additional EU shipments are scheduled to arrive in waves over the coming eight days, according to Jérôme Kouachi, who oversees emergency operations for UNICEF in Congo.

World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced Thursday his departure for Congo to personally observe efforts to control the Bundibugyo virus, which currently has no authorized treatment or prevention vaccine. WHO has classified this outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern to accelerate assistance.

Congo’s government has verified over 1,000 suspected infections, including a minimum of 220 fatalities, since officially announcing the outbreak on May 15. However, the virus had been circulating undetected for weeks, and WHO believes the actual scope far exceeds reported numbers.

The infection has crossed into Uganda, which has documented seven cases and one death. Wednesday brought news from the Congolese government that the first patient to overcome the virus had been discharged from a medical facility.

“We are trying to catch up,” Congo Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner stated earlier this week. “It is a race against the clock.”

Ground-level response efforts have encountered numerous obstacles, including bureaucratic delays at customs, inadequate storage space, deteriorated transportation routes, and poor communication networks, humanitarian organizations reported Thursday.

Tedros issued a ceasefire appeal Wednesday for an area where armed factions have conducted brutal attacks for decades. “We cannot build community trust or isolate the sick while bombs are falling,” he stated.

Located in Congo’s northeastern region near Uganda’s border, Ituri province has endured assaults by the Allied Democratic Force, a rebel organization linked to the Islamic State group, along with a coalition of ethnic militias. In early May, the ADF murdered at least 40 civilians and destroyed multiple homes in Ituri.

The disease has spread to two Congolese provinces south of Ituri — North Kivu and South Kivu, where the Rwanda-supported M23 rebel group controls numerous strategic cities, including Goma and Bukavu. The rebels have documented two cases. The area’s primary airport in Goma, which serves as a humanitarian operations hub, has remained shuttered since January 2025, when M23 captured the city.

The ongoing conflict has created one of the globe’s most severe humanitarian disasters, displacing at least 7 million people throughout eastern Congo.

Federal health advisors are scheduled to convene Thursday to determine the composition of COVID-19 vaccines for the upcoming 2026-2027 immunization period, with a focus on whether shots should target the prevalent XFG variant.

The Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will hold the meeting and vote, with staff expressing worries about insufficient data on currently spreading virus strains.

The advisory committee will meet with its membership unchanged by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., indicating standard procedures continue following various vaccine policy changes under the health secretary.

Vaccine oversight has been in uncertainty for the past year after a court halted decisions from the CDC’s advisory panel regarding childhood vaccine recommendations, including COVID shots. The court ruled that Kennedy had not appropriately selected the panel members.

According to briefing materials published before Thursday’s session, the FDA stated that tracking COVID-19’s development has grown more challenging due to decreased virus monitoring, reduced genetic sequencing, and slower data sharing from state and local health agencies.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID tracking system shows this information gap, with weekly reports currently unavailable because of insufficient genetic sequencing submissions. The latest available data, now four weeks old, indicated XFG variants represented more than half of American cases during the four-week period ending April 11.

Jill Roberts, associate professor at the University of South Florida College of Public Health, explained that the decline in genetic sequencing stems from both the reduction of government monitoring personnel and decreased university research funding.

For the current 2025-26 period, the FDA had suggested COVID vaccines should focus on LP.8.1, which is a subtype of the JN.1 strain.

Although COVID variants continue evolving from the JN.1 strain, additional subtypes including NB.1.8.1 have appeared since May of last year, according to the FDA’s briefing materials.

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization advised vaccine producers to focus on the single-strain LP.8.1 variant or other presently spreading variants like XFG or NB.1.8.1.

The United States has authorized four COVID vaccines: Moderna’s mNEXSPIKE and Spikevax, Pfizer-BioNTech’s Comirnaty, with three using mRNA technology, plus Novavax-Sanofi’s protein-based vaccine that requires more time to produce.

Fatal overdoses from illegal substances continue their downward trajectory nationwide, though certain western regions are bucking this positive trend with rising death rates, according to recent findings.

Public health experts point to several systematic improvements in addiction treatment that are contributing to the overall decline. One major factor is the expanded availability of naloxone, commonly referred to as Narcan, which can reverse the effects of an overdose.

The overdose-reversing medication has become increasingly accessible to communities across the country, with researchers crediting this widespread distribution as a key element in dramatically cutting overdose fatalities nationwide.

Despite the encouraging national statistics, health officials note that some western areas are still grappling with increases in drug-related deaths, creating a complex picture of the ongoing addiction crisis.

The mixed results highlight the importance of continued efforts to address substance abuse through both treatment programs and harm reduction strategies like naloxone distribution.

Fatal overdoses from illegal drugs across the United States have continued their rapid decline, falling approximately 14 percent in 2025, new data reveals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released their most recent overdose statistics showing this encouraging nationwide trend.

Despite the overall positive direction, the report indicates that certain regions, particularly some Western states, are still grappling with significant overdose death increases.

Health insurance enrollment under the Affordable Care Act is declining at a faster rate than previous years, with data from six state-run marketplaces showing increased cancellations and non-payment issues through April.

The coverage losses are creating political challenges for President Donald Trump and the Republican party as November midterm elections approach, with affordability expected to be a central campaign issue.

Kentucky experienced the most dramatic increase, with three times more people losing coverage compared to the previous year. Idaho saw enrollment drop by 24,402 members, significantly higher than the 15,866 lost during the same period last year. California’s cancellations increased by a more modest 6%.

Approximately 23 million Americans enrolled in or were automatically renewed for 2026 health plans under President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, representing a 5% decrease from the prior year. The drop stems primarily from the elimination of enhanced subsidies that were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic to help maintain coverage.

Premium costs surged an average of 114% to $1,905 per year without the subsidies, according to health policy research group KFF.

“Consumers are being exposed to the actual unsubsidized cost of these premiums and are choosing to leave the marketplace,” said Matt McGough, a policy analyst at KFF.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which administers the Affordable Care Act and operates HealthCare.gov for approximately 30 states, did not respond to requests for comment.

Healthcare affordability ranks as a primary concern for voters, with its influence expected to grow throughout the year like “a gathering storm,” according to Jonathan Oberlander, a professor of health policy at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

KFF polling indicates affordable healthcare tops the list of public concerns, matching worries about rising gasoline and transportation expenses related to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

More than three-quarters of independent voters courted by both political parties indicate healthcare costs will influence their voting decisions and candidate preferences in November.

An Idaho health exchange spokesperson confirmed affordability as the primary factor driving increased disenrollments in their state.

By November’s midterm elections that will determine Congressional control, more Americans will likely have lost coverage while media focus on the issue intensifies, Oberlander predicted.

Total Affordable Care Act enrollment probably decreased between 17% and 26% through March, according to Wakely Consulting Group, a health insurance consulting firm that examined premium payment information covering roughly 80% of the individual marketplace.

Wakely reported that over 14% of enrollees failed to pay their January premium, consistent with a March KFF survey finding approximately 15% of enrollees had not paid premiums, primarily due to higher costs.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services had indicated it would release premium payment data during the spring.

Among 20 states and the District of Columbia operating their own marketplaces contacted by Reuters, 12 provided recent enrollment snapshots.

Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Mexico reported thousands of consumers either failed to pay initial premiums or lost coverage during early months due to missed payments.

Most states and the federal government provide grace periods of 90 days or longer for non-payment situations.

In Kentucky, 15,067 people who selected 2026 plans lost coverage due to non-payment between January and April, compared to 5,034 disenrollments during the same timeframe last year.

The state also experienced an 8.5% decrease in overall January enrollment, according to a spokesperson for Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

Kentucky and Idaho may have been particularly affected by the limited number of insurers common in rural areas, which reduces competition and increases prices, KFF’s McGough noted. A Kentucky spokesperson said the state exchange now includes three insurers in 2026, down from four in 2025.

Some states like Colorado provided state-based assistance that helped reduce affordability issues and terminations, McGough said, while Idaho and Kentucky did not offer such support. Colorado experienced a 2% enrollment drop, matching Pennsylvania’s decline.

Michele Eberle, executive director at Maryland’s Health Benefit Exchange, reported enrollment has decreased by 8% with over 60% of people who disenrolled citing increased or unmanageable costs. The state anticipates a 15% enrollment decline this year.

“We’re going to see month-over-month declines, especially with gas prices that are continuing to climb,” said Eberle. “We have to see where the breaking point is for people.”

A groundbreaking new medication for hepatitis B is allowing certain patients to discontinue therapy while maintaining undetectable virus levels, achieving what medical experts term a ‘functional cure,’ according to research findings released Thursday.

Two international clinical trials revealed that approximately 20% of participants who received the experimental treatment experienced virus reduction to levels where their immune systems could maintain control.

‘We have not had a treatment which has come to this level of cure,’ Dr. Seng Gee Lim of the National University Health System of Singapore, who helped lead the GSK-funded studies, told reporters before presenting the findings at a scientific meeting in Barcelona, Spain.

The research results were simultaneously published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The chronic form of hepatitis B leads to liver cancer or liver failure and is responsible for approximately 1.1 million deaths globally each year. Medical professionals have spent decades searching for improvements to current lifelong treatments, which can be difficult for patients to maintain or obtain in certain regions.

These new results ‘represent a major step,’ Dr. Anna Lok, a hepatitis expert at the University of Michigan who wasn’t involved in the research, wrote in the journal. However, she emphasized that additional research is necessary to determine the duration of this remission-like condition.

The medication is bepirovirsen, also called ‘bepi’ and created by GSK and Ionis Pharmaceuticals. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is conducting a fast-track review, with approval expected in October. Regulatory agencies in Japan, China and Europe are also evaluating the treatment.

Hepatitis B spreads through blood or bodily fluid contact, including during childbirth, and affects the liver. While a highly effective vaccine exists for prevention, infected individuals often experience an ‘acute’ illness lasting several months. For others — approximately 1.7 million Americans and over 250 million people globally — the condition becomes chronic and slowly harms the liver.

Current treatments, including daily medications, lower virus levels and prevent liver damage. However, a complete cure remains difficult because hepatitis B can hide within the body and return when treatment ends.

The new medication targets hepatitis B by attaching to its genetic material, reducing viral reproduction and a crucial protein called the ‘S’ or surface protein, while boosting immune system response, explained GSK vice president Melanie Paff.

The clinical trials involved 1,838 participants who received either weekly bepi injections or placebo shots for six months, alongside their standard medications. Patients whose virus became undetectable for six months after stopping injections could also discontinue their regular pills. Approximately 20% of bepi recipients maintained undetectable virus levels for an additional six months after ending all treatment — achieving that ‘functional cure’ — while no placebo recipients accomplished this outcome, researchers found.

Participants who began the study with lower S protein levels showed slightly better chances of achieving functional cure, Lim noted. He continues researching why only certain individuals respond to treatment.

Regarding the duration of functional cure, GSK has monitored a small group of patients from earlier studies and found most continue doing well up to three years later, Paff reported.

Lim described side effects as mild injection site redness or pain and temporary increases in enzymes that may signal liver stress.

Lok, the Michigan hepatitis specialist, pointed out the trials excluded patients with cirrhosis, elevated S protein levels or other complicating conditions.

A British pharmaceutical company announced Thursday that its experimental treatment for chronic hepatitis B demonstrated promising results in advanced clinical trials, with nearly 20% of participants achieving what researchers call a functional cure.

