<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Outbreak News Today: Africa]]></title><description><![CDATA[Infectious disease news from Africa]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/s/africa</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EyiE!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F84b1a72e-cd5e-4f9c-a17e-1711148770ac_600x600.png</url><title>Outbreak News Today: Africa</title><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/s/africa</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Thu, 23 Apr 2026 19:07:44 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[outbreaknewstoday@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[outbreaknewstoday@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[outbreaknewstoday@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[outbreaknewstoday@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[Anthrax outbreak in Vihiga County, Kenya]]></title><description><![CDATA[Health officials in Vihiga County in western Kenya report a cutaneous anthrax outbreak within Emuhaya Subcounty.]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/anthrax-outbreak-in-vihiga-county</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/anthrax-outbreak-in-vihiga-county</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 11:59:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yVGu!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6e74b35-89c6-4b80-9c05-8b646a8b4f52_689x521.webp" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Health officials in Vihiga County in western Kenya report a cutaneous anthrax outbreak within Emuhaya Subcounty.</p><p>According to the Department of Health Services in Vihiga County, two animal (cow) cases and two human cases of anthrax were reported. One human fatality was also reported.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qMPC!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30e1a751-3cdc-4f1a-9bf1-b89ea06eb192_653x265.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qMPC!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30e1a751-3cdc-4f1a-9bf1-b89ea06eb192_653x265.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qMPC!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30e1a751-3cdc-4f1a-9bf1-b89ea06eb192_653x265.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qMPC!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30e1a751-3cdc-4f1a-9bf1-b89ea06eb192_653x265.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qMPC!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30e1a751-3cdc-4f1a-9bf1-b89ea06eb192_653x265.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qMPC!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30e1a751-3cdc-4f1a-9bf1-b89ea06eb192_653x265.png" width="653" height="265" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qMPC!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30e1a751-3cdc-4f1a-9bf1-b89ea06eb192_653x265.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qMPC!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30e1a751-3cdc-4f1a-9bf1-b89ea06eb192_653x265.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qMPC!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30e1a751-3cdc-4f1a-9bf1-b89ea06eb192_653x265.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qMPC!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30e1a751-3cdc-4f1a-9bf1-b89ea06eb192_653x265.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The human outbreak was following the handling and consumption of meat from a cow that died suddenly on April 7 in Ebusunzo village, Emukolla sublocation, West Buyore Ward in the county.</p><p>The government has activated rapid response teams, initiated surveillance and is working closely with veterinary servive to contain the outbreak.</p><p>Anthrax is a serious infectious disease caused by a bacteria called <em>Bacillus anthracis</em>. Many different types of animals, as well as people, can get the disease.</p><p><em><strong><a href="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/outbreaknews/Anthrax_maps.mp3">Global anthrax maps with Jason Blackburn, PhD</a></strong></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yVGu!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6e74b35-89c6-4b80-9c05-8b646a8b4f52_689x521.webp" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yVGu!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6e74b35-89c6-4b80-9c05-8b646a8b4f52_689x521.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yVGu!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6e74b35-89c6-4b80-9c05-8b646a8b4f52_689x521.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yVGu!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6e74b35-89c6-4b80-9c05-8b646a8b4f52_689x521.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yVGu!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6e74b35-89c6-4b80-9c05-8b646a8b4f52_689x521.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yVGu!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6e74b35-89c6-4b80-9c05-8b646a8b4f52_689x521.webp" width="689" height="521" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yVGu!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6e74b35-89c6-4b80-9c05-8b646a8b4f52_689x521.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yVGu!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6e74b35-89c6-4b80-9c05-8b646a8b4f52_689x521.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yVGu!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6e74b35-89c6-4b80-9c05-8b646a8b4f52_689x521.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yVGu!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6e74b35-89c6-4b80-9c05-8b646a8b4f52_689x521.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Image/Robert Herriman</figcaption></figure></div><p>In animals, signs of the illness usually appear 3 to 7 days after the spores are swallowed or inhaled. Once signs begin in animals, they usually die within two days. Infected animals may stagger, have difficulty breathing, tremble, and finally collapse and die within a few hours. Sometimes animals may have a fever and a period of excitement followed by staggering, depression, unconsciousness (lacking awareness), difficulty breathing, seizures, and death. Dark blood may ooze from the mouth, nose, and anus.</p><p>Handling or eating a dead or sick animal infected with anthrax can transmit anthrax to humans and other animals. Anthrax is not spread by sneezing or coughing. Person-to-person spread of the disease is unlikely.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqjNwMDZ3dElBSB__yW-0sg">Subscribe to Outbreak News TV on YouTube</a></strong></p><p>In humans, symptoms of disease vary depending on how the disease was contracted, but usually occur within 7 days after exposure. The three forms of human anthrax are inhalation anthrax (caused when the spores are inhaled into the lungs), cutaneous anthrax (caused when broken skin comes into contact with infected animals or hides), and intestinal anthrax (caused when undercooked meat from an infected animal is eaten).<br><br>Initial symptoms of inhalation anthrax infection may resemble a common cold. After several days, the symptoms may progress to severe breathing problems and shock. Inhalation anthrax is usually fatal, unless the patient is treated before any symptoms occur.</p><p><em><strong>If you like the reporting on Outbreak News Today, please consider a paid subscription for $5/month or $30 a year. Help support the cause of this niche journalism. It is appreciated.</strong></em><br><br>The intestinal disease form of anthrax may follow the consumption of contaminated food and is characterized by an acute inflammation of the intestinal tract. Initial signs of nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, and fever are followed by abdominal pain, vomiting of blood, and severe diarrhea. Like inhalation anthrax, the intestinal form is usually fatal.</p><p>The cutaneous form of the disease begins with itching at the site of the exposure, followed by the formation of a round, pimple-like sore. This sore will then form a blister which, after 2-6 days will become a hard, black scab (similar to the scab left after a deep burn). Untreated, between 5 and 20% of patients will die. However, with adequate antibiotic treatment very few deaths occur.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Nigeria: Lassa fever remains active and increasing]]></title><description><![CDATA[Nigeria health officials continue to report increasing and geographically spreading Lassa fever cases in 2026.]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/nigeria-lassa-fever-remains-active</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/nigeria-lassa-fever-remains-active</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 21:06:04 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9eW1!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F17dcc904-5d4f-4f6b-afc3-a5be1a5afe3f_767x548.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Nigeria health officials continue to report increasing and geographically spreading Lassa fever cases in 2026.</p><p>From the beginning of the year through the end of March, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) reports 663 confirmed Lassa fever cases with a quarter of them resulting in death (167). The 167 deaths is a 35 percent increase in deaths as compared to the same period in 2025 (122).</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9eW1!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F17dcc904-5d4f-4f6b-afc3-a5be1a5afe3f_767x548.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9eW1!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F17dcc904-5d4f-4f6b-afc3-a5be1a5afe3f_767x548.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9eW1!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F17dcc904-5d4f-4f6b-afc3-a5be1a5afe3f_767x548.png 848w, 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9eW1!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F17dcc904-5d4f-4f6b-afc3-a5be1a5afe3f_767x548.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9eW1!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F17dcc904-5d4f-4f6b-afc3-a5be1a5afe3f_767x548.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9eW1!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F17dcc904-5d4f-4f6b-afc3-a5be1a5afe3f_767x548.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9eW1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F17dcc904-5d4f-4f6b-afc3-a5be1a5afe3f_767x548.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>In total for 2026, 22 States have recorded at least one confirmed case across 93 Local Government Areas.</p><p>Eighty-five (85%) of all confirmed Lassa fever cases were reported from 5 states (Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Edo and Benue).</p><p>The persistence and spread of Lassa fever in Nigeria are driven by a combination of environmental, behavioural, and health system factors. Poor environmental sanitation and the presence of rodent reservoirs (Mastomys rats), particularly in high-burden communities, continue to facilitate transmission.</p><p>Lassa fever is an endemic viral hemorrhagic disease in Nigeria with seasonal peaks during the dry season.</p><p>Lassa Fever is an acute viral illness and a viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF). The causative agent is a single-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus in the family <em>arenaviridae</em>, the Lassa virus. This zoonotic disease is associated with high morbidity and mortality, transmitted by the multi-mammate rat (<em>Mastomys natalensis</em>), one of the most common rats in equatorial Africa.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/OutbreakNewsTV">Subscribe to Outbreak News TV</a></strong></p><p>The virus spreads through:</p><p>&#8226; Direct contact with urine, feces, saliva, or blood of infected rats.</p><p>&#8226; Contact with objects, household items, and surfaces contaminated with the urine, feces, saliva, or blood of infected rats.</p><p>&#8226; Consuming food or water contaminated with the urine, feces, saliva, or blood of infected rats.</p><p>&#8226; Person-to-person transmission can also occur through direct contact with blood, urine, feces, vomitus, and other body fluids of an infected person.</p><p>Lassa fever initially presents like other common illnesses accompanied by a fever, such as malaria. Other symptoms include headache, general body weakness, cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pains, chest pain, sore throat, and, in severe cases, bleeding from ears, eyes, nose, mouth, and other body openings. The time between infection and the appearance of symptoms of the disease is 3 to 21 days. Early diagnosis and treatment of the diseases greatly increase the chances of patient survival.