The US Food and Drug Administration has approved TNKase or Tenecteplase, which is a thrombolytic or clot-dissolving agent, for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke in adults.

Ischemic strokes happen when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel in your brain. It can cause permanent brain damage and death. If enough brain cells die, you can also lose the abilities or body functions those cells control. They are also the most common types of stroke, with 80% of all strokes being ischemic strokes.

How is TNKase administered?

It is delivered as a single five-second intravenous bolus, which is faster than the standard of care Activase or alteplase, which is administered as an intravenous bolus followed by a 60-minute infusion. The manufacturer of TNKase, Genetech said a new 25-mg vial configuration will also be available in the coming months.

How Was TNKase approved?

The approval came at the backdrop of a study that compared TNKase to Activase in patients with acute ischemic stroke. These patients also presented with a disabling neurological deficit. Results show that TNKase was comparable to Activase in terms of efficacy and safety.

How Common Are These Strokes?

In the United States it self, it affects more than 795,000 people each year and is the leading cause of long-term disability. It is also the fifth leading cause of death. Since brain damage can happen if this progresses rapidly, one needs an immediate, fast-acting medical care.

TNKase thus provide a faster and simpler administration which can be critical for anyone. The chief medical officer and head of global product development at Genetech, Levi Garraway, MD., PhD., said, "Today's approval is a significant step forward and underscores our commitment to advancing stroke treatment options for patients."

What Are The Symptoms Of Ischemic Strokes?

Some of the most common symptoms include weakness or paralysis on one side of your face and body. You may also feel trouble speaking or have loss of speech, also known as aphasia. You may faced slurred or garbled speaking, also known as dysarthria. Other symptoms include loss of muscle control on one side of your face, or sudden worsening or loss of your senses, including vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.

Other symptoms include:

• Loss of coordination or clumsiness
• Blurry vision or double vision
• Dizziness or vertigo
• Nausea and vomiting
• Neck stiffness
• Mood swings or sudden personality changes
• Confusion or agitation
• Seizures
• Memory loss (amnesia)
• Headaches which are sudden and severe
• Passing out or fainting
• Coma

Are There Any Warning Signs?

While these are symptoms one has who is prone to this condition. However, often, many may confuse it with other illnesses. It is best to keep an eye out for warning signs. These could be looking out for yourself or your loved one. Note if there is a sudden loss of balance. Look out for sudden vision loss or changes in one or both eyes. Look for a droop on one or both sides of your face, especially when you smile. Raise both arms and see if one arm sags or drops in a way it usually does not. Note for your speech. Are you as fluent? Are you have trouble speaking? If you see any of such signs, start tracking it and talk to your healthcare provider.

Uganda has officially ended the Ebola outbreak after completing the mandatory 42-day monitoring period with no new infections, even as neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to battle its worst outbreak of the deadly disease in years.

Ugandan Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi announced the "successful completion of the mandatory 42-day monitoring period," which began after the last locally transmitted patient was discharged on June 16.

"Throughout this period, the Ministry of Health maintained intensive surveillance nationwide, and no new Ebola cases have been detected," Baryomunsi said.

Uganda Ends Outbreak After Swift Response

Earlier this month, Dr. Diana Atwine, Permanent Secretary at Uganda's Ministry of Health, said the outbreak had been successfully contained through rapid surveillance, prompt treatment, contact tracing, and close cross-border coordination.

Uganda recorded 20 confirmed Ebola cases during the outbreak. Of these, 18 patients recovered and were discharged, while two died.

Most of the infections were linked to travelers arriving from the DRC, with only a small number resulting from local transmission.

Despite the declaration, Baryomunsi urged the public to remain "vigilant" and continue following public health measures to prevent future outbreaks.

Congo Outbreak Nears Scale of Historic Epidemic

Also read: Michigan Cyclosporiasis Outbreak Nears 10,000 Cases: Is Your Lettuce Safe?

