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

A new artificial intelligence-based screening tool may be able to analyse just 20 seconds of speech to identify clues linked with type 2 diabetes.

A recent large-scale study found that the AI model could detect type 2 diabetes from short voice recordings, including when its predictions were checked against HbA1c blood-test results.

The researchers say the technology could eventually offer a quick, non-invasive way to triage patients and identify people who may need routine diabetes testing.

The researchers stress upon the fact that this is a just screening tool, not a replacement for conventional blood test for type 2 diabetes.

Can Someone’s Voice Reveal If They Have Type 2 Diabetes?

The very idea of diagnosing a disorder from voice seems strange but researchers have been studying changes in speech as key biomarkers that could give reliable clues about a particular disease.

Type 2 diabetes affect multiple physiological systems, including nerves, muscles and blood vessels. These changes could have a subtle influence on various aspects of speech, like pitch, timing and other acoustic characteristics that are not prominent enough for the human ear.

The AI does not ‘listen’ for someone saying they have diabetes. Instead, it analyses patterns in the voice recording and looks for combinations linked with type 2 diabetes.

Also read: Gut Microbiome May Reveal Diabetes Risk Before Blood Sugar Changes: Study

What Did The Researchers Find From Voice Recordings?

Researchers developed the model using 63,000 voice recordings from more than 21,000 people in the US and UK and then tested it in a separate group of 7,319 adults. Participants provided short recordings involving reading aloud from Aesop’s fables.

The model showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.80 when tested against self-reported type 2 diabetes. It means that the speech tool accurately assigned higher risk scores to individuals who had type 2 diabetes in 80% of the instances.

A secondary analysis of 801 participants also underwent HbA1c testing within three months of voice testing, providing an objective measure of blood sugar control. When the AI tool’s predictions were compared with those results, it achieved an AUC of 0.75 for diabetes and 0.73 for prediabetes.

Also read: Diabetes Linked To 55% Risk Of Kidney Disease, Heart Failure Or Death Within 10 Years: Study

AI Tool’s Implications In Diabetes Testing

Type 2 diabetes can remain undiagnosed for years, allowing complications to develop before treatment begins. Blood tests like fasting glucose and HbA1c are the conventional ways to diagnose diabetes. One has to go to the clinic, get their blood drawn and wait for some time to get their diabetes diagnosis.

Giedre Cepukaityte, research scientist at thymia, who will be presenting the findings at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Milan, said, "This is the largest real-world study of speech-based screening for type 2 diabetes to date which also checks the model’s predictions against blood test results as well as against what people reported about their own diagnosis. Those flagged up as higher risk by the model had blood results to match.”

The advantage of voice screening could make a difference in diabetes testing. As someone can do this test without visiting a clinic, this could be the first step people undergo before proper testing. Someone flagged as being at higher risk would need a conventional blood test.

Cepukaityte added, "This has the potential to change what screening looks like. A speech sample can be taken over the phone or through an app, so we can reach far more of the people who need a blood test than current pathways do, particularly those who never get to a health check.”

A voice-based tool could make screening easier for people who do not routinely visit doctors or have difficulty accessing healthcare services. The researchers found that the voice model identified about three-quarters of type 2 diabetes cases, although it also produced false-positive results.

"Our model opens a new route to screening for diabetes. It is not a replacement for a blood test, and it should never stop anyone who thinks they need one from getting one. Our next step is to test the model in clinical settings and to understand how well it works for every group of people, because a screening tool has to work for everyone."

Dr Lucy Chambers, head of research impact and communications at Diabetes UK, said, "More than a million people in the UK are living with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes and are missing out on the support and treatment they need to help them stay well and reduce their risk of developing devastating complications.”

She added, “AI-based technologies could help identify more people who may benefit from diagnostic blood tests, but it’s crucial that they are rigorously designed and tested to make sure no-one slips through the net.Anyone concerned about their risk of type 2 diabetes can use Diabetes UK’s free Know Your Risk tool and should speak to their healthcare team if they have concerns.”

Long associated with factors such as obesity, lifestyle and genetics, cancer can also be linked to infections. A new study published in The Lancet Oncology found that an estimated 2.3 million new cancer cases globally in 2024 — 12%, or about one in eight of all cancers diagnosed that year — were attributable to infections.

The analysis included 12 infectious agents known to cause cancer in humans, including viruses, a bacterium and parasites. It also incorporated newly established infection-cancer associations and additional cancer types caused by known carcinogenic infections, including recent evidence linking Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) with gastric cancer.

“The findings underscore the major role that infection control can play in reducing the global cancer burden,” said Dr Harriet Rumgay, a scientist in the Cancer Surveillance Branch at IARC.

“Despite progress in vaccination and screening, infection-related cancers remain a major global challenge, with the burden falling disproportionately on populations in low- and middle-income countries,” Rumgay added.

Which Infections Are Driving Cancer?

Also read: US Cancer Death Rates Fall For Men, Women: Lung Cancer Progress Drives Decline

Based on cancer burden estimates from the IARC Global Cancer Observatory database, the researchers assessed 12 infectious agents known to cause cancer: Helicobacter pylori, human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), EBV, Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), Schistosoma haematobium, human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1), Opisthorchis viverrini, Clonorchis sinensis, Merkel cell polyomavirus and HIV.