</p><p>People most at risk for Lassa fever are:</p><p>&#8226; People of all age groups who come in contact with the urine, feces, saliva, or blood of infected rats.</p><p>&#8226; People living in rat-infested environments.</p><p>&#8226; People who consume potentially contaminated foodstuff, especially those left open overnight or dried outside in the open.</p><p>&#8226; People who handle or process rodents for consumption.</p><p>&#8226; People who do not perform hand hygiene at appropriate times.</p><p>&#8226; Caretakers of infected persons with poor infection prevention and control measures.</p><p>The disease was first discovered in a town called Lassa in Borno State, Nigeria in 1969.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Senegal reports 2nd human CCHF case of 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[During the week ending April 4, Senegal health authorities reported an additional Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) case.]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/senegal-reports-2nd-human-cchf-case</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/senegal-reports-2nd-human-cchf-case</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 20:37:57 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tt1-!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fd7e95e-fb09-4a76-8d68-62a365bcef09_458x377.webp" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>During the week ending April 4, Senegal health authorities reported an additional Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) case.</p><p>The case is a 28-year-old female from Dioffor area in Fatick region in southwest Senegal. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tt1-!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fd7e95e-fb09-4a76-8d68-62a365bcef09_458x377.webp" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tt1-!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fd7e95e-fb09-4a76-8d68-62a365bcef09_458x377.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tt1-!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fd7e95e-fb09-4a76-8d68-62a365bcef09_458x377.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tt1-!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fd7e95e-fb09-4a76-8d68-62a365bcef09_458x377.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tt1-!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fd7e95e-fb09-4a76-8d68-62a365bcef09_458x377.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tt1-!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fd7e95e-fb09-4a76-8d68-62a365bcef09_458x377.webp" width="458" height="377" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/8fd7e95e-fb09-4a76-8d68-62a365bcef09_458x377.webp&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:377,&quot;width&quot;:458,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:25340,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/webp&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/i/194117265?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fd7e95e-fb09-4a76-8d68-62a365bcef09_458x377.webp&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tt1-!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fd7e95e-fb09-4a76-8d68-62a365bcef09_458x377.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tt1-!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fd7e95e-fb09-4a76-8d68-62a365bcef09_458x377.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tt1-!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fd7e95e-fb09-4a76-8d68-62a365bcef09_458x377.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tt1-!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fd7e95e-fb09-4a76-8d68-62a365bcef09_458x377.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Image/CDC</figcaption></figure></div><p>She presented at the health facility with fever, muscle and body pain, vomiting, bleeding and meningoencephalitis. CCHF virus was confirmed by PCR and ELISA by the Institut Pasteur in Dakar.</p><p>The case has no history of travel. She is the second CCHF case of 2026&#8212; <strong><a href="https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/senegal-reports-cchf-case-in-7-year?utm_source=publication-search">A case was reported in February </a></strong>in a 7-year-old child from Tambacounda region.</p><p><em><strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVBzqPC_Tdw">Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever: An interview with Dr Judy Stone</a></strong></em></p><p>The Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus causes severe viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vys08_YbTI&amp;t=251s">Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever 101</a></strong></p><p>CCHF outbreaks have a case fatality rate of up to 40%.</p><p>The virus is primarily transmitted to people from ticks and livestock animals. Human-to-human transmission can occur resulting from close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected persons.</p><p>CCHF is endemic in Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asia, in countries south of the 50th parallel north.</p><p>There is no vaccine available for either people or animals.</p><p><em><strong>Related news from Africa:</strong></em></p><p><strong><a href="https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/anthrax-outbreak-in-western-uganda">Anthrax outbreak in western Uganda</a></strong></p><p><strong><a href="https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/drc-more-than-4600-cases-of-cholera">DRC: More than 4,600 cases of cholera reported in South Kivu in 1st quarter of 2026</a></strong></p><p><strong><a href="https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/namibia-declaration-of-the-end-of">Namibia: Declaration of the End of Mpox and Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Outbreaks</a></strong></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Anthrax outbreak in western Uganda]]></title><description><![CDATA[Health officials in Uganda report an anthrax outbreak in the western Ugandan district of Kitagwenda.]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/anthrax-outbreak-in-western-uganda</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/anthrax-outbreak-in-western-uganda</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:34:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WT1-!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9a285f47-85f5-45e3-bfb9-395b0e02989e_646x600.webp" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Health officials in Uganda report an anthrax outbreak in the western Ugandan district of Kitagwenda.</p><p>Out of the 10 suspected cases, three have tested positive for the dangerous bacterial infection. All three required hospitalization.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WT1-!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9a285f47-85f5-45e3-bfb9-395b0e02989e_646x600.webp" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WT1-!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9a285f47-85f5-45e3-bfb9-395b0e02989e_646x600.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WT1-!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9a285f47-85f5-45e3-bfb9-395b0e02989e_646x600.webp 848w, 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data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9a285f47-85f5-45e3-bfb9-395b0e02989e_646x600.webp&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:600,&quot;width&quot;:646,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:45812,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/webp&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/i/194098196?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9a285f47-85f5-45e3-bfb9-395b0e02989e_646x600.webp&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WT1-!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9a285f47-85f5-45e3-bfb9-395b0e02989e_646x600.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WT1-!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9a285f47-85f5-45e3-bfb9-395b0e02989e_646x600.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WT1-!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9a285f47-85f5-45e3-bfb9-395b0e02989e_646x600.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WT1-!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9a285f47-85f5-45e3-bfb9-395b0e02989e_646x600.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Preliminary health investigation shows that common exposure associated with handling carcasses of animals that died under unclear circumstances is one of the factors, officials note.</p><p>Anthrax is a serious infectious disease caused by a bacteria called <em>Bacillus anthracis</em>. Many different types of animals, as well as people, can get the disease.</p><p>In animals, signs of the illness usually appear 3 to 7 days after the spores are swallowed or inhaled. Once signs begin in animals, they usually die within two days. Infected animals may stagger, have difficulty breathing, tremble, and finally collapse and die within a few hours. Sometimes animals may have a fever and a period of excitement followed by staggering, depression, unconsciousness (lacking awareness), difficulty breathing, seizures, and death. Dark blood may ooze from the mouth, nose, and anus.</p><p>Handling or eating a dead or sick animal infected with anthrax can transmit anthrax to humans and other animals. Anthrax is not spread by sneezing or coughing. Person-to-person spread of the disease is unlikely.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqjNwMDZ3dElBSB__yW-0sg">Subscribe to Outbreak News TV on YouTube</a></strong></p><p>In humans, symptoms of disease vary depending on how the disease was contracted, but usually occur within 7 days after exposure. The three forms of human anthrax are inhalation anthrax (caused when the spores are inhaled into the lungs), cutaneous anthrax (caused when broken skin comes into contact with infected animals or hides), and intestinal anthrax (caused when undercooked meat from an infected animal is eaten).</p><p><em><strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMZLq0Qquf8">Rhodesia anthrax epidemic of 1978-1980: A natural outbreak or the result of biowarfare?</a></strong></em><br><br>Initial symptoms of inhalation anthrax infection may resemble a common cold. After several days, the symptoms may progress to severe breathing problems and shock. Inhalation anthrax is usually fatal, unless the patient is treated before any symptoms occur.<br><br>The intestinal disease form of anthrax may follow the consumption of contaminated food and is characterized by an acute inflammation of the intestinal tract. Initial signs of nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, and fever are followed by abdominal pain, vomiting of blood, and severe diarrhea. Like inhalation anthrax, the intestinal form is usually fatal.</p><p>The cutaneous form of the disease begins with itching at the site of the exposure, followed by the formation of a round, pimple-like sore. This sore will then form a blister which, after 2-6 days will become a hard, black scab (similar to the scab left after a deep burn). Untreated, between 5 and 20% of patients will die. However, with adequate antibiotic treatment very few deaths occur.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[DRC: More than 4,600 cases of cholera reported in South Kivu in 1st quarter of 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[According to data from the South Kivu Provincial Health Division (DPS) Friday, 4,607 cases of cholera were reported in South Kivu in the first quarter of 2026, including 67 deaths in the province.]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/drc-more-than-4600-cases-of-cholera</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/drc-more-than-4600-cases-of-cholera</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 12 Apr 2026 19:51:30 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bLst!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdf0ba63b-bc7a-4c8e-adb4-bcb64b5f0ffe_6000x4000.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>According to data from the South Kivu Provincial Health Division (DPS) Friday, 4,607 cases of cholera were reported in South Kivu in the first quarter of 2026, including 67 deaths in the province.