GSK shared comprehensive results from two clinical studies of bepirovirsen during a medical conference presentation on Thursday.

The treatment represents a cornerstone of GSK’s strategy to reach annual revenues exceeding £40 billion ($54 billion) by 2031. Company officials project the medication could generate peak yearly sales surpassing £2 billion.

According to GSK’s findings, a six-month treatment regimen with bepirovirsen enabled 19% of participants who began with surface antigen concentrations of 3,000 international units per millilitre (IU/ml) or lower to reach a functional cure. This classification requires patients to remain treatment-free for a minimum of six months while maintaining hepatitis B virus DNA and surface antigen levels below detectable thresholds.

Success rates increased to 26% among participants whose initial surface antigen levels measured 1,000 IU/ml or below.

Industry experts had previously suggested that response rates between 15% and 20% would represent meaningful progress and could lead to widespread clinical adoption.

Worldwide, more than 250 million individuals suffer from chronic hepatitis B, while existing standard treatments enable only 1% to 4% of patients to eliminate the virus for extended periods.

Current widely-prescribed nucleotide analogues typically require lifetime administration and control viral activity without completely removing it from patients’ systems.

“To have six months of injections to achieve functional cure of this magnitude … is, to me, a great advance in the management of my patients,” said Dr. Seng Gee Lim, lead investigator of the studies.

Dr. Lim noted that participants generally responded well to the medication, with most adverse reactions consisting of minor irritation at injection sites.

GSK has submitted applications for regulatory clearance of bepirovirsen to authorities in the U.S., Japan, China and Europe. The U.S. regulator is scheduled to announce its decision by October 26.

French officials announced Thursday that the country will begin covering the cost of weight-loss medications for patients with severe obesity starting in mid-June, according to Health Minister Stephanie Rist speaking with TF1 channel.

The injectable treatments Wegovy from Novo Nordisk and Mounjaro from Eli Lilly have become widely recognized around the world as effective anti-obesity medications.

Officials are completing final preparations for the reimbursement program, which is scheduled to take effect by mid-June. The coverage will apply to patients who have a body mass index of 35 or higher along with at least one additional health condition, or those with a BMI of 40 or above regardless of other medical issues.

As many as one million individuals could qualify for the cost coverage, though prescriptions will remain up to individual physicians’ judgment. The reimbursement rate will be set at 65%, but Rist noted that most qualifying patients will receive complete coverage because of their existing health complications.

The health minister projects the program will cost the government approximately €100 million annually once fully implemented. Currently, French patients spend about €300 monthly for these medications.

Fresh data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that roughly 8% of Americans went without health insurance coverage during 2025, maintaining similar levels from the previous year.

The survey findings, made public Thursday, indicate the nationwide uninsured rate continues to remain well below levels seen in past years, though experts warn that upcoming policy shifts under the current administration may cause those numbers to climb.

Major revisions to Medicaid — the federal safety-net program serving Americans with lower incomes — that became law in the previous year may leave an additional 10 million people without coverage over the next ten years, based on projections from the Congressional Budget Office.

Additionally, the end of specific Affordable Care Act subsidies this year — which previously helped reduce premium expenses — is also leading to decreased enrollment in marketplace insurance options. The healthcare research organization KFF projects approximately 5 million fewer Americans will sign up for these plans in 2026 when compared to 2025 enrollment figures.

Federal agencies use various methods to monitor insurance coverage among Americans, which can produce different results based on timing and how questions are asked. According to David Howard, a health policy and management professor at Emory University, many experts view the U.S. Census Bureau as “the official scorekeeper.”

However, the CDC survey data aligns closely with census findings and provides the first comprehensive information covering all of 2025 — marking the initial year of President Donald Trump’s return to office.

The current administration has worked to broaden availability of lower-cost catastrophic health plans and reduce medication costs for uninsured Americans. Officials have also indicated that anticipated drops in insurance enrollment reflect the removal of fraudulent and ineligible participants rather than qualified citizens.

While the percentage of insured versus uninsured Americans remained essentially unchanged in 2025 compared to the prior year, the total number of uninsured individuals increased by roughly 800,000 — including 300,000 children. This growth reflects the expanding U.S. population overall.

The survey data also points to a potential increase in insurance coverage among Hispanic Americans. However, Howard noted this might partially result from the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts, if uninsured individuals within this demographic departed the country.

The majority of Americans aged 65 and above receive health coverage through the federal Medicare system. Younger Americans face a different situation, with many relying on various combinations of government and private insurance programs.

Uninsured rates among Americans under 65 climbed during the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s — jumping from 12% in 1980 to over 18% by 2010. These numbers declined after the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010, which broadened Medicaid eligibility and created new pathways for affordable health coverage.

By 2016, the rate had dropped to nearly 10%, then increased to 11-12% during the first administration under President Trump, according to historical data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought another decline in uninsured rates, as government measures helped maintain coverage during pandemic-related disruptions. The rate reached a historic low in 2023, falling beneath 9%.

Australian health officials announced Thursday they are adding more time to the isolation period for six cruise ship passengers who returned home following a hantavirus outbreak aboard their vessel.

The group, which includes four Australian citizens, one permanent resident, and one New Zealand resident, has been staying at an isolation facility near Perth in Western Australia since their return on May 15.

Originally scheduled to complete their quarantine on June 5, the passengers will now remain in isolation until June 23 – bringing their total quarantine time to 42 days. The decision came after recommendations from health authorities.

Health Minister Mark Butler confirmed the passengers have been notified of the government’s decision to extend their stay.

“The passengers have been informed about the advice and the decision of government. I’m happy to say they remain well,” Butler said.

The travelers were aboard a Dutch-flagged luxury cruise vessel when the hantavirus outbreak occurred, prompting their repatriation and subsequent quarantine measures.

A Pennsylvania-based manufacturing company has issued a voluntary recall of specific batches of popular chocolate-covered snacks due to potential allergen contamination.

Bazzini, LLC, located in Allentown, PA, which serves as a co-manufacturer for the SkinnyDipped brand, announced the recall of select cases of SkinnyDipped Dark Chocolate Coconut Almond Bites. The company took this precautionary step after discovering the products may contain peanuts that were not listed on the packaging.

The recall affects only a small number of product cases and was initiated out of an abundance of caution. Individuals with peanut allergies could face serious health risks if they consume the affected products.

A New Jersey-based frozen treat manufacturer has issued a voluntary product recall due to potential allergen contamination. DE DIOS’S ICE POPS II LLC, located in Paterson, New Jersey, is pulling 3.7-ounce packages of popsicles from shelves because the products may contain undisclosed ingredients including milk, pecans, pistachios, and food dyes Yellow #5 and Red #40.

The recall poses particular concern for individuals with allergies to these specific ingredients, as the substances were not properly declared on product packaging. Consumers who have purchased these frozen treats and have known sensitivities to any of the listed allergens are advised to avoid consumption.

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal officials announced Wednesday that the Trump administration intends to establish a medical facility in Kenya to treat Americans who have been exposed to Ebola, rather than transporting them back to the United States.

According to an administration official who spoke anonymously about the government’s strategy, the quarantine and medical treatment center will be established through a joint effort by the Departments of Defense, State and Health and Human Services. The facility is intended to serve Ebola patients who must leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo and require immediate medical attention, the official explained. This approach would eliminate the need for patients to endure lengthy medical evacuations lasting several hours to reach the U.S.

Details remain unclear about the specific location within Kenya where the new medical center will be constructed, and it’s unknown whether Kenya’s government has approved the proposal.

The official indicated that the facility will have the capability to treat patients across the complete range of Ebola symptoms, describing it as a rare but serious disease that frequently proves deadly. However, they noted that patients might be moved to other locations for more specialized treatment when necessary.

Medical officials in Congo are working to control an outbreak that the World Health Organization describes as overwhelming their response efforts. The situation became more complicated after the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola was identified several weeks after initial detection, as testing had initially focused on a more commonly occurring variant.

Eastern Congo is approaching nearly 1,000 suspected Ebola cases, with a minimum of 220 suspected fatalities. Congo’s health ministry reported Tuesday that 101 cases have received confirmation and officials are investigating more than 3,000 potential contacts.

The response effort faces significant obstacles, including security threats from armed groups operating in eastern Congo, large populations of displaced residents, and inadequate infrastructure.

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Officials in Uganda announced Wednesday they are immediately shutting down their nation’s border with Congo as an uncommon strain of Ebola continues spreading rapidly in the neighboring country and new infections appear domestically.

The decision came from a regional Ebola response team headed by Vice President Jesca Alupo following increased exposure of Ugandan medical personnel to the disease through Congolese patients who had entered the country before officials announced the outbreak on May 15.

The World Health Organization cautioned against such border restrictions in its recent declaration labeling this outbreak a global health emergency, stating that countries should not implement travel or trade limitations. “Such measures are usually implemented out of fear and have no basis in science,” the WHO noted, though it recognized that bordering nations face elevated risks.

The WHO further warned: “They push the movement of people and goods to informal border crossings that are not monitored, thus increasing the chances of the spread of disease.” The organization specified that individuals who are infected or have had contact with infected persons should avoid international travel except for medical evacuation purposes.

The Uganda-Congo boundary spans hundreds of miles and includes many unofficial crossing points and walking paths beyond designated checkpoints.

Congolese health officials are working to control an outbreak that the WHO describes as overwhelming their response capabilities, following the delayed identification of the uncommon Bundibugyo strain after initial testing focused on a more typical variant.

Eastern Congo is approaching 1,000 suspected Ebola infections, with no fewer than 220 suspected fatalities. Congo’s health ministry reported Tuesday that 101 infections have been verified, while officials are monitoring more than 3,000 potential contacts.

Response efforts face obstacles including threats from militant groups operating in eastern Congo, large populations of displaced residents, and inadequate infrastructure.

Uganda has documented seven Ebola infections, including an initial case involving a 59-year-old man who passed away in the capital city of Kampala on May 14.

Although Uganda’s Ebola numbers remain relatively stable, exposure among local residents through healthcare workers has been climbing.

“They have families, and so the number has been increasing,” Dr. Diana Atwine, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health, said of health workers.

Border crossings from Congo will only be permitted for emergency situations, including Ebola response activities, freight transport, or security matters, she explained.

She expressed concern about seeing groups of Ugandans gathering to celebrate Arsenal as British Premier League champion. The team has a large following in Uganda.

“I don’t understand,” Atwine said, urging Ugandans to be vigilant, avoid shaking hands and use sanitizer.

The Ugandan government announced Wednesday it will immediately shut down its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo in an emergency effort to prevent the spread of an Ebola outbreak.

Senior health official Diana Atwine announced during a press briefing that the border closure will remain in effect for four weeks as authorities work to contain the deadly virus.

The decision represents a significant step by Uganda’s leadership to protect its population from the neighboring country’s health crisis through strict border control measures.

Patients who have been avoiding colorectal cancer screening due to concerns about colonoscopy or stool testing procedures now have a new alternative, according to updated recommendations released Wednesday by the American Cancer Society.

The medical organization has included Guardant Health’s Shield blood test among its approved screening methods for detecting colorectal cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave its approval to Guardant’s Shield test in 2024, which works by identifying genetic material from tumors that circulates in the bloodstream.

