July 20, 2026
50 years on, trust and equity remain critical for Ebola preparedness.
In a perspective piece commemorating 50 years since the first documented Ebola outbreak, experts affirm that effective preparedness needs much more than technical advancements. Reflecting on challenges of the ongoing Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, it is clear that equitable partnerships, local scientific leadership, community trust, and consistent investment in surveillance and research capacity are all essential components of a successful response. Moreover, it is imperative to acknowledge African physicians, researchers, and front-line healthcare workers for their knowledge and contributions to the discovery and response of Ebola outbreaks. To improve the response for future outbreaks, it is imperative to strengthen local institutions, research leadership, and innovation. [NEJM]
Informal healthcare providers are a major blind spot in antibiotic stewardship.
A scoping review finds that informal healthcare providers dispense a significant and mostly unmeasured portion of antibiotics in low- and middle-income nations. Data from 37 studies conducted in 13 different countries, reveal extensive antibiotic dispensing fuelled by inadequate training, patient expectations, financial incentives, and lax regulatory surveillance. These prescribing patterns, largely in primary care settings in underprivileged regions, remain undocumented from national surveillance systems. To improve antibiotic stewardship, there is a need to integrate informal providers into larger initiatives while providing education, supportive policies, surveillance, and behaviour change interventions, to encourage responsible antibiotic use and control antimicrobial resistance. [BMJ Global Health]
Awareness alone is not enough to ensure adoption of regenerative agriculture.
A cross-sectional survey of 385 maize farmers in Ghana found that while farmers were aware of the economic and environmental advantages of regenerative agriculture, few possessed the technical know-how to adopt the practices. Researchers discovered that increased knowledge was linked to higher adoption, but awareness alone did not result in uptake. Barriers included restricted access to extension services, credit, and hands-on training. To scale regenerative agriculture and enhance the sustainability and resilience of smallholder agricultural systems, it is crucial to improve farmer education, peer learning, digital advisory services, and financial support. [Springer Nature Link]
Africa’s medicinal plants could help fight AMR.
Africa bears a heavy infectious-disease burden and is home to roughly a quarter of the world’s biodiversity, yet it accounts for under two percent of pharmaceutical patents. An integrative review argues that the continent’s plants, fungi, and marine organisms are a formidable but underused resource to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Promising leads include cryptolepine, an alkaloid from the west African vine Cryptolepis sanguinolenta with activity against drug-resistant bacteria, alongside fungal endophyte metabolites and structurally distinct marine peptides. While there is no shortage of promising candidates, fragmented validation infrastructure, inconsistent access-and-benefit-sharing rules, and a weak entrepreneurial ecosystem, leaves most evidence stuck at early in vitro stages. Closing this translation gap through a three-pillar framework linking advanced research, entrepreneurship, and ethical governance would turn a catalogue of promising leads into an accessible drug development pipeline. [All Life]
Can a behavior-change model help train veterinarians to prescribe antibiotics responsibly?
Appropriate prescribing of antibiotics is critical to controlling antimicrobial resistance. Researchers in Iran built an educational program around the Multi-Theory Model (MTM), a framework for both starting and sustaining behavior change. The program was tested among 85 veterinary students, where one of the groups received 15 educational sessions over 3 months while the other received none. An MTM-based questionnaire completed prior to and then three months following the intervention showed that the group receiving the educational sessions did better in several determinants of appropriate prescribing, including behavioral confidence, emotional transformation, practice for change, and intention to sustain good habits. One important caveat: the improvements reflect self-reported intentions rather than actual prescribing, leaving open whether such training changes real-world behavior. [Scientific Reports]
Seabirds are key sentinels for avian influenza along Brazil’s coast.
Understanding which wild birds are linked to highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) can improve surveillance and reduce disease spillover into poultry. Analyzing Brazil’s national surveillance data spanning 1,153 records across 127 species from 525 municipalities, researchers used statistical and spatial models to identify the birds most frequently associated with outbreaks. Seabirds, particularly the tern Thalasseus acuflavidus, emerged as the strongest predictors, and outbreaks clustered along the southeastern coast, overlapping with dense poultry zones. A spatial model that accounted for geography predicted outbreaks well (AUC = 0.96), pointing to migratory routes as likely transmission pathways. The authors recommend pairing biodiversity data with spatial modeling to target surveillance in high-risk coastal areas, while cautioning that surveillance-based detections only signal risk and do not prove which species drive spread. [PLOS One]
A warming climate may be quietly accelerating antimicrobial resistance.
A One Health editorial highlights that in addition to antibiotic overuse, climate change comprises another consequential driver for antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Using the example of non-typhoidal Salmonella, a sentinel pathogen that moves between farms, watersheds, and hospitals, the authors describe how extreme flooding can flush resistance genes into the environment, while higher temperatures can speed up bacterial growth and horizontal gene transfer that spreads resistance between bacterial populations. Genomic modeling links climate variables to an estimated 10 percent rise in the global AMR baseline, with resistance genes escalating sharply beyond certain temperature and rainfall thresholds. For now, these climate-driven evolutionary pathways remain hypotheses needing broader validation, but climate-informed genomic surveillance alongside continued antimicrobial stewardship represent concrete steps toward an effective response. [Animal Diseases]
Anemia affects three-quarters of tuberculosis patients in southeast Asia.
Anemia is a common, yet under-addressed comorbidity in tuberculosis (TB) patients, which worsens treatment outcomes and raises the risk of death. However, until recently, there has been no comprehensive regional synthesis of anemia burden in southeast Asia, which carries roughly 46 percent of the world’s TB cases. A systematic review of 21 studies covering 6,090 TB patients across 5 countries, found that 72 percent had anemia—well above the global estimate of about 54 percent. The burden was highest among HIV-positive patients (88 percent) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (84 percent), when delayed diagnosis and worsening nutrition likely took a toll. With anemia this common, the authors argue that clinical suspicion alone is too weak as a trigger for testing, calling for routine hemoglobin screening to be built into standard TB care. [BMC Pulmonary Medicine]
Governments cannot increase birth rates exclusively with financial incentives.
In his Hindustan Times column, OHT’s Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan makes the case that governments should exercise caution when promoting higher birth rates in response to declining fertility. Citing examples from other nations including China, Japan, and the United States, he points out that financial incentives have had little impact in altering long-term demographic trends. Instead, greater emphasis and investments in healthcare, education, productivity, and labor engagement may have a greater impact. According to Dr. Laxminarayan, increasing human capital and establishing circumstances that allow people to choose to have children without societal or economic restrictions are more important for sustainable development than population growth. [Hindustan Times]
India’s next pharmaceutical breakthrough must focus on innovation.
India’s pharmaceutical sector needs to engage in creating novel medications rather than focusing solely on manufacturing generic ones. In his column, Vital Signs, Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan emphasizes the significance of funding research and development that tackles expanding global health issues including antimicrobial resistance. Highlighting the recent Federal Drug Administration approval of Zaynich, the first novel antibiotic developed and commercialized in India, Dr. Laxminarayan contends that India has the scientific know-how and production capability to lead the world in pharmaceutical innovation. However, to do that, it needs consistent funding, favorable policy and regulations, and more robust research incentives. Domestic innovation can improve public health and elevate India’s standing in the international life sciences industry. [Hindustan Times]
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