Today the head of Africa's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention warned that thousands of case contacts have not been traced in the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). 

“If we don't stop the outbreak very soon, it will be worse than what we had in West Africa and eastern ‌DRC,” Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya, MD, MPH, said during a virtual meeting of African heads of state in Burundi. Kaseya was referring to an outbreak in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone in 2014 to 2016 that killed more than 11,000 people. 

The outbreak currently has at least 827 cases and 194 deaths, but it is largely uncontrolled in North and South Kivu and Ituri provinces. The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, which has no vaccine or treatments. 

Parents were more willing to allow their children to receive a vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) if they interacted with a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence (AI) compared with parents who received no information about the vaccine.

The chatbot’s effects faded after 45 days, suggesting the benefits were short-lived, according to a randomized controlled trial of 1,297 parents of children not yet immunized against HPV. The results were published last week in JAMA Network Open.

Traditional information had more lasting impact

The chatbot also performed no better than traditional public health materials, according to the clinical trial, which was led by researchers with the University of Pennsylvania’s computer and information science department. Public health materials, however, maintained a modest effect at 45 days.

The study measured self-reported likelihood of vaccinating a child against HPV within 12 months on a 100-point scale, with 0 indicating parents were extremely unlikely and 100 being extremely likely.

The trial was conducted online among adults in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom from March 3 to May 25, 2026. Researchers followed up with participants after 15 days and 45 days. All participants had at least one child eligible for HPV vaccination, which the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends for boys and girls aged 9 to 12.

 “Well-designed public health messaging may match or exceed the impact of short chatbot conversations for HPV vaccine promotion,” the study authors concluded.

• A new poll conducted by Cygnal of general election voters in 13 Republican-leaning states—South Carolina, Idaho, West Virginia, Montana, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Arkansas—shows that most voters support vaccines. Overall majorities of the electorate in nine states that had an oversample of likely Republican primary voters opposed eliminating school vaccine requirements (61% in Idaho to 70% in South Carolina). And at least three in four GOP primary voters said they support health insurance providing free vaccines for those who want them. The surveys were conducted in September 2025, February 2026, and April 2026. “The politics here are straightforward: this is not an anti-vaccine base,” Cygnal said in a report on the findings.
• Hong Kong health authorities reported late last week the first locally acquired case of H9N2 avian flu infection in Hong Kong in more than six years, and they published more details about the case yesterday. The patient, a 2-year-old boy, is currently hospitalized and in stable condition. All six of his household contacts have remained asymptomatic. Hong Kong has reported 11 cases of H9N2 on the mainland since 1999, none fatal. 
• The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Clover Hill Dairy has expanded its recall of various cheese products in light of an ongoing Listeria outbreak linked to soft cheeses produced by Clover Hill. Now the company says in addition to ricotta and requeson, all cheese products produced by the company, including hard cheeses and flavored varieties are also recalled. So far nine people have been sickened in the outbreak, including one death. Clover All Dairy has confirmed distribution in  Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington D.C.