涩里番

As World Cup fever rises in the Americas, countries are urged to strengthen measles surveillance and vaccination amid ongoing outbreaks across the region. 

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is showing signs of progress 鈥� but significant challenges remain in testing, surveillance, vaccine development and building community trust. 

96 Global Health NOW: The Cancer Workforce Crisis; and Rallying Political Will to Fight Maternal Mortality June 2, 2026 TOP STORIES Hundreds of women marched in Nairobi yesterday, demanding that Kenya鈥檚 leaders declare a national crisis over gender-based violence and step up investigations into killings and other violence against women. 
  The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations announced funding to fast-track three Ebola Bundibugyo virus vaccine candidates from the University of Oxford, the International Aids Vaccine Initiative, and Moderna. 
  200+ cases of suspected mpox have been reported in Sudan鈥檚 Darfur region; the cases are not yet lab-confirmed, but field reports and images suggest mpox, which could spread rapidly through displaced, malnourished populations.  
   Children born in the summer are less likely to get the annual flu shot and thus are at higher risk of getting the flu, ; autumn babies often have their annual checkup near their birthdays, making it easier for them to get the new flu shot.   IN FOCUS Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta visits a regional cancer center at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital in Mombasa, Kenya, on February 8, 2022. Fred Mutune/Xinhua via Getty The Cancer Workforce Crisis    The shortfall in the global cancer workforce will reach 100 million by 2050, with countries in Africa and Asia hit hardest, . 

• The shortages will include 65 million nurses and 16 million diagnostic specialists in radiology and pathology.  

• Other workers are needed in research, regulatory, and financial support areas.  

• Africa and Asia will need 34 million and 57 million cancer workers, respectively, . 

• The 5-year cancer net survival in 2050 is estimated to be 34% in Africa, 39% in Asia, but +60% in high-income countries, per commission modeling. 

The warning:&苍产蝉辫;鈥淥ur global initiative brings a clear warning: without urgent action to address critical workforce shortages, we risk a cancer crisis unlike anything we鈥檝e seen before,鈥� commission co-lead Hedvig Hricak, of New York鈥檚 Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, told Euronews.    What鈥檚 needed? Better use of the workforce, task-shifting, digital health and AI, an education push, and long-term financing through public鈥損rivate partnerships, said Hricak.      Investment will pay off: 

• Scaling up the workforce would avoid 170 million cancer deaths and lead to economic benefits of $120 trillion between 2030 and 2050, according to the commission鈥檚 modeling.   

• The ROI would be $4 for every $1 invested. 

Rising rates: Cancer incidence is expected to increase from 165 per 100,000 people in 2025 to 200 in 2050, .      Related:     Cancer workforce鈥攁 global crisis 鈥�      A cancer vaccine made just for you. mRNA is back and it's fighting melanoma 鈥�   GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES MATERNAL HEALTH Rallying Political Will to Fight Maternal Mortality   In Birao, a remote town in the Central African Republic, midwives have been laid off, and a former UNFPA-funded 鈥渟afe space鈥� for pregnant women has been shuttered since U.S. severed all funding for the U.N. sexual and reproductive health agency, . 

• UNFPA was the only provider of reproductive health products in Birao鈥攐ne of many towns in sub-Saharan Africa where conflict has made childbirth riskier.


• Nearly two-thirds of maternal deaths worldwide occur in countries affected by conflict or 鈥渇ragility,鈥� per the WHO. 

Change is possible鈥攚ith political will, H.E. Samia Suluhu Hassan and Jean Kaseya , describing an Africa CDC and African Union push to improve maternal survival. 

• Tanzania鈥檚 example: MMR fell by 80% from 556 to 104 deaths per 100,000 live births between the 2015鈥�2016 and 2022 demographic and health surveys. Factors contributing to the drop include expanding emergency obstetric and newborn care facilities, strengthening skilled delivery, and making maternal and child survival a performance issue for leaders at every level. 

The Quote:&苍产蝉辫;鈥淓very preventable death is a tragedy; it is also a signal that a system must be fixed,鈥� write Hassan and Kaseya.  QUICK HITS Inside the Ebola Epicenter, the Virus Rages With Little to Stop It 鈥�     The U.S. Is Winging This Ebola Outbreak 鈥�       Smoke engulfed their cities. Did it make their children sick? 鈥�     Why is Michigan loosening its rules for parents wanting to exempt kids from vaccines? 鈥�     The painful truth about long Covid 鈥�     Better sleep, improved health, happier people: how 鈥榗ool roofs鈥� could help millions avoid deadly heat 鈥� The Guardian    White House seeks to tighten political oversight of grantmaking 鈥�      You鈥檝e got 30 seconds: What scientists need to know before going on air 鈥�   Issue No. 2925
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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The UN health agency in Lebanon is verifying reports of strikes on a hospital in the southern city of Tyre on Monday, amid a concerning rise in attacks on healthcare in the country.

