World Health Organization

[phkrause]

Hantavirus

At least 17 Americans who were aboard the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship arrived in Nebraska today, where they will be evaluated at a highly specialized quarantine unit. One of the passengers has tested positive for the virus and another has mild symptoms, according to US health officials. Read more.

WATCH: Acting CDC director defends US response to hantavirus

[phkrause]

Hantavirus outbreak

The hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius remains low risk to the general public as 18 passengers from the cruise ship arrived at specialized US facilities on Monday. Several US health officials also say Americans should not panic because the virus does not spread easily between people. Read more.

VISUAL: See the outbreak in maps and charts

[phkrause]

🦠 The World Health Organization has confirmed nine cases of hantavirus tied to the latest outbreak so far. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said today that there's "no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak," but added, "we might see more cases in the coming weeks." Go deeper.

[phkrause]

Declare climate crisis a global public health emergency, experts tell WHO

Exclusive: Commission says alert would trigger coordinated international response that could help avoid millions dying

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/may/16/who-should-declare-climate-crisis-global-public-health-emergency-experts-say?

[phkrause]

WHO declares global health emergency over Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The World Health Organization declared the Ebola disease outbreak caused by a rare virus in Congo and neighboring Uganda a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday, after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths.

https://apnews.com/article/congo-ebola-uganda-who-africa-emergency-6f93a87ff28107bdda8990599bbcd52d?

[phkrause]

• ⛑️ The World Health Organization is sending a team of experts and supplies to Congo amid an outbreak of an Ebola variant with no approved therapeutics or vaccines. Get the latest.

[phkrause]

New Eye-Bleeding Virus Outbreak Kills 131

The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak of the horrific disease an international emergency.

Health authorities say at least 131 people have died amid 513 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with a further death and at least two confirmed cases in neighboring Uganda. The new figures come just two days after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the disease—which can cause horrific symptoms like bleeding from the eyes—a “public health emergency of international concern.” Among the victims in the Congo is an American doctor, who is understood to have since been flown to Germany to undergo treatment, with another six U.S. medical personnel thought to have been exposed. The strain of Ebola responsible for the current outbreak is the Bundibugyo variant, which carries a fatality rate of 25 to 40 percent—relatively low compared to other major strains like the Zaire and Sudan variants, which can carry mortality rates as high as 90 percent. Unlike those variants, there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain, which has alarmed health authorities with the speed at which it has spread throughout the affected region. It is the third outbreak of the variant to be detected, following similar emergencies in Uganda between 2007 and 2008 and in the DRC in 2012.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-outbreak-of-eye-bleeding-ebola-virus-kills-131-people-in-uganda-and-democratic-republic-of-congo/?

[phkrause]

Ebola fears surge on the ground in Congo over rapid spread of a rare type

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Anxious healthcare workers in eastern Congo said Wednesday they are underprotected and undertrained in a rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak of a rare type of the virus in one of the world’s most remote and vulnerable places.

https://apnews.com/article/congo-ebola-who-spread-bunia-bundibugyo-6b0bd445b991dd381ae8a585a9b6179a

Virus concerns

The World Health Organization says the scale of the Ebola outbreak in central Africa "warrants serious concern" following 500 suspected cases, including 130 deaths. As global officials respond to that crisis, concerns about another infectious disease are mounting in the US: New orders require some American passengers from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship to remain at a quarantine facility under federal supervision after they pushed to leave. Read more.

[phkrause]

Ebola hotspot

The virus has killed more than 100 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo and triggered a global health emergency — highlighting the persistent factors that keep this region at risk. ➕ Visualizing the outbreak in maps and charts.