Outbreak file
Ebola virus disease
New publisher/source coverage joined this story cluster: 6abc Philadelphia, Doctors Without Borders, Forbes Africa.
The Pathogen Dispatch
Source-first newsroom desks
The Edge of Epidemiology
The Pathogen Dispatch
A source-first infectious disease newsroom for reporters, editors, and public-health analysts who need to know what changed, how trustworthy it is, and where to click next.
Lead Outbreak Files
The core live files that deserve attention before the wider desk.
Outbreak file
Avian influenza and H5N1
Cambodianess now explicitly uses investigation or monitoring language.
Outbreak file
Measles transmission and vaccination
1 newly observed linked item(s) were added since the last saved snapshot.
Outbreak file
Hantavirus and cruise-ship outbreak
The lead item has changed to Britain gets experimental drug from Japan to bolster hantavirus response from Reuters.
Outbreak Terminal
High-signal outbreak movements: official alerts, emergency declarations, cross-border spread, contact tracing, case/death shifts, and operational response.
Brief source signal
WHO chief concerned over ‘scale and speed’ of Ebola outbreak as Congo reports 134 dead
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Brief source signal
Details on Ebola outbreak as Americans urged to avoid travel to Congo, Uganda, South Sudan
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Official update
Respiratory virus surveillance in the WHO African Region Epidemiological Week 19, May 4 to 10 2026
Cumulatively from weeks 1 to 19, the WHO AFR influenza laboratory network has tested 25,293 sentinel surveillance specimens for SARS-CoV-2, of which 785 were positive for SARS-CoV-2 (cumulative positivity rate 3.1%). SARS-CoV-2 In Epiweek 19, of the 908 specimens processed by 12 laboratories in the African Region, a total of 18 specimens tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (positivity of 2%). The following influenza viruses were identified: Influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 (n = 4), Influenza A (H3) (n = 19), Influenza A (subtyping not performed) (n = 36), Influenza B (lineage not determined) (n = 3), and Influenza B (Victoria) (n = 24).
Brief source signal
Ebola Outbreak: What to Know About Bundibugyo Virus Symptoms and Spread
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Brief source signal
Amid deadly Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda, Canada not banning travellers
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Brief source signal
Why this Ebola outbreak will be so difficult to contain
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Brief source signal
Ebola Outbreak in Central Africa Could Last Months, W.H.O. Says
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Brief source signal
What to know about the Bundibugyo virus, a species of Ebola causing an outbreak in Congo
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Brief source signal
Former ‘Ebola czar’ on the current outbreak in Africa
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Brief source signal
DR Congo World Cup team still planning US trip despite Ebola outbreak
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
What Changed Today
New developments that move the reporting picture rather than simply repeat it.
Brief source signal
WHO chief concerned over ‘scale and speed’ of Ebola outbreak as Congo reports 134 dead
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Brief source signal
Details on Ebola outbreak as Americans urged to avoid travel to Congo, Uganda, South Sudan
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Official update
Respiratory virus surveillance in the WHO African Region Epidemiological Week 19, May 4 to 10 2026
Cumulatively from weeks 1 to 19, the WHO AFR influenza laboratory network has tested 25,293 sentinel surveillance specimens for SARS-CoV-2, of which 785 were positive for SARS-CoV-2 (cumulative positivity rate 3.1%). SARS-CoV-2 In Epiweek 19, of the 908 specimens processed by 12 laboratories in the African Region, a total of 18 specimens tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (positivity of 2%). The following influenza viruses were identified: Influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 (n = 4), Influenza A (H3) (n = 19), Influenza A (subtyping not performed) (n = 36), Influenza B (lineage not determined) (n = 3), and Influenza B (Victoria) (n = 24).
Brief source signal
Amid deadly Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda, Canada not banning travellers
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Brief source signal
Why this Ebola outbreak will be so difficult to contain
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Brief source signal
Ebola Outbreak in Central Africa Could Last Months, W.H.O. Says
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Brief source signal
Former ‘Ebola czar’ on the current outbreak in Africa
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Brief source signal
DR Congo World Cup team still planning US trip despite Ebola outbreak
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Reporter's Notebook
A working layer for reporters: what to ask next, which numbers matter, and which framing traps to avoid before you write.
Notebook line
Ebola virus disease
Next move: Pin down whether the transmission language reflects evidence, concern, or pure precaution.
Question: What does the official source actually confirm, and where are follow-up reports going beyond that line?
Notebook line
Avian influenza and H5N1
Next move: Pin down whether the transmission language reflects evidence, concern, or pure precaution.
Question: What does the official source actually confirm, and where are follow-up reports going beyond that line?
Notebook line
Measles transmission and vaccination
Next move: Get a direct official confirmation or denial before the next write-through.
Question: Which public-health or government source has still not spoken on the record, and who should be pressed first?
Notebook line
Hantavirus and cruise-ship outbreak
Next move: Get a direct official confirmation or denial before the next write-through.
