"THERAPEUTICS" · 총 17건
필터 보기현재 지수
50.3
0 = 부정 우세
50 = 중립
100 = 긍정 우세
최근 7일 기준 87,292건을 분석한 결과, 뉴스 심리지수는 50.2(균형)입니다. 긍정 4,360건(5.0%)·중립 80,788건(92.5%)·부정 2,144건(2.5%)이며, 중립 비중이 뚜렷하게 높습니다. 성향 지수는 종합 14.7(중도 균형)입니다.
HighTide Therapeutics, Inc. (2511.HK), an innovative biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of ...
Everest Medicines (HKEX 1952.HK) announced that it has entered into an exclusive licensing and collaboration ...
정상세포에는 영향 없이 암세포만 사멸시키는 효과를 보인 신물질이 발견됐다. 게티이미지항암제에 내성을 보이는 암세포는 사멸시키면서 정상세포에는 부작용이 나타나지 않는 신물질을 발견한 연구 결과가 발표됐다.연세대 의과대학 외과학교실 박기청 교수, 강남세브란스병원 간담췌외과 임진호 교수, 분당차병원 최경화 교수, 테라퓨틱스엔엠씨(Therapeutics NMC) ···
A new drug in development has shown promising results in restricting cancer cells’ ability to hide from the immune system and reduced tumors in some patients by at least 30%. Immunotherapy treatments for cancer have improved survival rates, but due to cancer’s ability to play “hide-and-seek,” many drugs become ineffective. However, Greywolf Therapeutics, an Oxford-based ...
India has dispatched vital medical supplies, including diagnostics and therapeutics, to aid the Democratic Republic of Congo's fight against the escalating Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak. The Africa CDC expressed deep gratitude for this crucial assistance, which was channeled through its regional hub in Uganda and is now being deployed to affected areas.
An experimental lung cancer drug from Akeso and Summit Therapeutics reduced the risk of death by 34% in a late-stage trial, according to data released Sunday.
이뮨온시아(ImmuneOncia Therapeutics)는 미국임상종양학회(ASCO 2026)에서 차세대 면역항암제 후보물질인 CD47 단클론항체 'IMC-002'의 진행성 삼중음성유방암(TNBC) 대상 임상 1b상 코호트(동일집단) 확장 연구 결과를 발표했다고 31일 밝혔다. 이 연구는 1차 이상의 전신 치료 뒤 질병이 진행된 난치성 진행성 삼중음성유방암 환자를 대상으로 진행했다. 임상 참여 환자에 IMC-002(20mg/kg, 3주 간격)와 화학항암제인 젬시타빈, 그리고 카보플라틴 또는 파클리탁셀을 병용 투여했다. 이뮨온시아에 따르면 이 임상에 등록한 총 12명의 환자 중 92%가 이전에 2회 이상의 전신 치료를 받은 고도의 중증 환자다. 이 중 42%는 이미 트로델비(Trodelvy) 투여 이력이 있는데도 IMC-002 병용요법에서 탁월한 항종양 효과를 보였다....
One of the biggest advances in pancreatic cancer in decades came out of a crazy idea born in a Harvard University lab.Chemical biologist Gregory Verdine believed you could fight disease-causing proteins hidden inside cells by chemically gluing them to something else in the body and smothering them."Everybody told us this is crazy, that it would never work," he recalls.Revolution Medicines, which bought one of Verdine's companies in 2018, recently announced that one of its drugs doubled the typical survival time for patients with aggressive forms of the disease, from 6.7 months to 13.2 months. The full results from the company's final-stage trial are expected to be the star of the show at the annual confab of cancer doctors in Chicago this weekend.Spurred by the success of RevMed, numerous companies are now racing to develop similar drugs, dubbed "molecular glues", which can be used to treat a variety of ailments. And investors and pharmaceutical companies with deep pockets are chasing after them, creating one of the hottest corners of dealmaking in the industry.Also read | India's out-of-pocket healthcare spending drops significantly, govt data showsIt's not unusual for exciting new drugs to spark surges in stock prices and dealmaking frenzy. But molecular glue is a particularly complicated science, and the startups pursuing technologies similar to RevMed are mostly in early stages of testing. Their medicines won't be ready for years, if ever.That hasn't stopped big drugmakers such as Novartis, Roche Holding and Eli Lilly from inking research pacts with glue developers that could pay out billions of dollars in milestones.The boom has been especially lucrative for Monte Rosa Therapeutics. Over the past three years, the Boston-based biotech firm has signed three agreements that could be worth over $10 billion to develop molecular glue drugs with both Novartis and Roche.The company, which trades under the stock ticker GLUE, has seen its shares surge nearly 400% over the past year. It's preparing to start mid-stage trials for multiple drugs by the end of this year."The run-up in the share price is justified based on what we've seen so far," says Robert Driscoll, an analyst at Wedbush. Gains are "due to the success of their drugs rather than kind of exuberance around the glue technology as a whole", he says.Science of GlueMolecular glues work in a fundamentally different way from other oral medicines. Most pills - like Prozac for depression or Lipitor for cholesterol - are tiny chemicals that squeeze into a pocket inside a much larger protein to gum up its functioning. But many proteins have few obvious pockets, including key cancer-causing proteins.In fact, about 80% of all proteins in the body are what scientists refer to as "undruggable", meaning they can't be targeted with traditional drug technologies.RevMed's daraxonrasib cleverly circumvents this problem by acting as a molecular stickum. Once inside the body it binds to a healthy protein on one side and then draws in the bad protein to stick to the other side. The healthy protein helps block the bad protein and turn off its signalling.Competitors Line UpMultiple companies are chasing RevMed's lead in pancreatic cancer despite the long odds. San Diego-based Erasca is in early stages of testing a drug it says is more potent than daraxonrasib. Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma has begun final-stage trials of a degrader that may help a subset of pancreatic and lung cancer patients.Molecular glues are also being developed as alternatives to injectable drugs used to treat autoimmune and skin disorders. Shares of Kymera Therapeutics have soared more than 180% in the past year thanks to promising early trial results. The company is developing a once-daily pill it hopes will one day compete with Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' Dupixent, one of the world's bestselling drugs."The technology allows you to go after things that would have been almost impossible" to do previously with pills, says Nello Mainolfi, Kymera's founder and CEO.With few effective options for pancreatic cancer, analysts expect RevMed's daraxonrasib to become an enormous bestseller for the company.Prospects for daraxonrasib and speculation about a potential takeout deal have inflated RevMed's market cap to nearly $33 billion. That's a lofty figure for a drugmaker with no approved medicines.The company is preparing to file for US approval soon, and the FDA has promised to give the drug an ultrafast review. It's projected to reach $7 billion in sales a year by 2032, according to the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
The statement said that there are currently no licensed therapeutics or vaccines specifically approved for the prevention and treatment of BVD, though several candidate products were identified as promising enough to prioritise for clinical trial evaluation. The post WHO prioritises clinical trials for Bundibugyo Ebola treatments, vaccines appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
[WHO] In response to the current outbreak of Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with cases also reported in Uganda, WHO convened several of its expert and advisory groups. These groups assessed potential vaccines and therapeutics for both prevention and treatment of Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD). The WHO advisory groups recommended that all the products identified and considered be used exclusively within clinical trials to generate robust data and
Countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda Source: United Nations Population Fund Please refer to the attached file. As of 26 May 2026, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) had reported 1,077 suspected cases of Ebola and 238 deaths, with transmission heavily concentrated in the Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu provinces. Uganda has reported five cases, including one death, all linked to imported cases from the DRC. The outbreak is complicated by acute insecurity, armed conflict, and massive internal displacement, which severely restricts response efforts. A critical concern is the absence of widely-licensed vaccines or specific therapeutics for this strain. Cross-border transmission risks are high, with 10 other African countries at elevated risk. UNFPA is participating in United Nations Country Team preparedness efforts across all 10 high-risk African countries and is working to ensure the continuity of critical sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services despite major supply chain challenges, including for personal protective equipment (PPE) specifically tailored for delivery procedures. Furthermore, UNFPA is addressing the threat to safe clinical pathways for the clinical management of rape and comprehensive gender-based violence (GBV) care; the risk of sexual transmission from survivors of rape necessitates the urgent integration of private, stigma-free counselling; contraceptive provision; and condom distribution. UNFPA advocated for the central integration of maternal health and GBV service continuity into the US $340 million Regional Response Plan. While international donors have pledged 70 per cent of the overarching regional fund, immediate operational funding gaps remain critical.
Countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda Source: World Health Organization In response to the current outbreak of Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with cases also reported in Uganda, WHO convened several of its expert and advisory groups. These groups assessed potential vaccines and therapeutics for both prevention and treatment of Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD). The WHO advisory groups recommended that all the products identified and considered be used exclusively within clinical trials to generate robust data and ensure safe, ethical, and effective research. WHO convened a series of meetings with the WHO R&D Blueprint technical advisory groups on candidate vaccines and therapeutics for BVD. In parallel, WHO also convened the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) and its Ebola vaccine working group to advise on the potential role of licensed Ebola vaccines during BVD outbreaks. Key recommendations There are currently no licensed therapeutics or vaccines specifically approved for the prevention and treatment of BVD. Nevertheless, WHO advisory groups considered several candidate products that are promising enough to warrant prioritization for evaluation in clinical trials. WHO is now working closely with the governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda to facilitate the implementation of research evaluation of these products. For treatment of cases: For treatment, the independent experts recommended prioritizing three candidate therapeutics for evaluation in research (i.e. clinical trials) among confirmed BVD cases: the monoclonal antibodies MBP134 and Maftivimab®, as well as the antiviral remdesivir. Combination therapy using a monoclonal antibody and remdesivir is also recommended for evaluation. For prevention of cases: For post-exposure prophylaxis among contacts of confirmed and probable cases, the oral antiviral obeldesivir was determined to be a priority candidate, although experts noted that this approach depends on effective contact tracing, which remains operationally challenging in some of the affected areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Research on post-exposure prophylaxis involves giving tablets of obeldesivir to contacts of cases to evaluate whether this prevents them from developing Ebola disease. The most promising candidate vaccine was determined by the experts to be the single-dose rVSV Bundibugyo vaccine (being developed by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative or IAVI). The development of this single-dose vaccine candidate will likely require 7–9 months before it is ready to be assessed through a clinical trial for its ability to prevent BDV. Another candidate vaccine, ChAdOx1 Bundibugyo (being developed by Oxford University/Serum Institute of India) could potentially become available within 2–3 months for efficacy assessment through a clinical trial. However, additional animal data are still required to support and confirm further prioritization. Experts noted that a single-dose vaccine approach of this candidate could be suitable for contacts of Ebola cases, whereas a two-dose strategy might be considered for high-risk but unexposed populations such as health-care workers and frontline responders. The convened experts also reviewed the potential role of Ervebo, the only licensed Ebola vaccine. It is approved for use during outbreaks caused by the most common Ebola virus in Africa, from the Orthoebolavirus family. Ervebo is not licensed for prevention of BVD and evidence on cross-protection to other Ebola virus species remains limited and inconclusive. WHO recommends that Ervebo should not be used outside carefully designed research settings, to allow for its performance against BDV to be assessed. Ensuring ethical and safe clinical trials WHO, the governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the ANRS Emerging infectious diseases (French National Agency for Research on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis), and other scientific partners are working together to develop and implement appropriate protocols to assess the safety and efficacy of the prioritized therapeutics through clinical field trials. WHO calls for accelerated access to essential supplies, stronger community protection, engagement and trust, and coordinated investment in the research, development and evaluation of BVD countermeasures. All research must adhere to the highest ethical standards, under the leadership of the national health authorities and in close consultation with affected communities. In the meantime, our priority is to stop transmission with tools that we have used for decades of Ebola responses, which include disease surveillance, rapid testing and diagnosis, contact tracing, isolation and care for patients, infection prevention and control, community engagement, and safe and dignified burials. Background The WHO R&D Blueprint is a global initiative that allows the rapid activation of research and development activities during epidemics. Its aim is to fast-track the availability of proven effective tests, vaccines, and medicines that can be used to save lives and avert large-scale crises. SAGE is the principal advisory group to WHO for vaccines and immunization. It is charged with advising WHO on overall global policies and strategies, ranging from vaccines and technology, research and development, to delivery of immunization and its linkages with other health interventions. Media Contacts WHO Media Team World Health Organization Email: mediainquiries@who.int
Countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda Source: World Health Organization On 17 May 2026, pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 12 - Determination of a public health emergency of international concern, including a pandemic emergency of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR), the Director-General (DG) of the World Health Organization (WHO), after having consulted the States Parties where the event was known to be occurring, determined that the epidemic of Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), but did not meet the criteria of pandemic emergency, as defined in the IHR. The DG statement issued on 17 May 2026 also contained “WHO advice” to States Parties to respond to and prepare for the event. On 19 May 2026, the DG convened the first meeting of the IHR Emergency Committee regarding the epidemic of Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda (hereafter “Committee”). The Committee’s advice aligned with the determination by the DG that the event constitutes a PHEIC, but does not meet the criteria for pandemic emergency. The Committee acknowledged that the epidemic is occurring in one of the most challenging operational environments possible, therefore, any response must incorporate key contextual information to improve the chances of a successful response. The DG, considering the advice of the Committee, he is hereby issuing the following temporary recommendations to all States Parties to respond to and prepare to respond to the PHEIC. ==== Temporary recommendations These temporary recommendations are issued for subsets of States Parties according to the public health risk associated with the Bundibugyo virus disease epidemic they face. All current WHO interim technical guidance can be accessed on this page of the WHO website. WHO evidence-based guidance has been and will continue to be updated in line with the evolving situation, updated scientific evidence, and WHO risk assessment. The implementation of these temporary recommendations by States Parties shall be with full respect for the dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons, in accordance with the principles set out in Article 3 of the IHR. For States Parties with documented detection of Bundibugyo virus (the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda) As of 22 May 2026, the WHO Secretariat assessed the risk for these States Parties as “Very high” for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and as “High” for Uganda. It is noted that the epidemiological situation in the two States Parties differs in terms of magnitude of the epidemic and contexts where response efforts are being implemented. Specifically, as of 22 May 2026, Uganda has reported two confirmed cases of Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD), both with epidemiological link traceable to areas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with documented BVD transmission. In Uganda, as of the same date, no onwards transmission among contacts of the two confirmed BVD cases was documented. The epidemic is caused by Bundibugyo virus (BDBV), a virus belonging to the Orthoebolavirus genus. Unlike Ebola virus causing Ebola virus disease, there is no currently approved therapeutics or vaccines against Bundibugyo virus. While candidate therapeutics are considered for clinical trials and work in ongoing to fast-track candidate vaccines evaluation, the control of the epidemic relies on scaling-up public health interventions as outlined below. Coordination and high-level engagement Declare the Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) epidemic a health emergency, at national or sub-national level, in accordance with domestic laws, and as appropriate. Activate national disaster or health emergency management mechanisms and activate or establish an emergency operation centre, under the authority of the Head of State or relevant government authority, to coordinate response activities across Government sectors, administrative levels, and partners to ensure efficient and effective implementation and monitoring of comprehensive BVD control measures. These measures must include enhanced surveillance, including case identification; contact tracing; infection prevention and control (IPC), risk communication