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

Yet another study has highlighted the cardiovascular benefits of COVID-19 vaccination, particularly among older adults and people with underlying health conditions.

A new study involving nearly one million people, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, found that COVID vaccination reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events associated with the virus—including heart attacks, strokes, and hospitalizations due to heart disease—by about 40 per cent.

The protective effect was most pronounced among adults aged 75 years and older, as well as individuals with pre-existing conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic lung disease.

The findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that COVID vaccines offer benefits beyond preventing severe infection.

Researchers also found that vaccination modestly reduced the risk of cardiovascular events, hospitalizations, and deaths from all causes, including those not directly linked to COVID.

"Extrapolating these estimates to a population of one million people, vaccination could plausibly be associated with averting approximately 2,370 major cardiovascular events and 1,580 deaths over an eight-month period," the study noted.

"It tells us that these vaccines have actually brought beneficial effects even in people who don't really know that they have contracted COVID-19," said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, physician-scientist and senior clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis and co-author of the study, the Washington Post reported.

What Did the Study Find?

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Several previous studies have shown that COVID vaccination lowers the risk of heart attacks and strokes. However, researchers wanted to determine whether those benefits continued in the years after the onset of the pandemic, especially as both the virus and vaccine formulations evolved.

"Vaccine formulations have changed, and also the virus itself has changed over time," Al-Aly said. "But we found that the more recent vaccine formulations still protected against heart conditions."

The study analyzed nearly one million veterans receiving care through the US Department of Veterans Affairs health system between 2024 and 2025.

The participants were divided into two groups: individuals who received only the seasonal influenza vaccine and those who received both the flu vaccine and the updated COVID-19 vaccine during the same season. The analysis included multiple vaccine types, including mRNA vaccines and the Novavax vaccine.

Lower Risk of Heart Conditions

Read More: South Korea Achieves 62% Blood Pressure Control Rate: What Other Countries Can Learn

Participants were followed for approximately eight months. The results showed that people who received a COVID vaccine had a 37.7 per cent lower risk of developing COVID-associated cardiovascular complications.

Vaccinated individuals were also about 6 per cent less likely to experience severe cardiovascular events overall, including those not directly linked to COVID-19 infection.

In addition, vaccination was associated with:

• A 7 per cent reduction in all-cause hospitalizations
• A 7 per cent reduction in all-cause mortality
• Fewer severe cardiovascular events overall

While these percentages may appear modest, researchers emphasized that the public health impact is substantial.

According to Al-Aly, for every 10,000 people vaccinated, the findings translate into preventing approximately:

• 23 major cardiovascular events
• 30 hospitalizations
• 16 deaths

Benefits Outweigh Risk

COVID-19 vaccines have previously been linked to rare cases of myocarditis and pericarditis, conditions involving inflammation of the heart muscle and its surrounding lining.

However, experts note that these cases are uncommon and generally mild. Public health authorities continue to maintain that the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the potential risks.

A popular kratom drink, often marketed as a natural alternative to pharmaceutical drugs, could become the next major addiction crisis in the United States, addiction specialists are warning.

The substance, sometimes dubbed "gas-station heroin," is already banned in at least eight US states—Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Several other states, including Iowa and Idaho, are considering restrictions or outright bans.

Tennessee looks to make a statewide ban effective from July 1. Earlier this month, Idaho Falls approved a local ban on kratom sales that will also take effect on July 1, the media report said.

While some jurisdictions are targeting synthetic forms of kratom rather than the plant itself, concerns over addiction, overdose risks, and easy accessibility continue to grow.

Last year, US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. criticized the widespread availability of kratom products, many of which are sold at gas stations and marketed in child-friendly forms such as gummies.

"It is a sinister, sinister industry," Kennedy said.

What Is Kratom?

Kratom is a plant-based substance derived from the Mitragyna speciosa tree, native to Southeast Asia. Traditionally used in countries such as Thailand and Malaysia for pain relief and increased energy, it has gained popularity in the US as an over-the-counter supplement.

Kratom products are sold in various forms, including powders, capsules, teas, drinks, and gummies.

At lower doses, kratom acts as a stimulant. At higher doses, it can produce sedative and opioid-like effects. While it remains legal in many parts of the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified kratom as a "drug of concern" and has not approved it for any medical use.

Rising Hospitalizations Fuel Concerns

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Health experts point to a sharp increase in kratom-related hospitalizations as evidence of a growing problem.

According to a University of Virginia study, there were 43 hospitalizations linked solely to kratom in 2015. By 2025, that number had risen to 538.

