Health authorities and aid agencies say the Ebola outbreak centred in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has now exceeded 900 suspected infections, with multiple outlets reporting 904 suspected cases over the weekend of May 24-25, 2026. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said more than 900 suspected cases have been identified and that 101 cases are confirmed. The outbreak, declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, is driven by the rarer Bundibugyo strain for which there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment. Response efforts are being undermined by violent unrest, displacement (nearly 1 million people in Ituri), attacks on treatment centres — including a gunfire incident at Mongbwalu General Hospital and arson at Rwampara and Mongbwalu tents — the disappearance of patients after facility attacks, and the reported deaths of aid volunteers. International aid cuts have left responders short of basic protective equipment, tests and body bags. Cases have been reported across North Kivu and South Kivu provinces and into neighbouring Uganda, while authorities have imposed limits on funerals and increased security around burials.

The Government of India on May 24 advised citizens to avoid non-essential travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda and South Sudan amid an outbreak of Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo strain. The advisory follows the World Health Organization’s May 17 determination that the situation constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and temporary recommendations issued by the IHR Emergency Committee on May 22 to strengthen surveillance at points of entry and to discourage travel to affected areas. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has also declared the situation a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security. India said it has not reported any Bundibugyo cases, urged nationals in the region to follow local public-health guidance, maintain heightened hygiene and seek immediate care for fever or related symptoms, and directed health facilities to enhance detection and response capacity. New Delhi additionally dispatched an initial consignment of medical supplies and personal protective equipment to the Africa CDC to support response efforts. There are currently no approved vaccines or specific treatments for Bundibugyo-strain Ebola.

The World Health Organization has raised its risk assessment for an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to "very high" at the national level after confirmation the rare Bundibugyo strain is spreading beyond its initial Ituri hotspot. As of May 22-23 authorities report about 82 confirmed cases (seven confirmed deaths) alongside nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths; two cases have been confirmed in neighbouring Uganda. Ituri provincial officials have banned funeral wakes, limited public gatherings to 50 people and suspended local events after violent incidents, including the burning of a treatment centre in Rwampara when residents sought to reclaim a body. Armed groups such as M23 control parts of eastern DRC, complicating access for responders. The UN released roughly $60 million from its emergency fund, and the United States pledged $23 million and support for up to 50 clinics. No approved vaccine or targeted therapeutics exist for the Bundibugyo strain; diagnostics and supplies are limited, and misinformation and insecurity are impeding contact tracing and containment.

A multinational medical mission successfully separated conjoined twins born in a remote region of Papua New Guinea after urgent transfer to Sydney. The boys, Tom and Sawong, born in October and joined at the chest, abdomen and pelvis, shared a liver, portions of the gastrointestinal tract and several major blood vessels. Tom had a congenital heart defect and underdeveloped lungs and was sustaining both infants’ circulation, leading clinicians to conclude that without separation both would die. After assessments in Port Moresby by visiting specialists, the twins were airlifted to Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney. An eight‑hour operation involving five specialist surgeons and a large theatre team uncovered more complex shared anatomy than scans had shown. Tom died shortly after separation; Sawong survived and has been recovering in hospital and is expected to return to Papua New Guinea in the coming weeks. Doctors and the boys’ mother, Fetima Tinggar, described the mission as technically demanding and emotionally wrenching. The case highlighted limits of neonatal surgical capacity in PNG and the logistics of cross‑border retrieval care.

A long-standing women’s health condition long known as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been renamed polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) following a decade-long international consensus process. The change, agreed by 56 professional and patient organisations with input from more than 22,000 people and announced in a Lancet consensus paper published May 12 and presented at an endocrinology congress in Prague, aims to shift clinical focus from ovarian appearance to the broader endocrine and metabolic drivers of the disorder. PMOS affects an estimated one in eight women and is associated with irregular periods, excess hair growth, acne, infertility and higher lifelong risks of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Diagnostic criteria remain the same (two of three core features), and the transition to the new name will be phased in over several years through updated guidelines, medical education and disease coding. Advocates say the new name should reduce stigma, speed diagnosis and prompt more comprehensive screening for metabolic and mental-health comorbidities; some patients warn the change could cause short-term confusion in clinical practice and public awareness.