Health news · 2 November 2026
Congo's Ebola Death Toll Passes 5,000 as Outbreak Spreads Across Africa
The DRC's Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak has killed more than 5,000 people and infected over 10,000 since May, making it both the deadliest outbreak in the country's history and the second-largest ever recorded worldwide. Cases have now spread beyond Congo's borders to Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria.
WHO Holds Key Negotiations on Pandemic Agreement's Pathogen Access Annex
The World Health Organization's intergovernmental working group opened a two-week hybrid session on 2 November 2026 to draft and negotiate the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement.
Sudan Begins Second Polio Vaccination Phase, Targeting 5 Million Children
The second phase of Sudan's nationwide polio campaign launched in the first week of November, aiming to vaccinate five million children across 79 localities in the five Darfur states and West Kordofan, where the target age group was extended to under ten years because older children in those states have lower immunity.
Sound Waves Used to Breach Brain's Defences and Attack Deadly Tumours
University of Virginia researchers have developed a technique using focused ultrasound and microRNA-loaded nanoparticles to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and suppress multiple cancer-driving genes in glioblastoma, extending survival in animal tests.
Survey: One in Four Americans Admits Faking Symptoms to Get Antibiotics
A U.S. study published in JAMA Network Open found that about 28 per cent of American adults have exaggerated or fabricated symptoms to obtain antibiotics, raising urgent concerns about antimicrobial resistance.