COVID-19, Bundibugyo Ebolavirus, Vaccination, Andes Hantavirus, Measles and other Health and Virus UK and World News Update 26th June 2026
This week's extreme heat has been disastrous for the UK's overstretched NHS. A&E departments received far more patients than any normal week, IT systems went down, MRI machines refused to work, servers overheated, non-essential electricals had to be turned off, machines for treating cancer patients decided it was not happening, ambulance staff responded to the largest number of category 1 incidents ever, and melting staff on very little sleep had to work in sweltering Victorian buildings or wards with broken aircon, and cover for staff who couldn't come in because schools were shut.
Several NHS hospitals declared critical incidents on Thursday and shut down non-emergency appointments or admissions.
Fun times.
Good news. Resident doctors in England cancelled this week's strikes. The British Medical Association (BMA) says that the UK Government made a new last minute offer which is interesting enough to be put to the vote. Fingers crossed everybody.
With the expansion of services from UK community pharmacies, from 1st October they will also be allowed to offer flu immunisations for eligible children aged 2 or over - this includes 2 and 3 year olds and children in clinical risk groups.
School-aged children who missed their jabs can be vaccinated at community pharmacies from 1st December.
A 5th large scale study has found yet again that risk of dementia is massively lowered in people given the shingles vaccine.
The study of 509,926 US citizens aged 66 years or older, admitted to a skilled nursing facility in 2017-2022, found that those given the RZV shingles vaccination had an 18.8% chance of developing dementia within the next 4 years. Those not vaccinated had a 24.6% risk. That's a reduction of almost a quarter.
These findings match 4 earlier huge natural studies in the US, Canada, Wales, and Australia, which all found a reduction of around 20% - 1 in 5.
So one of the best protections against dementia that the world knows about turns out to be getting a shingles vaccination.
The US Administration has made changes to who is responsible for various bits and pieces, and Special Education has been placed under the umbrella of Health and Human Services (HHS). The reason this is very important, is because the head of HHS is RFK Jr, who despite literal mountains of evidence, believes vaccines cause autism (and don't stop disease). I really don't know what else he believes about children and young people who might find themselves in special education, but that's more than enough for me to believe he is not a good choice. Not for the education system, not for the parents and not for the pupils.
The Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in DRC has now surpassed 1,000 cases. The latest update from DRC Ministry of Health, up to 23rd June, reports a total of 1,118 confirmed cases, including 291 confirmed deaths, and 408 individuals hospitalised in isolation. We know these figures do not include people suspected to have died or recovered without confirmation via testing.
Uganda reports 20 confirmed cases and 2 deaths (plus 1 suspected death), with 15 people recovered and 3 currently admitted to hospital.
On 23rd June the DRC and Ugandan Ministries of Health launched a cross-border collaboration to control the Ebola outbreak. It will cover areas including cross-border monitoring, contact tracing, case investigations, deployment of mobile treatment units/laboratories, cross-border referral of suspected and confirmed cases, and joint communication regarding border communities.
Because of war between DRC government and rebels, 6 million DRC citizens have been forced from their homes and most are living in displacement camps.
Many are completely misguided about Ebola, believing aid workers or white men have brought disease and death, or refusing to believe it even is Ebola. There is widespread distrust of authorities and aid workers, patients are regularly refusing to stay in hospital and a lot of people can't understand why they can't have the bodies of their deceased loved ones back.
Ebola has already reached some of the displacement camps, which each have thousands of residents and very poor sanitation - there may be one toilet and one hand washing station for hundreds or thousands of people.
It is a really tense situation, with aid workers being driven out of the camps and angry relatives attacking health clinics.
At least 78 nurses, doctors and other healthcare workers have already become ill with Bundibugyo Ebola, and 18 have died, according to figures from the DRC National Public Health Institute. They claim no healthcare workers have as yet been infected in specialist Ebola treatment centres, they were all infected in community health centres by patients who hadn't yet been diagnosed with Ebola.
DRC is really struggling to provide adequate PPE to healthcare workers. Back on 9th June they warned PPE would run out within days, and they rely heavily on volunteers and foreign aid. This is an incredibly poor, remote warzone, with sparse roads that are often only just driveable. Aid workers are frankly risking their lives to help. It's staggering they have any stocks of PPE.
It isn't just medical equipment and resources, food shortages are common. In some cases Ebola patients are leaving Ebola treatment centres through hunger, purely to go and find food.
