Browsing: Health

Health Minister Roger Kamba confirmed that the government initiated the immunization campaign utilizing doses of the Ervebo vaccine to safeguard frontline personnel operating across impacted eastern provinces.

The European Commission has expanded its Ebola response with a €2.1 million purchase of PCR tests for the Bundibugyo virus outbreak. The agreement covers open-platform tests that laboratories can use with existing systems. Shipments are due to start in August as health teams confront a large outbreak centered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and affecting parts of the wider region.

Australian researchers from Adelaide University and the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute have identified a novel molecular switch that drives the spread of aggressive tumors. Published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, the breakthrough study reveals that Australian researchers uncover a promising new way to tackle triple-negative breast cancer by restoring a critical regulatory molecule known as miR-342. The discovery opens new avenues to prevent life-threatening secondary cancers in organs such as the lungs and bones.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo will receive 70,000 Ervebo Ebola vaccine doses as the Bundibugyo outbreak expands. Congolese authorities reported 5,208 confirmed cases and 2,476 deaths as of Aug. 18. The outbreak now affects 56 health zones across six provinces in the east and northeast. Authorities also listed 1,115 recoveries, while 730 patients remained in isolation or hospital care. The International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision approved the release after the government requested doses from the global Ebola stockpile. WHO said 20,000 doses will support a Phase 3 clinical trial focused on Bundibugyo virus disease. The other 50,000 doses will go to frontline and health workers under current vaccination recommendations. WHO and Africa CDC welcomed the allocation, which officials announced on Aug. 20.

The World Health Organization says Congo’s Ebola outbreak can still be contained within three months if response teams receive enough resources. The latest official report recorded 5,021 confirmed cases and 2,378 deaths through Aug. 16. Cases now span 55 health zones across six provinces, while the case fatality ratio has reached 47.4%. The toll makes this the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the country’s history. It is also the second-largest Ebola epidemic recorded globally.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo recorded 26,064,143 malaria cases in 2025. The country also reported 29,938 deaths linked to the disease during the year. Guy Esebe Dembo, deputy director of the National Malaria Control Programme, announced the figures during a campaign launch in Ituri province. Dembo said malaria remains the country’s main public health challenge. The new totals confirm a heavy disease burden across one of Africa’s most malaria-affected countries.

DR Congo’s Ebola outbreak has killed 1,916 people and produced 4,209 confirmed cases, according to official data through Aug. 7. Ituri remains the center of the epidemic, with 3,636 confirmed cases and 1,551 deaths. North Kivu has recorded 470 cases and 315 deaths. Haut Uele has reported 91 cases and 44 deaths, while Tshopo has nine cases and five deaths. South Kivu has recorded three cases and one death. Overall, the outbreak has reached 53 of 140 health zones across the five affected provinces.

Obesity was linked to 9,509 deaths in Belgium during 2022, representing 8.2 percent of total national mortality, according to new data from the Belgian public health institute Sciensano. Marking the first time public health researchers in the country have systematically quantified mortality directly attributable to an elevated body mass index (BMI), the report reveals that weight-related complications caused more than one death per hour nationwide. The statistical findings also show that high BMI resulted in over 150,000 lost years of life across all demographic groups in a single year.

The study will operate at three Canadian sites and enroll about 80 healthy adults. Researchers will assess the vaccine’s safety, tolerability and ability to produce an immune response. The trial will not determine whether the vaccine prevents infection because Phase 1 studies focus on early safety data. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations has committed up to $50 million for preclinical work, the trial and production of additional research doses.

Michigan health officials have confirmed two deaths connected to the state’s 2026 cyclosporiasis outbreak. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported 11,234 cases as of Aug. 3. The state also recorded 193 hospitalizations through July 30. Both patients had serious underlying medical conditions. Officials said cyclosporiasis and dehydration may have affected those conditions, but they released no additional personal information.