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.

Confirmed Case

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.

What Is Ebola Virus Disease?

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.

How Does Transmission Work?

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.

Symptoms:

• feeling tired
• headache
• muscle and joint pain
• eye pain and vision problems
• weight gain
• belly pain and loss of appetite
• hair loss and skin problems
• trouble sleeping
• memory loss
• hearing loss
• depression and anxiety

India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has released the National Family Health Survey-6 (NFHS-6), showing major improvements in maternal healthcare, nutrition, immunization, and family planning across the country.

The nationwide survey, which covered nearly 6.79 lakh households across 715 districts, highlighted stronger healthcare access and improved outcomes for women and children in the country.

Key Findings of NFHS-6

The NFHS-6 was conducted during 2023-24 by MoHFW with the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai as the nodal agency.

Maternal Care

NFHS-6 recorded notable gains in maternal and child healthcare services nationwide. Nearly 96 per cent of pregnant women received antenatal care (ANC), while mothers receiving ANC during the first trimester increased from 70.0 per cent to 76.2 per cent.

The percentage of mothers receiving at least four ANC visits also rose from 58.5 per cent to 65.2 per cent, reflecting improved continuity of maternal healthcare services.

Institutional deliveries increased from 88.6 per cent to 90.6 per cent, bringing India closer to universal institutional delivery coverage.

Maternal nutrition indicators also improved significantly. Women consuming iron folic acid supplements for 100 days or more during pregnancy increased from 44.1 per cent to 54.9 per cent. Those consuming supplements for 180 days or more rose from 26.0 per cent to 37.8 per cent.

Family Planning

India’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) remained stable at 2.0, while the Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) increased from 66.7 per cent to 69.1 per cent.

The findings reflect improved access to family planning services and the continued impact of government programs, including Mission Parivar Vikas.

Child Immunization

India also recorded progress towards universal immunization coverage. Full vaccination coverage among children aged 12-23 months increased from 83.8 per cent to 87.1 per cent based on vaccination cards.

More than 95 per cent of children received vaccinations through public health facilities, highlighting continued trust in the public healthcare system.

Coverage of major vaccines improved significantly. Rotavirus vaccination coverage surged from 36.4 per cent to 85.4 per cent, while coverage of the second dose of measles-containing vaccine increased from 58.6 per cent to 71.8 per cent.

The survey also found improvement in child health indicators. Symptoms of acute respiratory infection (ARI) among children declined from 2.8 per cent to 1.9 per cent, while severe diarrhea prevalence fell to 0.5 per cent.

The gains were attributed to stronger last-mile healthcare delivery, improved cold chain systems, digital tracking through U-WIN, and active community participation under the Universal Immunization Program.

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Child Nutrition Outcomes

NFHS-6 also reported encouraging progress in child nutrition indicators. More than 95 per cent of children under six months were breastfed during the survey period. The percentage of children breastfed within one hour of birth increased from 41.8 per cent to 50.1 per cent.

Stunting among children under five years declined sharply from 35.5 per cent to 29.3 per cent, indicating improvement in long-term nutritional outcomes.

Severe wasting declined from 7.7 per cent to 5.2 per cent, while underweight prevalence among children under five registered a marginal decline from 32.1 per cent to 31.8 per cent.

Infant and young child feeding practices also improved. Children aged 6-8 months receiving solid or semi-solid food along with breastmilk increased from 45.9 per cent to 59.5 per cent.

Amid the ongoing deadly Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified experimental treatments and vaccine candidates for the Bundibugyo strain, which currently has no approved vaccine or antiviral treatment.

The global health agency convened several expert and advisory groups and recommended prioritizing treatment of Bundibugyo cases with:

• Mapp Biopharmaceutical's MBP134
• Regeneron’s maftivimab
• Gilead Sciences’ antiviral remdesivir

In addition, the WHO also advised evaluating combination therapy using a monoclonal antibody together with remdesivir.

The advisory groups recommended that all identified products should be used exclusively within clinical trials to generate robust data and ensure safe, ethical, and effective research.

Preventive Therapies, Vaccine Candidates

Beyond treatment, the WHO also proposed therapies for the prevention of Bundibugyo cases.

• For post-exposure prophylaxis among contacts of confirmed and probable cases, the oral antiviral obeldesivir was identified as a priority candidate.