</p><p>Officials say the most affected health zones are Fizi, Ruzizi, Nundu, Uvira and the city of Bukavu.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bLst!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdf0ba63b-bc7a-4c8e-adb4-bcb64b5f0ffe_6000x4000.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bLst!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdf0ba63b-bc7a-4c8e-adb4-bcb64b5f0ffe_6000x4000.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bLst!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdf0ba63b-bc7a-4c8e-adb4-bcb64b5f0ffe_6000x4000.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bLst!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdf0ba63b-bc7a-4c8e-adb4-bcb64b5f0ffe_6000x4000.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bLst!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdf0ba63b-bc7a-4c8e-adb4-bcb64b5f0ffe_6000x4000.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bLst!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdf0ba63b-bc7a-4c8e-adb4-bcb64b5f0ffe_6000x4000.png" width="1456" height="971" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/df0ba63b-bc7a-4c8e-adb4-bcb64b5f0ffe_6000x4000.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:971,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:6239499,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/i/193996948?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdf0ba63b-bc7a-4c8e-adb4-bcb64b5f0ffe_6000x4000.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bLst!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdf0ba63b-bc7a-4c8e-adb4-bcb64b5f0ffe_6000x4000.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bLst!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdf0ba63b-bc7a-4c8e-adb4-bcb64b5f0ffe_6000x4000.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bLst!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdf0ba63b-bc7a-4c8e-adb4-bcb64b5f0ffe_6000x4000.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bLst!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdf0ba63b-bc7a-4c8e-adb4-bcb64b5f0ffe_6000x4000.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>According to Jean-Claude Kulondwa, focal point of the National Cholera Elimination Program in South Kivu, these deaths are linked to the disruption of treatment inputs in certain areas.</p><p><em><strong><a href="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/outbreaknews/cholera.mp3">Cholera: A significant global health concern</a></strong></em></p><p>He indicates that to contain this disease, the Provincial Health Division is prioritizing several actions, including medical care in accordance with national policy.</p><p>The Provincial Health Division also plans to strengthen surveillance for the accurate and rapid detection of cases.</p><p><em><strong>Other news from Africa:</strong></em></p><p><strong><a href="https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/measles-spreading-alarmingly-in-kasai">Measles spreading alarmingly in Kasai-Oriental province, DRC</a></strong></p><p><strong><a href="https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/bacterial-meningitis-outbreak-reported">Bacterial meningitis outbreak reported in Kongo Central province, DRC</a></strong></p><p><strong><a href="https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/namibia-reports-significant-malaria">Namibia reports significant malaria resurgence in early 2026</a></strong></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[South Africa reports two additional diphtheria cases in Western Cape]]></title><description><![CDATA[The South Africa National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) report two additional laboratory-confirmed cases of toxigenic diphtheria, both from Western Cape.]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/south-africa-reports-two-additional</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/south-africa-reports-two-additional</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 04 Apr 2026 11:05:57 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0CLb!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a210fab-d3e5-4c5a-8d84-359486b2c5f7_743x531.webp" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The South Africa National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) report two additional laboratory-confirmed cases of toxigenic diphtheria, both from Western Cape.</p><p>Between 29 December 2025 and 29 March 2026, 12 confirmed cases of respiratory diphtheria and two asymptomatic carriers of toxigenic <em>C. diphtheriae</em>, detected during contact tracing, have been identified in South Africa. All cases and carriers were from the Western Cape.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0CLb!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a210fab-d3e5-4c5a-8d84-359486b2c5f7_743x531.webp" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0CLb!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a210fab-d3e5-4c5a-8d84-359486b2c5f7_743x531.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0CLb!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a210fab-d3e5-4c5a-8d84-359486b2c5f7_743x531.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0CLb!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a210fab-d3e5-4c5a-8d84-359486b2c5f7_743x531.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0CLb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a210fab-d3e5-4c5a-8d84-359486b2c5f7_743x531.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0CLb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a210fab-d3e5-4c5a-8d84-359486b2c5f7_743x531.webp" width="743" height="531" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/1a210fab-d3e5-4c5a-8d84-359486b2c5f7_743x531.webp&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:531,&quot;width&quot;:743,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:58664,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/webp&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/i/193153919?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a210fab-d3e5-4c5a-8d84-359486b2c5f7_743x531.webp&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0CLb!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a210fab-d3e5-4c5a-8d84-359486b2c5f7_743x531.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0CLb!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a210fab-d3e5-4c5a-8d84-359486b2c5f7_743x531.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0CLb!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a210fab-d3e5-4c5a-8d84-359486b2c5f7_743x531.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0CLb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a210fab-d3e5-4c5a-8d84-359486b2c5f7_743x531.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Image/Robert Herriman</figcaption></figure></div><p>The median age for cases of confirmed respiratory diphtheria was 28 years (range: 7-36 years), with 75% (9/12) being 18 years and older. The overall case-fatality ratio (CFR) among confirmed respiratory diphtheria cases was 8% (1/12). The only diphtheria-related death occurred in a child aged 0&#8211;9 years.</p><p>In addition this year, one cutaneous toxigenic diphtheria case was reported from Gauteng.</p><p>Respiratory diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable illness caused by toxigenic <em>C. diphtheriae</em> (and more rarely<em> C. ulcerans or C. pseudotuberculosis</em>), and can occur in persons of all ages.</p><p>The clinical presentation includes the following signs and symptoms:</p><ul><li><p>sore throat</p></li><li><p>low-grade fever</p></li><li><p>AND an adherent membrane of the nose, pharynx, tonsils, or larynx &#8211; the membrane is greyish-white and firmly adherent to the tissue</p></li><li><p>AND/OR enlarged glands in the neck (bull neck)</p></li><li><p>toxin-mediated systemic signs including myocarditis, polyneuropathy and renal damage</p></li></ul><p>Treatment includes antibiotics (azithromycin or penicillin) to clear the organism from the throat and prevent onward transmission, and diphtheria anti-toxin (DAT) to neutralise unbound toxin. The dosage of DAT is determined by the duration and severity of illness. <strong>Treatment, contact tracing and chemoprophylaxis should be started prior to laboratory confirmation</strong>. Early administration of DAT may be life-saving and should not be delayed in cases with a high index of suspicion.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p><div id="youtube2-Rp66Y6AzccY" class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;videoId&quot;:&quot;Rp66Y6AzccY&quot;,&quot;startTime&quot;:null,&quot;endTime&quot;:null}" data-component-name="Youtube2ToDOM"><div class="youtube-inner"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Rp66Y6AzccY?rel=0&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;enablejsapi=0" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" gesture="media" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowautoplay="true" allowfullscreen="true" width="728" height="409"></iframe></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Namibia reports significant malaria resurgence in early 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[Namibia is reporting a resurgence of malaria in the first weeks of 2026.]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/namibia-reports-significant-malaria</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/namibia-reports-significant-malaria</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 17 Mar 2026 20:08:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Qzp1!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe76b55-a9dd-467e-9fed-82b54f5fe88b_1015x465.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Namibia is reporting a resurgence of malaria in the first weeks of 2026. In the first five weeks, a cumulative total of 11,327 confirmed malaria cases were reported, of which 73% were locally acquired and 27% imported. A total of 21 deaths have been reported during the same period.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Qzp1!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe76b55-a9dd-467e-9fed-82b54f5fe88b_1015x465.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Qzp1!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe76b55-a9dd-467e-9fed-82b54f5fe88b_1015x465.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Qzp1!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe76b55-a9dd-467e-9fed-82b54f5fe88b_1015x465.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Qzp1!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe76b55-a9dd-467e-9fed-82b54f5fe88b_1015x465.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Qzp1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe76b55-a9dd-467e-9fed-82b54f5fe88b_1015x465.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Qzp1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe76b55-a9dd-467e-9fed-82b54f5fe88b_1015x465.png" width="1015" height="465" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9fe76b55-a9dd-467e-9fed-82b54f5fe88b_1015x465.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:465,&quot;width&quot;:1015,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1016901,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/i/191295284?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe76b55-a9dd-467e-9fed-82b54f5fe88b_1015x465.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Qzp1!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe76b55-a9dd-467e-9fed-82b54f5fe88b_1015x465.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Qzp1!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe76b55-a9dd-467e-9fed-82b54f5fe88b_1015x465.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Qzp1!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe76b55-a9dd-467e-9fed-82b54f5fe88b_1015x465.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Qzp1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe76b55-a9dd-467e-9fed-82b54f5fe88b_1015x465.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The burden is highly concentrated, with five districts &#8211; Katima Mulilo, Nkurenkuru, Outapi, Andara and Nyangana &#8211; accounting for nearly 69% of all confirmed cases nationally.</p><p>To date, a total of 21 districts had exceeded their epidemic thresholds.</p><p>Transmission appears largely driven by favorable postrainy season conditions that increase Anopheles mosquito breeding, with the majority of infections locally acquired, while imported cases highlight continued cross-border vulnerability.