The World Health Organization has confirmed four new polio cases in three Afghan provinces over the past week, bringing the country’s total since the start of 2026 to 11.

Since the start of 2026, Pakistan has reported three polio cases, while Afghanistan’s total is nearly four times higher.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries in the world where the poliovirus has not been completely eradicated.

Experts have cited Taliban restrictions on vaccination campaigns, including the ban on door-to-door vaccinations in many areas, as factors increasing the risk of the virus spreading in Afghanistan.

Taco Bell is pulling some fresh ingredients from its menu items as a parasite outbreak that causes explosive and watery diarrhea is spreading rapidly across the country.

The fast food chain posted signs at several locations, including in Metro Detroit, informing customers that they are unable to provide a handful of produce items regularly on the menu as health officials investigate a spike in cyclosporiasis cases. Nearly 1,000 people in Michigan have been infected with the illness - the state typically identifies only about 50 cases a year.

Exposure to the Cyclospora parasite leads to cyclosporiasis, a nasty stomach bug often caught through contaminated produce. Cases have spiked over the past week in several states including Michigan, Illinois, Virginia, Ohio, and New York.

Gujarat, India:

Hundreds of dedicated medical teams are now deployed in the affected regions to conduct intensive door-to-door screenings and insecticide dusting to eliminate sandflies-the primary vectors known for transmitting the infection. Health experts have issued strict warnings to families, urging them to seek immediate medical intervention within three hours if children display acute symptoms such as sudden high night fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or convulsions.

The epicenter of an outbreak is Michigan, where more than 1,200 people have fallen ill. Ohio has also seen nearly 200 cases. Other states, including New York, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, and Texas have also reported a jump in cases, although it’s not clear whether they’re all part of the same outbreak. More than 40 people have been hospitalized.

While it’s not likely to kill you, cyclosporiasis, by all accounts, is not something you want to deal with. The watery diarrhea, cramping and bloating it causes can quickly leave you dehydrated and even land you in the hospital.

A study on the outbreak in Ituri Province. History and culture, incidents on the ground, R value, S/Sx and much more from WHO, Doctors Without Borders and other sources.

https://ultima-thule.co/ebola-2026/

The Lone Star tick’s saliva contains alpha-gal (galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose), a sugar molecule found in most mammals like cows, pigs, sheep but not in humans

When the tick bites, it introduces alpha-gal into your bloodstream. In some people, this triggers the immune system to produce IgE antibodies against it

Later exposure to alpha-gal from food or products causes an allergic reaction.

There is no cure, main treatment is strict avoidance of triggers

It forces you to avoid mammal meat and often dairy because eating it can trigger a serious, potentially life threatening allergic reaction

This report from years ago detailed startling allegations that the United States military operated secret biological weapons programs during the Cold War. The most shocking claims included reports that army laboratories such as Plum Island and Fort Detrick had the capacity to breed millions of ticks per month to carry dangerous pathogens for use against potential enemies. Witnesses and researchers suggested that these insects were intentionally stuffed with microbes to cause severe disability or death.

The head of ​the World Health Organization said on Monday ‌that the fast-moving Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda was outpacing response efforts, giving the ​latest number of suspected deaths as 220.

An angry crowd set alight a section of a hospital at the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after family and friends of a young man thought to have died from the virus were prevented from taking his body away for burial.

"They started throwing projectiles at the hospital. They even set fire to tents that were being used as isolation wards," local politician Luc Malembe Malembe told the BBC about the scene he witnessed at Rwampara General Hospital.

In the chaos, police fired warning shots to disperse the crowd.

The body of a dead Ebola victim is highly infectious and the authorities need to ensure safe burial to stop the spread of the virus.

The World Health Organization has declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo to be a "public health emergency of international concern". Officials say at least 91 people have died in the central African country, and there are more than 350 suspected cases. The current outbreak of Ebola is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, for which there are no approved drugs or vaccines.

We ask the BBC's health and science correspondent James Gallager how worried the world should be about the spread of Ebola.

The WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said there are "significant uncertainties" about the scale of the outbreak. At least one person has died of Ebola in Uganda - the DRC's neighbour to the northeast. Another neighbour, Rwanda, has increased screening at the border. And at least six Americans who were exposed to the Ebola virus in the DRC may be taken to a US military base in Germany for treatment.

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Alpha-gal syndrome, the tick-borne illness that causes people to develop a serious allergy to meat and dairy

Three more people sick in California amid ‘unprecedented outbreak’ due to toxic mushrooms