Browsing: Health

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have begun a targeted effort to vaccinate against Ebola in Kisangani, the capital city of Tshopo Province, to help stop the deadliest outbreak in the country’s history. Frontline healthcare workers, emergency responders, and those in direct contact with confirmed cases are being prioritized during the initial stage of distribution. Health Minister Roger Kamba confirmed that the government started using doses of the Ervebo vaccine to protect frontline staff in the eastern provinces affected by the outbreak.

Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have launched a targeted Ebola vaccination effort in Kisangani, the capital of Tshopo Province, to combat the country’s deadliest outbreak of the disease so far. Frontline healthcare workers, emergency response personnel, and those with direct contact with confirmed cases are being prioritized during the initial phase of distribution. Health Minister Roger Kamba confirmed that the government has begun the immunization drive using doses of the Ervebo vaccine to protect frontline personnel working across the affected eastern regions.

EU diagnostic support expands as health authorities respond to the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak.The PCR tests will be sent to the World Health Organization’s Hub for Global Health Emergencies Logistics located in Dubai. WHO will oversee their distribution to regions involved in the Ebola response. PCR testing is key to confirming infections because laboratories can process large amounts of samples with high precision. The tests also work with existing lab infrastructure. Rapid confirmation allows health teams to identify infected individuals, provide proper care and isolation, and conduct contact tracing around confirmed cases.

DR Congo expands its Ebola response as Bundibugyo cases spread across six provinces. The International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision approved the release after the government requested doses from the global Ebola stockpile. WHO announced that 20,000 doses will support a Phase 3 clinical trial focused on Bundibugyo virus disease. The remaining 50,000 doses are designated for frontline and health workers, following current vaccination guidelines. Both WHO and Africa CDC welcomed this allocation, which was announced on Aug. 20. Ervebo holds a license for use during Ebola virus outbreaks, formerly known as Zaire ebolavirus. It has not been approved specifically for Bundibugyo virus disease. Laboratory and animal studies suggest possible cross-protection, but human protection remains unconfirmed. The upcoming clinical trial will evaluate the vaccine’s effectiveness during the outbreak and contribute valuable data for public health decisions. WHO emphasizes that recipients should be informed about known risks, potential benefits, and the vaccine’s current limitations.

Thierno Baldé, the WHO incident manager, emphasized that the three-month goal relies heavily on acquiring necessary resources. The organization has received approximately $69.3 million of the $115 million needed, which is about 60%. Over the past two weeks, teams added more than 400 treatment beds. They also deployed 100 additional epidemiologists and over 500 community health workers for surveillance and contact tracing. The response effort requires vehicles, ambulances, medical supplies, and personnel across the expanding affected regions. Transmission has now reached Bas-Uélé, making it the sixth affected province.

In 2025, the Democratic Republic of the Congo documented 26,064,143 malaria cases. 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, shared these numbers during a campaign launch in Ituri province. Dembo emphasized that malaria remains the country’s most critical public health issue. These new figures highlight a significant disease burden in one of Africa’s most heavily affected nations.

The health emergency in Central Africa is rapidly worsening, according to official reports from international health organizations issued on Friday. The World Health Organization stated that unless swift action is taken to contain community spread and address regional supply chain issues, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ebola outbreak will break all previous death toll records. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the current outbreak’s growth risks exceeding the devastating 2014–2016 West African epidemic, which claimed over 11,000 lives.

The Ebola outbreak in DR Congo has resulted in 1,916 fatalities and confirmed 4,209 cases, official sources report through August 7. The death toll has increased by 29 compared to the previous update, which reported 1,887 deaths. Meanwhile, health officials have identified 595 patients in isolation. Additionally, 828 individuals have recovered from the Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak.

Health officials in Chad have confirmed that a severe waterborne health crisis has led to 13 deaths since late last month, when public alerts were first issued. The Ministry of Public Health of Chad reports updated surveillance data showing that a cholera outbreak has caused 13 fatalities nationwide. Confirmed and suspected cases now total 239. The case fatality rate stands at 5.4 percent, well above international benchmarks for emergency response.

In 2022, obesity was linked to 9,509 deaths in Belgium, accounting for 8.2 percent of the country’s total mortality, according to data from the Belgian public health institute Sciensano. This is the first time public health researchers in Belgium have systematically quantified deaths directly associated with high body mass index (BMI). The report shows that weight-related health issues caused more than one death per hour nationwide. Additionally, the data reveals that high BMI led to over 150,000 years of life lost across all age groups in just one year.