Researchers at 涩里番 are leading two major new Brain Canada-supported platforms to accelerate discovery and improve outcomes for patients living with neurological disorders, as聽.

96 Global Health NOW: Ebola Latest: A Kenyan Quarantine Facility for Americans?; and A Military Legacy of PFAS June 1, 2026 TOP STORIES A daily pill for pancreatic cancer could be a game changer鈥攄oubling survival time with fewer side effects than chemotherapy; patients who took daraxonrasib lived ~13.2 months, compared with 6.6鈥�6.7 months for those who did not, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology鈥檚 annual meeting in Chicago this past weekend.     U.S. President Trump endorsed the CDC鈥檚 reduced schedule of recommended childhood vaccinations in an executive order signed Friday, citing a commitment to 鈥減rotecting religious liberty and parental authority鈥�; the CDC announced the reduction from 17 to 11 recommended vaccines in January.     Ghana鈥檚 parliament approved a strict anti-LGBTQ law on Friday that would punish homosexual relations with up to three years in prison; the bill now awaits President John Mahama鈥檚 signature (a similar bill, passed in 2024, went unsigned by the former president).     Mosquitoes may be able to learn to associate DEET with mealtime, that used a Pavlovian conditioning technique to test the responses of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes exposed to the chemical, challenging assumptions about the use of the gold-standard repellent. IN FOCUS Members of the "U Report Goma" group continue their Ebola prevention and awareness activities at Alanine market in Goma, DRC, on May 29. Jospin Mwisha/AFP via Getty Ebola Latest: A Kenyan Quarantine Facility for Americans? 
  As cases continue to climb in the DRC Ebola outbreak, there is heated debate about U.S. plans for a 鈥渟tate-of-the-art鈥� quarantine facility in Kenya to treat Americans exposed to the virus. 
  A Kenyan high court has temporarily suspended the plans, which a Kenyan constitutional watchdog group said posed an 鈥渋mminent threat to life,鈥� .  

• The group contends that Kenyans had insufficient information about the terms, most of which had come from U.S. sources. 

• Hundreds of youths took to the streets to protest the plan, . 

The facility鈥檚 stated aim is to avoid risks of lengthy medevac travel out of the region. But signed by over a dozen leading human rights advocates says the plan 鈥減oses a threat to US health security and represents a fundamental breach of the government鈥檚 duty of care and the constitutional right of US citizens to return home.鈥� Instead, Americans should have access to biocontainment units already set up in the U.S., they argue. 
  While there is no licensed vaccine or treatment for Bundibugyo Ebola, the situation 鈥渋s not without hope,鈥� WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this weekend at the opening of a new treatment center in Ituri, the center of the outbreak.  

• Four nurses and a lab worker have recovered from the virus in DRC, the WHO confirmed Sunday鈥攈ighlighting the chance of recovery for those diagnosed early and able to access care, .  

Another option on the way? Researchers are fast-tracking an 鈥渦nprecedented鈥� trial of an Ebola post-exposure prophylaxis, .  
  The latest numbers: 

• 1,000+ suspected cases and 200+ deaths have been recorded in less than two weeks, per the AP.  

• Suspected cases are being investigated in Brazil and Italy among travelers returning from Africa. One patient in Brazil has tested negative and is being isolated in a specialized facility, according to Sao Paulo officials, . 

DATA POINT

40 million
鈥斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌斺赌�
Children ages 13鈥�15 use tobacco products, per a WHO call to action shared on World No Tobacco Day, May 31, urging governments worldwide to protect people by banning flavored products; banning advertising, promotion and sponsorship; making indoor public places completely smoke- and vape-free; and stepping up enforcement. 鈥�
  ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH A Military Legacy of PFAS     U.S. military bases have become key battlegrounds in the national reckoning over PFAS, or 鈥渇orever chemicals,鈥� as groundwater contamination from military chemicals has increasingly detrimental impacts on nearby residents, livestock, and wildlife.     New Mexico leading the charge: The state has filed a lawsuit that has now become a test case for 15,000+ PFAS-related lawsuits nationwide. 

