The World Health Organization defended its response to the Congo Ebola outbreak after Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized the agency as being 'a little late,' with WHO noting that national authorities are responsible for initial outbreak detection.
NBC News reports that a flight attendant who served passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship has tested negative for hantavirus, easing fears of broader transmission. However, a new suspected case has emerged on a remote island, and officials continue monitoring potentially exposed passengers across multiple states.
Health officials in at least a dozen countries, including four U.S. states (California, Arizona, Georgia, and others), are monitoring dozens of passengers who traveled aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship following a deadly hantavirus outbreak onboard.
Health officials confirmed measles cases in multiple California infants, including a 7-month-old in Orange County, a graduate student in Los Angeles County, and San Francisco's first case since 2019. The infants were too young to be vaccinated, raising concerns about protecting vulnerable children during the ongoing outbreak.
California is experiencing substantially higher tuberculosis rates compared to the rest of the United States, with cases reaching a 12-year peak. The CDC has reported 24 large outbreaks as the state faces elevated TB transmission.
Public health teams are sequencing measles virus samples to determine whether current outbreaks reflect a single, sustained transmission chain within the U.S. or multiple separate importations, with results critical to assessing elimination status and guiding containment efforts.