According to the ACS, incorporating Guardant’s Shield blood test as a colorectal cancer detection method “reflects advances in disease detection and a critical shift in public health strategy to expand screening options and lower barriers to access,” as stated in their revised guidelines published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

“We need to increase our emphasis on colorectal cancer as a highly preventable disease as much as a treatable one,” Dr. Robert Smith, ACS vice president and senior author of the updated guideline, said in a statement.

The ACS emphasized that colonoscopy continues to be the preferred method for colorectal cancer screening, as it enables physicians to directly view the colon and rectum.

The revised guidelines also include home-based stool testing options, featuring an improved version of Exact Sciences’ Cologuard and Geneoscopy’s newly developed Colosense test. Both tests search for concealed blood and molecular indicators of cancer.

According to the ACS, stool-based tests show strong accuracy in identifying colorectal cancer and reasonable effectiveness in finding advanced precancerous growths.

While the blood test demonstrates excellent precision in identifying advanced cancers, it shows lower effectiveness than stool tests in finding precancerous growths and early-stage cancers. The ACS therefore suggests it only for people who refuse or fail to complete the recommended screening methods.

The organization has consistently emphasized that the best screening test is whichever one patients actually undergo.

Both stool and blood testing require more regular scheduling than colonoscopy, and any positive findings necessitate immediate colonoscopy follow-up to finalize the screening process, according to the ACS.

The guidelines maintain the existing recommendation that adults with average risk should begin colorectal screening at age 45 and continue until age 75 for individuals with more than 10 years of life expectancy.

Guardant reported that one-third of eligible Americans have not undergone colorectal cancer screening, and most fatalities from the disease occur among unscreened individuals.

By incorporating a blood testing option, “the new guidelines create another opportunity to reach patients who might otherwise go unscreened,” Guardant said.

The organization noted that neither stool nor blood tests are appropriate for individuals considered high-risk for the disease.

A Christian relief organization is moving forward with plans to establish a 50-bed medical facility to treat Ebola patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo within the next week, according to the group’s leader.

The World Health Organization has classified the current outbreak of the uncommon Bundibugyo strain of Ebola as a public health emergency of international concern. No approved vaccines or treatments exist for this particular strain. Healthcare workers responding to the crisis are dealing with equipment shortages and violent incidents targeting their operations, including protesters who burned patient tents in Rwamparaek in Ituri province last week.

Franklin Graham, President of Samaritan’s Purse, expressed confidence about security measures for their planned facility during a Tuesday interview. “We have a lot more security available to us in Bunia, so we feel confident that we will be okay from those type of attacks,” Graham stated, referencing the provincial capital where the center will be located.

Graham noted that his organization previously assisted during Congo’s 2018-2020 outbreak and plans to collaborate with local religious communities while distributing educational materials to build trust and inform residents.

Equipment for the treatment center, including power generators and cooling systems for patients and medical staff wearing full protective equipment, is scheduled to reach Ituri on Wednesday. Graham described the scope of the project, saying “You’re building a small town.”

Australian health authorities announced Wednesday that they received notice from Seqirus, the vaccine division of pharmaceutical company CSL, regarding plans to gradually halt production of Benpen injection medications for business-related reasons.

The medication contains benzylpenicillin sodium as its primary component, which serves as an injectable antibiotic commonly administered to prevent bacterial infections after surgical procedures and various other medical treatments.

The vaccine division informed Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration that the phase-out process will begin with the 600 milligrams strength variant starting November 30, 2026.

“The discontinuations are due to commercial decisions and are not related to product safety, quality or effectiveness,” the regulator added.

“Alternative Australian-registered benzylpenicillin sodium injection brands are expected to be available in the future.”

CSL did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for further details.

The Food and Drug Administration has postponed its approval decision for AstraZeneca’s investigational breast cancer medication camizestrant while officials examine additional information, the pharmaceutical company announced Wednesday.

The postponement follows an April meeting where most members of an FDA advisory committee recommended against approving the medication when used alongside CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy. The panel’s concerns centered on how a crucial late-stage clinical study was structured, rather than questions about the drug’s safety or effectiveness.

The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company reported it has provided extra analysis that FDA officials requested to support the medication’s approval application. This includes information about long-term effectiveness results that will be shared at a conference scheduled for June 2.

“We look forward to continuing the dialogue with the FDA in order to bring the benefits of camizestrant with this innovative treatment strategy to eligible patients in the US as quickly as possible,” said Susan Galbraith, a senior executive at AstraZeneca, in a statement.

The camizestrant medication targets patients diagnosed with a particular form of breast cancer where tumors contain a specific genetic mutation.

European regulators took a different approach last week, with the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use endorsing the drug’s approval.

BUNIA, Congo — A massive displacement camp housing 10,000 residents in eastern Congo is battling an Ebola outbreak with severely limited resources: just a single handwashing station and one infrared thermometer.

Camp officials instruct residents to clean their hands before meals using soap when available. Those without soap are told to substitute with oatmeal or sand for hand cleaning.

“My fear is that we are here with nothing to protect ourselves. We have no protection, no water or soap, and we live near garbage,” said Francine Leve Janguzi, a resident of the ISP camp, speaking to reporters while demonstrating a non-functioning water tap surrounded by makeshift shelters.

Emergency supplies are being transported to Ituri province as relief organizations and medical teams work to control the infectious disease outbreak, which has been classified as a global health emergency.

However, emergency responders worry the virus could reach the crowded displacement facilities near Bunia, where thousands live in cramped conditions lacking basic sanitation resources.

“Eastern DRC’s years of conflict and displacement have left health systems on their knees, and that makes containing this outbreak all the harder,” stated Heather Kerr, Congo director with the International Rescue Committee.

Conflict in Ituri has forced nearly one million people from their homes, according to United Nations data.

This means the Ebola crisis is “unfolding in communities already facing insecurity, displacement and fragile healthcare systems,” explained Gabriela Arenas, a regional coordinator at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Most ISP camp residents — named for its location near the Higher Pedagogical Institute, or Institut Superieur Pedagogique in French — fled their villages in Djugu territory after attacks by CODECO, among several armed groups active in the area.

“I’ve been here for eight and a half years. Now we’re hearing about Ebola,” camp resident Janguzi said. “Look at the state of where we’re sleeping. We don’t have any help whatsoever. We don’t have soap or water, yet we’re told to wash our hands regularly and be clean.”

No vaccine or treatment exists for the uncommon Bundibugyo variant of Ebola, which has been circulating undetected for weeks in eastern Congo. Traditional testing methods have difficulty identifying the Bundibugyo strain.

More than 1,000 suspected cases and at least 220 fatalities have been documented through Tuesday, including seven confirmed cases in Uganda. The World Health Organization and field aid groups believe the actual outbreak scope is significantly larger.

Ebola spreads through contact with bodily fluids including vomit, blood or semen. The resulting illness is uncommon but serious and frequently deadly. Signs include fever, headache, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain and unexplained bleeding or bruising.

Eastern Congo has endured years of violence from numerous separate rebel and militant organizations, some connected to foreign nations or the extremist Islamic State group.

The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels control portions of the region. Though the Congolese government maintains general authority over northeastern Ituri Province, the Ebola outbreak’s center, that authority remains fragile. The Allied Democratic Forces, a Ugandan Islamist organization linked to IS, dominates as a rebel group there and conducts violent attacks on civilian populations.

Prior to the outbreak, humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders reported in an evaluation that Ituri’s security situation had deteriorated recently, forcing medical staff to evacuate and creating overwhelmed health centers and “catastrophic conditions” in some areas.

Gérard Maki, a community leader in the camp, told reporters the disease creates tremendous fear. “I’ve learned that there’s no cure, which is why it scares me. … Our government should also do everything possible to find a solution to this disease.”

Health authorities in India have isolated a Ugandan woman in Bengaluru due to concerns over a possible Ebola case, according to reports from local news outlets on Wednesday.

The woman has been placed under quarantine in the Indian city as medical officials investigate the suspected infection.

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian authorities announced Tuesday they will mandate a 21-day quarantine period for visitors arriving from regions experiencing Ebola outbreaks, while also putting a temporary hold on immigration application decisions for people from Congo, South Sudan and Uganda.

Luc Brisebois, director-general for the Centre for Border and Travel Health at the Public Health Agency of Canada, explained the policies are being put in place as an “abundance of caution” and will remain effective through Aug. 29.

Any visitors showing symptoms will be transported to medical facilities for additional evaluation. These enhanced border controls take effect Saturday, with Canadian officials providing isolation accommodations for those who lack suitable quarantine locations.

Canadian authorities also announced that beginning Wednesday, they will suspend final rulings on immigration requests from individuals in outbreak-affected nations for a 90-day period, though this timeframe may be adjusted depending on how the health crisis develops.

The current outbreak is concentrated in northeastern Congo and involves an uncommon strain of Ebola that is overwhelming containment efforts, according to the World Health Organization, which reports over 900 suspected infections and more than 220 fatalities. Relief operations have been stepped up, and WHO officials indicate the outbreak may continue for several months.

Medical device manufacturer Insulet Corporation announced Tuesday it is conducting a voluntary recall of specific insulin pump pods following the discovery of a manufacturing defect that may prevent patients from receiving adequate insulin doses.

The company’s stock price dropped 8% during after-hours trading following the announcement.

Key details of the recall include:

• The recall impacts particular batches of Omnipod 5, Omnipod DASH and the Omnipod Insulin Management System that were distributed throughout the United States and certain international markets.

• The defect, discovered during standard quality monitoring procedures, can create a small rupture in the cannula tubing above the patient’s skin, which may cause insulin to leak out rather than being properly administered.

• Patients might observe moisture or detect the odor of insulin, although the malfunction could potentially remain unnoticed.

• Insufficient insulin delivery can result in elevated blood glucose levels and, in extreme situations, diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially fatal complication.

• This recall is distinct from a previous correction in March 2026 and stems from a separate manufacturing procedure, although both issues involved cannula processing at the company’s Massachusetts manufacturing plant, according to Insulet’s regulatory submission.

• Approximately 7 million pods are covered by this current recall, with roughly 60% already consumed or past their expiration date, accounting for about 8.5% of worldwide pod manufacturing in 2025, the company stated.

• Insulet documented 24 serious adverse reactions, including hospital admissions, but reported no fatalities.

• The company anticipates no interruptions to product supply and estimates related expenses could reach $50 million this year.

A supplement manufacturer based in Deer Park, New York has issued a voluntary recall for two of its green superfood products due to concerns about bacterial contamination.

Total Nutrition Inc. is pulling TNVitamins Ultra Potent Complete Green Superfood and Doctor’s Pride Complete Green Superfood Ultra Potent Moringa Capsules from the market. The recalled products come in 120-count bottles.

The company initiated the recall after discovering the supplements could potentially contain Salmonella bacteria, which poses serious health risks to consumers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is calling for volunteer personnel to help with emergency screening efforts for Ebola at entry points across the United States, according to an internal communication obtained by Reuters on Tuesday.

In an email sent to staff, CDC Acting Director Jay Bhattacharya explained that the agency initiated a Level 2 emergency response on May 18 following an outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The agency is now looking beyond its typical emergency response team as screening operations for certain international travelers increase.

According to CDC guidelines, a Level 2 emergency response represents a moderate level of crisis requiring significant additional personnel to handle response needs.

Enhanced screening procedures have already begun at multiple port health stations and will need more staff members to operate effectively. The agency is requesting volunteers from various departments, including public health advisers, emergency specialists and licensed medical providers, pending approval from their supervisors.

