Mpox is back – and in new countries. How can this outbreak be contained?

The public health emergencies in 2022 and 2024 saw the virus reported in 145 countries, but in the new cases children appear particularly affected

A fresh outbreak of mpox in Guinea Bissau – the country’s first – means the virus formerly known as monkey pox is back in the headlines. So what has changed?

Since 2022, there have been almost 190,000 lab-confirmed cases of mpox reported worldwide in 145 countries. Before then, outbreaks of mpox tended to be relatively small and in a handful of African countries, where the viral infection was known to be endemic.

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Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo now deadliest in country’s history

At least 2,325 people have been killed, according to government data, surpassing the death toll from 2018-20 outbreak

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now the deadliest in the country’s history with at least 2,325 people killed, according to government data, surpassing the toll from the 2018-20 outbreak.

Congo’s public health institute said on Sunday that confirmed cases had risen to 4,945, including 101 new cases detected in the previous 24 hours.

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DRC’s fast-growing Ebola outbreak spreads to sixth province

Man dies in Bas-Uele after travelling from Haut-Uele, as head of WHO says outbreak on track to be deadliest ever

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has spread to a sixth province, officials have said, a day after the head of the World Health Organization said the outbreak was on track to surpass the deadliest in history, which killed at least 11,000 people more than a decade ago.

The current outbreak has killed more than 2,100 people out of more than 4,500 cases, according to the latest government figures released on Tuesday. At the same point in the 2014-16 outbreak in west Africa, the previous most deadly outbreak, 755 cases had been recorded, according to WHO data.

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Ebola virus behind massive outbreak in DRC could be mutating, officials say

Cases have passed 4,000 and health watchdog plans to go door to door to find patients in major response escalation

The virus causing a massive outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could be mutating, health officials fear, as confirmed cases pass 4,000.

Africa’s public health watchdog said the time for incremental action was over as they announced plans to scale up every aspect of the response and go “door to door” looking for patients.

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Health worker monitored for Ebola in London hospital after working in DRC

UK resident was evacuated from Democratic Republic of the Congo where there is an outbreak of the disease

A humanitarian worker is being monitored at a specialist hospital in London after potential exposure to the Ebola virus.

The UK resident was medically evacuated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where the worker had been treating patients with the disease, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.

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What will define Elon Musk’s legacy? Doge cuts to USAID Ebola programs

Experts say cuts have hindered the response to DRC’s Ebola outbreak and resulted in ‘significant numbers’ of deaths

Elon Musk has an Ebola problem. SpaceX stock dropped precipitously after its initial public offering, and Tesla faces a wave of lawsuits. But instead of focusing on his companies, Musk has posted frequently on X about the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which he helped dismantle – or, in his words, feed into the woodchipper – last year.

“Elon’s USAID crash-out over the past week has been a thing to behold,” said Jeremy Konyndyk, a former top USAID official who oversaw the agency’s Ebola response in 2014-2015 and the president of Refugees International. “In a way, it’s helpful that Elon is doing this, because it’s putting attention back on the issue of what he did last year.”

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Overseas education project for women and girls axed by UK after two years

The programme, aimed at keeping 1m girls in school across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, withdrawn after aid cuts

A leading higher education programme, aimed at keeping 1 million girls in school across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, has been axed by the British government just two years after it was announced.

The scheme, Strengthening higher education for female empowerment (SHEFE), which was unveiled with some fanfare two years ago by the outgoing Conservative government, had a £45m budget to increase access to higher education for 1 million students worldwide. It has now had its tender withdrawn, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said.

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Whereabouts of nearly 300 people with Ebola unknown in DR Congo

Fears over ‘huge community transmission’ as modelling predicts thousands of deaths in DRC by September

The whereabouts of almost 300 people who have tested positive for Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is unknown, according to Africa’s top public health official.

The humanitarian crisis amid the conflict in the affected areas means more than 1 million people are living in camps to which health workers have no access, Dr Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said on Thursday.

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France confirms first Ebola case in doctor who had worked in DRC

French health ministry says patient’s contacts are being traced and that risk to European public is very low

The first case of Ebola has been confirmed in France, the country’s health ministry has said, in a doctor who had returned from a humanitarian mission to an area affected by the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The patient was transferred to a specialist facility and was in a stable condition, the ministry said in a statement. “All precautionary measures, including the patient’s isolation, were taken upon his arrival in the country, with transfer to the hospital under secure conditions to prevent any risk of contamination.”

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CDC to tap $107m in emergency funding for Ebola response in DRC and Uganda

Number of people infected now tops 1,000 though health officials say the global risk remains low

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will tap $107m in emergency funding for Ebola outbreak response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, officials said on Thursday.

The continued Ebola outbreak in the DRC comes as Canada, Mexico and the US jointly host the Fifa World Cup, attracting visitors from around the world. The officials said the outbreak, now the third largest on record, required “strong immediate support”, but that the global risk remained low.

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Global brands ‘likely’ using mineral that funds rebels accused of atrocities in DRC, investigation finds

Amazon and Sony among firms that may have sourced coltan, used in phones, from supply chains controlled by the M23 rebels, says Global Witness

Leading global brands including Amazon, Ericsson and Sony are “likely” to have sourced minerals linked to a militia accused of widespread sexual violence, summary executions and torture, a new investigation claims.

