The World Health Organization has warned that a rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo could become the deadliest in the disease’s history. In a report published on August 13, the outbreak was said to have caused more than 4,300 infections and over 2,000 deaths, with health authorities struggling to keep pace with transmission.

The Congolese government formally declared the outbreak on May 15, although genetic analysis indicated that transmission began in February. The outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo strain, for which no vaccine or treatment has yet been approved. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the current pace could surpass the death toll of the 2014-16 West African Ebola epidemic, which killed more than 11,000 people.

Remote terrain, continuing conflict near the borders with South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda, weak infrastructure and limited resources are obstructing access to affected communities. Misinformation and strikes by unpaid health workers have also slowed response efforts. WHO official Abdirahman Mahamud said a moderate forecast projects a peak within six months, while a worse scenario could last nine to 12 months.

Sailors and Marines aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have faced severe mental strain during an extended Middle East deployment, according to complaints from their families. The report, published on August 13, 2026, said the US aircraft carrier, carrying about 5,000 sailors and Marines, has been deployed for more than eight months. Its mission was expected to end under the original plan, but has been extended several times because of ongoing US military operations against Iran. No specific return date has been announced.

Families said prolonged time at sea, sustained workloads and inadequate rest were worsening personnel’s mental and physical condition. Reports have also indicated that several sailors attempted to jump into the sea, prompting renewed concern about mental health conditions on board. Families further alleged food shortages, broken toilets, hygiene-related problems and other mismanagement, saying members had become exhausted and discouraged under prolonged difficult conditions.

Several members of the US Congress have expressed concern and called for scrutiny of living conditions, mental health care and the extended deployment. The US Navy said necessary support and mental health services are available to personnel. Families, however, said sailors need prompt opportunities for rest and a clear decision on the deployment timeline.

Zahidul Islam Saimon, a first-year student at the Institute of Business Administration of Rajshahi University, has died after suffering a stroke and being transferred to Dhaka by air ambulance. He died at about 6:30 pm on Wednesday while receiving treatment at the National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital in the capital.

Professor Dr Shariful Islam, director of the university's IBA, confirmed Saimon's death. He said Saimon breathed his last in the evening and that it was difficult to accept his departure in this way. He also said Saimon's body would be taken to his home in Chattogram.

Saimon was first taken to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital after suffering a stroke on Saturday, August 8. When his condition did not improve there, the university administration arranged for him to be sent to Dhaka by air ambulance at about 10:30 am on Sunday, August 9. He was subsequently treated at the National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital.

Reports of several student suicides linked to distress over failing this year’s Secondary School Certificate and equivalent examinations have emerged from different parts of Bangladesh in the two days after results were released. Cases were reported in Nakla of Sherpur, Bheramara of Kushtia, Shibganj of Chapainawabganj, Bagmara of Rajshahi and Muksudpur of Gopalganj. Results were published on Monday, with 1,138,877 of 1,829,485 candidates passing and 690,608 failing.

Professor Dr Mohammad Moninur Rashid of the University of Dhaka said the existing education and examination system was among the main reasons students face such severe despair. He criticized assessing 10 years of education through a few hours of examinations and called for fundamental changes. He proposed 60 percent classroom-based assessment of learning outcomes and skills, along with allowing students who fail a subject to retake only that subject.

Jagannath University assistant professor Shahnewaz Khan Chandan urged alternative opportunities, including vocational education, for unsuccessful students. Educators said failure does not mean life is over and encouraged students to reflect, try again and persevere. The report cited Taimur Shahriar, Saiful Islam Sohel and actor Ziaul Haque Palash as examples of people who later succeeded after academic setbacks.

US President Donald Trump signed a directive recommending fewer childhood vaccines and separate administration of measles, mumps and rubella vaccines. Published on August 11, 2026, the report says the guidance would reduce the recommended number of vaccines from the American Academy of Pediatrics’ current 18 to 11. It is not mandatory, because states, rather than the federal government, determine vaccines required for school attendance.

The proposed core vaccines cover measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus and varicella. Trump suggested that combined MMR vaccination could be deadly, but when asked for evidence said he had heard some people say so. The CDC says most MMR recipients have no serious problems and that vaccination is much safer than contracting the three diseases.

The CDC says there is no published scientific evidence that splitting combined MMR shots provides benefits. AAP President Dr Andrew Racine called the order dangerous amid the highest US measles transmission in 35 years. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy called it wrong and urged parents to consult pediatricians. Multiple studies, including a 2019 Danish study of 657,461 children, found no link between MMR vaccination and autism.