</p><div id="youtube2-FQ1M7OFminA" class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;videoId&quot;:&quot;FQ1M7OFminA&quot;,&quot;startTime&quot;:null,&quot;endTime&quot;:null}" data-component-name="Youtube2ToDOM"><div class="youtube-inner"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/FQ1M7OFminA?rel=0&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;enablejsapi=0" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" gesture="media" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowautoplay="true" allowfullscreen="true" width="728" height="409"></iframe></div></div><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Bacterial meningitis outbreak reported in Kongo Central province, DRC]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Ministry of Health (MOH) reports a bacterial meningitis outbreak in Mangembo health zone, Kongo Central province in late February.]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/bacterial-meningitis-outbreak-reported</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/bacterial-meningitis-outbreak-reported</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 16 Mar 2026 20:56:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0kNQ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd43348a8-c74e-4f58-b2ee-71bc4ece7de2_640x595.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Ministry of Health (MOH) reports a bacterial meningitis outbreak in Mangembo health zone, Kongo Central province in late February.</p><p>The outbreak was initially detected among secondary school students, where several individuals experienced similar symptoms during a short time.</p><p>Cumulatively, 24 total cases, including three cases confirmed (<em>Neisseria meningitidis</em> W135 by PCR) and nine desaths for a case fatality of 37 percent.</p><p>Most cases were seen in people ages 13 to 24 years.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0kNQ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd43348a8-c74e-4f58-b2ee-71bc4ece7de2_640x595.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0kNQ!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd43348a8-c74e-4f58-b2ee-71bc4ece7de2_640x595.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0kNQ!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd43348a8-c74e-4f58-b2ee-71bc4ece7de2_640x595.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0kNQ!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd43348a8-c74e-4f58-b2ee-71bc4ece7de2_640x595.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0kNQ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd43348a8-c74e-4f58-b2ee-71bc4ece7de2_640x595.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0kNQ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd43348a8-c74e-4f58-b2ee-71bc4ece7de2_640x595.png" width="640" height="595" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d43348a8-c74e-4f58-b2ee-71bc4ece7de2_640x595.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:595,&quot;width&quot;:640,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:118760,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/i/191180450?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd43348a8-c74e-4f58-b2ee-71bc4ece7de2_640x595.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0kNQ!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd43348a8-c74e-4f58-b2ee-71bc4ece7de2_640x595.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0kNQ!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd43348a8-c74e-4f58-b2ee-71bc4ece7de2_640x595.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0kNQ!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd43348a8-c74e-4f58-b2ee-71bc4ece7de2_640x595.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0kNQ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd43348a8-c74e-4f58-b2ee-71bc4ece7de2_640x595.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Namibia: Declaration of the End of Mpox and Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Outbreaks]]></title><description><![CDATA[Minister of health and social services, Esperance Luvindao has officially declared the end of the mpox outbreak in the Swakopmund district and the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) outbreak in the Omaheke region.Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication.]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/namibia-declaration-of-the-end-of</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/namibia-declaration-of-the-end-of</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 10 Mar 2026 22:14:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d3ffaed2-58b7-44ae-8d25-1e0f97db995f_741x648.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Minister of health and social services, Esperance Luvindao has officially declared the end of the mpox outbreak in the Swakopmund district and the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) outbreak in the Omaheke region.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7v_M!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32d12b1e-1ffc-4882-b879-f3a54ebd4165_1100x800.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7v_M!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32d12b1e-1ffc-4882-b879-f3a54ebd4165_1100x800.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7v_M!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32d12b1e-1ffc-4882-b879-f3a54ebd4165_1100x800.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7v_M!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32d12b1e-1ffc-4882-b879-f3a54ebd4165_1100x800.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7v_M!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32d12b1e-1ffc-4882-b879-f3a54ebd4165_1100x800.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7v_M!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32d12b1e-1ffc-4882-b879-f3a54ebd4165_1100x800.png" width="1100" height="800" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7v_M!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32d12b1e-1ffc-4882-b879-f3a54ebd4165_1100x800.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7v_M!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32d12b1e-1ffc-4882-b879-f3a54ebd4165_1100x800.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7v_M!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32d12b1e-1ffc-4882-b879-f3a54ebd4165_1100x800.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7v_M!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32d12b1e-1ffc-4882-b879-f3a54ebd4165_1100x800.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Nigeria: Lassa fever cases rise during peak season]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) is calling for strengthened state-level response measures as Lassa fever cases continue to rise during the peak transmission period of the dry season (November&#8211;April).]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/nigeria-lassa-fever-cases-rise-during</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/nigeria-lassa-fever-cases-rise-during</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 10 Mar 2026 21:22:01 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3IZ-!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7999a690-d36a-497a-b25d-1a7604d86e0d_772x540.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) is calling for strengthened state-level response measures as Lassa fever cases continue to rise during the peak transmission period of the dry season (November&#8211;April).</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3IZ-!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7999a690-d36a-497a-b25d-1a7604d86e0d_772x540.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3IZ-!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7999a690-d36a-497a-b25d-1a7604d86e0d_772x540.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3IZ-!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7999a690-d36a-497a-b25d-1a7604d86e0d_772x540.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3IZ-!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7999a690-d36a-497a-b25d-1a7604d86e0d_772x540.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3IZ-!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7999a690-d36a-497a-b25d-1a7604d86e0d_772x540.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3IZ-!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7999a690-d36a-497a-b25d-1a7604d86e0d_772x540.png" width="772" height="540" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/7999a690-d36a-497a-b25d-1a7604d86e0d_772x540.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:540,&quot;width&quot;:772,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:498321,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/i/190554675?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7999a690-d36a-497a-b25d-1a7604d86e0d_772x540.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3IZ-!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7999a690-d36a-497a-b25d-1a7604d86e0d_772x540.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3IZ-!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7999a690-d36a-497a-b25d-1a7604d86e0d_772x540.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3IZ-!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7999a690-d36a-497a-b25d-1a7604d86e0d_772x540.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3IZ-!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7999a690-d36a-497a-b25d-1a7604d86e0d_772x540.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>During the first two months of 2026, Nigeria has recorded a concerning number of Lassa fever cases and deaths involving 18 states and 67 LGAs. Five states &#8212; Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Edo, and Benue &#8212;account for 84% of confirmed cases.</p><p>Of the 84% confirmed cases, Bauchi reported 30%, Ondo 21%, Taraba 19%, Edo 8% and Benue 6%.</p><p>Cumulatively as of week 8, 2026, 99 deaths have been reported with a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 24.5% which is higher than the CFR for the same period in 2025 (18.8%).</p><p>Of particular concern is the increase in infections among healthcare workers, with 28 confirmed infections and 3 deaths recorded this season.</p><p>Lassa fever follows a predictable seasonal and geographic pattern in Nigeria. High-burden states are known, peak months are well documented.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p><div id="youtube2-wPD_XxyiYg0" class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;videoId&quot;:&quot;wPD_XxyiYg0&quot;,&quot;startTime&quot;:null,&quot;endTime&quot;:null}" data-component-name="Youtube2ToDOM"><div class="youtube-inner"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/wPD_XxyiYg0?rel=0&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;enablejsapi=0" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" gesture="media" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowautoplay="true" allowfullscreen="true" width="728" height="409"></iframe></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Madagascar: Dozens more mpox cases reported]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Madagascar Ministry of Health reported an additional 55 laboratory confirmed mpox cases since late February, bringing the the outbreak total to 387 lab confirmed cases and no deaths since the outbreak began in December 2025.]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/madagascar-dozens-more-mpox-cases</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/madagascar-dozens-more-mpox-cases</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 09 Mar 2026 23:26:37 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n20H!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35f34593-0e20-4889-a6ea-007c2a4f899e_640x640.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Madagascar Ministry of Health reported an additional 55 laboratory confirmed mpox cases since late February, bringing the the outbreak total to 387 lab confirmed cases and no deaths since the outbreak began in December 2025.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n20H!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35f34593-0e20-4889-a6ea-007c2a4f899e_640x640.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n20H!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35f34593-0e20-4889-a6ea-007c2a4f899e_640x640.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n20H!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35f34593-0e20-4889-a6ea-007c2a4f899e_640x640.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n20H!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35f34593-0e20-4889-a6ea-007c2a4f899e_640x640.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n20H!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35f34593-0e20-4889-a6ea-007c2a4f899e_640x640.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n20H!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35f34593-0e20-4889-a6ea-007c2a4f899e_640x640.png" width="640" height="640" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/35f34593-0e20-4889-a6ea-007c2a4f899e_640x640.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:640,&quot;width&quot;:640,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:235303,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/i/190450706?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35f34593-0e20-4889-a6ea-007c2a4f899e_640x640.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n20H!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35f34593-0e20-4889-a6ea-007c2a4f899e_640x640.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n20H!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35f34593-0e20-4889-a6ea-007c2a4f899e_640x640.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n20H!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35f34593-0e20-4889-a6ea-007c2a4f899e_640x640.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n20H!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35f34593-0e20-4889-a6ea-007c2a4f899e_640x640.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Image/Sanjay Rao</figcaption></figure></div><p>Cases have been reported in 27 of Madagascar&#8217;s 114 health districts. Clade 1b was isolated from sequenced samples.</p><p>In Africa since the beginning of 2026, over 9,000 total mpox cases, including 1480 lab confirmed cases were reported from 22 African Union Member States.</p><p>A total of 53 deaths have been reported.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Measles spreading alarmingly in Kasai-Oriental province, DRC]]></title><description><![CDATA[In a follow-up on the measles epidemic in Kasai-Oriental province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), provincial health authorities reported 338 new measles cases during the last epidemiological week, confirming a significant resurgence of the disease in several health zones.]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/measles-spreading-alarmingly-in-kasai</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/measles-spreading-alarmingly-in-kasai</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2026 23:48:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!M49I!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F874676f0-7b8f-48e6-a43b-b4ad4f215ceb_640x640.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In a follow-up on the measles epidemic in Kasai-Oriental province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), provincial health authorities reported 338 new measles cases during the last epidemiological week, confirming a significant resurgence of the disease in several health zones.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!M49I!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F874676f0-7b8f-48e6-a43b-b4ad4f215ceb_640x640.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!M49I!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F874676f0-7b8f-48e6-a43b-b4ad4f215ceb_640x640.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!M49I!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F874676f0-7b8f-48e6-a43b-b4ad4f215ceb_640x640.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!M49I!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F874676f0-7b8f-48e6-a43b-b4ad4f215ceb_640x640.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!M49I!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F874676f0-7b8f-48e6-a43b-b4ad4f215ceb_640x640.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!M49I!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F874676f0-7b8f-48e6-a43b-b4ad4f215ceb_640x640.png" width="640" height="640" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/874676f0-7b8f-48e6-a43b-b4ad4f215ceb_640x640.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:640,&quot;width&quot;:640,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:135034,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/i/189308301?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F874676f0-7b8f-48e6-a43b-b4ad4f215ceb_640x640.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!M49I!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F874676f0-7b8f-48e6-a43b-b4ad4f215ceb_640x640.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!M49I!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F874676f0-7b8f-48e6-a43b-b4ad4f215ceb_640x640.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!M49I!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F874676f0-7b8f-48e6-a43b-b4ad4f215ceb_640x640.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!M49I!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F874676f0-7b8f-48e6-a43b-b4ad4f215ceb_640x640.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Image/Connormah</figcaption></figure></div><p>This increase is causing serious concern within the provincial government. Measles, a highly contagious disease, primarily affects unvaccinated children and can lead to serious complications if not treated promptly. Health officials fear a wider spread if urgent measures are not strengthened. Speaking after the Cabinet meeting, the provincial government spokesperson emphasized the seriousness of the situation.</p><blockquote><p>&#8220;The increase in measles cases is very worrying. During the last epidemiological week, at least 338 cases were recorded. And the ministry has invited parents to have their children vaccinated,&#8221; he said, reading from the official report.</p></blockquote><p>Health authorities are emphasizing vaccination as the primary means of prevention. They are urging parents to check their children&#8217;s vaccination status and to visit health facilities for routine immunizations or to participate in ongoing campaigns.</p><p>Since the beginning of the year, DRC have reported 20,231 total measles cases and 238 deaths.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[South Africa: Measles, rubella and diphtheria updates]]></title><description><![CDATA[Measles]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/south-africa-measles-rubella-and</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/south-africa-measles-rubella-and</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 21 Feb 2026 22:11:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fdj7!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faa424c68-31fd-4a64-804b-87772d130fb5_753x556.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><strong>Measles</strong></em></p><p>The South Africa National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reports from December 29, 2025 to February 8, 2026 (Epi Weeks 1-6) indicated that 307 laboratory-confirmed measles cases were reported nationally. The Western Cape reported the highest number of new cases (56), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (13), Mpumalanga (10), Free State (5), Gauteng (4), Northern Cape (2), Limpopo (2), and North West (2).</p><p>Most of the reported measles cases were children aged 1-14 years (168/307; 54.7%), with an increase in laboratory-confirmed cases among people aged &gt;15 years (89/307; 29.0%). This is indicative of continuing transmission within communities and possibly an immunity gap in older age groups.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fdj7!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faa424c68-31fd-4a64-804b-87772d130fb5_753x556.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fdj7!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faa424c68-31fd-4a64-804b-87772d130fb5_753x556.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fdj7!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faa424c68-31fd-4a64-804b-87772d130fb5_753x556.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fdj7!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faa424c68-31fd-4a64-804b-87772d130fb5_753x556.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fdj7!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faa424c68-31fd-4a64-804b-87772d130fb5_753x556.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fdj7!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faa424c68-31fd-4a64-804b-87772d130fb5_753x556.png" width="753" height="556" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/aa424c68-31fd-4a64-804b-87772d130fb5_753x556.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:556,&quot;width&quot;:753,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:283687,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/i/188748268?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faa424c68-31fd-4a64-804b-87772d130fb5_753x556.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fdj7!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faa424c68-31fd-4a64-804b-87772d130fb5_753x556.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fdj7!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faa424c68-31fd-4a64-804b-87772d130fb5_753x556.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fdj7!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faa424c68-31fd-4a64-804b-87772d130fb5_753x556.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fdj7!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faa424c68-31fd-4a64-804b-87772d130fb5_753x556.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p><em><strong>Rubella</strong></em></p><p>A total of 32 laboratory-confirmed rubella cases were reported in South Africa from data available from December 29, 2025 to February 8, 2026 (EPI Weeks 1&#8211;6) through fever-rash surveillance. Rubella cases have decreased nationally in comparison to the same period in 2025.</p><p>Rubella is endemic in South Africa, with an increase in circulation in autumn and spring. Rubella primarily affects children under 15 years of age and typically results in a self-limiting acute infection. Nationally, the most affected age group was children 1-14 years (22/32; 68.8%).</p><p>Rubella, also known as German measles, spreads easily through coughs and sneezes, and can be dangerous for unborn babies if a pregnant woman becomes infected. The best way to prevent rubella is through vaccination with the MR vaccine. This vaccine is given as part of the routine childhood immunisation schedule. Women planning pregnancy should confirm their rubella immunity status with a healthcare provider. Community awareness and participation in vaccination campaigns are key to protecting everyone, especially pregnant women and their unborn children, from rubella and its serious complications.</p><p><em><strong>Diphtheria</strong></em></p><p>Between 1 January 2024 and 15 February 2026, 93 confirmed cases of respiratory diphtheria, two probable respiratory diphtheria cases and 62 asymptomatic carriers of toxigenic C. diphtheriae, detected during contact tracing, have been identified in South Africa.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iMpX!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3801e48a-b962-4d9a-9e4c-2ea5bcae2464_450x250.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iMpX!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3801e48a-b962-4d9a-9e4c-2ea5bcae2464_450x250.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iMpX!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3801e48a-b962-4d9a-9e4c-2ea5bcae2464_450x250.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iMpX!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3801e48a-b962-4d9a-9e4c-2ea5bcae2464_450x250.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iMpX!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3801e48a-b962-4d9a-9e4c-2ea5bcae2464_450x250.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img 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data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3801e48a-b962-4d9a-9e4c-2ea5bcae2464_450x250.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:250,&quot;width&quot;:450,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:144405,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/i/188748268?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3801e48a-b962-4d9a-9e4c-2ea5bcae2464_450x250.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iMpX!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3801e48a-b962-4d9a-9e4c-2ea5bcae2464_450x250.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iMpX!