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Ebola case numbers are rising quickly in the Democratic Republic of Congo as health authorities struggle to control this rare strain of the virus – without vaccines or pharmaceuticals.
Almost 600 cases have been detected and 139 people have died.
There were early signs of the virus in March and April, according to UNSW Professor of Global Biosecurity Raina MacIntyre and her colleagues. But the DRC is also facing outbreaks of mpox and measles – as well as widespread malnutrition and chronic malaria – which made the outbreak harder to detect.
MacIntyre outlines the challenges local health authorities face to get the virus under control – and how global health systems also need to prepare for cases of infectious diseases, whether it’s hantavirus or Ebola.
P.S. On Monday we launched our annual donations campaign, and we appreciate any support you can give. Every little bit helps.
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Fron Jackson-Webb
Deputy Editor and Senior Health Editor
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C Raina MacIntyre, UNSW Sydney; Ashley Quigley, UNSW Sydney; Mohana Priya Kunasekaran, UNSW Sydney; Noor Jahan Begum Bari, UNSW Sydney
Case numbers have steadily increased since the outbreak was confirmed on May 15.
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Krista Fisher, The University of Melbourne; Cynthia Miller-Idriss, American University; Emily Lewis, The University of Melbourne; Ruben Benakovic, The University of Melbourne; Zac Seidler, The University of Melbourne
Three videos, three very different messages about masculinity and health. New research shows this is how the manosphere finds young men.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The anti-discrimination expert explains what the case was about, why it’s set for an appeal – and the broader implications if the decision stands.
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Ashwin Nagappa, Queensland University of Technology; Daniel Angus, Queensland University of Technology
Having digital autonomy is more important than ever, and the European Union is showing how it can be done.
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Dorina Pojani, The University of Queensland
The first step is rethinking the way we view housing – as home and shelter rather than an investment or commodity.
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Ashleigh Barrett-Young, University of Otago
Studying middle-aged populations is important to understanding what Alzheimer’s disease looks like in the earliest stages, to make preventive measures more effective.
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Chris Kirkland, Curtin University; Anthony Clarke, Curtin University
When it comes to evolution, a few million years can really matter.
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Febe De Geest, The University of Melbourne; Sergio Jarillo, The University of Melbourne
As temperatures soar past 46°C in India, an extreme heatwave is filling hospitals. But harm to women occurs in ways health statistics don’t show.
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Kate Flaherty, Australian National University
Marlowe’s artistic brilliance was arguably more concentrated, his imagination more original and his ideas more daring than Shakespeare’s.
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Politics + Society
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Adrian Beaumont, The University of Melbourne
While Labor has taken a hit, One Nation has gained one to three points in all five federal post-budget polls.
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Stuti Bhatnagar, UNSW Sydney
The shifting geopolitics and heightened rhetoric have narrowed the space for any prospects of meaningful dialogue between the two.
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David Rowe, Western Sydney University
The 2026 World Cup is likely to reveal a deep ethical poverty at the heart of ‘the world game’ thanks to two leaders who have much in common.
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Health + Medicine
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William Alexander Donald, UNSW Sydney; Deborah Yates, UNSW Sydney
Authorities have recalled a cake decorating powder, after an Australian child inhaled it and ended up in hospital.
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Christopher Blyth, The University of Western Australia; Allen Cheng, Monash University
Two experts answer five common questions about the flu vaccine, with the evidence.
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Business + Economy
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John L. Hopkins, Deakin University
All but one of the companies researchers studied decided to continue with a four-day work week. And none reported a loss of productivity.
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Environment + Energy
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Vanessa Pirotta, Macquarie University
Like everyone, I cared about Timmy. We all did. But our responses need to be ethical.
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Science + Technology
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Karin Verspoor, RMIT University
More ‘natural’ collaboration between scientists and computers won’t necessarily be more effective.
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Nic Rawlence, University of Otago
Colossal Biosciences’ artificial egg technology would deliver a useful tool for the conservation of threatened birds, but only if it’s made publicly available.
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Arts + Culture
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Anita Manfreda, Torrens University Australia; Catheryn Khoo, Torrens University Australia; Roshis Krishna Shrestha, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Michelin’s international expansion has increasingly involved public tourism funding and destination partnerships.
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Isabella Crebert, University of Newcastle
The Tasmanian government has apologised for body parts being collected and displayed without consent. This is not the first time this has happened in Australia.
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AI slop in science publishing
“It’s with growing concern that I read about the use of AI in scientific publications and the increase in AI slop. As a former scientist, I was subjected to the publish or perish environment during my career, something that seemed to get worse over the years. It was also apparent that part of the response to this dilemma was to include more authors on a paper; a tactic to show the 'increased productivity of individual authors' as a result of an increase in 'collaborative projects'. In reality, only a certain number of these authors may have actually contributed to the work or the writing of the paper. The journals are quite specific on the matter of authorship, i.e. if
you do not make a meaningful contribution to work and drafting of the paper you should not appear on the list of authors. Adhering to this principle does not win many favours in certain quarters. Perhaps the new bans imposed by the website arXiv will make it less attractive for scientists to add their name to a list of authors on papers for which they contributed little input or effort or at the very least, it may encourage all the authors to critically read drafts of papers prior to publication.”
Thomas Fitzgibbon
Body language
“I had a great chuckle at the photo of Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in your article about shaking hands. For those readers who have done any body language seminars, Mr Trump is showing a deference to Mr Xi by holding his hand out with his palm up instead of horizontal and Mr Xi is in the dominant position on top of Mr Trump's. No wonder the reports on the meeting suggested that nothing came of the meeting to favour the USA with Mr Trump showing his inner self as inferior to Mr Xi.”
Paul Campbell, Brisbane 
A solution to the housing problem?
“The issue of housing – for buyers and renters – is front and centre of many social concerns and also the difficulty of building the new properties quickly. I'm at a loss to understand why serious attention seems not to be being given to 3D printed housing. There are some companies out there that have been making great strides in this structural innovation.”
Linda Black
We'd love to hear from you. You can email us with your thoughts on our stories and each day we'll publish an edited selection.
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