Question: Which public-health or government source has still not spoken on the record, and who should be pressed first?
Pathogen Atlas
A separate evidence-and-geography layer for where selected pathogens likely emerged, how they traveled, and where they intersect your own writing.
Pathogen atlas
Yellow fever
Atlantic mosquito ecology, slavery, empire, and port-city mortality
Yellow fever is one of the clearest examples of a pathogen whose historical geography was shaped by maritime movement, tropical mosquito ecology, port infrastructure, and imperial warfare.
Pathogen atlas
Cholera
Bay of Bengal ecology, empire, troop movement, and recurring pandemic waves
Cholera is the classic map disease for showing how river basins, pilgrimage, military movement, and commercial shipping can convert a local ecology into repeated global pandemic waves.
Pathogen atlas
Measles
Dense settlement, cattle-linked ancestry, and colonial spread into immunologically naive populations
Measles has a partly reconstructed deeper origin story from molecular-clock work, while its colonial spread is brutally visible in the Americas and Pacific.
Pathogen atlas
Mpox
Forest-zone recognition, animal trade jumps, and networked global spread
Mpox combines a geographically anchored Central and West African history with wildlife-trade export events and a distinct twenty-first-century pattern of networked global transmission.
Global Watch
Major outbreaks, regional developments, and the cross-border signals worth following now.
Brief source signal
As WHO sounds alarm over Ebola in DRC, what can be learned from previous outbreaks?
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Brief source signal
U.S. Imposes Entry Ban on Travelers from DRC, Uganda and South Sudan as Ebola Deaths Top 130
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Brief source signal
'Ebola has tortured us': Fear as DR Congo outbreak spreads
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Brief source signal
The U.S. issues a maximum alert for the Ebola outbreak in Africa: "Do not travel"
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Brief source signal
WHO worried about 'scale and speed' of deadly Ebola outbreak
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Brief source signal
United States Responds to Ebola Outbreak in Africa
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Brief source signal
Why health officials are worried about containing the Ebola outbreak
Only a brief source description was available at publication time.
Official update
Recommendations and Reports: CDC Operational Guidance for Investigating Locally Acquired Mosquito-Transmitted Malaria
Recommendations and Reports / May 21, 2026 / 75(1);1â14 Nikhil Ranadive, MD 1 ,2 ,3 ; Joel L.N. Ridpath, MD 2 ( View author affiliations ) Guidance for Enhanced Investigation for Suspected Autochthonous Malaria Transmission During 2023, 10 cases of locally acquired mosquito-transmitted (autochthonous) malaria were reported to CDC from four U.S. states after a 20-year period with no autochthonous cases.
Research Brief
Journal article
Surveillance and biological characterization of H3 subtype avian influenza viruses in Eastern China.
Notably, H3N2 subtype AIVs exhibited dual receptor-binding properties, recognizing both SA α-2,3-Gal and SA α-2,6-Gal receptors. Overall, these findings indicate that H3 subtype AIVs have the potential for cross-species transmission and highlight the importance of continued surveillance of H3 subtype AIVs circulating in nature. Seven H3 subtype AIVs isolated between 2014 and 2021, including five H3N2, one H3N3, and one H3N6 strain, were analyzed.
Source: Virulence
Why it matters: Directly relevant to outbreak detection, transmission monitoring, or response. Comes from an official or primary-source channel.
Evidence caveat: Interpret in light of study design, setting, sample size, and how directly the findings travel to the current outbreak picture.
Journal article
Safety of COVID-19 mRNA-1273 booster doses in Asian populations: A literature review of post-marketing observational studies.
PubMed and EMBASE were searched on June 30, 2025, for studies meeting the following predefined criteria: observational design, adverse events (AEs), mRNA-1273 boosters (dose 3+), and population data from the South-East Asia and Western-Pacific regions. Of 886 records screened, 27 studies from eight countries (Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore) met the inclusion criteria. Long-term safety monitoring is needed to guide public-health responses to evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Source: Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics
Why it matters: Useful for mechanism, transmission, or surveillance context beyond the daily story file.
Evidence caveat: Interpret in light of study design, setting, sample size, and how directly the findings travel to the current outbreak picture.
Reference Desk
Reference
Ebola virus disease
Pathogen: Ebola viruses, including Bundibugyo virus in the current DRC/Uganda outbreak
Ebola remains a defining outbreak-desk disease because healthcare transmission, funeral practices, laboratory capacity, community trust, and international alarm can all move faster than the confirmed count.
Reference
Hantavirus syndrome
Pathogen: Hantaviruses, including Andes virus in the Americas
This is a rare but frightening severe-disease story where a single unusual cluster can force questions about travel safety, rodent exposure, and whether Andes-virus-style person-to-person spread is in play.
Reference
Measles
Pathogen: Measles virus
Measles is a clean reporter desk disease because it reveals vaccination gaps, school and household spread, travel-linked importation, and public-health capacity all at once.