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3801e48a-b962-4d9a-9e4c-2ea5bcae2464_450x250.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iMpX!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3801e48a-b962-4d9a-9e4c-2ea5bcae2464_450x250.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iMpX!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3801e48a-b962-4d9a-9e4c-2ea5bcae2464_450x250.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The majority of confirmed cases and carriers (77%, 119/155) were from the Western Cape, comprising 69 respiratory diphtheria cases and 50 asymptomatic carriers.</p><p>The median age for cases of confirmed respiratory diphtheria was 25 years (range: 2-55 years), with 69% (64/93) being 18 years and older. The overall case-fatality ratio (CFR) among probable and confirmed respiratory diphtheria cases was 20% (19/95). Among children and adolescents under 18 years, the CFR was 25% (7/28), compared to 18% (12/67) among adults.</p><p>Between 1 January 2024 and 15 February 2026, four cutaneous toxigenic diphtheria cases have been identified, three from Gauteng and one from the Western Cape.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Senegal reports CCHF case in 7-year-old child]]></title><description><![CDATA[Senegal health officials report a confirmed case of Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in a seven year old male child from the Tambacounda region on February 10.]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/senegal-reports-cchf-case-in-7-year</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/senegal-reports-cchf-case-in-7-year</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 21 Feb 2026 00:21:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_huI!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe470e1bf-b108-40ba-80ae-c672f1638d6e_458x377.webp" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Senegal health officials report a confirmed case of Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in a seven year old male child from the Tambacounda region on February 10.</p><p>The patient, who had no travel history, developed symptoms of fever, headache and muscle and joint pains in early January.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_huI!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe470e1bf-b108-40ba-80ae-c672f1638d6e_458x377.webp" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_huI!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe470e1bf-b108-40ba-80ae-c672f1638d6e_458x377.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_huI!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe470e1bf-b108-40ba-80ae-c672f1638d6e_458x377.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_huI!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe470e1bf-b108-40ba-80ae-c672f1638d6e_458x377.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_huI!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe470e1bf-b108-40ba-80ae-c672f1638d6e_458x377.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_huI!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe470e1bf-b108-40ba-80ae-c672f1638d6e_458x377.webp" width="458" height="377" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/e470e1bf-b108-40ba-80ae-c672f1638d6e_458x377.webp&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:377,&quot;width&quot;:458,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:25498,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/webp&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/i/188672504?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe470e1bf-b108-40ba-80ae-c672f1638d6e_458x377.webp&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_huI!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe470e1bf-b108-40ba-80ae-c672f1638d6e_458x377.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_huI!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe470e1bf-b108-40ba-80ae-c672f1638d6e_458x377.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_huI!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe470e1bf-b108-40ba-80ae-c672f1638d6e_458x377.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_huI!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe470e1bf-b108-40ba-80ae-c672f1638d6e_458x377.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Image/CDC</figcaption></figure></div><p>CCHF was confirmed by the Institut Pasteur in Dakar.</p><p>Human CCHF infection mainly occurs after the bite of an infected tick or exposure to blood or tissues from infected animals; human-to-human transmission, particularly in healthcare settings, has also been reported.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVBzqPC_Tdw">CCHF </a></strong>causes clinical manifestations in humans ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe hemorrhagic fever. The case-fatality rate (CFR) during outbreaks is typically 5%&#8211;30%, but CFRs of up to 62% have been reported.</p><p>CCHF is the most geographically widespread tickborne disease, identified in &gt;30 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe located south of the 50th parallel north.</p><p>The annual incidence is estimated to be 10,000&#8211;15,000 cases worldwide but has been slowly and steadily rising. That increase in incidence is thought to be caused by the expanding range of its main vector, <em>Hyalomma</em> ticks, and by increased testing.</p><p>Most cases occur after tick bites; the second most common means of exposure is through bodily fluids and tissue from infected animals; and last, human-to-human transmission can occur in the healthcare setting.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic fever in Uganda]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Uganda Ministry of Health reported an Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) outbreak in Kyankwanzi district, central Uganda on February 11.]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/crimean-congo-hemorrhagic-fever-in-694</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/crimean-congo-hemorrhagic-fever-in-694</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 20 Feb 2026 23:58:19 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xorl!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5f329d7b-8396-4a84-9fc4-1311d7de2dcb_646x600.webp" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Uganda Ministry of Health reported an Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) outbreak in Kyankwanzi district, central Uganda on February 11.</p><p>The index case is a 21-year-old male nurse who developed headache, fever, loss of appetite and malaise in mid-January.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xorl!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5f329d7b-8396-4a84-9fc4-1311d7de2dcb_646x600.webp" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xorl!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5f329d7b-8396-4a84-9fc4-1311d7de2dcb_646x600.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xorl!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5f329d7b-8396-4a84-9fc4-1311d7de2dcb_646x600.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xorl!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5f329d7b-8396-4a84-9fc4-1311d7de2dcb_646x600.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xorl!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5f329d7b-8396-4a84-9fc4-1311d7de2dcb_646x600.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xorl!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5f329d7b-8396-4a84-9fc4-1311d7de2dcb_646x600.webp" width="646" height="600" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/5f329d7b-8396-4a84-9fc4-1311d7de2dcb_646x600.webp&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:600,&quot;width&quot;:646,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:45812,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/webp&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/i/188671164?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5f329d7b-8396-4a84-9fc4-1311d7de2dcb_646x600.webp&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xorl!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5f329d7b-8396-4a84-9fc4-1311d7de2dcb_646x600.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xorl!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5f329d7b-8396-4a84-9fc4-1311d7de2dcb_646x600.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xorl!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5f329d7b-8396-4a84-9fc4-1311d7de2dcb_646x600.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xorl!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5f329d7b-8396-4a84-9fc4-1311d7de2dcb_646x600.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>This progressed into non-bloody diarrhea, vomiting, joint pain, conjuctivitis, chest pain, jaundice and bleeding from the nose and gums.</p><p>The Uganda Virus Research Institute confirmed the CCHF by PCR.</p><p>This is the first CCHF case in Uganda in 2026.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p><p>Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is a widespread disease caused by a tick-borne virus (<em>Nairovirus</em>) of the <em>Bunyaviridae</em> family. The CCHF virus causes severe viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks, with a case fatality rate of 10&#8211;40%.</p><p>Animals become infected by the bite of infected ticks and the virus remains in their bloodstream for about one week after infection, allowing the tick-animal-tick cycle to continue when another tick bites. Although a number of tick genera are capable of becoming infected with CCHF virus, ticks of the genus <em>Hyalomma</em> are the principal vector.</p><p>The CCHF virus is transmitted to people either by tick bites or through contact with infected animal blood or tissues during and immediately after slaughter. The majority of cases have occurred in people involved in the livestock industry, such as agricultural workers, slaughterhouse workers and veterinarians. Human-to-human transmission is possible.</p><p>In 2025, 17 CCHF cases (11 confirmed) and two deaths were reported in 10 districts.</p><p>Related news:</p><p><strong><a href="https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/uganda-anthrax-outbreak-in-lyantonde">Uganda: Anthrax outbreak in Lyantonde District results in 4 deaths</a></strong></p><p><strong><a href="https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/chikungunya-outbreak-in-seychelles">Chikungunya outbreak in Seychelles prompts travel warning</a></strong></p><p><strong><a href="https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/rift-valley-fever-outbreak-in-mauritania">Rift Valley fever outbreak in Mauritania appears to be under control</a></strong></p><div id="youtube2-3vys08_YbTI" class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;videoId&quot;:&quot;3vys08_YbTI&quot;,&quot;startTime&quot;:null,&quot;endTime&quot;:null}" data-component-name="Youtube2ToDOM"><div class="youtube-inner"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/3vys08_YbTI?rel=0&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;enablejsapi=0" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" gesture="media" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowautoplay="true" allowfullscreen="true" width="728" height="409"></iframe></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Libya eliminates blinding trachoma as a public health problem]]></title><description><![CDATA[The World Health Organization (WHO) announced this week that Libya has eliminated the neglected tropical disease (NTD) and blinding disease, trachoma as a public health problem.]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/libya-eliminates-blinding-trachoma</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/libya-eliminates-blinding-trachoma</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 19 Feb 2026 13:22:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/f5f9ea68-a132-47cc-a0d9-dccb36748e80_382x358.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The World Health Organization (WHO) announced this week that Libya has eliminated the neglected tropical disease (NTD) and blinding disease, trachoma as a public health problem.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jJXm!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffedc995c-e266-4c21-9ad3-727ed2e27d04_640x640.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jJXm!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffedc995c-e266-4c21-9ad3-727ed2e27d04_640x640.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jJXm!