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.

In yet another milestone in India’s digital healthcare, the government has launched the Swasth Bharat Portal, which aims to bring together the fragmented health systems in the country.

The portal, unveiled during the recent 10th National Summit on Innovation and Inclusivity by Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda, signifies a decisive shift towards a more integrated, efficient, and scalable digital public health architecture.

The portal aims to enable seamless integration with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) and support the exchange of patient records through the ABHA health account system.

What Is The Swasth Bharat Portal?

The Swasth Bharat Portal has been conceptualized as an aggregator platform that integrates existing program systems through an API-based federated architecture.

It enables interoperability and convergence, creating a unified digital layer across programs.

It is a one-stop integrated platform that brings multiple national health programs onto a single interface.

It eliminates the need for multiple logins and repetitive data entry, and significantly reduces the administrative burden on healthcare providers while enhancing efficiency at all levels.

The portal also provides a single platform for easy access, along with data visualisation tools and the use of data at the local level for monitoring and evidence-based planning.

It is ABDM-compliant and supports integration with ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account), enabling seamless and secure exchange of patient health records.

It is designed to evolve into a comprehensive and interoperable digital health ecosystem, further integrating with national registries such as the Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR) and Health Facility Registry (HFR).

Also read: India AI Summit: Union Health Minister Nadda Launches SAHI And BODH Initiatives To Boost AI In Healthcare

How Swasth Bharat Portal Will Boost Healthcare

The new portal will help:

• Reduce infrastructure duplication by 20–30 per cent: Independent hosting, storage, and compute resources are maintained across programs, which will be reduced when they are aggregated through Swasth Bharat

• Reduce Repetitive Data Entry: Similar beneficiary data that was entered across multiple systems will be entered on a single platform, thus reducing repetitive tasks by ~20–40 per cent.

• Unify HR Deployment: Separate development and maintenance teams are required in all programs; a unified system will reduce the HR burden and reduce duplication by ~20–40 per cent.

• Increase Interoperability: As the system is designed on a federated architecture via APIs, the interoperability will be higher.

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The Swasth Bharat portal will also lead to substantial government savings both in terms of human resources, time, and IT infrastructure as compared to the current individual portals being managed by different program divisions, the Health Ministry said.

Further, the portal enables a shift towards an integrated, efficient, and scalable digital public infrastructure with significant efficiency gains.

The Swasth Bharat Portal thus represents a transformative step towards convergence, efficiency, and data-driven governance in India’s public health system.

Eggs are literally one of the healthiest foods on the planet. They offer proteins, healthy fats, vitamin D, choline, and other essential vitamins and minerals. Therefore, it is a no-brainer that eating eggs is associated with several health benefits—from weight management to a healthier heart to even diabetes management. And now, according to researchers at the Loma Linda University School of Public Health, eating eggs is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease as well. Alzheimer's is often diagnosed in people aged 65 years and above. Researchers have found that eating one egg a day for at least five days can reduce Alzheimer's risk by 27 per cent.

How does eating eggs reduce Alzheimer's risk?

Experts at the Loma Linda University School of Public Health found that, as compared to people who never eat eggs, eating at least five servings of the high-protein food option can significantly reduce Alzheimer's risk. Furthermore, the study also noted that less frequent consumption of eggs can work wonders in helping to dodge memory loss and other cognitive health-related symptoms. Researchers in the study found that eating eggs one to three times a month can reduce the risk by 17 per cent, and eating two to four times a week reduced the risk by 20 per cent. The study was published in the Journal of Nutrition.

What makes eggs one of the healthiest foods?

Eggs are a whole food, and that is because of the nutrients they offer and their subsequent benefits for overall health. They are also sources of essential nutrients that improve brain health—they offer choline, phosphatidylcholine, and acetylcholine—all of which are critical for synaptic function and memory. They are also sources of zeaxanthin and lutein, carotenoids that accumulate in brain tissues and are linked to lower oxidative stress and better cognitive performance. Eggs are sources of omega-3 fatty acids and phospholipids that constitute 30 per cent of the total egg lipids essential for neurotransmitter receptor function.

What are the modifiable factors linked to Alzheimer's disease risk?

Researchers in the study said that their aim was to understand the relationship between modifiable dietary factors linked to Alzheimer's disease risk. Experts stated that they studied egg consumption in visible ways, for instance, eating them fried, scrambled, or boiled, or in hidden ways such as packaged or baked goods. Scientists emphasised that moderate intake of eggs is an important part of a balanced diet. Whether for breakfast, as a post-workout meal, or simply as a snack satisfying cravings, this versatile food option must find its way into your diet. And after years of research and studies (with more to come), it can be said that eggs are key to a healthy life now and even years later.

Officials at the US Food and Drug Administration have blocked publication of several studies supporting the safety of widely used vaccines against COVID-19 and shingles in recent months, according to a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

While the studies found serious side effects to be very rare, the HHS said they were pulled over concerns about their conclusions. These withdrawals aim to limit access to vaccines, reflecting broader policy changes under US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a staunch critic of vaccines.

"The studies were withdrawn because the authors drew broad conclusions that were not supported by the underlying data. The FDA acted to protect the integrity of its scientific process and ensure that any work associated with the agency meets its high standards," said Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the HHS, which oversees the FDA, in an email to Reuters.

The last one year of Trump administration, along with Kennedy as the head of the HHS, saw significant cut in research funding for vaccine development. It also fueled doubt on vaccines, and blocked other information supporting their safety.

The list includes research on COVID vaccine effectiveness by scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In October, the scientists were directed to withdraw two COVID vaccine studies that had been accepted for publication in medical journals. Further, in February, top FDA officials did not sign off on submitting abstracts about studies of Shingrix, a shingles vaccine, to a major drug safety conference.

“The design of that study fell outside the agency’s purview,” Nixon said on rejecting the shingles vaccine. He did not address a question about the Shingrix safety study, which found the vaccine to be safe.

Also read: Donald Trump’s 'Squirrel' Remark Fuels Debate Over Brain Health And Cognitive Tests

HHS Under Kennedy: Science And Vaccine Takes A Back Seat

In June 2025, his office asked CDC staff members to delete from the agency’s website a 17-page summary supporting the safety of thimerosal, an additive largely removed from vaccines 25 years ago.

Further, in August, Kennedy called the journal Annals of Internal Medicine to “immediately retract” a large Danish study concluding that the vaccine additive aluminum salts were safe. However, the study was not retracted.

Recently, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who was serving as interim leader of the CDC, canceled the publication of a report concluding that the Covid vaccine sharply cut the odds of hospitalizations and emergency room visits last winter, saying the study had limitations.

“At a moment when public trust in institutions like the CDC is fragile, we cannot afford to lower our standards,” Dr. Bhattacharya wrote in an editorial about news coverage of his decision.

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Last June, a CDC panel backed by Kennedy voted to remove the mercury-based preservative thimerosal from flu shots, despite long-standing clinical evidence of its safety.

In August 2025, the HHS said it would wind down nearly $500 million in mRNA vaccine development, canceling 22 federal projects overseen by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a government-backed funding body.

Other vaccines, including flu and hepatitis A, were also removed from routine recommendations. He also directed the CDC to stop recommending the vaccine for healthy pregnant women and children.