As of last weekend, less than 10% of pledged funding had arrived, but international efforts are growing. China and Uganda have sent medical teams to the area, as have WHO, Doctors Without Borders and other aid agencies. The US CDC have pledged $107 million and an Africa CDC-WHO plan will cost around $518 million of WHO funding. Yesterday Africa CDC said this sum would not be enough and a more realistic solution would cost $1.4 billion.
Contact tracing, which would include masses of contacts for every patient, is often completely impossible, and stands at just around 12% of contacts traced. This already leaves at least 28,000 people unaware they've been exposed.
Local health authorities are attempting to spread educational messaging, including using a convoy of trucks to reach displacement camps and remote villages, but it’s a hard battle to win.
The World Health Organisation have confirmed that trials of 2 separate therapeutic treatments for Bundibugyo Ebola are expected to begin next week. Gilead Sciences’ antiviral drug Remdesivir and MappBio’s monoclonal antibody MBP-134 will be trialled independently and also together. There are currently no licensed treatments for Bundibugyo, all you can do is keep patients comfortable and give fluids, oxygen and pain relief. If these prove helpful then not only will it be a win for all infected people, it might encourage patients to stay in hospital.
A French doctor who has returned from humanitarian work in DRC has been confirmed infected with Bundibugyo Ebolavirus.
France has a 'dedicated monitoring system' for returnees who may have been exposed, and stress that risk to the general public across Europe remains "very low". Contact tracing is underway. The patient is in a specialised facility and at last report was described as "stable".
The US doctor who tested positive near the beginning of the outbreak and was treated in Germany has recovered, and gone home.
The construction of an Ebola isolation facility for US citizens in Kenya has been frozen by the Kenyan Health Secretary Aden Duale. Earlier a court ruled it wasn't allowed, but it seems that didn't necessarily stop all building work - kind of a 'stuff them, we'll challenge in court and win, so keep going' situation. Protests continued to grow and the Health Secretary has now told the court he has ordered work to stop immediately.
I've spoken before about the ongoing risk from Ebolavirus in semen, meaning recovered patients need to be cautious for at least 6 months in order to not infect partners. A study this week in Nature found the same is true with Marburg virus disease. 2 women were infected in 2024 via unprotected sex with their recovered partners.
It's a cruel world indeed.
The UK is seeing a fairly rapid increase in the number of 1b Mpox cases detected. We had just 21 clade 1b cases between October 2024 and the end of January 2026. In the 4 following months (February to May), there were 35 cases, 14 in May alone. Clade 11b is more prevalent, but cases have risen there too. Last year the highest monthly detection was 42. Over the first 5 months of 2026 there have been almost 300 cases.
It's still a small number, so don't panic just yet because a party or something could have had a significant impact, but I'd hope that UKHSA are on this and working out why the increase is happening?
It isn’t just after having Ebola or Marburg, or in the Northern hemisphere, where STIs are a real problem. Australia has seen a massive resurgence of Syphilis. Back in 2015 there were 4,773 cases, that almost doubled to 8,993 in 2025. The Northern Territories are particularly affected, with rates 7.5 times the national average. Yowch. You know what to do to be sensible people...
"Four quiet deaths which bring so much dread."
Dr Tom Montgomery, marine biologist and conservationist.
Very unwelcome news about H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. It has finally reached the last continent on Earth, with cases confirmed on mainland Australia. A sad day indeed.
The first case was detected less than 2 weeks ago, and by Saturday afternoon there had been 16 dead birds collected for testing along the Esperance and Western Australia coastline between Perth and the Cape Le Grand area.
Local poultry producer Ingham's has locked down all of their facilities as a precaution. WA Seabird Conservation Network immediately announced concern that more dead birds could now be found along the coast, and that H5N1 could well be devastating for some more vulnerable species including black swans and fairy penguins.
By Wednesday there were 3 confirmed dead birds and another suspected - with cases in both Western and South Australia.
Sadly H5N1 avian flu has previously hit Australian Territory, as a few months ago seals and other mammals and birds were found to be infected on the remote Heard Island in Antarctica, in the Southern Ocean. Researchers have now managed to measure the losses of life and it is devastating.
They estimate 13,359 seal pups succumbed from a total population of 17,364. Over 3/4 of the new generation already lost, and it isn’t over yet. More pups were sick and dying while they were visiting.
The latest Northern hemisphere H5N1 Avian Flu figures remain low in birds.
The UK has had no newly reported infections in captive birds since 17th April.
The US report 12 flocks infected in the last 30 days (4 commercial, 8 backyard).
