Infectious Disease / Microbiology Updates

[Correspondence] Immigration enforcement and HIV care https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhiv/article/PIIS2352-3018(26)00111-6/fulltext?rss=yes Recent immigration enforcement activity in the USA, particularly the widely reported Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in major cities, is increasingly shaping HIV-related health care through heightened fear within immigrant communities affecting access to and continuity of HIV prevention and care services. We are witnessing the growth of health inequity, where certain segments of our society are too afraid to seek medical services, leading to important consequences for their health and a potential increase in HIV transmission.

[Correspondence] HIV outbreaks in Pakistan: a health-care-acquired crisis https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhiv/article/PIIS2352-3018(26)00115-3/fulltext?rss=yes More than 14 000 people died of HIV/AIDS in Pakistan in 2024, an increase of more than 500% since 2010.1 That figure does not primarily reflect sexual transmission or injection drug use. Pakistan's HIV epidemic is now being driven, in large part, by the health-care system itself.

[Correspondence] HIV outbreaks in Pakistan: a health-care-acquired crisis https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhiv/article/PIIS2352-3018(26)00114-1/fulltext?rss=yes In 2019, WHO declared a grade 2 emergency in the Ratodero area of Larkana District, Sindh, Pakistan, after hundreds of children were diagnosed with HIV.1 Health authorities attributed this outbreak primarily to unsafe medical practices, including the reuse of syringes and inadequate sterilisation of surgical instruments.1 Despite the magnitude of this incident, similar HIV outbreaks have continued to emerge in other regions of Pakistan.

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Chikungunya Outbreak, Cuba, July 2025 https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/32/7/26-0344_article

Human Pulmonary Dirofilariasis,North Queensland, Australia, 2023 https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/32/7/26-0280_article

[Profile] Sabiha Essack—helping Africa lead the fight against AMR https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(26)00308-7/fulltext?rss=yes Growing up in Durban, South Africa, Sabiha Essack never imagined that a career in pharmacy would take her to the forefront of one of the greatest global health threats of the 21st century. Today, she is the South African Research Chair in Antibiotic Resistance and One Health, Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), and one of Africa's most influential voices on antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

[Newsdesk] New partnership to support TB vaccine implementation https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(26)00313-0/fulltext?rss=yes A new partnership between the Stop TB Partnership and Sabin Vaccine Institute aims to engage stakeholders to improve readiness for new tuberculosis vaccines. Manjulika Das reports.

[Newsdesk] Update on the Ebola virus outbreak in DR Congo https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(26)00311-7/fulltext?rss=yes As of June 8, 2026, authorities in DR Congo are struggling to contain an outbreak of Ebola virus disease due to Bundibugyo virus, with 598 confirmed cases and 115 deaths. Talha Burki reports.

[Correspondence] Estimation of the Ebola outbreak size in the Democratic Republic of the Congo https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(26)00299-9/fulltext?rss=yes The ongoing outbreak of Bundibugyo virus disease, a form of Ebola virus disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is evolving rapidly. As of May 27, 2026, 1031 suspected or confirmed cases of Bundibugyo virus disease had been reported from 14 health zones across three provinces (Ituri, Nord Kivu, and Sud Kivu) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including 240 suspected or confirmed deaths.1 Testing has rapidly expanded for routine and retrospective assessment of suspected cases (381 confirmed cases as of June 3, 2026).

[Correspondence] Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak in DR Congo: current trajectory and potential risk for a Pandemic Emergency https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(26)00298-7/fulltext?rss=yes On May 15, 2026, DR Congo declared the 17th orthoebolavirus disease outbreak—the third in the country in two decades caused by the Bundibugyo virus variant (Orthoebolavirus bundibugyoense)—in the conflict affected north-eastern province of Ituri.1 The next day, the WHO Director-General determined this event a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and on May 18, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declared a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security.

[Correspondence] Cross-border transmission of Ebola virus disease caused by Bundibugyo virus into Uganda, 2026 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(26)00288-4/fulltext?rss=yes During May 17–18, 2026, WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) separately determined that the outbreak of Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus (BDBV) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern under the International Health Regulations (2005) and a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security.1,2 This occurred after more than a month of undetected but suspected transmission of an unclassified viral haemorrhagic fever in Ituri province, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

[Newsdesk] Hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship kills three https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(26)00296-3/fulltext?rss=yes As of May 27, 2026, an outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship sailing around the southern Atlantic Ocean had killed three passengers and infected a further ten. Tony Kirby reports.

Antibodies Cross-Reactive with Bundibugyo Virus in Ferrets Vaccinated with Ebola Virus Vaccine https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/32/8/26-0948_article

Autochthonous Neurocysticercosis Brain Lesions Mimicking Metastatic Disease, Spain https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/32/7/26-0587_article

Ophthalmomyiasis Outbreak Caused by Oestrus ovis Infection, Algeria, 2025 https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/32/7/26-0552_article

Detection of and Early Genomic Insights into Chikungunya Virus, Bolivia, 2025 https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/32/7/26-0540_article

Trichinellosis Outbreak Linked to Undercooked Bear Jerky, North Carolina, USA, 2024 https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/32/7/26-0062_article

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Neurosurgical Biopsy and Resection for Diagnosis and Treatment of Balamuthia mandrillaris Amebic Encephalitis, United States https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/32/7/26-0725_article