• State officials accuse Air Force bases of contaminating nearby reservoirs and groundwater with firefighting foam and other chemicals for years.   

• Researchers and regulators have detected extreme contamination levels in birds and mammals. One farmer was forced to euthanize his entire herd of 3,665 cows after his wells were found to have high levels of PFAS.  

  OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS The Return of Blaming and Shaming in Public Health 鈥�      鈥淐asting Us Aside to Die鈥� 鈥�        In a Vaccine-Skeptical California County, a Potential Playbook To Contain Measles 鈥�  
White House seeks to tighten political oversight of grantmaking 鈥�  
US adult cigarette smoking rate hits another all-time low 鈥�     Cats could help scientists better understand human cancer, study says 鈥�   Issue No. 2924
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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Four nurses who fell ill with Ebola in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been discharged from hospital after recovering from the often-fatal illness that sparked an international health alert. 

Community trust will be decisive in bringing the rapidly evolving Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo under control, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Saturday, as health teams race to contain the emergency that has spread across multiple provinces and into neighbouring Uganda.

Two weeks into the latest deadly Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there are now 906 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including 223 suspected deaths.

Award from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund will open new avenues to preventing and treating pneumonia.聽

96 Global Health NOW: The Long, Strange Journey of Mycetoma Research; and Chicken Pox Parties Make a Comeback Plus: It鈥檚 Not Just Ovation鈥擨t鈥檚 Duration May 28, 2026 TOP STORIES WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for an immediate ceasefire in DRC to help fight the Ebola outbreak there, ; , citing a , reports that the outbreak shows no sign of containment, with almost 1,000 suspected cases.
  A first-of-its-kind experimental hepatitis B drug might offer a 鈥榝unctional cure鈥� for some patients, ; in two Chinese-led trials across 29 countries, ~1 in 5 patients given bepirovirsen (鈥渂epi鈥�) were able to stop treatment without showing signs of the liver virus. 
  Kenya has allocated zero funds to its NTDs project through 2029, leaving millions of Kenyans without structured protection from diseases such as kala-azar, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, and trachoma; last year, the program received 20 million KES (~$153,200) from national public health coffers. 
  1 in 6 patients with COVID-19 go on to develop long Covid鈥攁bout 2X the rate estimated by U.S. health officials, per a Mass General Brigham study of almost 458,000 patients across 58 hospitals.  IN FOCUS: GHN EXCLUSIVE Two women pass by the Mycetoma Research Center in Khartoum, Sudan, before its 2023 destruction during the country鈥檚 civil war. August 5, 2013. Ashraf Shazly. AFP via Getty The Long, Strange Journey of Mycetoma Research     Early in 2024, Ahmed Fahal stood in the shattered shell of the Mycetoma Research Center in Khartoum, Sudan.    The civil war between Sudan鈥檚 Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces erupted on April 15, 2023, and eventually spilled over into Fahal鈥檚 center, leaving it ransacked and looted. 

• The reality overwhelmed Fahal, who has dedicated his career to researching the flesh-eating, bone-destroying neglected disease鈥攁nd caring for its patients. 

• 鈥淚 could not keep my tears, my emotions, and I was really crying, actually, when I saw this,鈥� says Fahal, who founded the center in 1991.   

Better days: The crushing moment had a polar opposite 10 years ago today when the World Health Assembly voted to lift mycetoma from obscurity and . 

• In the 鈥渟ky is the limit鈥� days that followed, Fahal and colleagues anticipated greater recognition for the cruel disease, access to funders, new treatments and diagnostics, and new researchers coming to the field.  

Complicated history:      Only some of those dreams have been realized: The outlook is 鈥渧ery gloomy,鈥� Fahal says, pointing to a lack of funding, research advances, and other issues.      But other researchers see successes:  

• DNDi will start a phase III trial of a new drug by the end of the year. Fosravuconazole needs to be taken once weekly for a year, instead of the current drug鈥檚 twice daily requirement. 

• The field has drawn many more researchers: The Global Mycetoma Working Group now has 200+ members from 36 countries. 

• Wendy van de Sande, at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, and partners in Australia, the U.K., and Germany have screened nearly 10,000 existing drugs to find medications that could be effective against mycetoma.    