For US dairy herds the figures aren't so rosy, with 39 infections in the last 30 days. 34 in Idaho, 3 in Utah, 2 in Texas.
In light of the large number of new H5N1 infections in dairy cattle herds, Idaho Central District Health Agency have issued a Health Alert to medical professionals:
"Consider H5N1 infection in patients presenting with conjunctivitis or acute respiratory illness who report recent exposure to dairy cattle, sick poultry, or contaminated environments."
It's surprising and very welcome to see someone finally taking action here. I suspect, and all evidence so far suggests, there are far more cases of humans with H5N1 than we even begin to appreciate (which is a great thing! Mild illness is good news).
H5N1 has been detected in 2 US live bird markets - in Providence, Rhode Island and Passaic, New Jersey. Affected birds were transported 'from other states'. Astonishingly these are the 19th and 20th detections at US live bird markets this year.
The risk from live bird markets is well known, and studies in Cambodia and China have both documented human infections, including the possibility that even walking past has put people in harms way, although always remember risk to humans is incredibly low.
Still, I think we all recall where COVID broke out, eh... (first known location was Wuhan, at a 'wet market', aka a 'live market'.)
And as if to prove a point, a 2 year old boy in Hong Kong has developed H9N2 Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza after visiting a live animal market. He has got mild illness, which is usual for human infections with H9 strains of avian flu, and none of his 6 household contacts have symptoms.
Samples were taken around the market and at least one has tested positive for H9 bird flu. The Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection says the risk of a serious outbreak is low.
Measles is still ticking along at relatively high levels - certainly far higher than we'd hope, and enough to elicit warnings to travellers, including the USA's world cup visitors.
The UK report 801 confirmed cases up to 15th June, 54% in London.
Canada report 1,073 measles cases (992 confirmed, 81 probable) to 13th June.
The US reports 2,134 confirmed cases to 25th June.
Other countries are suffering far worse outbreaks.
Mexico has a large outbreak which was initially linked to the US outbreak in the Mennonite Community in Texas. That outbreak is finally beginning to slow down. Up to 12th June they had reported 11,665 cases and 16 losses of life.
Bangladesh's outbreak began to surge in March, and latest reports as of 21st June are that there are 11,011 confirmed and 92,790 suspected cases. There are 93 confirmed deaths, and another 680 people are suspected to have died from measles.
In case you missed it last report, the New World Screwworm has reached the USA. Up until the latest update on 23rd June there have been 25 detections - 24 in Texas and 1 in New Mexico. All are domestic animals (14 cattle, 7 sheep, 3 goats, 1 dog). No wildlife have yet been found infected and no Screwworm flies have been caught in traps. Sadly that is expected to be short-lived. The new Texas facility to breed and release sterile male Screwworms will not be ready until November 2027, and Mexico's new facility is not quite ready, leaving only the existing facility in Panama operational.
Talking of plagues, plague! It's bacteria, not virus, but what the heck. Scientists generally accept that the first known human pandemic was the Justinian Plague in 540CE. This was caused by the bacteria Yersinia Pestis, which is also famous for (amongst others) the Black Death (1346-1353), the London Plague (1665-1666) and the Third Plague (began in 1855). It was thought that the hunter-gatherer lifestyle of earlier humans meant they mainly avoided large outbreaks of disease, including plague. Recent DNA testing has found Yersinia Pestis was killing people far, far earlier than was ever expected. When excavating a large burial in Lake Baikal, Southeastern Siberia, scientists were surprised to find a large number of children and adolescents. Using DNA taken from inside their molars, 18 of 46 (39%) showed plague. Radiocarbon dating suggests they died around 5,500 years ago.
By contrast only 20% of the samples taken from East Smithfield plague pit were still positive for plague after only 360 years.
Plague isn't only in the past, cases still occur, mostly in Africa, although an average of 7 US citizens a year also catch plague. Swift treatment with antibiotics almost always leads to full recovery.
A nurse from Dorset, UK, has been struck off for spreading misinformation - attempting to 'undermine public confidence in public health advice with her actions'. She told a cancer patient that their cancer was caused by the COVID vaccine and gave out an anti-vaccine leaflet, causing the patient to become distressed and believe they had caused their own illness, and might be putting their children at risk. She also accessed patient's records without authorisation for her own "research".
Quite honestly if you don't believe in science, or being kind to people who are very sick, general medicine and you don't get along.
In a perfect example of why you shouldn’t ignore the science, there has been a massive outbreak of flu at the US Air Force basic training hub in San Antonio.