and community engagement; laboratory diagnostic testing, case management, and safe and dignified burials. Coordination and response mechanisms should be established at national level, as well as at subnational level in areas where BDBV has been detected and at-risk areas. Establish and maintain up to date a register of signals consistent with BVD (“alerts”), including status of their investigation. Establish and maintain up to date a line list of suspected cases – including identified through syndromic surveillance, probable cases, and confirmed BVD cases. Establish and maintain up to date the list of contacts of all confirmed and probable BVD cases, and monitor each contact for 21 days after the date of last known exposure. Both the evolution of the epidemic and resources available may require risk-based prioritization of contacts requiring identification and monitoring. Negotiate, as applicable, and establish security corridors, including cross-border, to allow responders to safely reach affected communities, as well as to allow communities to seek appropriate health care. Notify WHO, through the relevant WHO IHR Contact Point in the WHO Regional Office, the detection of suspected, probable and confirmed BVD cases on a daily basis, as per WHO case definitions available here. Risk communication and community engagement Implement large-scale trust building and community engagement interventions – using all trusted available communication channels, and working closely with local religious and traditional leaders, and traditional healers – so that communities are fully aware of the risk and benefits of control measures, and pro-actively contribute and support the early detection and early isolation of cases; the identification and monitoring of contacts; and safe and dignified burial practices. Strengthen community awareness, engagement and participation, to establish and strengthen trust, including by identifying and addressing cultural norms and beliefs that may serve as barriers to their full participation in the response; and by integrating interventions and community feedback, within the wider response, to address the needs of the population, particularly in contexts of the protracted humanitarian crisis in the Eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Train community leaders on the rationale underpinning public health measures, including the isolation of cases, monitoring of contacts, and safe burials in a dignified, non-stigmatizing, and non-punitive manner. Activate local networks, including community health workers, Red Cross volunteers, and other trusted community actors to promote protective behaviours; facilitate early detection and referral of suspected BVD cases; support contact tracing activities; and collect and relay community feedback to enhance the acceptance of public health measures. Enable adherence to movement restrictions, associated with the application of control measures, by providing food, water, communication, financial and psychosocial support. Surveillance and laboratory Strengthen surveillance and laboratory capacity, decentralized across first sub-national administrative levels (e.g., provinces) with documented BDBV detection, as well as in their neighbouring first sub-national administrative levels, through: Dedicated surveillance and response teams within each health zone and in neighbouring health zones determined to be at high risk for the introduction of BVD; Active case finding and enhanced community surveillance for clusters of unexplained illness or deaths; The investigation of “alerts” within 24 hours from detection; The scale-up and strengthen RT-PCR laboratory capacities for timely testing for BDBV, including the establishment of protocols for safe sample collection, sample referral pathways, biosafety training for laboratory workers; The decentralization of the laboratory capacities should be considered to allow for quick turn-around time and support patient care, as well as any clinical trials that may take place. Field laboratories should be set up in accordance with biosecurity and biosafety standards. A near point of care assay might be considered provided that its performance is validated against current RT-PCR standards. NB: The GeneXpert platform cannot detect Bundibugyo virus (BDBV). Identify and monitor, for 21 days after the date of last known exposure, the health of contacts of suspected probable, and confirmed BVD cases. On a daily basis, the health status of contacts being monitored should be assessed and recorded. Any contact developing symptoms compatible with BVD should be assessed, isolated, tested and cared for. Establish a mechanism to monitor the evolution of indicators related to the performance of contact tracing activities. Infection prevention and control in health facilities and in the context of care Strengthen measures to prevent nosocomial infections, including systematic mapping of health facilities, the establishment and dissemination of protocols for triage, targeted IPC interventions and sustained monitoring and supervision. Provide continuous IPC training to health care workers, including the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Provide health facilities with sufficient supplies of appropriate PPE equipment to ensure the safety and protection of their staff, resources for timely payment of their salaries and, as appropriate, hazard pay. Establish channels for health workers to report and be assessed following exposures, and have access to psychosocial support and, when possible post-exposure prophylaxis under compassionate use or clinical trial. All health worker occupational exposure must be investigated to allow for immediate corrective actions. Consider building community IPC capacity by training community leaders, and emphasizing that hand hygiene not only contributes to bring the BVD epidemic under control, but also reduces the risk of transmission of other communicable diseases present in the same areas. Hand hygiene shall be facilitated at critical spots, such as schools, churches, bars, markets, local gatherings sites, points of entry, etc. Patient referral pathway and access to safe and optimized intensive care Establish dedicated BVD isolation and treatment centers or units for suspected, probable, and confirmed cases, located within, or close to, areas with documented BDBV detection, with sufficient staff