On Thursday, Uganda confirmed an outbreak of the Ebola virus in its capital city Kampala, with the first confirmed patient dying from it a day before. As per the new developments, the officials are now preparing to deploy a trial vaccine to put an end to this outbreak.
Groups of scientists are working on the vaccine and deployment of more than 2,000 doses of a candidate vaccine against the Sudan strain of Ebola has been planned and confirmed by the Uganda Virus Research Institute. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), Uganda has access to 2,169 doses of trial vaccine. For now, however, there are no approved vaccines for the strain and officials are still investigating the source of the outbreak.
The WHO had also allocated $1 million from its contingency fund for emergencies to support quick action and contain the outbreak in the country.
On Wednesday, the Sudan strain of Ebola killed a nurse employed at Kampala's main referral hospital. It is after his death that Ebola was declared an outbreak in the country. Post-mortem samples too have confirmed the Sudan Ebola Virus Disease and at least 44 contacts of the deceased man have been listed for tracing. 30 of these are health workers.
Ebola is a highly infectious hemorrhagic fever, which is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and tissue. Symptoms include headache, vomiting of blood, muscle pains and bleeding.
it was in the late 2022, when Uganda had last suffered an Ebola outbreak. It killed 55 of the 143 people who were infected and was declared over on January 11, 2023.
As per the WHO, Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a rare but severe illness in humans and is often fatal. People can get infected with the virus if they touch an infected animal when preparing food, or touch body fluids of an infected person such as saliva, urine, faeces or semen, or things that have body fluids of an infected person like clothes or sheets.
Ebola enters the body through cuts in the skin or when one is touching their eyes, nose or mouth. Early symptoms include fever, fatigue and headache.
It was first discovered in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreak, when in Nzara, South Sudan and other in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo. The latter occurred near a village near the Ebola River, which is where it gets its name from.
It is highly infectious and transmissible disease, in fact, there have been cases of health-care workers who have frequently been infected while treating patients with suspected or confirmed Ebola. This occurs through close contact with patients when infection control precautions are not practiced strictly.
Cases of people conducted burial ceremonies, involving direct contact with the body of the deceased too can lead to the transmission of Ebola. Even after the long suffering and recovery, there is a possibility of sexual transmission. Pregnant women who get acute Ebola and recover may still carry the virus in their breastmilk, or in pregnancy related fluids and tissues.
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Atherosclerosis, in which plaque builds up inside the arteries, is a major cause of cardiovascular disease and can lead to heart attacks, strokes and sudden death. A new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that plaque buildup can begin decades before symptoms appear.
An international team of researchers found atherosclerosis in many apparently healthy young adults, including those in their 20s.
Dr Borja Ibáñez, Scientific Director of the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC), said the findings point to a new approach to cardiovascular prevention: detecting atherosclerosis through imaging before symptoms appear, rather than relying only on risk factors such as blood pressure, cholesterol and smoking.
The study included 16,808 people aged 18 to 70 from Denmark and Spain. None had a known history of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Using advanced imaging, researchers examined the carotid, femoral and coronary arteries for plaque. Overall, 57.1% of participants had atherosclerotic plaques, despite having no symptoms or previous diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.
Atherosclerosis was detectable even among the youngest participants. Among those aged 18 to 29, plaque was found in:
The prevalence increased with age, reaching nearly 90% among people aged 60 to 70. By 60–70, only about 1.9% of men and 8.1% of women had no detectable plaque in any of the arteries examined.
The study found differences between men and women. Atherosclerosis began increasing at younger ages in men, with their atherosclerotic profile appearing five to 10 years earlier than in women.
In women, the sharpest increase occurred between 40 and 60, broadly coinciding with the menopausal transition.
Conventional cardiovascular risk scores, including SCORE2, identified only a small proportion of people who already had silent atherosclerosis.
Researchers found that people with coronary artery plaque often also had plaque in the carotid or femoral arteries. Because these arteries can be examined using relatively simple, non-invasive ultrasound, the finding could have implications for future screening.
Dr. Ibáñez said portable ultrasound devices could potentially become a tool for detecting atherosclerosis from early adulthood.
“The future of cardiovascular prevention must be more precise and personalized,” he said, adding that early detection could allow earlier intervention and more targeted treatment.