Waaaay back in 1945, annual flu vaccinations were made mandatory for US military personnel - after Spanish flu had wiped out 45,000 US service members during the first world war (and in fact began at Camp Funston, Kansas, but that was kept quiet and it was Spain which first alerted the world to the scale of the problem).
Back in April this year, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth decided these strapping young men don't need flu jabs:
"Our new policy is simple: If you, an American warrior entrusted to defend this nation, believe that the flu vaccine is in your best interest, then you are free to take it; you should. But we will not force you."
Barely 2 months later, and with a reported 40% of new Air Force recruits choosing to accept flu vaccinations, we are 3 weeks into an outbreak that has totalled at least 275 confirmed cases and hospitalised several people.
The Pentagon has responded immediately - by restoring mandatory flu jabs. Pahahaha.
A newly published Cancer Research UK study has looked at English data on Cervical Cancer from 2001-2024 - and it's fabulous news.
Researchers found that from 2020-2024 HPV vaccination as a teenager reduced risk of death from cervical cancer in women aged 20-24 years by 100% - ZERO deaths when historically there would have been an average of 23.
In vaccinated women aged under 30, risk of death was also close to zero, saving around 20 young lives EACH YEAR.
"Up until the end of 2024, HPV vaccination in England was associated with a [total] reduction of around 199.6 cervical cancer deaths".
These findings are the same as Scotland and Australia, and you really couldn't hope for better.
99.8% of cervical cancer in the UK is caused by HPV (Human papillomavirus). Risk of death from cervical cancer increases with age, and it causes around 880 deaths a year in the UK alone, so as the vaccinated population age, more and more deaths are expected to be prevented. This really is the generation which can end cervical cancer.
Professor Devi Sridar, Chair of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh, has a great piece in The Guardian about why we should really be celebrating this week. Andes Hantavirus. This is a success. Quarantine for ship passengers ended this week with 13 cases in total, all of whom were passengers aboard the MV Hondius, and sadly 3 losses of life. No outbreak anywhere. No-one infected any of their medics, spouses, children or friends. Once the outbreak was identified and patients removed from the ship to hospitals, and everyone else was quarantined, no-one else died.
Prof Sridar credits Spanish and Tenerife authorities and agencies for stepping up and accepting the MV Hondius for docking, the WHO for advising and co-ordinating all of the countries involved, and the medical professionals and health agencies in those countries for their actions.
As a result of the outbreak, 21 countries have signed up to a coordinated hantavirus research programme, which will use information gained from the experience and from those people exposed on board, to investigate treatments and vaccines for the future.
Crikey it's been hot hasn't it? And I'm in Scotland - feeling sorry for everyone South of me, that's for sure. Back in the 1950's, 60's, 70's the newspapers posted about how fabulous the heatwave was, today they carry warnings. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, these days people almost expect to be able to live to 80, or 90, back in the 1950's or 60's they did not. Back then if you died early, it was more likely to be seen as a risk of living, whereas today we are quicker to blame someone else for being neglectful. Back then we didn't appreciate just how many people died when it was hot. We know it now, and it's not pretty. In the 13 days that the UK averaged temperatures over 32 degrees in 1976, there were 600 deaths directly attributable to the weather. There were far more than that indirectly caused by heat or labelled as something else. It would be wrong not to warn you, but it puts the Government and the Met Office in a no-win situation.
Be sensible. Please look out for yourself and others.
Headache, nausea, cramps, dizziness and extreme tiredness are signs you are too hot - sip cold water and get into shade, take a cool shower or put your wrists under cold running water. Anyone experiencing confusion, collapse or seizures is overdone and needs urgent medical attention.
Please, please, please do NOT be tempted to go wild swimming or leaping into unknown water to cool off unless you have all you would need to save you if you get into difficulty. The sea, reservoirs and lakes are still extremely cold, and the shock alone could be the death of you. By last night 50 people had drowned in France this week during the heatwave. Most of them would have never considered they were putting themselves in danger. Don't make the same mistake, and warn your kids too.
It is the weekend! Hurrah! Scotland's FIFA World Cup hopes are now slim to miracle, but hey, England have a good chance of going through to the next round. If you won't be enjoying the football, make sure you have something else that's fun to do in lieu. We all deserve a treat, especially when it's been such a hard week - you've earnt it!
My thoughts today with all of those affected by extreme heat, and the earthquakes in Venezuela, Japan and the Philippines. Nature, and climate change, can really be brutal.
I'll be back in 2 weeks, until then...