The takeaway:&苍产蝉辫;鈥�We are always optimistic because we are scientists. Without optimism, we cannot go far,鈥� says Doudou Sow, who leads mycetoma research at Senegal鈥檚 University Gaston Berger of Saint-Louis.     Related: The Most Neglected Disease 鈥�  
  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES VACCINES Chicken Pox Parties Make a Comeback     Before the varicella vaccine, U.S. parents frequently turned to 鈥渃hickenpox parties,鈥� or planned exposure, to put some control around what was considered an inevitable infection.     Since routine varicella vaccination began in the mid-1990s, U.S. chickenpox cases have dropped ~97%, with major declines in hospitalizations worldwide.   
Yet the rise of vaccine hesitancy and influencers pushing 鈥渘atural immunity鈥� have led to a resurgence of chickenpox parties鈥攎uch to the alarm of physicians. 

• While childhood chickenpox cases are typically mild, the practice was not risk-free: Complications including pneumonia, meningitis, and brain inflammation still affected some children. 

• 鈥淵ou didn't know which kids would get over it and be okay, and which kids would end up in the hospital,鈥� said Jill Morgan with the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. 

  ALMOST FRIDAY DIVERSION It鈥檚 Not Just Ovation鈥擨t鈥檚 Duration
By most standards, getting a 3鈥�5-minute standing ovation would be a clear signifier of success鈥攅nough to make one blush.    But at the Cannes Film Festival? It鈥檚 basically a slap in the face. There, any ovation worth its salt stretches well past the 10-minute mark. And critics are watching closely, : 鈥淚s it sustained? Is it hearty? Is it boisterous?鈥�    Last week, the Spanish film  brought the audience to its feet for an indulgent 20 minutes, .    And since everyone鈥檚 on their feet, let鈥檚 throw in some ovations for global health. The polio vaccine alone deserves at least an hour.  OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS India's drug lifeline to Africa disrupted by Iran war 鈥�      Under President Milei鈥檚 austerity, disabled Argentines risk losing essential services 鈥�     Pleasure, Plague, and Panic: Why Cruise Ship Outbreaks Still Haunt Us 鈥�     Century-long analysis of biosafety incidents identifies strongest predictors of outbreaks, deaths 鈥�     In Flint, Cash for Pregnant Women Leads to Better Outcomes for Babies 鈥�     The largest undocumented disparity in maternal health 鈥�     NSF puts new research grants to top universities on hold 鈥�     Should we reengineer the world's deadliest animal? 鈥�   Issue No. 2923
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) headed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Thursday as the country continues to combat a deadly resurgence of Ebola in its volatile eastern region where instability is rife. 

96 Global Health NOW: Two Days, Two 鈥楢stonishing鈥� Temperatures; and Haitian Mothers Giving Birth in Hiding May 27, 2026 TOP STORIES The Trump administration plans to establish a quarantine and treatment facility in Kenya for U.S. citizens exposed to the Ebola virus or who are at high risk of testing positive, pending approval from the Kenyan government.    Israeli airstrikes on Iran鈥檚 oil depots and a refinery earlier this year emitted almost 30,000 tons of sulphur dioxide that reached as far as China; the pollution, equivalent to the amount produced by a small volcanic eruption, reached levels that could impair lung function, irritate the eyes and throat, and exacerbate asthma or bronchitis.     Artificial outdoor light at night 鈥減owerfully disrupts鈥� the ability of Culex pipiens mosquitoes鈥攖he primary carriers of West Nile virus in the U.S.鈥攖o enter winter dormancy, , extending the mosquito season and giving them more opportunities to bite.  
Climate change is accelerating antibiotic resistance globally,  which found that a 10% global increase in salmonella antibiotic resistance genes between 1940 and 2023 is associated with rising temperatures and altered precipitation patterns.   IN FOCUS A hot weather reminder on the big screen during the Sky Bet Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium. London, May 23. John Walton/PA Images via Getty Two Days, Two 鈥楢stonishing鈥� Temperatures 
The U.K. is experiencing record-breaking temperatures before summer has even started, sending hordes of Britons to pools and beaches and raising concerns about the march of extreme heat in a nation designed for cooler temperatures and where air conditioning can be scarce. 
  Forecasts show that the heat wave was set to make London hotter than Lagos this week, . 

• U.K. officials issued the last Friday. Then, temperatures in London reached nearly 95掳F (34.8掳C) Monday, a provisional record that was broken on Tuesday when they reached 95.2掳F (35.1掳C). 