Five of these accounted for almost all infection-linked cancer cases in 2024:

• H. pylori, the stomach bacterium, was linked to 760,000 cases, or 4% of all cancers diagnosed that year.
• HPV was linked to 750,000 cases, also accounting for 4%.
• HBV was linked to 360,000 cases, or 2%.
• EBV was linked to 260,000 cases, or 1%.
• HCV was linked to 160,000 cases, or less than 1%.

Which Countries Bear Most Of The Burden?

READ: Multicancer Blood Test Detects 17 Cancer In A Large Study: Can It Replace Mammograms & Colonoscopies?

Low- and middle-income countries accounted for 77% of all infection-linked cancer cases.

Eastern Asia recorded the largest number of infection-attributable cancer cases, with 990,000 cases — 42% of the global total — driven mainly by H. pylori and HBV.

Sub-Saharan Africa had the highest proportion of cancers linked to infection, with a quarter of all cancers in the region attributed to infectious agents. The burden was driven largely by HPV, KSHV and HIV.

The study also found that EBV is the fourth-largest infectious cause of cancer globally, ahead of HCV. This reflects growing evidence that EBV contributes not only to nasopharyngeal cancer and lymphomas but also to a proportion of gastric cancers.

How To Prevent Infection-Related Cancers

Read More: Fatty Liver, Chronic Gut Diseases And Worm Infections: India’s Changing Disease Burden

The authors said the findings underline the importance of infection control in reducing cancer rates. They highlighted several measures that are already available but remain underused, including

• HPV and hepatitis B vaccination;
• testing and treatment for HIV, H. pylori, and hepatitis B and C;
• safe injection practices;
• access to condoms
• pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV transmission;
• screening for precancerous lesions in HPV-driven cervical and anal cancers.

Many of these measures are cost-effective but remain underused in many countries because of societal, financial and political barriers.

“This updated analysis shows that the landscape of infection-related cancers continues to evolve as scientific evidence advances,” said Dr Gary Clifford, senior co-author of the study.

“It also highlights where future investments in new prevention tools could have the greatest impact, particularly for infections such as EBV, for which effective vaccines are not yet available.”

The authors said reducing infection-related cancers will require wider implementation of established prevention strategies, alongside continued investment in new tools, particularly vaccines against EBV and other cancer-causing infections for which effective preventive measures are not yet available.

India is among 20 jurisdictions whose qualifying specialty pharmaceutical products and related ingredients can receive a zero per cent US tariff, according to a new notice from the US Commerce Department.

The exemption comes as the US begins applying a 100 per cent tariff on certain patented pharmaceutical products and associated ingredients from September 29.

The tariff measures stem from a presidential proclamation issued in April under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which sought to address US dependence on imported pharmaceuticals and encourage greater domestic production.

Which Medicines Are Covered By The Exemption?

Also read: US FDA Recalls India-Made BP Drug For The Second Time In 3 Months: Here's Why

The waiver applies to specific pharmaceutical categories rather than the wider drug trade.

Products covered by the notice include:

• Rare-disease medicines, including qualifying orphan drugs
• Fertility and infertility medicines
• Nuclear medicines
• Plasma-derived therapies
• Cell therapies
• Gene therapies
• Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs)
• Certain medical countermeasures for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats
• Animal health pharmaceuticals

The provision also covers qualifying ingredients associated with these products.

Why Are These Medicines Exempt?

The Commerce Department said products from the listed jurisdictions can receive the zero tariff because those jurisdictions have a current or forthcoming trade and security framework agreement with the US.

The exemption therefore applies based on both the type of pharmaceutical product and the applicable country-level conditions.

The move comes against the backdrop of the US administration's broader effort to increase domestic pharmaceutical production and reduce reliance on imported medicines and pharmaceutical ingredients.

The 100 per cent tariff on specified patented pharmaceutical products and ingredients began applying to companies identified in one category from July 31, while the measure extends to additional covered companies from September 29.

Read More: IARC Says Low-Dose CT Can Cut Lung Cancer Deaths: AIIMS Expert Explains Why India Needs Its Own Screening Evidence

Generic Drugs Remain Outside Section 232 Tariffs

The Commerce Department notice also makes clear that generic pharmaceutical products, biosimilars and their associated ingredients are not currently subject to the Section 232 pharmaceutical tariffs.

This means the latest exemption should not be interpreted as a broad tariff concession covering India's entire pharmaceutical industry.

The guidance also makes technical changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule and clarifies the treatment and definitions of pharmaceutical articles and generic pharmaceutical products under the tariff framework.

Companies seeking an exemption on the basis of an urgent US health need can apply through a process established by the Commerce Department.

What Does This Mean For India?

India's inclusion in the zero-tariff category is relevant to pharmaceutical companies that export specialty medicines and their associated ingredients to the US.

However, the exemption is not a blanket waiver for medicines manufactured or exported from India.

Only products that fall within the specified categories and satisfy the applicable conditions are covered. Other pharmaceutical products remain subject to the tariff rules that apply to them.

For Indian drug makers, the distinction is important because the new provision specifically concerns specialty pharmaceutical categories, while generic medicines and biosimilars are already outside the current Section 232 pharmaceutical tariffs.

The impact on individual Indian pharmaceutical companies will therefore depend on the types of products they export to the US and whether those products meet the criteria set out under the new rules.

Which Countries Are Included?

Besides India, the zero-tariff category covers Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ecuador, El Salvador, the European Union, Guatemala, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, North Macedonia, South Korea, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Taiwan, Thailand, the UK and Vietnam.

(With inputs from PTI)