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffedc995c-e266-4c21-9ad3-727ed2e27d04_640x640.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jJXm!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffedc995c-e266-4c21-9ad3-727ed2e27d04_640x640.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jJXm!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffedc995c-e266-4c21-9ad3-727ed2e27d04_640x640.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jJXm!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffedc995c-e266-4c21-9ad3-727ed2e27d04_640x640.png" width="640" height="640" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/fedc995c-e266-4c21-9ad3-727ed2e27d04_640x640.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:640,&quot;width&quot;:640,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:251609,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/i/188488413?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffedc995c-e266-4c21-9ad3-727ed2e27d04_640x640.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jJXm!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffedc995c-e266-4c21-9ad3-727ed2e27d04_640x640.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jJXm!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffedc995c-e266-4c21-9ad3-727ed2e27d04_640x640.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jJXm!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffedc995c-e266-4c21-9ad3-727ed2e27d04_640x640.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jJXm!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffedc995c-e266-4c21-9ad3-727ed2e27d04_640x640.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Image/Sanjay Rao</figcaption></figure></div><p>WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said concerning this big achievement: &#8220;This milestone reflects Libya&#8217;s determination to safeguard the health of its people and reinforces our conviction that progress against neglected tropical diseases is possible everywhere. </p><p>&#8220;Eliminating trachoma as a public health problem is an inspiring achievement for the Eastern Mediterranean Region and for communities across Libya.&#8221;</p><p>Libya is the 28th country worldwide and the 8th in the Eastern Mediterranean Region to eliminate trachoma.</p><p>Libya&#8217;s achievement is particularly notable given years of political instability and humanitarian challenges that strained health services, displaced populations and increased demand for basic services, including water, sanitation and hygiene.</p><p>Trachoma, caused by the bacterium <em>Chlamydia trachomatis</em>, is spread through contact with infected eye discharge via hands, clothing, or flies. Repeated infections can lead to scarring of the inner eyelid, turning eyelashes inward to scratch the eyeball: a painful condition known as trichiasis that can result in blindness.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p><div id="youtube2-OKjxfu4lsbU" class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;videoId&quot;:&quot;OKjxfu4lsbU&quot;,&quot;startTime&quot;:null,&quot;endTime&quot;:null}" data-component-name="Youtube2ToDOM"><div class="youtube-inner"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/OKjxfu4lsbU?rel=0&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;enablejsapi=0" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" gesture="media" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowautoplay="true" allowfullscreen="true" width="728" height="409"></iframe></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Uganda: Anthrax outbreak in Lyantonde District results in 4 deaths]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Uganda Ministry of Health has confirmed an anthrax outbreak in Lyantonde District in southern Central Uganda, according to a local media report.]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/uganda-anthrax-outbreak-in-lyantonde</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/uganda-anthrax-outbreak-in-lyantonde</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 15 Feb 2026 19:48:44 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HIis!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5b4070c0-fcdb-4fba-8594-abced26e3071_800x1200.webp" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Uganda Ministry of Health has confirmed an anthrax outbreak in Lyantonde District in southern Central Uganda, according to a local media <a href="https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/ministry-of-health-confirms-anthrax-outbreak-in-lyantonde--5359164">report</a>.</p><p>Health officials say 10 samples were collected from Kaliiro, Kasagama, and Lyantonde sub-counties, of which three tested positive for Bacillus anthracis, the agent of anthrax.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HIis!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5b4070c0-fcdb-4fba-8594-abced26e3071_800x1200.webp" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HIis!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5b4070c0-fcdb-4fba-8594-abced26e3071_800x1200.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HIis!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5b4070c0-fcdb-4fba-8594-abced26e3071_800x1200.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HIis!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5b4070c0-fcdb-4fba-8594-abced26e3071_800x1200.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HIis!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5b4070c0-fcdb-4fba-8594-abced26e3071_800x1200.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HIis!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5b4070c0-fcdb-4fba-8594-abced26e3071_800x1200.webp" width="800" height="1200" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/5b4070c0-fcdb-4fba-8594-abced26e3071_800x1200.webp&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1200,&quot;width&quot;:800,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:22432,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/webp&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/i/188063973?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5b4070c0-fcdb-4fba-8594-abced26e3071_800x1200.webp&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HIis!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5b4070c0-fcdb-4fba-8594-abced26e3071_800x1200.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HIis!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5b4070c0-fcdb-4fba-8594-abced26e3071_800x1200.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HIis!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5b4070c0-fcdb-4fba-8594-abced26e3071_800x1200.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HIis!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5b4070c0-fcdb-4fba-8594-abced26e3071_800x1200.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Authorities report four people have died so far and two confirmed cases are being treated.</p><p>"We received reports of a strange disease killing people in several sub-counties. Our investigations show that most affected individuals had contact with livestock that died suddenly," Dr Fred Walugembe, leading the surveillance team, said.</p><p>Health officials urged residents to avoid slaughtering animals that die mysteriously and to purchase meat only inspected and stamped by certified veterinary officers.</p><p>Livestock farmers in affected areas have expressed growing concern over the outbreak, calling on the government to rollout mass vaccination.</p><p>Anthrax is a serious infectious disease caused by a bacteria called <em>Bacillus anthracis</em>. Many different types of animals, as well as people, can get the disease.</p><p>In animals, signs of the illness usually appear 3 to 7 days after the spores are swallowed or inhaled. Once signs begin in animals, they usually die within two days. Infected animals may stagger, have difficulty breathing, tremble, and finally collapse and die within a few hours. Sometimes animals may have a fever and a period of excitement followed by staggering, depression, unconsciousness (lacking awareness), difficulty breathing, seizures, and death. Dark blood may ooze from the mouth, nose, and anus.</p><p>Handling or eating a dead or sick animal infected with anthrax can transmit anthrax to humans and other animals. Anthrax is not spread by sneezing or coughing. Person-to-person spread of the disease is unlikely.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqjNwMDZ3dElBSB__yW-0sg">Subscribe to Outbreak News TV on YouTube</a></strong></p><p>In humans, symptoms of disease vary depending on how the disease was contracted, but usually occur within 7 days after exposure. The three forms of human anthrax are inhalation anthrax (caused when the spores are inhaled into the lungs), cutaneous anthrax (caused when broken skin comes into contact with infected animals or hides), and intestinal anthrax (caused when undercooked meat from an infected animal is eaten).<br><br>Initial symptoms of inhalation anthrax infection may resemble a common cold. After several days, the symptoms may progress to severe breathing problems and shock. Inhalation anthrax is usually fatal, unless the patient is treated before any symptoms occur.<br><br>The intestinal disease form of anthrax may follow the consumption of contaminated food and is characterized by an acute inflammation of the intestinal tract. Initial signs of nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, and fever are followed by abdominal pain, vomiting of blood, and severe diarrhea. Like inhalation anthrax, the intestinal form is usually fatal.</p><p>The cutaneous form of the disease begins with itching at the site of the exposure, followed by the formation of a round, pimple-like sore. This sore will then form a blister which, after 2-6 days will become a hard, black scab (similar to the scab left after a deep burn). Untreated, between 5 and 20% of patients will die. However, with adequate antibiotic treatment very few deaths occur.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Chikungunya outbreak in Seychelles prompts travel warning]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued a travel notice (Level 2 - Practice Enhanced Precautions) due to an outbreak of chikungunya on the island country off the east coast of Africa in the Indian ocean.]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/chikungunya-outbreak-in-seychelles</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/chikungunya-outbreak-in-seychelles</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 13 Feb 2026 18:05:27 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9021e306-c7cb-463e-a9cc-74c9181cb6bb_213x173.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued a travel notice (Level 2 - Practice Enhanced Precautions) due to an outbreak of chikungunya on the island country off the east coast of Africa in the Indian ocean.</p><p>According to a February 5 press release from the Ministry of Health (MOH)  Seychelles, continued circulation of arboviruses in Seychelles is confirmed.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TTpy!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F447f0605-1c94-4279-95e2-1f5a4de60ad8_447x186.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TTpy!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F447f0605-1c94-4279-95e2-1f5a4de60ad8_447x186.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TTpy!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F447f0605-1c94-4279-95e2-1f5a4de60ad8_447x186.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TTpy!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F447f0605-1c94-4279-95e2-1f5a4de60ad8_447x186.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TTpy!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F447f0605-1c94-4279-95e2-1f5a4de60ad8_447x186.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TTpy!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F447f0605-1c94-4279-95e2-1f5a4de60ad8_447x186.png" width="447" height="186" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/447f0605-1c94-4279-95e2-1f5a4de60ad8_447x186.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:186,&quot;width&quot;:447,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:177015,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/i/187880954?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F447f0605-1c94-4279-95e2-1f5a4de60ad8_447x186.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TTpy!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F447f0605-1c94-4279-95e2-1f5a4de60ad8_447x186.