The National Citizen Party (NCP) has warned it will build a broader public movement unless the government reverses what it describes as the cancellation of the expanded Essential Drug List-2026 and Drug Price Determination Method-2026. In a joint statement issued on Monday, party convener Nahid Islam and member secretary Akhtar Hossain alleged that the changes would place public health security at risk and benefit multinational and domestic pharmaceutical corporations.

The party said the earlier list contained 117 medicines, about 40 percent of which had become ineffective in treatment. It said the interim government had expanded the list to 295 medicines and imposed strict price controls, which it claimed could meet the primary healthcare needs of about 80 percent of the population. According to the statement, companies were also required to produce and supply essential medicines worth at least 25 percent of annual sales.

NCP alleged that the current government reduced the list back to 117 medicines and handed drug-price determination authority to private companies. It demanded restoration of effective price controls for 295 medicines, government gazette-based maximum retail prices for lifesaving drugs, and a scientific, people-oriented national drug policy.

Bangladesh’s government will fund treatment for conjoined twins Zaynab and Umme Kulsum from Daulatpur upazila in Kushtia at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain Bakul said. The children were admitted to the hospital’s paediatric department at 8pm on Monday. The minister visited them shortly after their admission.

Bakul told journalists that the family had returned to their village because poverty prevented them from obtaining treatment. He said authorities contacted the parents on the prime minister’s instruction after a report in Amar Desh brought the matter to attention. The family was asked to bring the children to Dhaka after being informed that treatment would be arranged at the hospital.

The minister said available specialist doctors would provide treatment and that a medical board could be formed with doctors brought from abroad if necessary. He said the prime minister would bear all treatment expenses. Hospital authorities have arranged daily meals for the parents and provided them with Tk5,000 for personal expenses. The twins were born at Bangladesh Medical University three months and seven days earlier.

The National Citizen Party (NCP) has demanded that the interim government reverse its decision to scrap the expanded Essential Drugs List-2026 and Drug Price Determination Method-2026. In a joint statement issued Monday by convener Nahid Islam and member secretary Akhtar Hossain, the party called the move contrary to public interest and warned of a broader public movement if it is not withdrawn. The report was published on August 10, 2026.

NCP said the list had contained 117 medicines before the July mass uprising, claiming that about 40 percent had become ineffective in practice. It said reforms expanded the list to 295 medicines and introduced strict price controls, and claimed those medicines could meet the primary treatment needs of about 80 percent of people. The party also said earlier policy required companies to produce and supply essential medicines equal to at least 25 percent of annual sales.

The party alleged that the government reduced the list back to 117 medicines and weakened price controls in the interests of drug companies. NCP said higher prices could particularly affect patients with chronic illnesses and raise treatment costs for middle- and lower-income families. It sought effective price controls for 295 medicines, government control over maximum retail prices, and a science-based, public-oriented national drug policy.

A study led by Dr. Pasquale Paolisso at Sant’Andrea Hospital of Rome’s Sapienza University found higher levels of microplastic and nanoplastic particles in the blood of heart attack patients than in healthy people and other heart disease patients. Published recently in the European Heart Journal, the research examined samples from arteries supplying blood to the heart in 61 participants.

The group included people who had experienced heart attacks, people with chronic heart disease but no heart attack, and people whose arteries showed no signs of disease. Microplastic and nanoplastic particles were detected in 84 percent of heart attack patients, compared with 40 percent of chronic heart disease patients and 32 percent of participants with healthy arteries.

Researchers said smoking and regular exposure to air pollution may significantly increase the risk of higher blood microplastic levels. Senior author Dr. Emanuele Barbato said the findings do not establish that microplastics directly cause heart attacks, but indicate a strong relationship among environmental pollution, blood microplastics and heart disease. An editorial commentator described plastic pollution as a potentially underestimated cardiovascular risk.

India recorded a nearly 80% increase in student suicides over a decade, rising from 8,068 cases in 2014 to 14,488 in 2024, according to the National Crime Records Bureau's Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India report. The figures emerged after nationwide protests over repeated exam cancellations and question-paper leaks, followed by the government's announcement at the end of July that the education minister would resign.

The report listed failure in examinations as the leading cause of suicide among students after family problems. The Guardian spoke with four families whose children died amid examination pressure, paper leaks, retests or admission-system changes. Families of Delhi student Anshika Pandey and Rajasthan student Pradeep Kumar Mahich said their children were devastated after the NEET paper leak and the announcement of a retest.

Sufi Shaheen of Delhi had been under mental pressure over a JEE syllabus change and fear of failing on a second attempt, her mother said. Anitha of Tamil Nadu lost hope after not reaching the NEET cutoff while studying a different syllabus, her brother said. Mahich's father called for a proper investigation, while Anitha's brother argued that examinations should be administered by state governments rather than the central government.

The Bangladesh Diabetic Association (BADAS) and the Diabetes in Asia Study Group (DASG) jointly held a two-day international conference in Dhaka. The event took place at the Shaheed Abu Sayed Convention Hall in the capital and brought together local and international specialist physicians, nurses and organisers. The report was published on August 9, 2026.

The first day began with a session on preventing diabetes through the World Health Organization's Global Diabetes Compact, chaired by BADAS President National Professor A K Azad Khan. The opening session of the second day was chaired by Professor M A Samad and Professor S M Ashrafuzzaman. International specialists presented discussions, advice and analyses on a range of diabetes-related issues.

Experts addressed diabetes prevention and control, awareness raising, improvements in medical care, and the application of modern knowledge and research in diabetes management. BADAS organises such international conferences annually to promote prevention awareness, improve care quality and extend services to grassroots levels. DASG joined BADAS for the first time this year. Organising committee member secretary Professor Biswajit Bhowmik said BADAS-affiliated members from across the country attended and that the activities would continue in the future.

Specialist doctors have advised people to visit a nearby hospital for a dengue test after experiencing fever for one or two days, and to seek medical care rather than remain at home if infection is detected. The report, published on August 9, 2026, said dengue patient numbers are rising in Dhaka and across Bangladesh, with children forming a significant share of cases. School-going children are reported to be particularly affected this year.

The Directorate General of Health Services has also urged prompt testing after fever begins. Until December 31, NS-1 dengue tests will be free at all government hospitals, while CM test fees have been reduced from Tk300 to Tk50. Through August 8, 18,673 dengue patients had been admitted to hospitals and 59 had died. Men accounted for 61.5 percent of infections and women for 38.5 percent.

Doctors stressed eliminating Aedes mosquito breeding sites by preventing water from collecting in containers and appliances. Health officials said all hospitals have been instructed to prepare for a possible monsoon-season increase in patients. Necessary medicines and medical equipment are stocked, and additional beds and separate dengue wards will be opened if conditions worsen.

Rajshahi University authorities sent Jahidul Islam Saimon, a first-year Institute of Business Administration student seriously ill after a brain stroke, to Dhaka by air ambulance for advanced treatment. He was flown from the playground beside the hostel of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital at about 10:30am on Sunday. The university said it arranged the transfer to ensure rapid access to advanced care in an emergency.

According to classmate Saurav, Saimon fell from his bed while asleep at the student residence on Saturday night. His body later became rigid, and fellow students took him quickly to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, where he was admitted to the emergency unit. His condition deteriorated during treatment. Saurav said Saimon had suffered two strokes previously.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Faridul Islam said the university arranged an ICU bed immediately after being informed, while doctors assessed the student. Doctors concluded that he needed urgent transfer to Dhaka for more advanced treatment, he said. The authorities chose an air ambulance because road travel was considered risky. Saimon was taken to the National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital in Dhaka.

Former US President Joe Biden’s cancer has spread to more parts of his body, his son Hunter Biden said in an interview aired Friday night on the BBC’s Newsnight programme. According to an AFP report, Hunter Biden said the cancer had spread to his father’s bones and other areas despite ongoing treatment.

Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer in May 2025, four months after leaving the presidency. The cancer had also spread to his bones. He then began treatment including radiation therapy and hormone therapy. Last month, while announcing his forthcoming memoir, Biden said his treatment was going very well.

Hunter Biden said the illness was very painful and was weakening his father in many ways. He said Joe Biden was still going out and continuing his work, while retaining deep love and faith in the country. Hunter became emotional while discussing his father’s health, saying it was very difficult and painful to see him in that condition.

The National Health Alliance (NHA) has expressed deep concern and strong opposition to the government’s decision to repeal the Essential Drugs List-2026 and the Drug Price Determination Method-2026. In a joint statement on Saturday, NHA convener Professor Shadrul Alam and member secretary Md Abdul Ahad called for a patient-friendly national medicine policy.

The leaders said health is not a luxury but a constitutional and fundamental right for every citizen. They warned that weakening or abolishing price controls on life-saving medicines would hurt lower- and middle-income people, patients with chronic illnesses and older people most severely. Leaving market-based pricing for 180 essential life-saving medicines could lead to abnormal price increases, they said.

The NHA noted that people with diabetes, hypertension, cancer, heart disease, asthma and kidney disease require regular medication, and higher prices could deny treatment to many patients. It urged the government to reconsider the decision, maintain effective controls, strengthen market monitoring and prevent unjustified price rises. The alliance warned it would announce a broader public movement involving doctors, health workers, patients and citizens if the decision is not withdrawn promptly.