Those who volunteer may be assigned duties such as observing incoming travelers for symptoms of illness, taking temperatures and directing potential cases for additional evaluation, the email indicated.

The current outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of the virus. Ebola is a dangerous and frequently deadly illness spread through direct contact with infected bodily fluids.

The World Health Organization has classified this outbreak of the uncommon Bundibugyo strain as the third-largest Ebola outbreak in history and declared it a public health emergency of international concern.

On Monday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that the rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda was moving faster than response capabilities, reporting the most recent count of suspected fatalities at 220.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — A cruise vessel connected to a fatal hantavirus outbreak must complete extended sanitization procedures before heading back to its home port, according to the company that runs the ship.

Oceanwide Expeditions announced Tuesday in a written statement that the additional work is happening at the recommendation of the GGD local health authority in Rotterdam, the port city where the ship returned early last week. The vessel’s home port is located in nearby Vlissingen in the southern Netherlands.

“Based on their inspection findings, GGD has advised additional cleaning,” the cruise company stated. “Following completion of this work, GGD will conduct a final inspection before the vessel can depart from Rotterdam.”

The company did not provide details about why extended cleaning was necessary, and the health authority did not immediately respond with comments about the reasoning behind the additional requirements.

Yvonne van Duijnhoven, the director of public health in Rotterdam, had indicated when the Hondius docked at the city’s expansive port eight days ago that cleaning and disinfecting the ship would probably require three days.

In a post shared Sunday on X, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported that 12 hantavirus cases and three deaths have been documented by the organization so far, with no fatalities recorded since May 2.

“All passengers and crew remain in quarantine and under close monitoring to ensure they receive care if needed. The situation is stable for now. We continue to remain vigilant and in close contact with all relevant governments,” he stated.

Hantaviruses typically transmit when individuals breathe in contaminated particles from rodent waste. However, the specific hantavirus responsible for this outbreak, known as the Andes virus, might occasionally spread from person to person. Public health authorities indicate that the risk to the broader public from this cruise ship outbreak remains minimal.

Oceanwide Expeditions had earlier stated it did not anticipate any modifications to the Hondius’ operations. The vessel had an Arctic voyage scheduled to depart from Keflavik, Iceland, on May 29. However, in Tuesday’s announcement, the company indicated that “all voyages from 13 June onwards will proceed as scheduled. No further disruption to the sailing schedule of m/v Hondius is expected.”

Brazil’s health regulatory agency Anvisa announced Tuesday that it has cleared EMS’s Ozivy, marking the first semaglutide injection pen approved in the country as the pharmaceutical company seeks to enter a more premium market segment.

The medication contains the same active compound found in Novo Nordisk’s diabetes and weight-loss treatment Ozempic, which lost patent protection in Brazil this past March.

Production of the drug will take place at an EMS facility located in Sao Paulo state, with manufacturing capability reaching as many as 40 million injection pens annually.

The CEO of Grupo NC, EMS’s parent company, had previously informed Reuters in March that the company anticipated bringing semaglutide pens to market during this year.

While regulatory approval has been secured, the medication cannot be sold until Brazil’s medicine pricing authority establishes a maximum price point.

To become part of Brazil’s government-run healthcare program SUS, Ozivy requires additional clearance from the Health Ministry.

Anvisa is currently evaluating five additional synthetic semaglutide submissions along with one biological variant.

Competing pharmaceutical company Hypera had also announced intentions to introduce its own generic semaglutide product this year.

A supplement manufacturer in Missouri has initiated a voluntary recall of certain batches of its moringa capsules following concerns about potential salmonella contamination.

Mogo Moringa LLC, headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri, announced on May 25, 2026, that it is pulling specific lots of its Mogo Moringa Capsules from the market as a precautionary measure.

The company’s recall notice was posted on the FDA’s official website for recalls, market withdrawals, and safety alerts.

Salmonella contamination can pose serious health risks to consumers, particularly those with compromised immune systems, young children, and elderly individuals.

Consumers who have purchased the affected product lots are advised to discontinue use and contact the company for further instructions.

At dance rehearsal in Tucson, Arizona, Carol Ross beams with joy as she calls out choreography steps to her tap and jazz dance company designed for women over 50.

“I’ve been dancing my whole life, it’s the best,” Ross explained. She established the Rodeo City Wreckettes dance group two decades ago when she was 64, an age when most people begin planning for retirement.

Today at 87, Ross and her 89-year-old husband John, who has been her dance companion throughout their marriage, have understood for years what many seniors are just learning: rhythmic movement provides exceptional health advantages. Healthcare experts emphasize that the style doesn’t matter – whether it’s country line dancing, ballroom, salsa, tap, fitness center Zumba, or specialized groups like the Wreckettes.

“Dancing is one of the most powerful activities for older people,” explained Julio Loya, who works as a nurse and coordinates geriatric programs at Tucson Medical Center.

Like other physical activities, dancing helps individuals shed pounds, build strength, decrease chances of falling, enhance movement and flexibility, and boost cognitive function.

“It engages their brain, it changes their mood, and it connects them socially while getting them moving,” Loya noted. “And it’s fun. Everybody has a good time.”

Dr. Tom Johnson, who specializes in aging at the UC Health Seniors Clinic in Aurora, Colorado, recalled a particular patient whose love for dancing was so intense that he pushed himself to participate in one final lesson before passing away in his late 80s.

“His No. 1 priority was that he danced until the day that he died,” Johnson shared about his patient.

Johnson explained that dancing can enhance stability for his clinic patients, which provides care to approximately 2,500 individuals aged 75 and above annually.

He recommends older patients incorporate two to three dance sessions into their weekly 150 minutes of cardiovascular activity, since dancing frequently includes movements that support balance, like stepping backwards or balancing on a single foot.

The Wreckettes rehearse their performances during two-hour sessions at minimum twice weekly in a leased dance space.

Following ballet training in childhood and later exploring various styles from ballroom to tap as an adult, Ross felt it was natural to continue dancing when she and her spouse relocated from Philadelphia to enjoy retirement in Tucson.

John Ross plays an essential role in the Wreckettes’ performances, usually participating with his wife in at least one dance number. During a recent rehearsal, they performed a playful routine to Merle Haggard’s “Let’s Chase Each Other Around the Room.”

“I learned early on that dancing was a great way to attract the chicks,” John Ross quipped, gliding across the studio floor with remarkable agility for his age.

Wreckettes participant Cindy Soffrin shared that witnessing her mother’s decline during aging motivated her to maintain an active lifestyle.

“My mom was sedentary the last 20 years of her life. It was pretty rough,” Soffrin, age 74, revealed.

For 67-year-old Gail Kowalski, becoming a Wreckettes member three years ago provided new friendships following her husband’s death and her relocation from Utah to Tucson.

“Plus, it’s so dang fun,” Kowalski added.

The Wreckettes showcase their talents year-round, from seasonal celebrations to rodeo entertainment, wearing coordinated glittery outfits.

However, they all agree their favorite performances are at retirement facilities for memory care residents. The group members alternate selecting preferred charities to receive their performance fees.

“When we first arrive, people will be distracted or sleeping,” Soffrin observed. “But once the music comes on, they perk up right away.”

A comparable senior women’s dance troupe in Las Vegas, the Vegas Golden Gals, also entertains at retirement communities, according to group president Cheryl Cortez. Their routines feature pompoms.

“I must now know close to 40 routines,” said 69-year-old Cortez. “And that alone has to be great for the memory.”

For those interested in beginning a dance routine, healthcare providers and dance teachers offer these suggestions:

BEFORE STARTING: Consult your healthcare provider before beginning dance or any fitness program. Select something basic initially, such as line dancing instead of complex tango movements.

FIND A CLASS: Contact your local YMCA, parks and recreation department, or senior or community center. Community colleges frequently offer dance instruction, sometimes designed specifically for older adults. Private dance studios and YouTube tutorials provide additional options. If you have Medicare Advantage coverage with Silver Sneakers benefits, inquire whether your local fitness center offers Zumba or other dance classes at no cost.

BEFORE THE SESSION: Wear comfortable clothing that allows easy movement, and complete warm-up exercises and stretching before class.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: Have fun! You are doing great things for your mind and body.

MADRID – Health officials in Spain confirmed Monday that a Spanish citizen quarantined at a Madrid military hospital has contracted hantavirus after being evacuated from a cruise ship earlier this month.

This represents the second confirmed infection among 14 Spanish citizens who were brought to the Spanish island of Tenerife from the luxury vessel MV Hondius. The ship was transporting approximately 150 passengers and crew members from 23 nations when health authorities first notified the World Health Organization about a cluster of serious respiratory infections on May 2.

Following the positive test result, the infected individual was transferred to an isolation ward at Gómez Ulla Hospital, according to the Health Ministry’s announcement on X. Officials emphasized that discovering this case among individuals already under quarantine “does not modify the risk situation” for the general public.

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Healthcare workers battling a deadly Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo are confronting two serious threats: a dangerous virus strain without treatment options and violent attacks from distrustful community members.

Vanny Birungi, who volunteers with the Red Cross in the region, regularly encounters hostility while educating residents about the epidemic. She has been struck with rocks and subjected to verbal harassment in Bunia, the city at the center of the health crisis as suspected infections approach 1,000 cases.

“We continue to tell them that the disease is out there. Some accept, and others don’t,” Birungi said Monday while speaking with community groups in a working-class area under intense heat.

Medical responders face particular danger in this unstable area where local residents have endured years of violence from armed militias that have caused thousands of deaths and mass displacement in recent times.

Building confidence proves difficult among the traumatized community members who remain suspicious of strangers, including those working urgently to stop the rapidly expanding outbreak that health officials say went undetected for weeks. Disease monitoring capabilities have been weakened due to funding reductions from the U.S. and other donors.

“These people should stop bothering us. They just want to get rich. Let’s not forget that Ebola is a white man’s invention,” said Pierre Basola, a 56-year-old Bunia resident, who added: “Stop talking to me anyway.”

Medical facilities have suffered three separate attacks within the past week. On Sunday, hostile young men invaded a hospital caring for Ebola patients, compelling staff to evacuate patients while gunshots echoed nearby.

On Saturday, community members burned down a treatment tent operated by Doctors Without Borders in Mongbwalu that housed suspected and confirmed cases, causing more than a dozen potentially infected individuals to escape. On Thursday, relatives destroyed a facility in Rwampara after being prevented from collecting the remains of a man believed to have died from Ebola.

Community frustration grows as disease prevention protocols prevent families from performing traditional burial ceremonies for loved ones who die from an illness characterized by rapid onset, vomiting and bleeding.

The deadly virus transmits through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected or deceased patients, including perspiration, blood, waste or vomit. Medical professionals say healthcare workers and family caregivers face the greatest infection risk.

“Trust is almost as important as the health response, because if you get this massive distrust in the communities, they’re not going to go to the health centers,” said Heather Kerr, country director for the International Rescue Committee in Congo.

Regional warfare creates additional obstacles. Traveling from Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, to Mongbwalu requires aid organizations to navigate potential violence in an area located more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Congo’s capital, Kinshasa.

The epidemic now includes over 900 suspected cases and more than 220 suspected fatalities, according to World Health Organization director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who spoke Monday.

“We are now playing catch-up with a very fast-moving epidemic,” he said.

Mado Nditamba, a 70-year-old Bunia resident, reported witnessing students fleeing from aid workers.