While Uganda celebrates its success, the Ebola crisis in the DRC continues to worsen. According to the Congolese Ministry of Health, the country has reported at least 3,262 cases and 1,437 deaths, bringing the outbreak close to the scale of the country's devastating 2018-2020 epidemic.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has described it as the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak ever recorded, warning that the actual number of infections could be two to four times higher than officially reported.

UN Warns Virus Is Spreading "Like Wildfire"

United Nations humanitarian officials have described the outbreak as one of the world's most severe public health emergencies.

"The outbreak is spreading like wildfire," UN officials warned, citing armed conflict, mass displacement, and repeated attacks on healthcare facilities as major obstacles to controlling the virus.

The WHO has also warned that many newly reported infections cannot be linked to known transmission chains, suggesting the virus is spreading undetected within communities.

Contact tracing remains inadequate, while insecurity, misinformation, and community mistrust continue to undermine response efforts.

Health workers have also staged strikes in some areas over unpaid wages, further disrupting patient care and containment operations.

Attacks on health facilities, shortages of medical supplies, delayed laboratory testing, and public distrust are other factors delaying efforts to isolate patients, trace contacts, and break chains of transmission.

First Volunteer Receives Experimental Bundibugyo Vaccine

Amid the worsening outbreak, researchers have reached an important milestone in Ebola vaccine development.

The first volunteer has received an experimental vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, marking the world's first Phase I clinical trial for this virus, according to the University of Oxford.

The vaccine, ChAdOx1 BDBV, developed in collaboration with Serum Institute of India (SII), is designed specifically to protect against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.

It uses the same viral vector platform that powered the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

The vaccine uses a genetically modified chimpanzee adenovirus (ChAdOx1)—a harmless virus that normally causes the common cold in chimpanzees—as a delivery vehicle.

"We welcome the start of the phase 1 clinical trial of an investigational vaccine against Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease—an important step to assess the safety and immune responses generated by the vaccine," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on X.

A simple blood test that can accurately identify tuberculosis (TB) across people with different levels of exposure help earlier diagnosis and speedy treatment,, according to new research presented at the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) 2026 Annual Scientific Meeting.

The study discovered that the experimental blood test can distinguish individuals with active tuberculosis from those who are healthy, regardless of whether they have had prior exposure to the disease.

Researchers say the findings could help address one of the biggest hurdles in TB control: identifying and tracing infectious patients before they unknowingly spread the disease.

"If validated in larger clinical studies, this test has the potential to transform tuberculosis screening by enabling earlier and more accurate detection of active disease," the study authors said. They observed that such a tool can significantly help control transmission, particularly in nations where TB still remains a public health issue.

Do We Need A Better TB Test?

Although TB is preventable and curable, delayed diagnosis continues to fuel transmission and contributes to deaths that are preventable.

Current diagnostic methods have important limitations. Sputum-based tests can be difficult to perform, especially in children and people with TB outside the lungs.

Meanwhile, commonly used blood tests can indicate exposure to the bacteria but cannot reliably distinguish between active disease and latent infection, meaning additional investigations are needed.

Also read: World Tuberculosis Day: A 2nd Surge In Tuberculosis Cases Again Seen In The US

About The New Blood Test For TB

According to the researchers, the new test examines the immune signatures in a blood sample to identify active tuberculosis, rather than merely detecting previous exposure.

In the study, the test successfully differentiated active TB cases from healthy individuals with varying degrees of TB exposure, suggesting it could be used as an effective screening tool across diverse populations.

The investigators emphasized that larger, multi-center studies are still needed before the test can become part of routine clinical practice. However, the early results point toward a faster and less invasive way of diagnosis.

Also read: Over 8 Million People Diagnosed With TB Last Month: Know Early Signs

Early Diagnosis Is Key

Early diagnosis is one of the most factors for controlling tuberculosis. Patients with untreated active TB can infect many others. A simple blood test that identifies active disease quickly could allow doctors to start treatment sooner, reduce transmission, and improve patient's health.