Researchers noted that the surge coincided with the emergence of highly concentrated synthetic products, including 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), a potent kratom-derived compound.

"It is increasing the prevalence of opioid use disorder," Dr. Andrew Kolodny, director of the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at Brandeis University, was quoted as saying to The Guardian.

"Being able to buy an opioid at a convenience store is going to make the opioid crisis worse," he added.

Industry Pushes Back

Mac Haddow, the association's senior fellow for public policy, denied that kratom itself is inherently addictive or dangerous. He argued that the real issue is 7-OH, which is significantly more potent than traditional kratom powder.

7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) is a naturally occurring compound found in kratom, and it is far more potent. While kratom itself contains a mixture of alkaloids, 7-OH is an isolated extract or concentrated form that interacts with the body’s opioid receptors much more strongly.

Kratom To Cause Addiction Crisis

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Dr. Angad Madan, Medical Director of St. Peter's Addiction Recovery Center (SPARC), said many users mistakenly believe kratom is simply a harmless herbal supplement.

"Many patients do not know that it's a substance of addiction or misuse. Many patients just think it's a herbal supplement. I think it's false advertising, and it's resulting in another opioid epidemic that New York doesn't really need," he was quoted as saying to WNYT.

Madan added that kratom-related dependence is becoming increasingly common in treatment settings.

"Kratom, also known as 7-OH or 7-hydroxymitragynine, is the number one new substance addiction that I've seen at SPARC across all levels of care," he said.

Hypertension remains one of the leading causes of illness and premature death worldwide. Yet a handful of countries have managed to significantly reduce their impact through effective public health strategies.

South Korea—best known globally for K-pop, K-dramas, and K-beauty—is among just four countries in the world to achieve a hypertension control rate above 50 per cent, joining Canada, Costa Rica, and Iceland.

According to the latest Korea Hypertension Fact Sheet, South Korea's blood pressure control rate has climbed to 62 per cent, making it one of the highest in the world. This means that more than half of people diagnosed with high blood pressure have successfully brought it within a healthy range through treatment.

"The Republic of Korea is one of only four countries in the world that have reached a hypertension control rate above 50 per cent," said World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a post on X.

Canada, Costa Rica, and Iceland also have hypertension control rates exceeding 50 per cent.

"South Korea continues to demonstrate high performance in hypertension management at the population level, with steady improvements in awareness, treatment, and control," the fact sheet, published in the journal Clinical Hypertension, noted.

How Did South Korea Achieve It?

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According to the WHO, South Korea's hypertension control rate was only about 5 per cent two decades ago. Since then, the country has achieved a remarkable turnaround, contributing to an estimated 83 per cent reduction in stroke-related deaths.

“It’s the single most important thing to get right in healthcare… but most countries don’t,” Dr Tom Frieden, president of Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative working on global health threats, told The Telegraph. “South Korea is one of the rare successes in the world, on both the treatment and prevention of high blood pressure.”

As per experts, Korea's success is a result of

• targeted salt-reduction campaigns,
• affordable and accessible combination therapies,
• routine screening.

"Globally, every hour, over 1,000 lives are lost to strokes and heart attacks from high blood pressure, while hypertension control is one of the most cost-effective interventions in public health. This is why I call on world and health leaders to heed the Republic of Korea's experience," Tedros added.

What Can Other Countries Learn?

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Prof. Hyeon Chang Kim, Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at Yonsei University College of Medicine, highlighted three key lessons from South Korea's success that other countries can adopt to improve hypertension control.

1. Make Hypertension Control a Health-System Priority

2. Invest in Data and Monitoring

3. Ensure Long-Term Continuity of Care

The South Korean experience shows that sustained care, regular follow-up, and strong healthcare systems can significantly improve blood pressure control and reduce deaths from heart disease and stroke.

Hypertension: The Silent Killer

The Lancet estimates that approximately 1.7 billion adults worldwide are living with hypertension. However, fewer than 20 per cent have their blood pressure adequately controlled.

Hypertension can quietly damage the heart, brain, kidneys, and blood vessels for years before symptoms appear. Because it often causes no noticeable signs, many people remain unaware they have the condition.

"Nine out of 10 times, hypertension does not cause symptoms. The only way to detect it is through regular screening," said Dr. Ambuj Roy, Professor of Cardiology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.

How to Lower Blood Pressure Naturally

To help reduce blood pressure and improve heart health, Dr. Roy recommends:

• Being physically active for at least 150 minutes per week
• Limiting processed and salty foods
• Staying adequately hydrated, especially during heatwaves
• Following a DASH-style diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products.