“The last time Ebola came, it was not on the scale that we see today,” Nditamba said. “But this epidemic today is worse. We go to the doctors in the hospitals, but they also die. That’s what worries us. We don’t know what to do and we leave everything to God.”

Congo has experienced 17 Ebola outbreaks, and the WHO maintains the nation has response capabilities. However, initial testing during this outbreak focused on a more common Ebola variant, resulting in lost time. Health experts continue working to establish when this outbreak started.

Limited testing facilities exist for this Bundibugyo strain in a region where medical clinics rely on generators and a key airport serving humanitarian operations has remained under rebel control for more than a year.

Ground-level health workers have informed the AP they lack adequate preparation and protection. An undetermined number of responders have contracted the infection, with some fatalities reported.

A Congolese physician died Sunday in Rwampara, according to Rubens Dhedgia, who coordinates the regional Ebola response. In nearby Uganda, where a smaller number of cases has emerged after Congolese citizens crossed the border, at least three medical workers have been infected.

Most concerning, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies reports three volunteers died in Mongbwalu after potentially handling bodies on March 27 during non-Ebola related duties.

If verified, this would substantially move back the outbreak timeline from the first confirmed death in late April in Bunia.

While at least one funeral director prepared coffins for sale along a Bunia roadway, health officials noted persistent disbelief among some regional residents who question the virus’s existence.

Action Aid, another international humanitarian organization involved in the response, documented significant skepticism and limited understanding among residents surveyed in mid-May in Ituri province shortly after the outbreak announcement.

“The only way to go, as far as this particular virus is concerned, is community engagement,” said Yakubu Mohammed Saani, country director for Action Aid in Congo.

Methods for improving community relations quickly remain unclear. Both the WHO and Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suspect the outbreak exceeds currently reported case numbers.

The World Health Organization’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced Monday that 220 suspected deaths have been reported in the ongoing Ebola outbreak.

Speaking about the current situation, the WHO leader indicated that late identification of cases has left response teams “playing catch-up” as they work to address the crisis.

Health officials in Uganda confirmed Monday that two additional people have contracted Ebola, pushing the total number of confirmed infections in the country to seven.

Every case connects to an ongoing outbreak in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, which health authorities believe began days or weeks prior to Congo’s official declaration on May 15.

The initial case involved a 59-year-old man from Congo who was hospitalized in Uganda’s capital city on May 11 and passed away three days afterward, before medical staff realized he had contracted the virus. Two additional Congo citizens who received treatment in Uganda subsequently tested positive for the disease.

Uganda’s health department confirmed Saturday that the virus had spread locally for the first time, infecting a driver and medical worker who had contact with the Congo patient who died May 11. Two additional healthcare workers at a private medical facility in the capital have now tested positive, the health ministry announced Monday.

In Congo, the number of suspected cases has surpassed 900, concentrated primarily in the eastern region of Ituri province where the outbreak originated, officials reported Sunday. Efforts to contain the spread have faced significant obstacles including community fear, anger and frustration that have led to attacks on medical facilities, along with public distrust of government officials in an area that has long experienced armed conflict.

International health authorities have classified the outbreak as a global health emergency. The specific strain of Ebola virus causing this outbreak, known as the Bundibugyo type, currently has no authorized vaccine or treatment available.

Health officials in Uganda announced Monday that two additional people have tested positive for Ebola, raising the nation’s confirmed case count to seven.

The latest patients are both healthcare workers employed at a private medical facility in the capital city, and both are Ugandan nationals, according to a statement from the health ministry.

“Both patients have been admitted to the designated treatment unit and are now receiving care,” the ministry said, adding that response teams were tracing all those who had been in contact with the two people.

On Saturday, Ugandan health authorities had announced three additional Ebola cases.

The source of the outbreak is located in the Ituri province of the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, which shares a border with Uganda.

Health officials with the World Health Organization have classified the outbreak of the uncommon Bundibugyo strain of Ebola as a public health emergency of international concern.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported Sunday that the outbreak has generated more than 900 suspected cases to date, with 101 of those being confirmed infections.

The World Health Organization’s top official reported Sunday that health authorities have documented more than 900 suspected Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 101 of those cases receiving laboratory confirmation.

WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the announcement on Sunday, providing an update on the ongoing health situation in the central African nation.

Fire attacks on Ebola treatment facilities in eastern Congo demonstrate how health officials confront multiple severe challenges — including community resistance — while attempting to contain an outbreak of an infectious disease that has been designated a global health emergency.

The destruction of treatment centers in two communities at the outbreak’s center reflects frustration in an area plagued by violence from armed rebel groups, massive population displacement, governmental breakdown and international aid reductions that experts say have weakened health facilities in at-risk communities.

“A devastating set of emergencies are converging,” said the Physicians for Human Rights nonprofit.

Here’s an examination of the ongoing crises in eastern Congo that have created one of the world’s most severe humanitarian disasters, and how they are now impacting efforts to combat a rare strain of Ebola:

Eastern Congo has experienced violence from dozens of different rebel groups for years, some with connections to foreign nations or Islamic State.

The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels maintain control over portions of the region. Although the Congolese government retains significant control over northeastern Ituri Province, where the Ebola outbreak is centered, that authority remains fragile. The Allied Democratic Forces, a Ugandan Islamist organization connected to Islamic State, ranks among the dominant rebel groups there and has conducted violent attacks on civilian populations.

Prior to the outbreak, Doctors Without Borders reported in their evaluation of Ituri’s situation that security had deteriorated recently, forcing medical personnel to evacuate and creating overwhelmed healthcare facilities with “catastrophic” conditions in certain areas.

Almost 1 million residents in Ituri have been forced from their homes due to conflict, according to the United Nations humanitarian office.

This means the current Ebola outbreak is “unfolding in communities already facing insecurity, displacement and fragile health care systems,” said Gabriela Arenas, Regional Operations Coordinator at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

There’s significant worry that the disease could reach the large displacement camps near the city of Bunia, where initial cases were identified.

Officials have reported over 700 suspected Ebola cases and more than 170 suspected deaths, primarily in Ituri. However, cases have emerged in two additional eastern provinces, North Kivu and South Kivu, where M23 maintains control, and also in neighboring Uganda.

This means portions of the Congo outbreak are being handled by the government while other areas are managed by rebel authorities, with various aid organizations providing assistance.

Health experts indicate that international aid reductions last year by the United States and other wealthy countries were catastrophic for eastern Congo due to its numerous challenges.

The reductions “reduced the capacity to detect and respond to infectious disease outbreaks,” said Thomas McHale, public health director at Physicians for Human Rights. Congo has experienced more than a dozen previous Ebola outbreaks.

Relief organizations combating this outbreak report lacking necessary equipment, including face shields and protective suits for health workers, testing supplies, and body bags plus other materials required to safely handle victims’ remains, which can be extremely contagious.

“We have made requests to different partners, but we have not yet really received anything,” said Julienne Lusenge, president of Women’s Solidarity for Inclusive Peace and Development, an aid group operating a small hospital near Bunia.

“We only have hand sanitizer and a few masks for the nurses.”

The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus causing the outbreak has no approved vaccine or treatment.

The destruction of two treatment centers by residents in the Rwampara and Mongbwalu areas — which report the highest case numbers — demonstrates how community opposition is further hampering response efforts.

Colin Thomas-Jensen, director of impact at the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, suggested the attacks may reflect the “built-in skepticism and anger” of eastern Congo residents regarding how their region has been handled, enduring years of violence from foreign-connected rebel groups and failures by their government and international peacekeepers to provide protection.

Another source of frustration involves strict procedures surrounding burial of suspected Ebola victims, which authorities are overseeing wherever possible to prevent additional disease transmission when families handle bodies and people gather for funerals.

The initial burning of an Ebola center in Rwampara involved local youth attempting to recover their deceased friend’s body, according to witnesses and police. The witnesses reported the crowd accused the foreign aid organization of deceiving them about Ebola.

Officials in northeastern Congo have prohibited funeral wakes and gatherings exceeding 50 people to limit transmission, with armed soldiers and police now protecting some burials conducted by aid workers.

Breta Meria Conole spent over twenty years confined in a state mental health facility. Yet the circumstances behind her lengthy stay remain an unsolved puzzle for her family.

Debby Hannigan, Conole’s great grandniece, spent years attempting to obtain her ancestor’s medical files, believing they could provide insight into hereditary mental health conditions affecting her family, including her eldest daughter’s struggle with depression.

Hannigan made two separate requests to New York state for the documents. During her second attempt, she provided a letter from her daughter’s therapist stating the information would assist them “to know their family medical history better.” Both requests were denied.

This situation reflects a widespread problem.

Family members across the country have been advocating for legislative changes in New York and elsewhere that would permit access to mental health documentation of ancestors who died long ago. These efforts have led to policy modifications in certain states, including Massachusetts and Washington, though progress remains sluggish or nonexistent in other areas.

“It really does piss me off that we couldn’t just say, ‘Hey, we’re the descendants, here’s the proof, now tell us what you know!’” expressed Doug Clarke of Alfred, New York, who was unsuccessful in obtaining his great-grandfather’s records. These documents could potentially explain the depression and bipolar syndrome present in his family’s current generation, he noted.

The following examines this issue and current efforts to address it.

During the 1800s, America experienced significant growth in state facilities designed to house individuals with mental illness; by 1890, every state operated at least one such institution. These were termed lunatic or insane asylums, though admission criteria varied widely from “brain fever” and “grief and anxiety” to “laziness,” “religious excitement” and “desertion by husband,” based on historical documentation.

While conditions differed between facilities, certain asylums developed reputations as harsh, overcrowded storage facilities where patients faced neglect and physical restraints. These asylums eventually evolved into psychiatric hospitals, though treatment methods didn’t always improve: during the 1900s, they became locations for now-debunked procedures including lobotomies and induced comas.

However, hospital personnel frequently maintained detailed documentation, including comprehensive patient descriptions and symptom records. They also captured photographs and gathered additional materials, according to Dr. Laurence Guttmacher, who previously served as clinical director at Rochester Psychiatric Center, one of New York’s state hospitals.

Documentation at various facilities may have suffered damage, destruction or loss over time. Additionally, remaining records might lack proper organization or cataloging. Nevertheless, substantial information still remains available, Guttmacher explained.

“We had this incredibly rich trove of records” at the Rochester hospital, he stated.

These documents have attracted attention from individuals whose families face ongoing challenges with depression, suicide or related conditions.

“Would you want to know if your grandfather died of a heart attack?” asked Dr. Christine Moutier, chief medical officer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. “It’s information that you can use to understand how vigilant to be.”

Countless patients died within state hospitals, with some buried in graves lacking identification markers. Certain families have been unable to determine when a relative passed away, much less the cause, said Alexandra Lord, a historian currently writing about suicide within her own family. She encountered difficulties accessing New York state documentation regarding her great-grandmother.

Guttmacher noted: “About twice a month I would get a request from a family member to get access to records, to try to learn the story of their families.” State authorities informed him he was prohibited from sharing such information.

Federal legislation passed in 1996 safeguards individual patient health information privacy, including diagnostic details and treatment received. This law, called HIPAA, maintains health information protection for five decades following death.

Various states maintain comparable regulations. Ohio legislation permits the nearest living family member of a deceased patient to request state mental health facility records, and anyone may request them fifty years after patient death. Maine similarly provides relatively straightforward access to records from that time period.