This could also be useful where resources are particularly limited. Places where collecting sputum samples is challenging and access to a sterile laboratory testing is limited can benefit from this blood test.

As blood samples are easier to obtain in many clinical situations, the test could help screen vulnerable populations, including children and people with extrapulmonary TB.

Public health experts have repeatedly stressed that improved diagnostics are essential for achieving the World Health Organization's End TB Strategy.

You May Carry TB And Not Know

Treating latent TB is like stopping the virus, while it's still small and easy to treat. It's much easier to kill the dormant germs than to fighting the active disease. You could be carrying the disease and not realise. This increases the risk of transmission.

A 2017 study published in the Viruses Journal explained that we all have slightly different versions of our genes (polymorphisms) and these differences can affect how our bodies react to any virus. Some gene variations might make your immune system stronger against a specific virus, while others might make you more vulnerable.

Michigan, the hardest-hit state in the ongoing nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak, has reported nearly 10,000 cases of the intestinal illness, which can cause severe, often "explosive," diarrhea, according to state health officials.

So far, the state has recorded 160 hospitalizations, with no deaths reported.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 6,707 laboratory-confirmed domestic cases of cyclosporiasis have been reported since May 1.

The agency also said it is tracking more than 11,500 additional suspected cases that have not yet been laboratory confirmed or remain under investigation. Many of these reports have come from Michigan and Ohio.

What Did the FDA Probe Reveal?

A US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigation has linked part of the outbreak to iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants and supplied through Taylor Farms operations in central Mexico.

The FDA is continuing to investigate other potential sources of contamination. Taco Bell has stopped serving the affected lettuce, while Taylor Farms has voluntarily recalled dozens of iceberg lettuce products distributed across 27 states. The company also said it will no longer source iceberg lettuce from central Mexico for the remainder of the growing season.

The recalled lettuce has been linked to illnesses in five states—Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia. However, investigators have not yet determined how many illnesses are directly connected to the recalled products.

Separately, the FDA is investigating another Cyclospora outbreak that is unrelated to the lettuce-linked cases. The second outbreak has sickened 72 people and has been traced to an unidentified food item. The agency said the source has "not yet been identified."

Could It Be More Than Lettuce?

Former CDC Director Robert Redfield told media that the US government may consider ending produce sourcing from central Mexico. He also suggested the outbreak may involve more than lettuce.

Officials are also investigating whether parsley and cilantro, in addition to lettuce, could be associated with the outbreak. The investigation is ongoing.

How to Check If Your Lettuce Is Safe

The FDA advises consumers to check salad and lettuce products purchased during the past week to determine whether they were sourced from Taylor Farms de Mexico in Guanajuato, Mexico.

The recalled retail products include:

• 12-ounce and 24-ounce Iceberg Salad with best-by dates between July 18 and Aug. 3
• 8-ounce and 16-ounce Shredded Lettuce with best-by dates between July 18 and Aug. 3

Consumers who purchased these products should throw them away or return them to the store where they were bought.

An additional 33 recalled lettuce products were distributed to restaurants and other food-service businesses and are unlikely to be found in home refrigerators. A complete list of recalled products is available on the FDA website.

At this time, no other lettuce varieties—including romaine or butter lettuce—have been linked to the outbreak, even if distributed by Taylor Farms. The company told Newsweek that, aside from the recalled iceberg lettuce, "no other Taylor Fresh Foods products across the country are impacted."

How To Reduce Your Risk

Health officials recommend:

• Avoid eating shredded iceberg lettuce linked to the recall.
• Wash all fresh fruits and vegetables thoroughly under clean running water, even if they are labeled pre-washed.
• Follow safe food-handling practices.
• Stay updated on food recalls and outbreak alerts.
• Contact a healthcare provider if symptoms develop.