Health news · 10 October 2026
WHO Urges Shift to Community-Based Mental Health Care on World Mental Health Day
On World Mental Health Day, the World Health Organization released new guidance urging countries to move away from institutional psychiatric care toward person-centred community services, under the 2026 theme 'Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change'.
DR Congo Bundibugyo Ebola Outbreak Passes 8,700 Cases as Kenya Confirms Imported Case
The World Health Organization said the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has climbed to 8,728 confirmed cases and 4,205 deaths, with a laboratory-confirmed imported case now detected in Kenya.
Pennsylvania Measles Cases Top 1,000 as New York Declares Disaster Emergency
Pennsylvania passed 1,000 confirmed measles cases, the largest state outbreak in more than three decades, prompting New York Governor Kathy Hochul to declare a statewide disaster emergency.
GLP-1 Weight-Loss Drug Lawsuits Mount Amid Scant Safety Data
A high-profile NPR investigation on 10 October 2026 reported more than 4,000 pending lawsuits alleging that GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic cause severe gastroparesis, bowel injuries and permanent vision loss, while safety data remains thin.
Doctors Protest at World Medical Association Summit to Suspend Israeli Association
Hundreds of doctors protested outside the World Medical Association summit in the Netherlands, demanding the Israeli Medical Association be suspended for its silence over the destruction of Palestinian healthcare.
A Year After the Ceasefire, Gaza's Health System Still in Collapse
An Al Jazeera analysis marking one year since the Gaza ceasefire found no hospital in the enclave is operating at full capacity, over half of essential medicines are at zero stock and more than 18,500 patients await evacuation.
France Confirms 146 Local Chikungunya Cases Across 20 Outbreak Clusters
French public health authorities reported 146 locally acquired chikungunya cases spread across 20 outbreak clusters in mainland France, as mosquito-borne disease pushes further north with the warming climate.
Nigeria's Borno State Battles Cholera as Suspected Cases Pass 68,000
Borno State in north-east Nigeria has recorded 68,152 suspected cholera cases and 394 deaths across 23 local government areas, with WHO and partners expanding treatment capacity in the conflict-hit region.
WHO Says Suspected Russian Plague Death Remains Unexplained
The World Health Organization said the death of a Russian lab worker in Irkutsk from a suspected pneumonic plague infection remains unexplained, after Moscow denied the diagnosis and dismissed reports of a second case.
H5N1 Bird Flu Hits Washington Dairy Cattle for the First Time
Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been confirmed in two Yakima County dairy herds in Washington state, the first time the virus has been detected in cattle in the state.