France and Spain are also experiencing unusually early heat waves, and temperatures in Europe 鈥攔aising the risk of a chikungunya resurgence on the continent, .
  The soaring temperatures came on the heels of a , warning that the country鈥檚 climate adaptation plans thus far have been 鈥渋nadequate.鈥� 
  鈥淏uilt for a climate that no longer exists鈥�: The report warns that the country鈥檚 infrastructure is not prepared for hotter, longer, more frequent heat waves鈥攍eaving the country vulnerable to a range of climate-related risks: 

• More than 9 in 10 U.K. homes are not insulated well enough to keep out the heat鈥攁nd many are built to trap heat, exacerbating health problems, . 

• By 2050, the country should expect a daily water supply shortfall of 5 billion liters (shortages were already amid a surge in usage). By then, hotter heat waves could potentially cause overheating in over 90% of U.K. homes. 

Preparing for extremes: The report offers several ways the U.K. can adapt to rising temperatures, including: 

• Expanding access to air conditioning, shading, and other cooling measures, particularly in hospitals, care homes, and schools. 

• Setting maximum temperature regulations for workplaces鈥攂oth indoors and outside. 

• Providing incentives to help low-income households install cooling technology. 

Related: Funding Down, Temperatures Up: The Struggle to Protect Women in a Warming World 鈥�   DATA POINT

359%
鈥斺赌斺赌斺赌�
More dengue cases reported in the U.S. in 2024 than the annual average reported from 2010 through 2023, , which ties the jump almost entirely to international travel-acquired infections. 鈥� REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RIGHTS Haitian Mothers Giving Birth in Hiding     The Dominican Republic鈥檚 mass deportation campaign against Haitian migrants has increasingly led Haitian mothers to avoid hospitals for maternity care and deliveries, endangering them and their newborns.    Crackdown at hospitals: Over the past year, Dominican authorities have stationed immigration officers at hospitals, where undocumented maternity patients are frequently detained shortly after delivery and deported back to Haiti and its ongoing humanitarian crisis. 

• 鈥淚t鈥檚 an affront to the human dignity of women. And their girls and boys,鈥� said Cristiana Luis, leader of the advocacy group Movement of Dominican-Haitian Women.  

Maternity on the margins: Hospital births among Haitian women dropped 60% between 2024 and 2025鈥攆rom 32,967 to 13,856. Many mothers are opting to give birth in unsafe and unsupervised conditions, increasing risks of infection, hemorrhage, and death.     OPPORTUNITY Learn More at an Info Session Today!  
Learn more about the Pulitzer Center鈥檚 U.S. Civil Society Microgrants call for proposals at an informational session today, Wednesday, May 27, at 1 p.m. EDT.
 
Selected projects will receive grants ranging from $2,000 to $4,000. Project proposals can support existing activities or support the launch of new activities. 

• Application deadline: Monday, June 8, 2026

QUICK HITS In Congo displacement camp, fighting Ebola with sand, oatmeal and one thermometer but no water 鈥�

Why the quarantine for hantavirus is so long 鈥�

She Faced a Life-Threatening Miscarriage. Under Arkansas鈥� Abortion Ban, Even Calls to the Governor鈥檚 Office Didn鈥檛 Help. 鈥�

They鈥檝e Heard the Warnings. Gen Z Is Tanning Anyway. 鈥� Thanks for the tip, Kris Henry!

The peer coaching program getting men back on HIV/AIDS treatment in South Africa 鈥�

Listen: The patients demanding unvaccinated blood transfusions 鈥�

Tough peer-review process? Your paper might end up being more highly cited 鈥�   Issue No. 2922
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .

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The UN World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday warned that eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo faces a 鈥渃atastrophic collision of disease and conflict鈥� as a fast-spreading Ebola outbreak outpaces containment efforts in a region already battered by armed violence, mass displacement and acute hunger.

Of more than 2,500 blood proteins screened, a small group may drive MS and signal who will develop it

A new study has revealed a group of blood proteins, that are altered in people who go on to develop multiple sclerosis (MS), in some cases more than a decade before diagnosis. The findings offer hope that a simple blood test could one day identify people at high risk of MS in time to act before damage occurs.