who are specifically trained and equipped to implement optimized intensive supportive care. Establish protocols for transferring suspected BVD patients safely to dedicated health care facilities for their isolation, assessment and treatment in a humane and patient-centred approach. This includes trained ambulance teams, mechanisms to notify the receiving health care facility, the application of appropriate IPC precautions during transfer, and decontamination protocols for vehicles and equipment. Establish protocols for the handling and disposal of medical waste, in accordance with biosafety principles. Establish survivor follow-up programmes, including clinical care, counselling, semen testing and sexual health advice and condoms where appropriate, along with psychosocial support and stigma-reduction programmes. Maintain the package of essential health services, including by providing IPC equipment for them to operate safely. This includes, at minimum, malaria diagnosis and treatment, and maternal and child health services. Safe and dignified burials Establish protocols ensuring funerals and burials are conducted by well-trained personnel, with provision made for the presence of the family and cultural practices, and in accordance with relevant national laws and regulations. Operations, supplies and logistics Establish logistics support to maintain a robust supply pipeline for PPE, diagnostics, therapeutics, and other medical commodities, IPC materials, including for safe burial. Border health, international travel and mass-gathering events Enhance, through arrangements between countries sharing borders, surveillance at ground crossings and border areas. Implement measures, in accordance with national laws and regulations, to prevent suspected, probable, and confirmed BVD cases, as well as their contacts from undertaking international travel, unless the travel is part of an appropriate medical evacuation. Prevent the cross-border movement of the human remains of deceased suspected, probable or confirmed BVD cases, unless authorized through bilateral arrangements. Implement exit screening at all points of entry – airports, ports and ground crossings – consisting of, at a minimum, a questionnaire encompassing history of potential exposure to BVD, a temperature measurement and, in case of fever, an in-depth assessment of the risk of BVD, by personnel trained and equipped with PPE. Any traveller determined to present with an illness consistent with BVD should not be allowed to travel unless the travel is part of an appropriate medical evacuation. Report to WHO, through the relevant WHO IHR Contact Point in the WHO Regional Office, the implementation of any international traffic related measure adopted. Consider postponing mass gatherings until BVD transmission is interrupted. Research and development of medical countermeasures Engage, when feasible, with research partners and international institutions to: Define a robust laboratory strategy, urgently implement head-to-head comparison studies of PCR diagnostics to validate or invalidate the PCR platform (Radione ®) currently used in the field. Implement ethically approved, scientifically robust clinical trials to advance the development and use of candidate therapeutics for treatment and post-exposure prophylaxis and for vaccines. Establish, with a view to support research, expedited and efficient national regulatory and ethics reviews, community engagement, pharmacovigilance (where applicable), data sharing and equitable access arrangements. For States Parties with land borders adjoining States Parties with documented BDBV detection As of 22 May 2026, the WHO Secretariat assessed the regional risk “High”. Establish a national coordination mechanism articulated with subnational levels. Enhance rapidly the status of readiness to respond to BVD cases, including establishing active surveillance across health facilities, with zero reporting; enhancing community-based surveillance for clusters of unexplained deaths; establishing access to laboratories qualified to test for BVD; raising the awareness of health workers regarding BVD; training health workers on IPC precautions; establishing rapid response teams for the investigation and management of BVD patients and their contacts; establishing a mechanism for the identification and monitoring of contacts. Establish the capacity at national reference laboratory(ies) to timely and safely perform testing for BDBV along with relevant differential testing. Considerations may be given to shipment to an international reference laboratory for inter-laboratory comparison as part of external quality assurance implementation. Conduct international contact tracing operations as necessary, including obtaining information from airlines and other conveyances operations; identifying contacts associated with conveyances on an international voyage, and communicate with States Parties known as final destination of those contacts. Intensify risk communication and community engagement activities, in communities residing in border areas and at points of entry, including airports and ports with direct connection with States Parties with documented BDBV detection, and provide the general public with accurate and up to date information regarding the BVD epidemic and measures to reduce the risk of exposure. Exercise arrangements in place to respond to BVD through simulation exercises relating to management of BVD ” alerts”, including cross-border; sample referral; activation of rapid response teams and mechanisms. Establish, with a view to support research, expedited and efficient national regulatory and ethics reviews, community engagement, pharmacovigilance (where applicable), data sharing and equitable access arrangements. Border health and international travel Provide travelers with accurate and up to date information regarding the BVD epidemic and measures to reduce the risk of exposure, including discouraging travel to areas with documented BDBV detection. Enhance, through arrangements between countries sharing borders, surveillance at ground crossings. This includes establishing coordination mechanisms for the detection and assessment of travelers with unexplained febrile illness; and the timely sharing of information regarding contacts who have, or may have, crossed the border, thus enabling continuity of follow-up. Pre-position PPE, other IPC