After mpox outbreak, Africa is under the threat of yet another virus outbreak, this is the Marburg virus outbreak in Rwanda. So far, six people have died from the outbreak, confirmed the health minister. Most victims were the healthcare workers in the hospital's intensive care unit. As per reports, 20 cases have been identified since the outbreak was confirmed on Friday.

What Is Marbug Virus?

With the fatality rate of 8% it is the same virus family as Ebola. The main carrier is from fruit bats which spreads to humans then through the contact of bodily fluids of infected individuals, it spreads to others.

Common Signs And Symptoms

The common signs and symptoms of the Marburg virus include fever, pain, diarrhoea, vomiting and in the case of extreme blood loss, death too can happen.

So far, there is no specific treatment or vaccine for the virus. However, treatments like drugs and immune therapy are being developed as per the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Call Of Action

Rwanda says that it has intensified its contact tracing, surveillance and testing to contain the spread. It has also tracked about 300 people who had come into contact with individuals affected by the Marburg virus.

The health minister has urged people to stay vigilant and avoid any physical contact and to wash their hands with clean water, soap or sanitiser and report any suspected case.

As of now, most of the cases have spread to the capital in Kigali. In light of this, the US Embassy in the city has advised its employees to work remotely for the next week.

This is the first time Rwanda has confirmed for Marburg cases, before this, in 2023, Tanzania confirmed the outbreak, whereas three people had died of this in Uganda in 2017.

History Of Marburg

As per WHO, this virus kills half of the people it infects. In the previous outbreaks, it has killed between 24% to 88% of the patients.

The virus was first detected in 1976 after 31 people were infected, out of which 7 died in simultaneous outbreak in Marburg and Frankfurt in Germany, and Belgrade in Serbia.

The source was traced to African green monkeys who were imported from Uganda. However, other animals too are linked to the virus spread, including bats.

In the past, the virus outbreaks have happened in countries like Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. In 2005, this virus killed 300 people in Angola.

However, for the rest of the world, only two people have died from the virus in the rest of the world, with one of them being in Europe, and the other in the US. These both have been on expeditions to caves in Uganda.

The use of GLP-1 medications weight-loss medications among children under 12 in the US has risen in recent years, according to a new study. This has raised questions about how these drugs should be used in younger children and what is known about their long-term effects.

Researchers studied health records from more than 3.5 million children aged 8 to 11 with obesity and found that prescriptions for GLP-1 medications increased more than 300-fold between 2019 and June 2026.

Prescriptions Have Increased Dramatically

In 2019, only about 0.03% of children in the study group had been prescribed a GLP-1 drug. By June 2026, that figure had risen to 9.3%.

The medications included drugs like Wegovy and Saxenda, made by Novo Nordisk, and Eli Lilly's Zepbound.

The researchers used data from Epic Cosmos, a large electronic health-record database covering patients across the US. Epic was not involved in the study.

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Most Children Had Severe Obesity Or Other Health Problems

The rise does not appear to represent routine prescribing for children who are simply above a healthy weight.

Among children receiving GLP-1 medications, 94% had severe obesity, while about 65% had obesity-related health conditions, including high blood pressure or sleep apnea.

Childhood obesity can increase the risk of metabolic and cardiovascular problems. Hence, along with lifestyle changes, doctors are increasingly looking for treatments.

GLP-1 Drugs Are Not FDA-Approved For Under-12s

One of the major concerns surrounding the findings is that the GLP-1 medications included in the study are not formally FDA-approved for weight management in children younger than 12.

However, doctors can prescribe medicines off-label when they believe there is a medical reason to do so. Clinical guidelines can also support the use of obesity medications in certain circumstances involving younger children.

The study therefore does not necessarily mean that doctors are prescribing these drugs indiscriminately. Instead, it shows how rapidly their use has expanded among children with obesity.

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Long-Term Safety

Dr Babak Orandi of NYU Langone Health, one of the researchers, highlighted the importance of long-term monitoring as these medications become more widely used in younger children.

He said that while the absolute numbers of children under 12 receiving GLP-1 treatment is still low, the study shows that GLP-1 use ‌is ⁠accelerating rapidly among that age group. Orandi also said that long-term safety monitoring is needed to ensure the drugs remain safe and effective for children.

Additionally, children from higher-income households were 55% more likely to be prescribed the drugs than lower-income communities. This suggested emerging disparities ⁠in access, according to the study published in the journal Pediatrics.

"Physicians and health policymakers alike have a responsibility to ensure ... these valuable and sometimes costly treatments become available to more than those who have ⁠access to health insurance and can afford to visit pediatric clinics," said Allan Massie, co-author of the study and associate professor of surgery at NYU Grossman School ⁠of Medicine.

So even if these medicines prove to be useful for treating severe childhood obesity, access may depend partly on a family's ability to obtain the medicine, insurance coverage and treatment.

GLP-1 drugs can cause side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and constipation. But questions around prolonged use during childhood extend beyond short-term side effects, including how treatment may affect growth, development and nutritional health over time.

A compound best known for its psychedelic effects may have potential in protecting cancer patients from nerve damage caused by chemotherapy.

Researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that psilocybin, the active psychedelic compound in 'magic mushrooms,' prevented peripheral neuropathy induced by chemotherapy in several preclinical models. The findings were published in Science recently.

Chemotherapy Can Leave Patients With Lasting Nerve Damage

It can cause burning or shooting pain, numbness, tingling, increased sensitivity to cold and loss of sensation, especially in the limbs. In some cases, the nerve damage can persist long after chemotherapy ends and may even become irreversible.

Currently, there are not a lot of options for preventing this type of nerve injury, making researchers explore other approaches that could protect nerves before chemotherapy causes damage.

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Two Doses Before Chemotherapy Protected Nerves

In the new study, researchers tested psilocybin in multiple models involving chemotherapy drugs including cisplatin, paclitaxel and docetaxel.

They found that as few as two doses of psilocybin given before chemotherapy prevented several signs of peripheral neuropathy.

Treated models retained normal touch sensation, showed less sensitivity to cold and maintained sensory nerve endings, even after repeated chemotherapy sessions.

The researchers also found no evidence that psilocybin interfered with chemotherapy's ability to attack tumours in these models.

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How Could Psilocybin Protect Nerves?

According to the researchers, the answer may lie in the way nerve cells transport mitochondria, the components responsible for producing cellular energy.

Chemotherapy can disrupt this transport system, leaving nerve endings without enough energy and making them vulnerable to damage.

Psilocybin appeared to preserve mitochondrial movement through a pathway involving the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor. When researchers blocked this pathway, the protective effect disappeared.

Additionally, a non-hallucinogenic compound that activates the same receptor produced similar nerve-protective effects in the models. This suggests that the potential benefit may not depend on psilocybin's psychedelic experience itself.

Dr Moran Amit, the study's co-lead, said, "There is an urgent need for treatments that can prevent nerve injury without interfering with life-saving chemotherapy. He said the findings offer insight into protecting nerves before damage becomes persistent."

Can Cancer Patients Take Psilocybin Yet?

The study was conducted using laboratory and animal models, so it is not yet known whether the same protective effect will occur in people who are undergoing chemotherapy.

Researchers are now moving toward a Phase II clinical trial, known as NeuroGuard, to test whether psilocybin can prevent or reduce CIPN in people receiving chemotherapy for breast, colorectal or head and neck cancers. The trial is listed by the US National Cancer Institute as an approved Phase II study.

The trial will also examine whether preventing nerve damage could help patients tolerate their cancer treatment better and maintain quality of life.

A problem in the heart may not just be confined to the heart. According to new guidelines, heart and kidney health may be more closely linked to each other than we realise. Heart disease can increase the strain on the kidney, creating a cycle that may raise the risk of serious complications.

New guidelines from the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), developed in collaboration with the European Renal Association (ERA), are emphasising upon monitoring kidney health in people with cardiovascular disease more closely.

The recommendations, published in the European Heart Journal, are the ESC's first dedicated guidelines covering cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease together.

How Are The Heart And Kidneys Connected?

The heart pumps blood throughout the body, while the kidneys filter waste and excess fluid from the blood. Because the two organs are closely linked through blood flow, fluid balance and blood pressure, dysfunction in one can place additional stress on the other.

According to the ESC, chronic kidney disease can accelerate cardiovascular disease, while cardiovascular disease can also worsen kidney problems.

This can contribute to complications including heart failure, stroke, abnormal heart rhythms, and progression to kidney failure requiring dialysis.

The European Society of Cardiology estimates that around 100 million people in Europe have chronic kidney disease, which itself substantially increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Associate Professor Kevin Damman of University Medical Centre Groningen, who chaired the guideline task force, said, "The disability and lifetime lost to each disease are profound, but CKD can accelerate CVD and vice versa, resulting in cardiovascular events and the need for dialysis much earlier in life."

He added, "The good news is that there have been major advances over the last few years, which mean there are now several simple treatments that can substantially lower the risk of both cardiovascular and kidney complications."

Also read: Obesity Should Not Be Defined Solely By BMI: AIIMS Director Explains Fat Distribution & Metabolic Health

New Guidelines Recommend Two Kidney Tests

One of the biggest changes is an emphasis on earlier kidney screening in people with cardiovascular disease. The guidelines recommend assessing kidney health using two tests:

eGFR, calculated from a blood creatinine test, which estimates how well the kidneys are filtering blood.

Urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), which checks albumin leaking into the urine, a sign of kidney damage.

The ESC recommends active screening, risk assessment and treatment of CKD among people with cardiovascular disease.

This is crucial as kidney disease can go unnoticed for years, especially when symptoms are absent. Detecting it earlier can help doctors identify people at higher cardiovascular risk and adjust treatment accordingly.

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Treating One Condition Can Help The Other

The new guidelines also stress that the presence of kidney disease should not unnecessarily delay appropriate cardiovascular treatment.

Instead, doctors may need to modify treatment and monitor patients more closely due to the additional kidney-related risks.

The guideline framework is summarised by STAMP: Screen, Triage and Address CKD Risk, Modify CVD management, and Plan health services.

The recommendations cover a wide range of cardiovascular conditions, including coronary disease, heart failure, arrhythmias, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease.