WHO

Roche develops PCR test to detect the Ebola Bundibugyo virus

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Roche Holding AG has rapidly developed a research-use only molecular PCR test to detect the rare Ebola Bundibugyo virus, to support response efforts amid the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The test comes as commentary in The Lancet this week underscored the urgent need for a fit-for-purpose diagnostic test, as it warned that the absence of reliable testing is hampering efforts to ascertain the scale of the epidemic and understand the transmissibility of this strain of Bundibugyo virus.

WHO selects vaccines, therapeutics for Ebola outbreak field trials

Fri, 29 May 2026 12:00:00 -0400

“I need to be honest with you about something important. Most previous Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were caused by a virus called Ebola Zaire, for which we have vaccines and treatments. This outbreak is caused by a different virus called Ebola Bundibugyo. There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments for it.” This was the stark message from Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) in an open letter to the people of the DRC, as he traveled to the country on Friday, May 29.

Sizing up an epidemic, with diagnostics and bioinformatics

Thu, 21 May 2026 10:00:00 -0400

It is not surprising that a large Ebola outbreak would be considered a public health emergency of international concern. But the current PHEIC is notable for the speed with which it was declared, speaking to the urgency of the situation. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the outbreak a PHEIC on Sunday, May 17, without first convening an emergency committee. That step is unprecedented.

Sizing up an epidemic, with diagnostics and bioinformatics

Wed, 20 May 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Authorities work to quickly sequence Ebola species in latest outbreak

Fri, 15 May 2026 12:00:00 -0400

If the recent hantavirus outbreak wasn’t enough to keep public health officials busy, a new Ebola virus disease outbreak has been confirmed by authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While sequencing is ongoing to identify the Ebola species, experts have noted early results suggesting it appears to be different from the Zaire species that has caused previous outbreaks, including the deadliest outbreak in West Africa a decade ago, meaning existing vaccines and antibody treatments likely will not be effective.

Andes virus cases rise to 11; Hondius passengers in quarantine to June 21

Thu, 14 May 2026 12:00:00 -0400

The number of cases of hantavirus infection has risen from eight to 11, following the repatriation of passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius, with World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warning the danger is not over. “In fact, it has entered a new phase as the passengers and crew return home,” he told attendees of a meeting at WHO’s headquarters in Geneva on May 13.

APAC monitors hantavirus as Singapore isolates 2 from cruise ship

Tue, 12 May 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Singapore’s Communicable Diseases Agency on May 7 said that it isolated two residents for hantavirus testing after the individuals disembarked from an Atlantic cruise ship on May 2 and May 6, respectively. The measure comes in response to the cluster of cases from the cruise ship, MV Hondius, that has resulted in three deaths so far.

First cruise ship hantavirus genome points to zoonotic spillover

Tue, 12 May 2026 09:00:00 -0400

The initial appraisal of the first complete genome sequence of a hantavirus isolated from a patient in Switzerland who was a passenger on the cruise ship MV Hondius is consistent with a spillover from its natural reservoir, rather than the emergence of a markedly altered virus.

First cruise ship hantavirus genome points to zoonotic spillover

Mon, 11 May 2026 12:00:00 -0400

APAC monitors hantavirus as Singapore isolates 2 from cruise ship

Fri, 08 May 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Hantavirus is ‘sentinel’ more than acute pandemic threat

Fri, 08 May 2026 09:00:00 -0400

News of eight infections and three deaths so far due to an emerging zoonotic virus has brought back unhappy memories of the early days of SARS-CoV-2. At a press conference on Thursday, officials from the WHO did their best to calm the public’s fears that the MV Hondius, the ship currently heading to the Canary Islands with its remaining passengers plus assorted medical, WHO and European Center for Disease Prevention and Control staff, is the 2026 version of the Diamond Princess.

Hantavirus is ‘sentinel’ more than acute pandemic threat

Thu, 07 May 2026 07:00:00 -0400

Latest benchmark shows 35% decline in antibiotics pipeline in past 5 years

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Twelve years on from the World Health Organization formally raising the alarm, antimicrobial resistance continues to grow, and despite numerous public and private incentives and initiatives, the pipeline of antibiotics in development is thinner than ever.