materials, sample collection kits, case investigation forms, and safe burial supplies in border areas adjacent to those with documented BDBV detection. Activate health contingency plans at airport and ports, involving conveyance operators, to detect, assess, and manage travellers from States Parties with documented BDBV detection, presenting with symptoms compatible with BVD, and the identification of their contacts, according to established protocols. This entails the availability of trained personnel, referral mechanisms, application of IPC measures. Coordinate with conveyance operators to facilitate timely communication, prior to arrival and to relevant authorities, of any suspected BVD cases on board conveyances, and to identify contacts associated with conveyances on an international voyage. The identification of such contacts entails, where applicable, the communication of personal details to the States Parties known as final destination of those contacts. At the time these temporary recommendations are issued, neither the suspension of flights or waterways routes with States Parties with documented BDBV detection, nor denial of entry to travellers and conveyances arriving from those States Parties, are recommended. Report to WHO, through the relevant WHO IHR Contact Point, the implementation of any international traffic related measure adopted. Treat as a health emergency, including through a formal declaration according to domestic laws, the detection of a suspected or confirmed BVD case, of a contact thereof, or of a cluster of unexplained deaths. This include investigating any of those events within 24 hours and, by instituting case isolation and management; establishing a definitive diagnosis; and undertaking the identification and monitoring of contacts. Notify to WHO immediately, through the relevant WHO IHR Contact Point in the WHO Regional Offices, any suspected, probable or confirmed BVD case, as per WHO case definitions available here. In the presence of a BVD case, temporary recommendations for State Parties States Parties with documented BDBV detection apply. For all other States Parties As of 22 May 2026, the WHO Secretariat assessed the risk for these States Parties as “Low”. Make arrangements to detect, assess, report and manage travelers with unexplained febrile illness arriving from areas with documented BDBV tdetection. These include, but are not limited to, disseminating the definition of BVD cases to public and private health care facilities, including travel clinics, and general practitioners; identifying laboratories to conduct testing for BDBV; identifying isolation facilities allowing for safe assessment and clinical care. Provide no-governemntal organizations and other entities deploying personnel internationally to respond to the BVD epidemic with information on risk, measures to minimize the risk of exposure, and advice for managing a potential exposure. Prepare to facilitate the evacuation and repatriation of nationals (e.g., health workers) who have been exposed to BVD cases. Provide the general public with accurate and up to date information regarding the BVD epidemic and measures to reduce the risk of exposure, including discouraging travel to areas with documented BDBV detection. Border health and international travel Provide accurate and up to date information regarding the BVD epidemic to travel clinics, other health facilities and professionals, and discourage travel to areas with documented BDBV detection. Provide incoming travelers, at points of entry, with information about measures to take should they develop symptoms compatible with BVD within 21 days after arrival. Coordinate with the transport sector, including conveyance and points of entry operators, for the timely management of suspected BVD cases, including communication prior to arrival if the individual is on board; as well as for the identification of their contacts on board conveyance. The identification of such contacts entails, where applicable, the communication of personal details to the States Parties known as final destination of those contacts. At the time these temporary recommendations are issued, neither the suspension of flights from States Parties with documented BDBV detection, nor denial of entry to travellers and conveyances arriving from those States Parties, are recommended. Report to WHO, through the relevant WHO IHR Contact Point, the implementation of any international traffic related measure adopted. Notify to WHO immediately, through the relevant WHO IHR Contact Point in the WHO Regional Offices, any suspected, probable or confirmed BVD case, as per WHO case definitions available here. In the presence of a BVD case, temporary recommendations for States Parties with documented BDBV detection apply. All States Parties Reporting on the implementation of temporary recommendations Report quarterly to WHO on the status of, and challenges related to, the implementation of these temporary recommendations, using a standardized tool and channels that will be made available by WHO, also allowing for the monitoring of progress and the identification of gaps in the national response. Media Contacts WHO Media Team World Health Organization Email: mediainquiries@who.int
• Health ministry directs provinces, Border Health Services to remain on alert • Red Cross announces death of three volunteers in DRC • Uganda confirms three new cases, bringing total to five • Viral disease ‘threatens 10 nations’, including Kenya and Rwanda ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has intensified screening measures at airports across the country, along with other precautionary steps, amid the recent Ebola virus outbreak in Africa, the health ministry said on Saturday, a day after the World Health Organisation (WHO) upgraded the risk assessment for the disease. According to a handout, the ministry said the spread of the Ebola virus outbreak was limited to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, and the risk to Pakistan was “extremely low” due to limited travel links with the affected countries. It added that Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal had directed authorities to implement precautionary screening protocols at all airports to prevent the possible spread of the virus. The ministry further stated that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the WHO office in Pakistan