However, numerous other states maintain stricter policies. New York permits such records to remain sealed “in perpetuity,” according to a statement from New York’s Office of Mental Health. Documents may be released to patients and immediate family members, though typically not to more distant relatives. They have also been shared with medical professionals “with a justification,” and with historians who commit to not identifying individual patients, state officials indicate.

Massachusetts maintained similar restrictions, but advocacy efforts resulted in new legislation last year making state hospital records public after seventy-five years, plus records for individuals deceased at least fifty years.

This modification followed a commission report discussing state institutions’ history of mistreatment and neglect, including patient sterilizations at a Monson state hospital. Commission member Alex Green characterized the state’s record nondisclosure as a “cover-up” of decades of abuse endured by disabled individuals.

Currently, some are working toward changing New York’s legislation. This year, state Sen. Pat Fahy proposed a bill classifying records and information about patients deceased fifty years or longer as historical documents — removing them from privacy protection requirements.

Fahy highlighted New York’s psychiatric facilities’ own troubled past. She referenced the Willowbrook State School, a Staten Island facility where developmentally disabled children previously lived under terrible conditions.

“If the person is deceased, there should be an availability of these records to help give the family closure,” stated Fahy, a Democrat from the Albany area. “Learning from our history is one of the best ways to give us insight into how we do better in the future.”

Families do possess alternative pathways to information regarding ancestors’ mental health backgrounds, historians note.

Online platforms such as Ancestry.com offer — for a fee — access to historical records, including census data that can reveal whether someone resided in a state institution during census periods.

Veterans’ military pension files have included mental health information.

Historical newspapers contained numerous items about local residents, including when individuals were committed to state institutions.

There may be significantly more people interested in family mental health history than commonly understood, said Ryan Thibodeau, a St. John Fisher University researcher involved in efforts to modify New York’s law. During the 1950s, at America’s institutionalization peak, over 500,000 people resided in state hospitals.

“Their descendants are everywhere,” he observed.

A company has issued a nationwide recall for a chocolate product after federal regulators discovered it contained an undisclosed prescription drug ingredient.

JXK Enterprises, Inc announced it is voluntarily pulling Boner Bears Chocolate from the market following notification that FDA laboratory testing found sildenafil in the product. Sildenafil is the active pharmaceutical ingredient found in the prescription medication Viagra.

The recall specifically affects Lot #BB21125 of the chocolate product. The company stated the sildenafil was not disclosed anywhere on the product’s labeling.

The FDA laboratory analysis that confirmed the presence of the prescription drug ingredient prompted the company’s decision to voluntarily remove the product from distribution.

A beverage manufacturing company based in Cerritos, California has issued a recall for specialty drink products due to concerns about possible salmonella contamination.

SKS Copack announced the recall after determining the beverages could potentially contain salmonella bacteria, which poses significant health risks to consumers. The contamination could lead to severe and potentially life-threatening infections, with the greatest danger to young children, elderly individuals, and people with compromised immune systems.

Health officials warn that salmonella infections can be particularly serious for vulnerable populations, including those with weakened immunity who face higher risks of severe complications from the bacterial contamination.

Federal health authorities announced Saturday they are expanding enhanced Ebola screening procedures to include Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for U.S. citizens returning from three African countries affected by the viral outbreak.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Americans traveling back from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan now have two airports where they can enter the United States under the enhanced screening protocols.

According to the CDC, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has experience conducting passenger screenings and already has the necessary operational systems ready to implement. Earlier this week, officials had designated Washington’s Dulles International Airport as the initial screening location for returning citizens who may have been exposed to the Ebola virus.

The enhanced health screening at entry points represents just one part of the CDC’s comprehensive strategy to prevent Ebola transmission, which also involves screening passengers before they leave affected countries overseas, requiring airlines to report illnesses during flights, and monitoring people’s health after they arrive in the United States.

According to the World Health Organization’s latest figures, health officials have verified 82 Ebola cases in the DRC so far, resulting in seven confirmed fatalities and 177 suspected deaths. Nearly 750 additional suspected cases are connected to the Bundibugyo strain of the virus.

The Trump administration implemented additional restrictions earlier this week, prohibiting non-U.S. citizens who have recently visited the DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan from entering the country.

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — An Ebola treatment facility in eastern Congo was torched for the second time this week, allowing 18 suspected patients to flee into the surrounding community, according to a local medical official who spoke Saturday.

Unknown attackers targeted the medical tent in Mongbwalu, a community at the epicenter of the Bundibugyo virus outbreak, on Friday evening. The facility had been established by the Doctors Without Borders organization to care for both confirmed and suspected Ebola patients, according to Dr. Richard Lokudi, who heads the Mongbwalu General Reference Hospital.

“We strongly condemn this act, as it caused panic among the staff of the Mongbwalu Referral Hospital and also resulted in the escape of 18 suspected cases into the community,” he stated.

Earlier this week on Thursday, attackers destroyed another medical facility in Rwampara after relatives were denied access to recover a deceased local resident’s remains.

Corpses of Ebola victims carry extremely high infection risks and can trigger additional transmission when communities handle them during traditional burial preparations and funeral ceremonies. Health officials are taking control of burial procedures for suspected victims whenever feasible, though this approach often sparks resistance from grieving families and community members.

Security forces provided protection for an Ebola victim’s burial ceremony in Bunia, another community within the affected region, on Saturday as friction escalated between medical personnel and local residents.

Regional officials in northeastern Congo implemented restrictions Friday prohibiting funeral vigils and assemblies exceeding 50 participants to limit viral transmission. The World Health Organization elevated the outbreak’s threat level to “very high” risk for Congo — an increase from the previous “high” designation — while maintaining that global spread probability remains minimal.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced Friday that Congo has recorded 82 confirmed infections and seven fatalities, though he believes the actual outbreak scope is “much larger.”

No vaccine exists for the Bundibugyo strain, which circulated undetected for weeks throughout Congo’s Ituri province after the initial known fatality while health officials tested for a different, more prevalent Ebola variant and received negative results. Current tallies show 750 suspected infections and 177 suspected fatalities, with numbers expected to climb as monitoring efforts expand.

Dr. Jean Kaseya, who leads the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, emphasized that outbreak response efforts must prioritize establishing community trust.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies announced Saturday that three volunteers perished from the outbreak in Mongbwalu. The organization believes these healthcare workers became infected during body handling duties on March 27 while participating in a humanitarian operation unconnected to Ebola response.

This revelation would substantially move back the outbreak timeline from the previously identified first confirmed death in late April in Bunia, Ituri’s capital city.

Health officials in Bangladesh announced Saturday that the country is facing one of its most devastating measles outbreaks in decades, with at least 86 children confirmed dead from the disease this year and an additional 426 deaths showing symptoms matching measles.

The rapid spread of infections has pushed hospitals beyond capacity and created enormous pressure on the nation’s already weakened healthcare infrastructure, with rural areas and crowded low-income neighborhoods bearing the heaviest burden.

According to information released by the Directorate General of Health Services, medical authorities have documented 62,507 potential measles cases across the country, along with 8,494 infections verified through laboratory testing, spanning from March 15 through May 23.

Medical experts emphasize that children younger than five face the greatest danger of serious complications and death, especially those who remain unvaccinated or have received incomplete immunization schedules.

Last month, the World Health Organization warned that reduced routine vaccination rates had elevated the possibility of a widespread epidemic.

In response to the crisis, government officials have broadened emergency vaccination efforts combining measles and rubella vaccines, specifically targeting younger children throughout the affected regions.

Officials report they have also sent out emergency response units, enhanced monitoring systems for tracking the disease, and boosted vitamin A distribution efforts to help prevent serious complications.

While measles ranks among the planet’s most easily transmitted illnesses, it remains largely preventable when individuals receive the recommended two-dose vaccination series.

When 5-year-old Calvin Owens ventured outdoors for the first time in over a month, he encountered his four-legged companion Hadley on a hospital courtyard. Connected to medical equipment through various wires and tubes, the young patient still found the strength to rise from his wheelchair briefly to throw a ball for her.

His face lit up watching her retrieve it. Medical staff applauded the moment.

“Look how good you’re doing!” encouraged Hadley’s handler, Schellie Scott.

These meaningful breakthroughs and joyful instances occur regularly when Hadley or her three fellow facility dogs at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital make their rounds. These four-legged healthcare workers differ from typical volunteer therapy dogs that visit hospitals for patient comfort. They receive extensive specialized training and work full-time schedules, offering emotional assistance during difficult medical procedures, encouraging physical activity, and helping make hospital environments feel less intimidating. Healthcare professionals report these programs are expanding rapidly at pediatric medical centers nationwide.

Growing scientific evidence demonstrates that brief encounters with facility dogs can enhance children’s general wellness, lessen their pain perception, and diminish stress indicators including cortisol concentrations and blood pressure readings.

“These dogs are making a real difference,” said Kerri Rodriguez, director of the Human-Animal Bond Lab at the University of Arizona. “They can provide a little bit of normalcy, a little bit of comfort, in a really stressful, sterile environment that kids might not feel comfortable in.”

While nobody maintains official statistics on facility dogs working in pediatric hospitals, Rodriguez notes the steady expansion of the annual Facility Dog Summit, where handlers and participants connect professionally. Attendance at this gathering almost doubled between 2024 and 2025. Though other medical facilities employ full-time dogs, healthcare experts indicate children’s hospitals drive most program growth. Canine Assistants, a major Georgia-based nonprofit organization, operates a dedicated pediatric hospital program that has deployed over 80 dogs across the nation.

Canine workers have served for years at facilities including Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital in New York, Norton Children’s in Louisville, Kentucky, and St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Additional programs continue launching regularly. Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Maryland welcomed its initial two facility dogs this past March.

Medical centers typically obtain these animals through nonprofit organizations. Groups like Canine Companions, Cincinnati Children’s dog provider, handle breeding, raising, and training before partnering them with hospital personnel while retaining ownership. The dogs and their handlers share both living and working arrangements.

While hospitals avoid direct purchase costs for the animals, they cover ongoing expenses including food and medical care, which can accumulate significantly since most are larger breeds such as Labradors or golden retrievers. Medical facilities commonly organize fundraising campaigns or pursue grants to manage these costs.

Healthcare professionals emphasize the clear advantages of these “animal-assisted therapies.” Rodriguez co-authored a 2022 research study examining survey data from 17 pediatric hospitals. Pediatric healthcare workers described how facility dogs offered reassuring companionship, established connections, and created familiar hospital atmospheres for children and families. A 2021 Journal of Pediatric Nursing study determined that animal-assisted interventions benefited pain management and blood pressure control in children and adolescents. Additional research found these therapies decrease anxiety and discomfort while potentially improving cardiovascular and respiratory function.

Facility dogs access more restricted hospital areas than volunteer animals and sometimes focus on specific departments. Opal, one of two St. Louis dogs, divides her schedule between the pediatric behavioral health unit and the child protection program.

Regardless of their work location, maintaining cleanliness remains essential.

Hadley receives baths twice monthly because she operates in the cancer and blood diseases section, where patients may have compromised immune systems. She gets additional baths or special wipe cleanings following potential germ exposure. Handlers utilize easily sanitized leashes and toys, and people must clean their hands before and after dog contact.