US completes withdrawal from WHO

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0500

It’s official. A year after President Donald Trump issued an order requiring the U.S. to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), that withdrawal has been completed.

With malaria numbers rising, Novartis has phase III success

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 12:00:00 -0500

Phase III data from Novartis AG for the malaria treatment Ganlum (KLU-156) show it met the primary endpoint of noninferiority to the current standard of care, Coartem, a combination of artemether and lumefantrine. The results are a step to curbing a problem that has seen rising numbers in recent years.

Drug resistance rising: one in six infections show no response

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 11:00:00 -0400

One in six common bacterial infections diagnosed worldwide in 2023 were resistant to treatment with antibiotics, according to the latest surveillance data gathered by the World Health Organization (WHO). Drug-resistant gram-negative bacteria that cause bloodstream infections that can lead to sepsis, organ failure and death are an increasing threat globally.

KDCA readies mRNA vaccines, tech for COVID-19, future outbreaks

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 11:00:00 -0400

Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) secured 5.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer Inc./Biontech SE and Moderna Inc., officially including the mRNA-based vaccines in the country’s national immunization program on Aug. 5.

Self-amplifying mRNA technology underscored for next big pandemic

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 11:00:00 -0400

Self-amplifying mRNA technology underscored for next big pandemic

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 11:00:00 -0400

Experts in mRNA convened at the Global Vaccine Forum (GVF) 2025 to weigh the present and future of vaccine technology, including emerging innovations in self-amplifying mRNA (sa-mRNA) and drug delivery platforms. “Breakthroughs in mRNA and next-generation vaccine platforms are revolutionizing how we prepare for and respond to global health challenges,” Jerome H. Kim, International Vaccine Institute (IVI) director general, told the audience in Seoul, South Korea, June 19.

WHO member states outline pandemic plan

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 11:00:00 -0400

After more than three years of discussion, the World Health Organization’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) has agreed on a proposal to prevent, prepare and respond to a pandemic. The plan is born, the INB proposal said, out of inequities around the world that slowed timely and equitable access to health products to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

WHO member states outline pandemic plan

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 09:00:00 -0400

WHO member states outline pandemic plan

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 11:00:00 -0400

WHO looking to fill funding gap left by the US

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 11:00:00 -0400

The U.S. foreign aid cuts and freezes that are taking place under President Donald Trump are putting at risk the global public health gains that have been made against diseases such as malaria, HIV and tuberculosis over the past two decades, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a March 17 media briefing, as he called on other countries to step up and fill the gap.

Mum’s the word at US health agencies awaiting new leadership

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 12:00:00 -0500

With key officials yet to be confirmed at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the acting secretary imposed an immediate pause throughout the department on publicly issuing any document or communication without first getting it approved by a presidential appointee.

Stocks rise along with concerns of global mpox outbreak

Tue, 27 Aug 2024 12:00:00 -0400

Following the World Health Organization’s escalation of mpox to a public health emergency of international concern on Aug. 14 and the emergence of what appears to be a more severe strain of the orthopoxvirus, the spotlight has focused on a handful of companies working on vaccines and antivirals. Shares of Geovax Labs Inc., Emergent Biosolutions Inc. and Tonix Pharmaceuticals Inc. were all trading up Aug. 19.

Stocks rise along with concerns of global mpox outbreak

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 12:00:00 -0400

Stocks rise along with concerns of global mpox outbreak

Mon, 19 Aug 2024 12:00:00 -0400

WHO preps for human avian flu spread with mRNA vaccine project

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 12:00:00 -0400

With the COVID-19 pandemic still visible in the rearview mirror, the World Health Organization (WHO) is taking no chances as it preps for human avian influenza, or H5N1, a subtype of influenza A.

World Health Assembly extends deadline for pandemic agreement

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 12:00:00 -0400

Although consensus was not reached on the World Health Organization’s pandemic agreement, the World Health Assembly recognized the progress made by member states to develop a pandemic agreement and to strengthen International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005) during the 77th World Health Assembly meeting held May 27 to June 1 in Geneva.

Sanders pressures international industry to back Pandemic Accord

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 12:00:00 -0400

Looking beyond the U.S. biopharma industry, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is now pushing the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations to get on board with the World Health Organization’s proposed Pandemic Accord aimed at making diagnostics, treatments and vaccines available to everyone who needs them.