were continuously monitoring the situation. The ministry directed all provinces and the Border Health Services to remain on alert. It also noted that Pakistan possessed the capacity to diagnose Ebola and said directives had been issued to ensure all necessary arrangements and preparedness measures were in place. It said the WHO had recommended enhanced precautionary surveillance measures, but not advised any travel restrictions. “No Ebola case has ever been reported in Pakistan or its neighbouring countries,” the ministry said. It added that citizens travelling to African countries had been advised to review the relevant travel and health advisories issued by those countries before departure. Ebola is a deadly viral disease that spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids. It can cause severe bleeding and organ failure. There are no approved vaccines or therapeutics for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola behind the current outbreak. There have only been two previous outbreaks of Bundibugyo, in Uganda in 2007 and the DRC in 2012. Speaking to Dawn, the head of the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) at NIH, Dr Mumtaz Ali Khan, said the institution possessed the facility to test Ebola samples. “The same capacity is also available at reference laboratories in different parts of the country and NIH has decided to provide them with testing kits,” he said. “The positive thing is that the virus is so far limited to Africa, and we have just a few direct flights from Pakistan to Africa,” he said.However, Dr Mumtaz said a number of ships arriving at Pakistan’s ports from Africa were also being screened. He said health practitioners and hospital staff were also being trained to deal with suspected cases. Three deaths The Red Cross announced on Saturday that three volunteers had died in the Democratic Republic of Congo after apparently contracting Ebola while on duty there in March. The central African country has been gripped by an outbreak of the deadly viral disease which the WHO has declared an international public health emergency. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said the volunteers were from the DR Congo Red Cross in Ituri, the northeastern province which is the outbreak’s epicentre. They worked for the Mongbwalu branch of the organisation in Djugu territory, Ituri. “Alikana Udumusi Augustin, Sezabo Katanabo and Ajiko Chandiru Viviane are believed to have contracted the Ebola virus on duty, while carrying out dead body management activities on March 27 as part of a humanitarian mission unrelated to Ebola,” the IFRC said in a statement. Fresh cases Meanwhile, three new Ebola cases have been confirmed in Uganda, health authorities said. The new cases bring to five the total confirmed in Uganda since the current outbreak was discovered in the east African country on May 15. One person has died. The health authorities named the patients as a Ugandan driver, a Ugandan health worker and a woman from the DRC, the epicentre of the outbreak. “Three new cases of the Ebola Virus Disease have been confirmed in the country,” the Ugandan health ministry said in a statement on X. All three are alive. The African Union’s health agency warned that more countries on the continent were at risk of being affected by the Ebola virus, in addition to the DRC and Uganda. “We have 10 countries at risk,” said Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, listing Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia. Kaseya said “high mobility and insecurity” in the region were helping spread the disease. There are 82 confirmed cases and seven confirmed deaths in the vast, unstable DRC, alongside almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths, the WHO said on Friday. It also raised the risk from Ebola in the DRC to “very high”. With input from Agencies Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2026
Pakistan has intensified screening measures at airports across the country, along with other precautionary steps, amid the recent Ebola virus outbreak in Africa, the health ministry said on Saturday. In a handout, the minister said Health Minister Mustafa Kamal had directed authorities to implement precautionary screening protocols at all airports to prevent the possible spread of the virus. The spread of the recent Ebola virus outbreak is limited to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, and the risk to Pakistan is extremely low due to limited travel links with the affected countries, the health ministry said. The ministry added that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) office in Pakistan were continuously monitoring the situation. The ministry directed all provinces and the Border Health Services to remain on alert. The ministry also noted that Pakistan possessed the capacity to diagnose Ebola and said directives had been issued to ensure all necessary arrangements and preparedness measures were in place. It said that the WHO has recommended enhanced precautionary surveillance measures, but has not advised any travel restrictions. No Ebola case has ever been reported in Pakistan or its neighboring countries, the ministry said. It added that citizens traveling to African countries had been advised to review the relevant travel and health advisories issued by those countries before departure. Ebola is a deadly viral disease spread through direct contact with bodily fluids. It can cause severe bleeding and organ failure. There are no approved vaccines or therapeutics for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola behind the current outbreak. There have only been two previous outbreaks of Bundibugyo, in Uganda in 2007 and the DRC in 2012. Speaking to Dawn, Chief of the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) at NIH Dr Mumtaz Ali Khan said that the institution possessed the facility to test Ebola samples. “The same capacity is also available at reference labs in different parts of the country and NIH has decided to provide them with kits for testing,” he said. “The positive thing is that the virus is so far limited to Africa, and we have just a few direct flights from Pakistan to Africa,” he said. However, Dr Mumtaz said a number of ships coming to Pakistan’s ports from Africa were also being screened. He said health practitioners and hospital staff were also being trained to deal with suspected cases.