When patients require isolation, dogs remain outside their rooms. The single exception occurs when terminally ill children request canine companionship. In such situations, caregivers determine that comfort and fear reduction outweigh infection concerns.

Hadley begins her workday when her handler Scott — whose child life assistant role involves maintaining patients’ normal routines — reaches the hospital. Hadley primarily visits patients but also takes breaks for free play time.

During a recent morning, the Labrador-golden retriever mix ran energetically around a grassy play space with her colleague, Grover. While Grover maintains calm composure, Hadley’s excitement leads her to shake her head while tossing balls to herself.

“Hadley loves life,” Scott said. “Hadley lives big.”

Throughout the hospital, the dogs receive continuous attention. For handlers, “it’s like being the assistant to a famous person,” joked Scott.

Evidence of their celebrity status appears everywhere.

They feature in closed-circuit television programs produced by the hospital and broadcast to patient rooms. Holiday and event-themed dog photographs decorate corridor walls. Special mailboxes allow children to send letters or drawings to the dogs and receive responses.

Patients can collect trading cards featuring each dog with information like breed and birthday, decorate bandanas for their furry friends, or receive small stuffed dogs. Healthcare workers create dog-themed books showing children upcoming procedures or treatments.

Children with extended hospital stays develop close relationships with the dogs.

Aspen Franklin, a 14-year-old battling a serious immune disorder, has visited the hospital since toddlerhood and spent weeks there recently. Sometimes, Hadley has cuddled next to her in bed.

“She has a calming presence,” Aspen said. “That is a comfort to me.”

Like other facility dogs, Hadley also supports families. When Aspen’s younger brother Emory provided cells for her bone marrow transplant, Hadley spent time with him and other visiting siblings.

Having Hadley present “is really nice because they’re away from their animals at home,” said their mom, Brittney Franklin, whose family has two dogs and a cat.

Franklin recently observed Aspen creating art with Hadley. Since the dog couldn’t enter her room so soon after transplant, Aspen applied paint colors to a small canvas and gave it to Scott, who placed it in a plastic bag with peanut butter spread on top. Just outside the room, Hadley enthusiastically licked the surface. Abstract artwork resulted.

Hadley’s following patient was Calvin, the young boy she encountered on the courtyard. Calvin suffers from a rare, severe form of juvenile arthritis and recently underwent bone marrow transplant. Despite only managing to stand briefly at a time, he repeatedly made the effort to play with Hadley.

“He’s such a strong little man,” Scott said.

Following Calvin’s return indoors, Hadley visited 11-year-old Bethany Striggles, who recently completed chemotherapy treatment for bone cancer. The girl threw the ball down the entire hallway length, and Hadley ran joyfully to fetch and gently return it. Bethany rewarded her with an ice pop.

“She helps me exercise more,” Bethany said. “She’s energetic and happy and always likes to see me.”

Eventually, Hadley does become tired. When this occurs, she returns to an office lovingly called her lair, containing treats, toys and a large dog bed.

Above the bed hangs a bulletin board filled with artwork, photographs and messages. One, written on orange construction paper, displays a small, pink handprint and reads: “Thank you for being my BEST FRIEND.”

CINCINNATI (AP) — Specially trained canines are providing comfort and emotional support to young patients at children’s hospitals across the nation, delivering much more than just a friendly greeting. These full-time facility dogs differ from volunteer therapy animals because they receive extensive professional training and can access all hospital areas to assist patients during their entire stay.

According to specialists, children’s hospitals throughout the country are increasingly adopting facility dog programs as ongoing research demonstrates significant advantages for pediatric patients. Research indicates that even short encounters with these animals can enhance overall wellness, reduce anxiety and discomfort, and help young people feel more comfortable in strange medical environments.

At facilities like Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, canines such as Hadley offer emotional comfort during challenging medical procedures, motivate children to remain physically active, and bring a touch of everyday life to the hospital environment. These dogs have become popular throughout the medical centers, with their images displayed in corridors, featured in media appearances, and special mailboxes installed where young patients can leave messages and artwork for their four-legged friends.

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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

Ugandan health authorities announced Saturday that three additional individuals have tested positive for Ebola, raising the nation’s confirmed case total to five.

According to a Health Ministry statement, the newly confirmed patients include a Ugandan driver who had transported the country’s initial confirmed case and a healthcare worker who became exposed to the virus while providing care to that same patient.

The third newly confirmed case involves a Congolese woman, the ministry reported.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A holiday morning email would launch South African disease expert Lucille Blumberg into a medical mystery spanning thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean.

On May 1, while South Africa observed Labor Day, Blumberg received an urgent message from a colleague in the United Kingdom. The message detailed a cruise ship passenger who had been airlifted to a Johannesburg hospital with what appeared to be pneumonia, while additional passengers aboard the vessel were falling ill.

The colleague, responsible for monitoring diseases in remote British territories across the South Atlantic, requested Blumberg’s assistance with the patient, who had been removed from the ship at Ascension Island.

This urgent request thrust Blumberg and her team at South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases into a race against time to solve an outbreak mystery aboard the Dutch cruise vessel MV Hondius.

“Even though it was a public holiday, we moved, we moved really fast,” Blumberg told The Associated Press. “It was busy. There were many conversations. There were online discussions, and there was laboratory testing happening at the time.”

In just 24 hours, the team successfully identified the culprit: hantavirus, an uncommon virus transmitted by rodents.

The elderly British passenger had reached the private Johannesburg medical facility several days prior in critical condition, leaving healthcare providers puzzled about the root cause of his illness.

When he was removed from the vessel, two elderly Dutch travelers aboard the MV Hondius had already perished, though this initially raised minimal concern. Health officials on Ascension Island had notified the World Health Organization about a group of pneumonia-like cases on the ship.

Initially, Blumberg and her team suspected Legionella, the bacteria responsible for Legionnaires’ disease, a severe pneumonia type. Bird flu was another possibility they considered.

“I called my infectious disease colleagues, and we had a caucus, and we discussed the usual ones,” Blumberg said. “Legionella is well described in outbreaks in hotels and on cruise ships, and influenza certainly is. These people had visited islands where avian influenza is well documented.”

However, tests for these conditions returned negative results. The specialists conducted comprehensive testing for various respiratory illnesses, all yielding negative outcomes.

The investigation team then focused on the ship’s origin point — Argentina — and learned that passengers were enthusiastic birdwatchers who had reportedly visited South American regions populated by both birds and rodents.

This information steered the South African disease specialists toward a different possibility: the uncommon hantavirus infection carried by rodents, which occurs in certain South American areas.

“It’s a well-described, not common, but it’s a well-described virus in Chile and Argentina,” Blumberg said. She noted that their investigation benefited from partnerships with hantavirus specialists from South America and the United States, coordinated through the WHO, the U.N. health agency.

“You can get onto a Zoom (call) online and ask your questions and get advice. This is not something every day. So that was quite extraordinary,” Blumberg said.

By Saturday morning, Blumberg contacted the director of South Africa’s sole laboratory capable of hantavirus testing.

“I said, we want to do hanta, and she said, ‘yeah, I’m coming.’”

Laboratory analysis of the patient’s blood specimens confirmed hantavirus that same afternoon. The team conducted additional testing for verification, Blumberg explained.

These positive results, which also pinpointed the Andes variant of hantavirus, enabled the WHO to notify the cruise ship about the outbreak and make a public announcement. Although hantavirus typically doesn’t spread easily between people, the WHO notes that the Andes strain can transmit from person to person.

The laboratory findings also prompted Blumberg to urgently obtain blood samples from a Dutch woman — among the initial two cruise passengers who died — who had left the ship with her deceased husband’s remains on St. Helena island and traveled to South Africa, where she also passed away.

Postmortem hantavirus testing on her also returned positive.

“It was a bit of a wow moment,” Blumberg said. “And at least once you know what you’re dealing with, it’s much easier to respond.”

The British passenger who became the first confirmed hantavirus case from the cruise is recovering in the hospital, according to South Africa’s health ministry. The vessel has since reached Rotterdam’s Dutch port, where it underwent disinfection and remaining crew members departed.

“I’ve been doing outbreaks for 25 years. That’s what we do. We do them every day,” she said. “I think the important thing was to respond immediately to a question that clearly was urgent and then to take it from there.”

A scenic mountainous region in western Uganda is seeking to distance itself from a deadly virus that bears its name, as health officials worry about stigma from the current Ebola outbreak in neighboring Congo.

The district of Bundibugyo, home to approximately 200,000 residents, became the namesake for a strain of Ebola virus following an outbreak nearly twenty years ago. The region, characterized by steep hills and valleys along Uganda’s border with Congo, is primarily populated by cocoa farmers working the challenging terrain.

What was once known as a picturesque area has gained unwanted global attention due to its connection with the Bundibugyo virus strain, which is currently causing hundreds of infections in eastern Congo. Health authorities report 160 suspected deaths from Ebola across two provinces in the neighboring country.

The virus strain received its name from the November 2007 outbreak in the remote western Uganda location, when scientists determined it was distinct from previously identified Ebola types. Unlike the Sudan strain, first found in what is now South Sudan, or the Zaire variety discovered in present-day Congo in 1976, this new form required its own classification.

Scientists consider the Bundibugyo strain particularly concerning because it remains less studied than other Ebola variants. The virus had been circulating in Congolese communities before health officials identified it as the source of increasing illness cases.

The original 2007 Bundibugyo outbreak resulted in at least 37 deaths before being controlled by year’s end. A smaller second outbreak of the same strain occurred in northeastern Congo in 2012.

Dr. Tom Ksiazek, a University of Texas Medical Branch virologist who led the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention team that first identified the Bundibugyo virus, noted that early case detection in previous outbreaks enabled rapid public health responses.

Currently, while no Ebola cases exist in the Bundibugyo district itself, the ongoing association with the virus strain concerns Ugandan officials. Government spokesman Alan Kasujja has called on international health authorities to clarify that Uganda is not the center of the latest outbreak.

“Bundibugyo is too beautiful to be the name of a disease,” he said on X. “We need to take back its name from this madness.”

The World Health Organization handles virus naming conventions and has shown sensitivity to avoiding terms that could stigmatize communities, as demonstrated when monkeypox was renamed mpox in 2022. However, Ebola strains have traditionally been named for their discovery locations.

Uganda’s health officials, experienced in managing Ebola outbreaks, emphasize that “no Ebola” currently exists in their East African nation. They want WHO to provide more specific information in outbreak updates to avoid confusion.

The country has documented only two cases, both involving Congolese citizens who entered Uganda before Congo officially declared an outbreak on May 15. A 59-year-old man was hospitalized in the capital city of Kampala on May 11 and died three days later. A second patient, a woman about whom authorities have released limited information, is receiving treatment at a different Kampala hospital.

President Yoweri Museveni emphasized Thursday that the outbreak is primarily “on the Congo side,” encouraging tourism officials to counter perceptions that Ebola is spreading within Uganda.

Museveni advised citizens to “stop shaking hands” as a preventive measure and ordered the postponement of an annual religious gathering that draws thousands of pilgrims, including those from Congo, to a Catholic basilica near Kampala by June 3.

Additional protective measures announced Thursday include halting all public transportation and flights between Congo and Uganda.

Dr. Emmanuel Batiibwe, who directed efforts to contain a 2022 Ebola outbreak that killed at least 55 people, warned of high risks from cross-border trade. Preventing the current outbreak from entering Uganda will require “enhanced surveillance at all points of entry,” he said.

