Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Experimental Antibody Treatment Is At The Ready For Americans Exposed To Ebola
Stat: HHS Confirms Americans With High-Risk Ebola Exposures Will Have Access To Experimental Therapy
Americans who have high-risk exposures to Ebola in the current outbreak in Central Africa will have access to an antibody treatment that has shown great promise in animal testing but hasn’t yet undergone a clinical trial to show whether it is efficacious in people, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Thursday. The antibody treatment, known as MBP-134, is made by San Diego-based Mapp Biopharmaceuticals, with funding from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, an agency within HHS that helps develop medical countermeasures for rare and emerging diseases, and biological threats. (Branswell, 6/4)
The Hill: CDC's Jay Bhattacharya Defends Donald Trump's Ebola Response
Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Jay Bhattacharya defended the Trump administration’s response to the Ebola outbreak Thursday, writing in The Wall Street Journal that the measures being taken are scientifically stronger than those implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bhattacharya said the COVID-19 public health response measures such as “lockdowns,” school closures, and mask and vaccine mandates “made little scientific sense.” (Weixel, 6/4)
The Hill: House Report Blames Trump's USAID Shutdown For 600,000 Deaths, Ebola Spread
The Trump administration’s decision to kill the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) likely contributed to 600,000 “entirely preventable” deaths, left the globe faltering in responding to the latest Ebola outbreak and let U.S. adversaries increase their standing in the developing world, a report from House Oversight Democrats finds. The report, issued Thursday, offers one of the most detailed looks yet at the impact of shutting the agency, from the firing of over 10,000 federal workers and contractors to a surge in the spread of diseases like HIV and malaria that had been USAID priorities for decades. (Beitsch, 6/4)
On the spread of Ebola —
WISN: Milwaukee Health Dept. Monitoring 3 'Low-Risk' Travelers For Ebola As A Precaution
The City of Milwaukee Health Department says it is monitoring three "very low-risk individuals" as a precaution for Ebola, as of June 4. A spokesperson described the three people as "travelers," coming back from Africa. (Schmitz, 6/4)
CIDRAP: Ebola Spreads To Area Under Islamic State Control As Cases Mount
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reached Mambasa, a part of the country run by Islamic State militants, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Health workers do not travel to the area, which is chaotic and violent, making containment and contact tracing impossible, sources told the paper. (Soucheray, 6/4)
ABC News: Aid Organization Says Trust Is Key In Combatting Ebola Outbreak As Cases Grow
As a deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to spread, an aid organization says trust is key to beating back the virus. At the time of publication, 363 cases of Ebola and 62 deaths have been confirmed, according to the Congo Ministry of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with more than 4,200 contacts under follow-up. In neighboring Uganda, 16 cases and one death have been confirmed, according to the Ugandan Ministry of Health. (Kekatos, Jovanovic and Magee, 6/4)
KFF Health News: ‘We Live With Fear’: In Congo, Doctors Face Ebola With Little Protection
Harrowing scenes are unfolding at health facilities at the epicenter of an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A 25-year-old midwife and a doctor in his early 30s are sick with Ebola symptoms, including fevers and severe joint pain, said their colleague Elisabeth Furaha, the medical director at SOFEPADI’s Karibuni Wa Mama Medical Center in the northeastern province of Ituri. (Maxmen, 6/5)
Bloomberg: Ebola Outbreak 2026 Unlikely To Become Pandemic, Peter Piot Says
When Peter Piot first encountered the Ebola virus, it was unknown to science. Nearly 50 years later, as a new outbreak spreads through parts of Central Africa and governments respond with travel restrictions and quarantine measures, the Belgian scientist remains one of the world’s leading authorities on the disease. He discusses how Ebola is dangerous but difficult to spread, as well as the challenges of controlling outbreaks in conflict zones — and lessons the world still hasn’t learned from Covid-19. (Husain, 6/5)
The New York Times: How Gold Is Driving The Spread Of Ebola
For over a century, gold has been the lifeblood of Mongbwalu, a remote hill town in Ituri province that draws people looking for work from across Congo and beyond. But now Mongbwalu is at the epicenter of the devastating Ebola outbreak sweeping this region, and gold is helping to drive it. Experts now believe that the outbreak, already the third largest on record, began in Mongbwalu as early as February. Yet the authorities failed to detect it until May 15. By the time a crisis was declared, the Bundibugyo virus had already been spreading for weeks through Mongbwalu’s gold mines. (Walsh, 6/5)