Wear A Hat, Drink Water Often, Save The NHS....
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Sources:
Repeat sources
UK latest COVID cases UPDATES THURSDAY 4pm
https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/respiratory-viruses/covid-19
GP surveillance England Primary Care
https://www.rcgp.org.uk/representing-you/research-at-rcgp/research-surveillance-centre/public-health-data
Reference pages H5N1
https://bnonews.com/index.php/human-cases-of-h5n1-bird-flu/
https://www.paho.org/en/topics/avian-influenza
https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/index.html
Measles Sit Rep US CDC
UK cases Measles
Canada Measles
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Be safe in the water UK Image
How not to drown WHO image
Champions know when to seek help Uganda Ebola messaging image
Keep safe in the heat UKHSA images
H5 bird flu Australia
Royal Life Saving Society UK safe swimming images
Good hand hygiene Uganda ministry of health
Age UK heat advice for older people
Don't walk dogs when it's hot
Vet advice don't walk dogs
Cats and heat advice
Dogs trust hot weather heatstroke help for dogs
WHO advice for humans in the heat
You cannot get ebola by eating pork Uganda health ministry
Uganda ebola remains in semen for at least 6 months image
Signs of heat-related illness WHO image
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UK Hospitals can't cope with the heat
UK hospitals critical incidents
Resident doctor's strikes cancelled
Flu jabs UK Winter 2026
Dementia risk US Shingles vaccine
Dementia risk shingles vax 4 studies
New special education, IEP changes under Trump Administration – NBC Chicago
Bundibugyo Ebolavirus
Uganda latest stats
DRC latest stats Ebola SIT REP
ECDC Ebola latest
WHO Ebola sit rep
DRC Uganda joint collaboration on Ebola
angry locals drive health workers away from displacement camps
Health workers struggle to contain Ebola in Congo camps as distrust grows
Ebola cases top 1,000 in Congo as virus infects frontline health workers
Congo PPE shortages
Ebola patients are fleeing treatment centers in the Democratic Republic of Congo in search of food, underscoring how hunger has become one of the biggest obstacles to containing the virus.
Africa CDC Ebola response
Africa CDC says Ebola response needs $1.4B
Ebola therapeutics trials
Treatments for ebola begin next week
France confirms first Ebola case
Feance doctor ebola
First case identified in a humanitarian doctor
Ebola facility Kenya paused
Kenya ebola facility
Evidence for sexual transmission of Marburg virus during the 2024 outbreak in Rwanda
Mpox | Emerging infections and zoonoses | UKHSA data dashboard
Australians are dying from syphilis, a disease that was almost eliminated more than a decade ago
H5N1
Australia Bird Flu
Australia bird flu quote
Black swan 'wipe-out' from bird flu predicted
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-22/black-swan-wipeout-predicted-amid-bird-flu-outbreak/106824910
Wednesday morning 3rd confirmed dead bird, 4th suspected - now cases in Western and South Australia
Australia confirms first case of bird flu as virus reaches every continent - BBC News
Anthony Albanese says Australia’s first mainland case of deadly H5N1 bird flu ‘concerning'
Suspected detection of H5 strain of bird flu in WA, which would be first in Australia
Bird flu kills thousands of baby seals on Heard Island in Southern Ocean
Study Heard Island preprint - not yet reviewed
Idaho Central District Health Agency Health Alert H5N1
Overall risk of humans getting H5N1 US remains low.
Earlier this week the USDA reported a new outbreak at a live Market in Passaic, New Jersey.
Wastewater
2yo boy Hong Kong market H9 flu
Hong Kong market sample tests positive for H9 bird flu after boy infected
Bangladesh measles
Bangladesh health ministry
Mexico measles
Mexico measles began Texas
Global Measles outbreaks
Screwworm Dashboard USA
New World Screwworm update
Screwworm facility over a year away
Did DOGE cuts cause screwworm outbreak in US? We investigated
Also new facility won't be ready until November 2027
Plague 5500 years ago
5500 year old plague victims discovered
Nurse struck off for telling cancer patient Covid vaccine caused their illness
Pentagon restores mandatory flu shots as outbreak sickens 300 | AP News
Flu jabs US military.
Cervical cancer deaths UK study
Cervical cancer mortality statistics | Cancer Research UK
HPV 99.8% of cervical cancer UK
Australia c cancer deaths
Scotland c cancer deaths
Hantavirus success Devi Sridar
Hantavirus Quarantine Ends for 18 Americans Exposed on a Cruise Ship
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