• The expert groups also identified the single-dose rVSV Bundibugyo vaccine, being developed by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), as the most promising vaccine candidate.

The development of the vaccine is expected to take approximately 7–9 months before it can be assessed through clinical trials for its ability to prevent Bundibugyo disease (BDV).

• Another vaccine candidate, ChAdOx1 Bundibugyo — being developed by Oxford University and the Serum Institute of India — could potentially become available within 2–3 months for efficacy assessment through a clinical trial. However, additional animal data are still required to support and confirm further prioritization.

• The experts also reviewed the potential role of Merck's Ervebo, the only licensed Ebola vaccine currently available.

The WHO stated that Ervebo should not be used outside carefully designed research settings so that its performance against Bundibugyo disease can be properly assessed.

Meanwhile, Regeneron said in a statement that supplies of maftivimab are already available in the Democratic Republic of Congo, if the WHO decides to utilize the treatment immediately or include it as part of additional studies.

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Russian Vaccine For New Strain

Meanwhile, Russia has claimed that its scientists have developed a novel vaccine against a new Ebola strain.

According to Russian Health Minister Murashko, "the vaccine may also protect against the rare Bundibugyo strain linked to the current outbreak in the DR Congo".

It is because the "genetic similarity between this virus variant and the vaccine strain is about 60-70%," Alexander Gintsburg, scientific director of the Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology, was quoted as saying GxP News.

The rare Bundibugyo strain has so far caused over 900 cases and more than 200 deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

Ahead of World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) 2026, India has launched the pilot phase of the Tobacco-Free Educational Institutions (ToFEI) Application.

Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava today launched the application under the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) at Kartavya Bhawan, reaffirming India’s commitment towards protecting present and future generations from the devastating health, social, economic and environmental consequences of tobacco and nicotine addiction.

The pilot project will be rolled out in three states — Rajasthan, Meghalaya, and Maharashtra. It is expected to help assess operational feasibility, strengthen implementation and reporting mechanisms, and inform future nationwide expansion of the platform.

What Is ToFEI?

ToFEI guidelines are a set of standards established by the government to protect minors from tobacco addiction. It requires campuses to display warning signage, assign tobacco monitors, maintain a 100-yard tobacco-free zone, and regularly organize awareness activities.

The digital application of ToFEI is aimed at strengthening the implementation and monitoring of these tobacco-free norms across schools and colleges in the country.

Also read: Herbal Cigarettes Not Safe, Found High In Fine Particles And Lead: Study

The application will facilitate:

• Self-assessment and reporting by educational institutions
• Monitoring of compliance with ToFEI guidelines
• Implementation of tobacco control signage requirements
• Prohibition of the sale of tobacco products within 100 yards of educational institutions
• Awareness and sensitization activities for students and teachers
• Strengthening enforcement of tobacco-free campus measures

SOP for Tobacco Product Sample Collection

The government also released the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Sample Collection of Tobacco Products, aimed at strengthening surveillance, regulatory compliance, and quality assurance related to tobacco products.

The SOP provides standardized procedures for:

• Collection
• Handling
• Storage
• Transportation
• Documentation of tobacco product samples.

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“Tobacco and nicotine products are often designed and marketed in ways that make them appear attractive, particularly to youth, through appealing flavors, packaging, surrogate advertising, and portrayals on social media and digital platforms,” Srivastava said.

The Union Health Secretary further stated that tobacco use contributes significantly to cancers, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, chronic respiratory illnesses, and several other non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which account for a major proportion of mortality and disability in the country.

Highlighting India’s continued leadership in advancing evidence-based tobacco control policies, she noted that over 2,000 Tobacco Cessation Centers have been established across the country in district hospitals, medical colleges, dental colleges, AYUSH institutions, NCD clinics, and other healthcare facilities.

She also emphasized the importance of encouraging educational institutions and campuses to adopt and sustain tobacco-free practices.

Tobacco Prevalence In India

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India is the world’s second-largest consumer and producer of tobacco. A variety of tobacco products are available at very low prices across the country.

Nearly 267 million adults aged 15 years and above in India — around 29 per cent of all adults — use tobacco, according to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey India 2016-17.

The most prevalent form of tobacco use in India is smokeless tobacco, with commonly used products including khaini, gutkha, betel quid with tobacco, and zarda. Smoking forms of tobacco include bidi, cigarettes, and hookah.