Patients who use mobile applications to manage medical conditions including depression and chronic pain might assume the apps have been evaluated by regulatory agencies to be safe and effective. But that isn’t necessarily the case. Most of the more than 55,000 medical apps that claim to diagnose or treat a condition—or ones that provide clinical decision support, known as “therapeutic” apps—have never been assessed by any trusted neutral bodies or regulatory agencies to evaluate them for technical soundness, ethical design, or clinical benefit. The apps often don’t comply with regional data security and privacy laws to protect people’s sensitive health information. Medical apps differ from traditional wellness apps, which provide users with insights into becoming healthier by, for example, tracking fitness activities, monitoring blood pressure, and analyzing sleep patterns. There is no reliable way to verify that therapeutic apps deliver the results they indicate. To help ensure such apps are credible, the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) recently launched the IEEE Global Medical Mobile App Assessment and Registry. The publicly searchable directory is designed to list apps that have been vetted by experts across several criteria including technical soundness, ethical design, compliance with data security and privacy regulations, and clinical efficacy, which is evidence of a clinical benefit for the patient. “Patients, clinicians, payers, and health care systems often struggle to distinguish clinically meaningful therapeutic apps from those that are simply well-marketed,” says IEEE Senior Member Yuri Quintana, chair of the assessment and registry program. He is chief of the clinical informatics division at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, in Boston. “Our goal is to establish a standardized review method using criteria developed by experts.” Why regulation is lacking Because the apps are intended for medical use without being part of a medical implement, they fall under the designation of software as a medical device (SaMD), according to the International Medical Device Regulators Forum. SaMD is supposed to be regulated by public health agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but the apps have developed and grown in popularity so quickly that regulators haven’t been able to keep up, Quintana says. Some companies have received approval, but most have not, he says. Many users are unaware of the regulatory gap, he says. “Seeing an app from a well-known company often creates the impression that it has been meaningfully vetted for safety and efficacy, even when that is not the case,” he says. Some companies are using deceptive advertising to sell their product, he adds. Marketing materials might claim that all of a company’s health apps are certified, even though only one app has been approved by a regulatory body to treat a particular condition. Or the verbiage might imply the company has clinical evidence proving its application works, even though the app has never been tested independently. Another concern is that updated apps aren’t being vetted, says Maria Palombini, IEEE SA’s director of health care and life sciences global practice lead. “The original app might have received approval from a regulatory agency, but not the updated version,” Palombini says. “There could have been significant changes from the original.” “Not every medical-related app triggers the same regulatory classification or review across jurisdictions,” Quintana adds. “That leaves a large gray zone of clinically relevant but lower-risk apps that haven’t undergone an independent assessment. The IEEE registry was created to help fill these gaps. “IEEE is the best organization to address this problem because this is fundamentally a standards, trust, interoperability, and conformity assessment challenge,” he says. IEEE “is the world’s largest technical professional organization, with deep expertise in developing globally recognized standards including in health care, cybersecurity, AI ethics, and interoperability.” “Through the IEEE Conformity Assessment Program, we already run rigorous assessment and registry programs,” Palombini says. “Our neutral, consensus-driven, multidisciplinary approach—bringing together clinicians, regulators, developers, and ethicists without commercial bias—makes IEEE uniquely positioned to create trustworthy global guardrails that can scale across jurisdictions and support regulatory harmonization.” How the registry works The assessment framework was developed by a multidisciplinary group of 35 volunteer experts from 10 countries, Quintana says. The panel includes academics, AI experts, app developers, clinicians, ethicists, mental health experts, patient advocates, regulators, researchers, technologists, and those who assess safety in health care. The registry is for any app used for clinical care or therapeutics that claims to demonstrate a medical benefit. That includes apps designed for cardiology, diabetes, mental health, neurology, oncology, rehabilitation, and respiratory diseases, Quintana says. Initially, he says, the focus will be on apps that aim to treat mental health conditions, given the large number of offerings in that area and the registry committee’s expertise. The submission of apps is voluntary. There is no government mandate that requires a company to use the IEEE registry. The products will be evaluated against about 150 consensus-based criteria across three major areas: Clinical efficacy including therapeutic effectiveness, any sustained benefits, risk management, comparison to standard care, user engagement, and real clinical value. Technical soundness including accessibility, privacy and security, error handling, interoperability, AI governance, usability, and operational quality. Ethical design including bias prevention, patient consent, data governance, conflict-of-interest transparency, responsible use of AI and large language models, and prioritization of public health benefits. IEEE charges a nonrefundable submission fee that covers the cost of the assessment plus the registry’s annual subscription for the first year. Developers first must demonstrate they are a legally established entity before they can complete the app publisher registration form and then submit documentation and attestations about the product. The IEEE review of an app is estimated to take six to eight weeks, Palombini says. The assessment results will be privately shared with the app publisher, she says, and to be listed in the registry, an app must achieve more than 85 percent compliance in each category. Upgraded apps must be submitted and reassessed, Palombini says. Similar to how users are notified when an app on their smart devices has , the registry will be notified when listed apps have a new update available, she says. Applicants who do not pass the assessment are to receive feedback explaining why. They will be given an opportunity to make changes or provide additional documentation, Palombini says. “It’s a pretty methodological process, with checks and balances,” Quintana says. “We’re being very transparent about the process.” Approved apps added to the registry receive an IEEE certification badge and submission identifier, which the company can display on its website, app store listings, and marketing materials. “The badge serves as visible proof that the app has met the independent, consensus-based assessment for clinical value, technical robustness, and ethical design,” Quintana says. The registry will be publicly available at no cost, he says. Patients and families seeking safe, trustworthy apps—and payers and insurers evaluating reimbursement potential—will find the registry helpful, he says. The application website is open. The public registry page does not yet list a specific count of approved apps because assessments are ongoing. Approved apps and their unique identifiers are to be published when the initial reviews are completed. To learn more, you can watch a webinar recorded in March. The assessment framework that underpins the registry is supporting the formal recognition of IEEE P3962 Standard for Criteria Assessment Framework f
The good news is researchers in India are working to identify priority fungal pathogens circulating within its borders, both including and beyond a list of species the WHO released in 2022. They are also working to map antifungal resistance in pathogens in the environment and develop newer therapeutics such as antimicrobial peptides