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TTpy!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F447f0605-1c94-4279-95e2-1f5a4de60ad8_447x186.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TTpy!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F447f0605-1c94-4279-95e2-1f5a4de60ad8_447x186.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TTpy!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F447f0605-1c94-4279-95e2-1f5a4de60ad8_447x186.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>There has been increased doctor consultations for fever and rash syndromes compatible with arbovirus infections in 2025-2026. While there were few positive cases of dengue, the December and January surge has mostly been attributed to chikungunya, which aligns with the rainy season.</p><p>The MOH did not publish any numbers in the press release.</p><p>Health officials say the principal vectors, <em>Aedes aegypti</em> and <em>Aedes albopictus</em>, are present and widespread.</p><p>CDC notes that you can protect yourself by preventing mosquito bites, which includes using insect repellent, wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, and staying in places with air conditioning or that have screens on the windows and doors.</p><p>Vaccination is recommended for travelers who are visiting an area with a chikungunya outbreak.</p><p>Chikungunya disease is caused by the chikungunya virus and is spread to humans through mosquito bites.</p><p>Most people infected with chikungunya virus develop some symptoms. Symptoms of chikungunya usually begin 3&#8211;7 days after a bite by an infected mosquito. The most common symptoms are fever and joint pain. Other symptoms may include headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, or rash. Most people get better within a week; however, some can have severe joint pain for months to years following acute illness.</p><p>People at risk for more severe disease include newborns infected around the time of birth, older adults (65 years or older), and people with medical conditions such as diabetes or heart disease. Death from chikungunya is rare.</p><p>There is no specific treatment for chikungunya.</p><p>Lastly, CDC recommends you seek medical care if you develop fever, joint pain, headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, or rash, during or after travel.</p><p><em><strong><a href="https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/">Outbreak News Today</a> is a free news source. However, if you like the work I do at this website and find it valuable, please consider a paid subscription for as little as $5/month or $30 annually. It would be appreciated.</strong></em></p><div id="youtube2-0UcpVsE25-I" class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;videoId&quot;:&quot;0UcpVsE25-I&quot;,&quot;startTime&quot;:null,&quot;endTime&quot;:null}" data-component-name="Youtube2ToDOM"><div class="youtube-inner"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/0UcpVsE25-I?rel=0&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;enablejsapi=0" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" gesture="media" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowautoplay="true" allowfullscreen="true" width="728" height="409"></iframe></div></div><p></p><p> </p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sierra Leone reports outbreak of cutaneous ulcer casued by Haemophilus ducreyi]]></title><description><![CDATA[In November 2025, Sierra Leone health officials reported a cluster of cutaneous ulcer among primary school students in Kayasie Village, Safroko Limba Chiefdom, Bombali District.]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/sierra-leone-reports-outbreak-of</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/sierra-leone-reports-outbreak-of</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 12 Feb 2026 23:59:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQx3!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4ae001f1-a66b-43bc-84b7-5ed436c7c4eb_330x355.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In November 2025, Sierra Leone health officials reported a cluster of cutaneous ulcer among primary school students in Kayasie Village, Safroko Limba Chiefdom, Bombali District.</p><p>A 12-year-old boy from Small Bumbuna Village was identified as the index case.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQx3!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4ae001f1-a66b-43bc-84b7-5ed436c7c4eb_330x355.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQx3!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4ae001f1-a66b-43bc-84b7-5ed436c7c4eb_330x355.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQx3!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4ae001f1-a66b-43bc-84b7-5ed436c7c4eb_330x355.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQx3!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4ae001f1-a66b-43bc-84b7-5ed436c7c4eb_330x355.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQx3!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4ae001f1-a66b-43bc-84b7-5ed436c7c4eb_330x355.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQx3!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4ae001f1-a66b-43bc-84b7-5ed436c7c4eb_330x355.png" width="330" height="355" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4ae001f1-a66b-43bc-84b7-5ed436c7c4eb_330x355.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:355,&quot;width&quot;:330,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:9144,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/i/187803737?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4ae001f1-a66b-43bc-84b7-5ed436c7c4eb_330x355.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQx3!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4ae001f1-a66b-43bc-84b7-5ed436c7c4eb_330x355.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQx3!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4ae001f1-a66b-43bc-84b7-5ed436c7c4eb_330x355.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQx3!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4ae001f1-a66b-43bc-84b7-5ed436c7c4eb_330x355.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VQx3!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4ae001f1-a66b-43bc-84b7-5ed436c7c4eb_330x355.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Officials say the investigation showed the index case reportedly had close contact with a sick goat presenting with cutaneous lesions for approximately two weeks prior to symptom onset.</p><p>Retrospective community investigations identified reports of approximately 20 goats that died in Small Bumbuna Village between late September and mid-November 2025, all reportedly presenting with cutaneous lesions and similarly slaughtered.</p><p>Between 17 November 2025 and 11 January 2026, a total of 378 cases of cutaneous ulcers were reported across 27 communities in Bombali District (367 cases) and one community in Tonkolili district (11 cases).</p><p>Males were slightly more affected, accounting for 57.4%  of cases, while ages ranged from 2 to 70 years (median 17 years). the majority of cases (84.4%, n=319) occurring among individuals aged 5&#8211;20 years.</p><p>Of the more than 200 human samples collected for laboratory testing, about half tested positive for <em>Haemophilus ducreyi.</em></p><p>According to the World Health Organization, <em>Haemophilus ducreyi </em>is a well-recognized cause of cutaneous ulcers in children in tropical settings. It spreads mainly through direct skin contact and minor trauma, thrives in contexts of poor hygiene and limited WASH, and commonly causes school- and householdbased clusters. </p><p>Effective control of this outbreak will depend on sustained community and school-based interventions, including early case detection and treatment, strengthened hygiene and wound care practices, improved WASH conditions, and continued risk communication and community engagement to interrupt transmission and prevent recurrence.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Africa: Measles outbreak has been declared in Kasai-Oriental, DRC]]></title><description><![CDATA[The governor of Kasai-Oriental, Jean-Paul Mbwebwa Kapo, officially declared a measles outbreak in the province this week.]]></description><link>https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/africa-measles-outbreak-has-been</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/africa-measles-outbreak-has-been</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Herriman]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 12 Feb 2026 23:16:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!S5ER!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb88e6808-a5b8-44b8-b18e-295ab44edae5_845x492.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The governor of Kasai-Oriental, Jean-Paul Mbwebwa Kapo, officially declared a measles outbreak in the province this week.</p><p>According to data provided by health services, 706 cases have been recorded since the beginning of 2026, including 10 deaths, during the first five weeks.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!S5ER!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb88e6808-a5b8-44b8-b18e-295ab44edae5_845x492.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!S5ER!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb88e6808-a5b8-44b8-b18e-295ab44edae5_845x492.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!S5ER!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb88e6808-a5b8-44b8-b18e-295ab44edae5_845x492.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!S5ER!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb88e6808-a5b8-44b8-b18e-295ab44edae5_845x492.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!S5ER!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb88e6808-a5b8-44b8-b18e-295ab44edae5_845x492.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!S5ER!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb88e6808-a5b8-44b8-b18e-295ab44edae5_845x492.png" width="845" height="492" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b88e6808-a5b8-44b8-b18e-295ab44edae5_845x492.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:492,&quot;width&quot;:845,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:483174,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/i/187801766?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb88e6808-a5b8-44b8-b18e-295ab44edae5_845x492.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!S5ER!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb88e6808-a5b8-44b8-b18e-295ab44edae5_845x492.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!S5ER!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb88e6808-a5b8-44b8-b18e-295ab44edae5_845x492.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!S5ER!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb88e6808-a5b8-44b8-b18e-295ab44edae5_845x492.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!S5ER!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb88e6808-a5b8-44b8-b18e-295ab44edae5_845x492.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Image/CDC</figcaption></figure></div><p>Analyses carried out by the national laboratory of the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) have confirmed the circulation of the virus in the province.</p><p>In response to this situation, the provincial authorities are calling for a general mobilization. The governor urges residents to be extra vigilant and to immediately refer any child exhibiting symptoms suggestive of measles to health facilities.</p><blockquote><p>&#8220;I call on the entire population of East Kasai to be fully vigilant. Every parent must identify and immediately direct any child showing suspicious signs to the nearest health facility for proper diagnosis and treatment,&#8221; he said.</p></blockquote><p>Signs to watch for include fever, eye and nasal discharge, and the appearance of skin rashes. Jean-Paul Mbwebwa Kapo also emphasized the importance of vaccination. He urged parents of children aged 0 to 23 months who have not yet received all the scheduled doses to go to health centers to ensure their children&#8217;s vaccinations are up to date. Healthcare providers are also called upon to facilitate case management and intensify vaccination efforts.</p><p>In 2022, the province recorded 12,939 cases of measles, including 134 deaths, illustrating the seriousness of this disease when it is not quickly contained.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. 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