Uganda has faced multiple Ebola outbreaks, including a 2000 epidemic that killed more than 200 people and another in Kampala last year.

Existing Ebola vaccines and treatments prove ineffective against the Bundibugyo strain. Health experts emphasize contact tracing, isolation, and proper protective equipment for healthcare workers as crucial prevention strategies.

According to WHO, fruit bats are believed to naturally harbor Ebola viruses. The disease spreads through contact with infected individuals’ bodily fluids or contaminated materials.

Federal health authorities announced Friday they are temporarily prohibiting lawful permanent residents from entering the United States if they have visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda or South Sudan within the past 21 days due to Ebola concerns.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had initially exempted U.S. citizens, nationals and green card holders from a 30-day entry prohibition, but officials now say including permanent residents in the restriction is essential to prevent the virus from reaching American soil.

“Applying this authority to lawful permanent residents for a limited period of time provides a balance between protecting public health and managing emergency response resources,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.

The World Health Organization elevated the risk assessment to “very high” Friday for the uncommon Bundibugyo strain of Ebola potentially becoming a nationwide outbreak in the DRC and has classified the situation there and in Uganda as an emergency of international concern.

Health officials initially implemented the restriction Monday using Title 42 of U.S. public health law, which grants federal health agencies the power to block migrants from entering the nation to halt the transmission of infectious diseases.

Permanent residents have traditionally been protected from U.S. entry limitations. The CDC’s pandemic-era Title 42 directive excluded them, as did various travel restrictions implemented during the Trump administration.

Officials revealed Friday that both fentanyl and methamphetamine were discovered inside a residence where emergency personnel became ill while responding to a suspected overdose incident in a rural New Mexico county.

Three individuals discovered inside the residence on Wednesday lost their lives. A fourth person who was present in the home and one emergency worker who fell ill remained hospitalized as of Friday.

A physician who examined the responders displaying symptoms such as nausea and dizziness determined their condition most closely matched fentanyl exposure. The investigation into the method and cause of the exposure continues.

During a press conference in Albuquerque, University of New Mexico Hospital Chief Medical Officer Steve McLaughlin stated that officials were operating “under the assumption” that fentanyl caused the illness. He described the responders’ symptoms as ranging from mild to moderately severe.

“It’s probably not absorbed through your skin, but it would be absorbed through your eyes, nose, mucous membranes, or if you inhale it,” McLaughlin explained to The Associated Press.

Officials noted during Friday’s briefing that methamphetamine poses notorious toxicity risks upon exposure, while fentanyl presents less danger. The responders who became sick had provided direct medical care to the individuals discovered inside the house located east of Albuquerque, in the rural community of Mountainair.

Over a dozen emergency personnel underwent quarantine and decontamination procedures following their response to the location.

Among the two individuals still receiving hospital treatment Friday, one was discovered unconscious in the residence where the three fatalities occurred. Officials reported receiving the initial call from a coworker of one of the people inside after they failed to appear for work.

New Mexico State Police Chief Matt Broom stated that investigators found no immediate evidence suggesting drug manufacturing operations within the house.

State police announced early in the investigation that no public danger existed and that the unidentified substance was not believed to be airborne.

Officials identified two victims Friday as Mika Rascon, 51, and Georgia Rascon, 49. The third deceased person’s identity remains unreleased, and the cause and manner of all three deaths await determination.

Recorded communications from the Torrance County Fire Dispatch channel on Broadcastify revealed that responders initially received a report about a 60-year-old man who was unconscious but breathing.

Minutes later, a dispatcher announced the presence of three additional people at the location, with two possibly not breathing. Emergency personnel then requested naloxone, the medication used to reverse opioid overdoses. Officials confirmed that naloxone successfully revived one person.

Within an hour of the original emergency call, the dispatch center reported multiple exposures had occurred.

Several emergency responders developed symptoms including coughing, vomiting and dizziness, according to authorities. Hospital officials noted that most responders experienced no symptoms.

Research evidence indicates that fentanyl, a powerful opioid, does not typically cause overdoses through casual skin contact or brief airborne exposure in standard field conditions. Medical experts explain that overdoses require substantial ingestion, injection or inhalation of the drug.

Local residents in Mountainair, a community of fewer than 1,000 people, have expressed concerns about drug use affecting their area and surrounding regions.

According to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, New Mexico ranked fourth nationally for drug overdose death rates in 2024, recording 775 fatalities.

OMAHA, Neb. — Eighteen American travelers who encountered hantavirus exposure aboard the MV Hondius cruise vessel are experiencing warm Nebraska welcome while awaiting word on their quarantine duration at an Omaha medical facility.

Meanwhile, health authorities confirmed a 12th case tied to the vessel on Friday in the Netherlands, as officials continue tracking hundreds of potentially exposed individuals.

Speaking at Friday’s press briefing, the physician overseeing the National Quarantine Unit monitoring the American travelers reported none are displaying symptoms currently. However, Dr. Michael Wadman directed inquiries about whether these 18 individuals must complete the entire 42-day isolation period at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s specialized facility to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC remained silent Friday regarding plans for these travelers, who occupy accommodations resembling hotel suites equipped with personal exercise equipment and compact refrigerators. These quarters feature specialized negative-pressure air systems and waste sterilization technology to prevent germ transmission.

Hantavirus typically spreads through rodent waste and rarely passes between humans. However, the Andes strain identified in this cruise outbreak may occasionally transmit person-to-person. Symptoms typically emerge one to eight weeks following exposure. Officials recommended extended quarantine due to the virus’s incubation timeline.

Wadman explained that upon learning their extended stay duration, travelers began purchasing necessities since health authorities permitted only small plastic bags of personal items when departing the MV Hondius. With luggage left behind, delivery packages began flowing to the quarantine facility after passengers reached Omaha on May 11.

Between twice-daily health screenings, staff at the country’s sole dedicated quarantine facility work to help passengers occupy their time through special dining experiences featuring local food establishments and unique Nebraska specialties like Runzas, plus educational sessions about sandhill crane migrations that draw millions of these magnificent birds statewide each spring.

The quarters include high-speed internet access enabling virtual connections with loved ones. Jake Rosmarin acknowledged occasional loneliness being distant from his fiance in Boston, but says time passes quickly through family calls and creating content for his Facebook and Instagram travel channels. Rosmarin maintains optimism rather than dwelling on nearly another month remaining in isolation.

“Why am I going to harp on those negative aspects? The time’s just gonna go by slow if I kind of harp on the negatives,” he said.

Rosmarin expressed deep gratitude for nurses and physicians from the medical center and neighboring Nebraska Medicine hospital who volunteer at the quarantine facility, starting with deliveries of his preferred Starbucks iced horchata with oat milk and vanilla cold foam.

“They’ve just been amazing. Truly. Truly, truly, truly. I think they’ve gone above and beyond with making sure that we’re comfortable here,” said Rosmarin, who purchased a new mattress topper and pillows plus Mixtiles photos of himself and his fiance for wall decoration to create a homier atmosphere.

Rosmarin and several other passengers unexpectedly left their rooms briefly Sunday evening during a tornado warning for Omaha, maintaining masks and distance while medical personnel wore complete protective gear.

Hospital officials plan serving passengers Runza on Tuesday and Omaha Steaks Thursday next week. Rosmarin ordered a barbecue bacon Runza, combining meat, seasonings and sauce baked within bread. This fast-food chain known for these sandwiches operates almost exclusively statewide, though similar meals elsewhere might be called bierocks.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, who operates a large hog operation, mentioned at Friday’s briefing his hopes to arrange a pork tenderloin meal, provided hospital chefs prepare it properly.

Wadman noted quarantined passengers remain cooperative despite the CDC issuing formal orders this week preventing two from departing the facility.

“I think there’s many that would really like to be home,” Wadman said, though CDC approval before the 42-day period remains unclear. Individual cases will receive separate evaluation.

Twelve individuals worldwide from the MV Hondius have become ill, including one crew member confirmed Friday in the Netherlands. Three cruise passengers died, including a Dutch couple health officials believe were initially exposed while touring South America. No fatalities have occurred since May 2, according to World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“We continue to urge affected countries to monitor all passengers and crew carefully for the remainder of the quarantine period. More than 600 contacts continue to be followed in 30 countries, and a small number of high risk contacts are still being located,” he said.

University of Nebraska President Jeffrey Gold stated new cases will influence public health officials’ quarantine duration decisions, though the CDC controls that timeline.

“Any case, any symptoms, any positive test anywhere gives us more information about the biology of this viral illness. And it as any good scientific approach would be, it influences our decision making,” Gold said.

A U.S. missionary who contracted Ebola is receiving experimental medications designed to combat the virus at a German medical facility, according to American health authorities who spoke Friday.

The rare Bundibugyo variant of Ebola currently spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo has no approved vaccines or established treatments. This outbreak has sickened nearly 750 individuals and claimed 177 lives.

Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declined to reveal the specific medications being administered to the patient, who the Serge Christian mission organization has named as Dr. Peter Stafford, citing medical privacy regulations.

The World Health Organization declared this outbreak a global health emergency and indicated Friday that an experimental antiviral medication called obeldesivir from Gilead Sciences shows potential. WHO estimates vaccine development could require six to nine months.

Thomas Geisbert, an Ebola researcher at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston who contributed to creating Merck’s Ervebo vaccine for Zaire Ebola, has collaborated with Gilead on obeldesivir development.

Geisbert’s team evaluated the Gilead medication against Ebola Zaire and Ebola Sudan strains, along with the related Marburg virus in primate studies, though they haven’t tested it against Bundibugyo.

The medication completely prevented Ebola Sudan infection in test animals and provided 80% to 100% protection against Marburg and Ebola Zaire variants, Geisbert reported to Reuters.

No evidence exists regarding the drug’s effectiveness in patients already showing Ebola symptoms, and it hasn’t been evaluated against the current outbreak’s strain, according to Geisbert.

However, obeldesivir underwent testing in hundreds of COVID patients during advanced clinical trials and demonstrated general safety.

“I think that that’s something that potentially has some utility here,” he said.

Geisbert explained these treatments could serve as temporary measures to control outbreaks while vaccines are being developed.

Gilead representative Ashleigh Koss confirmed the company maintains communication with international and regional health officials, stating that laboratory research suggests obeldesivir should work against this Ebola strain.

An alternative treatment involves an experimental antibody combination designated MBP134, developed by Geisbert alongside Dr. James Crowe from the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center and licensed to San Diego’s Mapp Biopharmaceutical.

Mapp, creator of the ZMAPP antibody treatment used during the 2014-2016 West African Ebola crisis, is partnering with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to provide the treatment for high-risk cases, a U.S. official announced Wednesday.

This antibody mixture, derived from two antibodies found in an Ebola survivor’s blood, aims to combat various Ebola strains including Sudan, Zaire, and Bundibugyo variants.

Geisbert’s research team administered the cocktail to monkeys infected with Bundibugyo, waiting seven days until symptoms appeared before providing the antibody therapy.

“This is mimicking somebody that walks into a clinic,” he explained. “We were able to protect five or six of those from lethal disease, so that was pretty convincing,” he noted, expressing confidence in the product’s potential against Bundibugyo.

Mapp confirmed its collaboration with WHO and other agencies responding to the Congo outbreak. Company president Larry Zeitlin stated via email that he couldn’t reveal whether Americans in Europe are receiving this therapy.