96 Global Health NOW: Distrust, Division, and Deficits in the Struggle to Contain Ebola; and WHO Confronts Defections May 26, 2026 TOP STORIES ~30,000 people have fled their homes in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas following a new wave of violence that has included widespread gunfire, burnings, and lootings perpetrated by armed gangs over 10 days.
  Hunger is increasingly used as a weapon of war, , with 21,000+ documented incidents of 鈥渇ood-related violence鈥� including strikes on food distribution systems and markets reported since 2018.
  Health care providers warn that easy access to GLP-1 weight loss drugs poses a threat to people with eating disorders; part of the treatment is aimed at helping people recognize natural hunger cues, which GLP-1s suppress. 
  Misinformation about perimenopause on social media is prompting more women to seek hormonal therapy for menopause before they need it, and to cease hormonal contraception prematurely鈥攗pping their risk of unintended pregnancies, unnecessary medication, and missed diagnoses.  IN FOCUS A health worker wearing protective equipment crouches beside the coffin of a suspected Ebola victim outside a family home. Mongbwalu, Ituri Province, DRC, May 24. Michel Lunanga/Getty Distrust, Division, and Deficits in the Struggle to Contain Ebola 
  Health workers already struggling to mobilize a response to the Ebola outbreak in northeastern DRC now face further threats as years of division and disinformation fuel violence against health care facilities and workers, and lead infected patients to resist and flee care,    

• 鈥淭here is denial of the disease within the population,鈥� said Richard Lokodu, medical director of the Mongbwalu General Referral Hospital, which came under multiple attacks over the weekend, as assailants burned isolation tents and 18 Ebola patients fled. Medical facilities were also burned in Rwampara. 

Current status: 900+ suspected cases and ~220 deaths have been reported by WHO, with chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus that 鈥渨e are now playing catch-up with a very fast-moving epidemic鈥� amid severe shortages of testing supplies, protective gear, and even basics like hand sanitizer.     Distrust and disinformation: Years of militia violence, ethnic conflict, and weak government authority in the region have hampered the response, and have left many residents suspicious of outsiders and health workers, .  

• Aid workers have also reported attacks as they seek to canvas the region spreading information and resources, , as conspiracies run rampant. Funeral rites are a particular flashpoint as families seek to handle the bodies of those killed by the virus. 

Related:  
  The Ebola outbreak will lead to devastating violence against women and girls 鈥�

People with Ebola pose little risk to public in US, experts say 鈥�  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY WHO Confronts Defections    Delegates at this year鈥檚 World Health Assembly avoided formally recognizing withdrawal attempts by both the U.S. and Argentina last week, in a quiet but firm effort to prevent a broader unraveling of the global health coalition, .     Binding agreements: As member states test whether they can simply walk away, delegates are pointing to the binding conditions of the WHO Constitution, which includes no technical provision for member states to withdraw.    The unpaid U.S. bill: The sole exception to this contract is the U.S., which stipulated its right to withdraw as a condition of joining the WHO in 1948鈥攕o long as all dues are settled. 

• The U.S. still owes ~$280 million in outstanding dues, leading member states to vote to suspend U.S. voting rights by 2027, a signal that they still consider the U.S. bound by its obligations. 

No 鈥榣egal exit ramp鈥� for Argentina: Meanwhile, delegates voted to take note of Argentina鈥檚 departure notification鈥攂ut resolved that 鈥渁ny further action at this stage鈥� is undesirable, 鈥攅ffectively not accepting Argentina鈥檚 departure.     No precedent for secession: The WHO has never formally accepted a departure in its history. When Soviet-bloc nations attempted to withdraw in 1949 and 1950, the organization refused to accept the exit.    Related:     The Forgotten Decisions Of The 79th World Health Assembly 鈥�

79th World Health Assembly (WHA79): Draft updated global action plan on antimicrobial resistance 鈥�   OPPORTUNITY QUICK HITS Misinformation is coming for the anti-HIV jab. Let鈥檚 get ahead of it 鈥�
  WHO chief says hantavirus 'situation is stable for now' 鈥�

Our warming planet is a petri dish for new and deadly microbes 鈥�
FDA staff blindsided by move allowing more e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches onto US market 鈥�
  Firing Cancer Screening Experts Will Not Make Us Healthy Again 鈥� Thanks for the tip, Dave Cundiff! 
  Pap smears are designed to screen for cancer. Why are people afraid to get them? 鈥� 
  Why an Indian Village Leader鈥檚 Welfare Reels Are Going Viral 鈥�   Issue No. 2921
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As a deadly Ebola strain continues to spread in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with cases confirmed in neighbouring Uganda, the UN aviation agency is urging governments and flight operators to closely follow guidelines put in place following the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are more than 900 suspected cases of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and 220 suspected deaths, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Ghebreyesus, said on Monday.

The recent Ebola and hantavirus outbreaks demonstrate that the world is still vulnerable to rapidly spreading infectious diseases, Tedros Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), warned on Saturday at the close of the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva.

The UN is rushing emergency personnel, funding and supplies into eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to counter the fast-growing Ebola outbreak spreading through conflict-ravaged provinces.