The companies allegedly, but unknowingly, acquired coltan smuggled from mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that are occupied by the M23 militia, which has committed myriad atrocities in eastern DRC.

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Ebola spread in central Africa could match 2014 record outbreak, US health officials say

Modelling from US CDC shows Ebola spread could be on ‘dangerous trajectory’, but experts warn outbreaks can be very hard to predict

Central Africa’s Ebola outbreak could spread to be similar in scale to the worst outbreak in history, west Africa’s 2014-2016 outbreak that killed more than 11,000 people, according to a new analysis by US health officials.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday published a range of scenarios generated by computer models, from 10,000 cases to more than 20,000. In the west Africa outbreak, more than 28,000 cases were reported.

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DRC Ebola outbreak could have begun as early as January, WHO chief says

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the virus ‘had a big head start’ but that the response was catching up

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could have begun as early as January, the head of the World Health Organization said, giving the virus “a big head start”.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said the response was being hindered by blanket travel restrictions and highlighted high levels of community mistrust and low levels of contact tracing as key concerns.

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WHO calls for community cooperation to contain Ebola outbreak in DRC

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus makes appeal after protests against protocols for handling victims’ bodies in Ituri province

Containing the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo requires community cooperation and is “everybody’s business”, the World Health Organization has said.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the organisation’s director general, made the plea on Sunday during a visit to eastern Congo where some residents have protested against stringent medical protocols for handling victims’ bodies.

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Death of Congolese man renews scrutiny of race relations in Ireland

Yves Sakila died after being restrained by security guards ‘in broad daylight’

Irish authorities have agreed to a second postmortem on the body of a Congolese man who died after being restrained by shop security guards on a Dublin street, prompting an outcry and comparisons to the death of George Floyd.

A forensic pathologist from England is to conduct an independent postmortem this week on Yves Sakila, 35, an alleged shoplifter who was pursued and pinned to the ground in the city centre on 15 May. The police force, An Garda Síochána, is investigating.

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WHO puts Ebola outbreak death rate at ‘huge’ 30-50% as chief arrives in DRC

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calls for ceasefire among armed groups to help avoid deaths from preventable disease

The death rate of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is between 30% and 50%, the World Health Organization has said, as its head arrived in the country to support efforts to contain the disease.

Anaïs Legand, from the WHO’s high threat pathogens team, said the revised death rate estimate is based on confirmed cases. “It’s huge. It means that up to five out of 10 people are likely to die,” Legand told reporters in Geneva.

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Friday briefing: ​What do the cuts in aid mean for the fight against Ebola in the DRC?

In today’s newsletter: As the virus spreads across borders, health workers warn that weakened global support is making a prolonged crisis more likely

Ebola is spreading rapidly in parts of east Africa. The deadly disease, which kills around half of those it infects, is suspected to have claimed the lives of at least 240 people since the outbreak began in Ituri province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo earlier this month.

Public health officials are scrambling to contain the virus in one of the toughest environments: Ituri province, the centre of the crisis, is a mining hub where thousands of people work in close proximity every day, and a conflict zone, with ongoing fighting between rebel groups. Medical facilities are modest, while waves of displaced people are being forced into overcrowded camps to escape fighting, making it even harder to control transmission. The virus has already spread to other regions in eastern DRC and the Ugandan capital Kampala.

UK news | Britain risks a financial hit worth £125bn a year after a rise in the number of young people not in employment or education to more than 1 million.

US-Israel-Iran | Donald Trump has circulated a draft peace agreement for the war with Iran among allies including Israel as both sides try to prevent fresh breaches of the ceasefire escalating out of control.

UK politics | Andy Burnham has rolled back from his previous calls for ministers to scrap a restriction on immigrants claiming benefits as the Makerfield byelection places greater scrutiny on him.

Ukraine | A Russian drone that was part of an overnight attack on Ukraine crashed into an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two people, authorities said, in what an official statement condemned as an “irresponsible escalation” by Moscow.

Climate crisis | Abandoning net zero and drilling for more oil and gas would be a massive setback for the UK and would not help the economy, leading experts have said in response to Tony Blair.

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Spread of Ebola in DRC ‘outpacing’ response efforts, warns WHO

Director general of World Health Organization urges neighbouring countries to take immediate action

The World Health Organization has warned that the Ebola outbreak is outpacing response efforts and countries neighbouring the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are at high risk from the disease.

“We are urgently scaling up operations, but at the moment the epidemic is outpacing us,” said the WHO’s director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as he urged neighbouring countries to take immediate action.

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Suspected Ebola cases in DRC pass 900 as health workers face attacks and shortages

World Health Organization says outbreak poses ‘very high’ risk for Congo, but risk of disease spreading globally remains low

Congolese authorities say that suspected Ebola cases have now passed 900 in the ongoing outbreak in the east of the country.

The Congolese ministry of communication, in a post on X on Sunday, said there were 904 suspected cases and 119 suspected deaths.

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White House pauses removal of detainees to DRC as Ebola outbreak widens

But Trump administration will not return detainees deported to third countries in disease-stricken region

The Trump administration will temporarily pause the removal of refugees to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during a spiraling Ebola outbreak, according to reporting by Politico, but experts say the move won’t help prevent the spread of the disease.

At least one woman is now in limbo after officials moved her to Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, and now say they won’t bring her back because of the Ebola travel ban – despite a judge’s order for her return.

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