Dr. Sudhir Kumar, neurologist at Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, said atherosclerosis can remain silent for decades before causing a heart attack, ischemic stroke or peripheral arterial disease.
However, having plaque does not mean a heart attack or stroke is imminent. Greater plaque burden and more widespread disease are associated with higher cardiovascular risk.
He also stressed that atherosclerosis is not simply an unavoidable consequence of ageing. Its progression can be slowed by addressing modifiable risk factors.
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15-year-old Tanvi Pariyani’s death at AIIMS Delhi has raised questions about the treatment of a rare and complex congenital heart condition she had been living with since childhood.
Tanvi, from Kota, had been visiting AIIMS since she was two. Her medical records listed ventricular septal defect (VSD) with pulmonary atresia, a combination that can make treatment considerably more complicated than just a 'hole in the heart'.
Tanvi’s family has alleged that corrective surgery was repeatedly postponed. AIIMS, however, said its treating team concluded in 2017 that corrective surgery was not feasible because of the complexity of her cardiac anatomy and advised medical management.
The hospital has now constituted a committee to review her complete clinical records, investigations, treatment, expert opinions and the circumstances surrounding her death. An autopsy is also underway.
A VSD is a hole in the wall separating the heart’s two lower chambers. The right side of the heart pumps oxygen-poor blood towards the lungs through the pulmonary artery.
In pulmonary atresia, the normal route through which blood leaves the right side of the heart and reaches the lungs is blocked or has not developed properly.
This can severely block blood flow to the lungs and reduce the amount of oxygen entering the bloodstream.
When pulmonary atresia occurs along with VSD, doctors have to deal with multiple abnormalities rather than simply closing the hole.
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Some children may initially require procedures to ensure adequate blood reaches the lungs. Doctors may use medicines temporarily and later create an alternative pathway for blood flow through a shunt.
In some patients, the pulmonary arteries remain very small and the body develops additional blood vessels supplying the lungs.
These vessels, called major aortopulmonary collateral arteries (MAPCAs), may need to be brought together through a procedure called unifocalisation.
A conduit may then be used to connect the heart to the lungs, while the VSD may also need to be closed.
The anatomy can also change as a child grows. Small pulmonary arteries, abnormal blood vessels and rising pressure in the lungs can make later surgical repair more challenging.
According to AIIMS, Tanvi was admitted on August 24 after her condition deteriorated and was being evaluated for a possible heart-lung transplant.
On September 1, she developed severe cyanosis, and her oxygen saturation fell to around 48%. AIIMS said she subsequently suffered a hypoxic spell followed by cardiac arrest. Despite oxygen support and resuscitation, she could not be revived and was declared dead at 5:06 am.
“The Director, AIIMS, New Delhi has constituted a committee to examine the matter in detail, review the sequence of events and establish the facts,” the institute said.
The committee’s findings and autopsy report will be important in establishing what happened and whether any intervention could have altered the outcome.
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A new US CDC study has warned of a threefold rise in identifications of Trichophyton indotineae, a skin fungus that causes ringworm and is resistant to standard treatment.
Between 2022 and 2025, T. indotineae was identified in 29 countries, with resistance to terbinafine, a commonly used antifungal medication. The first US case was reported in 2023.
Most cases are treated with terbinafine, either as a cream or a pill.
“Our results reveal a marked global increase in T. indotineae isolation,” the authors wrote in their paper, published in the CDC’s monthly journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases.
During the study period, 566 users from 54 countries submitted 1,657,334 spectra that led to the identification of fungal agents.
However, the research cannot tell us how many people globally are contracting T. indotineae; it only shows that laboratories are detecting it more often.
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Ringworm has nothing to do with worms. The misleading name refers to an infection caused by dermatophytes, fungi that thrive in warmth and moisture.
It can affect people of all ages and is highly contagious. Careful attention and immediate treatment are required to control the infection effectively.
Ringworm, also called tinea corporis, is a skin infection caused by fungal spores invading the dead outer layers of the skin. It typically presents as circular, red, scaly patches accompanied by itching or discomfort.
Symptoms of ringworm depend on where the infection develops:
Ringworm is highly infectious and can be transmitted through:
Preventing ringworm is largely about maintaining good hygiene and avoiding contact with infected people or animals.
Left untreated, ringworm can spread across the body or penetrate further, potentially leading to complications such as secondary bacterial infections.
See a doctor if:
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