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  1. 1

    Nigeria confirms first Ebola case in Abuja as outbreak spreads in East Africa

    Nigeria's Health Ministry confirmed an Ebola case in its capital, Abuja, on Tuesday, in a woman who arrived from Uganda. She began showing symptoms on October 7, was admitted to a private hospital on October 11 and was later diagnosed, the ministry said. Health Minister Muhammad Pate said authorities are tracing 44 contacts of the patient. Uganda's Ministry of Health said she had only transited through Uganda and is a Nigerian woman who had been on a business trip to Congo's eastern region, but Nigerian authorities have not disclosed her nationality, and it is unclear when she arrived in Nigeria. The case comes as the Bundibugyo outbreak spreads across the region, with Kenya reporting nine infections.

    Key facts

    • Africa CDC director Jean Kaseya said the outbreak's fatality rate is nearly 50% of cases.
    • AP reported the Bundibugyo outbreak has infected more than 9,500 people and killed more than 4,600.
    • Al Jazeera and the BBC put DR Congo's toll at over 9,000 cases and more than 4,000 deaths.
    • Nigeria recorded 20 cases during West Africa's 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak, which killed 11,000 people.
    • Kenya's Director-General for Health said 134 of 135 contacts have been traced and quarantined.

    Commentary

    The confirmed case matters less than the unresolved question of where the woman caught the virus. Uganda insists she only passed through and that exposure is still under investigation, while Nigeria has not confirmed her nationality, so tracing 44 contacts depends on an answer neither government has given.

    Sources: AP News, Al Jazeera, BBC

  2. 2

    Christina Applegate says she was misdiagnosed and does not have multiple sclerosis

    Actor Christina Applegate said on the MeSsy podcast, co-hosted with Jamie-Lynn Sigler, that her doctor says she does not have multiple sclerosis and was misdiagnosed. She had publicly announced an MS diagnosis in 2021. Still, she said she has "every symptom of someone with MS" and still needs a wheelchair to get from the car into a doctor's office.

    Applegate said she felt she had let people down, since she and Sigler are prominent MS advocates, and called the news "really confusing." Doctors cited by ABC News say no single test diagnoses MS, and its symptoms can overlap with other conditions. PBS reported the podcast aired Monday, while ABC News said Tuesday.

    Key facts

    • A 2024 systematic review found MS misdiagnosis frequency ranged from 5% to 41%, with a pooled proportion of 15%.
    • Dr. Marwa Kaisey of Cedars-Sinai said about 20% of patients diagnosed with MS don't have the condition.
    • Women were 2.1 times more likely than men to be misdiagnosed with MS, according to the 2024 review.
    • The same review found underdiagnosis ranging from 3% to 58%, with a pooled proportion of 36%.
    • The National MS Society says 2024 diagnostic criteria updates aim to allow diagnosis in days or weeks.

    Commentary

    What moved is not the diagnosis itself but Applegate's continuing symptoms, which suggest that a corrected label does not make her disability disappear. Her public advocacy now sits awkwardly beside an uncertain diagnosis, and that tension may shape how she and Sigler speak about MS. Patients in her position should expect a re-examination rather than a quick answer.

    Sources: PBS, ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos, NBC News

  3. 3

    Pennsylvania warns of rise in congenital measles and infection during pregnancy

    The Pennsylvania Department of Health issued an alert to doctors on Monday about rising measles infections in pregnant women and a rise in congenital measles, a disease rarely seen in the U.S. The department said 66 pregnant women had been diagnosed with measles since the state's outbreak began in April, and that measles during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, early labor and low birth weight. It is unclear how many women have miscarried or delivered babies with congenital measles, because state law bars the department from releasing pregnancy outcome details and no national database tracks such cases. The outbreak has largely been limited to Amish families, who do not always seek conventional medical care, so true numbers may be obscured.

    Key facts

    • Pennsylvania had 1,286 measles cases as of Monday.
    • Doctors said at least six babies were born in Pennsylvania with congenital measles.
    • At least two of those babies developed pneumonia and were admitted to intensive care.
    • Congenital measles can lead to subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a rare brain condition that is almost always fatal.
    • Unvaccinated pregnant women exposed to measles can receive immunoglobulin within six days of exposure.

    Commentary

    The real weight of this story is what cannot be counted: the state cannot disclose pregnancy outcomes, so harm to babies is probably undercounted and falls hardest on the communities least likely to seek conventional care. Because the vaccine cannot be given during pregnancy, protection depends on women being vaccinated before conception, which makes uptake in under-vaccinated communities the deciding factor in whether this recurs.

    Sources: NBC News

  4. 4

    US cancer patients travel to China to obtain drugs not yet approved or available in the US

    Patients in the United States are travelling to China to obtain cancer drugs not yet available at home. Debbie Doppelt, a 60-year-old jeweler whose lung cancer had spread to her brain, was ineligible for a clinical trial in January 2025 and had no good options. After a doctor remarked that she could buy the drug in China, her son Max flew to Shanghai to bring back sunvozertinib, a drug developed by a Chinese firm. Other Americans, Europeans and others are also going to China for trials, notably for CAR-T therapy. Lawmakers worry about lost jobs and US dependence on Chinese medicines, while the Trump administration launched Operation TrialBlazer to speed FDA processes.

    Key facts

    • Sunvozertinib, made by Shanghai-based Dizal Pharmaceutical, was licensed by the FDA in July 2025.
    • As of mid-October 2026, sunvozertinib was still not on the US market.
    • Max Doppelt brought 26 boxes of sunvozertinib back from Shanghai, costing about $10,000.
    • Max Doppelt knows of at least 30 Americans who have made the trip to obtain the drug.
    • AstraZeneca agreed on Sept. 1 to distribute the drug worldwide, with US availability planned by early 2027.

    Commentary

    What moved is less the drugs than the speed: early trials now run in China and Australia, and US biotechs are reportedly moving their trials abroad. Patients are following that trial activity, so the gap between FDA timelines and Chinese approvals is what decides who travels. Until US review catches up, patients like Doppelt will keep bearing the cost of that delay.

    Sources: The Washington Post, KFF Health News

  5. 5

    Daily vaping among US adults rises sharply over a decade, study finds

    A data analysis published in the journal Tobacco Control reports that more people in the US are vaping, and more often, since 2013-14. The proportion of those vaping daily rose by 230%, and vaping among those under 21 quadrupled between 2013-14 and 2022-23, according to the researchers, who drew on survey data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study. Vaping days at population level rose by 183%. The researchers link the largest increases to the period after 2016-18, which coincides with the rise of JUUL and the shift to nicotine salt e-liquids, and cite industry marketing aimed at young people. The study is observational, cannot establish cause and effect, and relies on survey data that is subject to recall error.

    Key facts

    • Daily vaping rose 230% in the US between 2013-14 and 2022-23, per Tobacco Control analysis
    • Vaping among under-21s rose 337% over the study period, per the researchers
    • Population-level vaping days rose 183% over the decade
    • Vaping over the past 30 days rose 45%, the researchers reported
    • Most significant increases came after 2016-18, which the researchers tied to JUUL and nicotine salts

    Commentary

    The rise in vaping frequency, not just prevalence, is the finding that matters most, because it shows existing users are intensifying their use rather than only new users arriving. The researchers' attribution to industry marketing and the nicotine salt shift is their own reading of an observational study, and the survey's recall problems leave room for doubt about the exact magnitudes. Readers should weigh the 337% youth figure as the clearest sign of where the harm is concentrating.

    Sources: News-Medical