Nigeria confirms its 1st Ebola case as Kenya reports 9th infection: Health officials
Blood samples from Ebola patient. (Getty Images stock photo)
Nigeria is confirming its first Ebola case as an outbreak continues to spread in the nearby Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
According to Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the patient is a woman who arrived on an international flight from Uganda. She was admitted to a private hospital in the Federal Capital Territory, where the capital city of Abuja is located.
The woman received care for several days before a diagnosis was confirmed through laboratory testing on Tuesday. She is currently in isolation and receiving medical care, according to the ministry.
The ministry said that 44 close contacts of the patient have been identified and public health teams are working to identify and monitor people who may have been exposed, including healthcare workers, patients, caregivers and travel contacts.
“Surveillance has been intensified, and the hospital is receiving immediate support to strengthen infection prevention and control measures,” the ministry said.
The patient was confirmed to have Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease, a rare variant of Ebola behind the current DRC outbreak. There are no vaccines nor treatments.
In a press release, the World Health Organization (WHO) said this makes Nigeria the fifth country to detect Ebola Bundibugyo virus since the DRC’s outbreak began in May.
The WHO said Nigeria’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention has activated its incident management system to coordinate a response, including identifying cases and follow-up of contacts.
In support, the WHO said it is working “closely with health authorities to strengthen control measures, including case investigation, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, and provision of essential supplies including personal protective equipment for health workers.”
It comes as Kenya’s Ministry of Health reported a new case of Ebola, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to nine.
All the cases appear to be linked to the original patient, a Kenyan man who had been living in the DRC and traveled to Nairobi. That man subsequently died on Oct. 5, according to authorities.
The ministry said that 134 of 135 contacts of the original patient have been traced and quarantined and the risk to the general public remains low.
Meanwhile, the nearby DRC continues to experience its worst Ebola outbreak on record. As of Oct. 18, 9,552 cases of Ebola and 4,550 deaths have been confirmed, according to the Congo Ministry of Health, with 937 patients in isolation or hospitalized.
The case fatality rate currently stands at 48.2% while contact tracing stands at 76.9%, an improvement from the earlier days of the outbreak.
Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy Dr. Heidi Overton speaks in the Oval Office on Aug. 10, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Dr. Heidi Overton is appearing before a Senate committee on Thursday for her confirmation hearing as the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.
Overton was nominated in August by President Donald Trump, who described her in a post on social media as a “ROCKSTAR in my Administration.”
She is sitting before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee, where she is likely to face questions about childhood vaccines and the abortion drug mifepristone.
If confirmed, Overton will be the second person to lead the FDA after the previous commissioner, Marty Makary, resigned following public clashes with lawmakers, major pharmaceutical companies and Trump over fruit-flavored vapes.
Kyle Diamantas has served as acting FDA commissioner since May 2026.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chair of the HELP committee, began the hearing by asking Overton if the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine Is lethal. Overton replied it is not.
When asked if the vaccine is safe and effective, Overton reiterated that the vaccine is safe and effective against measles.
“Are there any vaccines on the U.S. market right now which are unsafe?” Cassidy asked.
“Senator, every vaccine on the U.S. market right now is safe and effective, according to the FDA,” Overton said.
Cassidy attempted to press Overton on whether she disagreed with the president on the safety and efficacy of the MMR vaccine, but Overton deflected from answering directly.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wa., asked Overton if she believes mifepristone is safe and effective. Kennedy launched an FDA safety review of the drug last year.
“I know that it has met the safety and efficacy standard according to the FDA review,” Overton replied.
Murray expressed concern over an article she said Overton published three years ago, which she said described medication abortion as dangerous to women.
She also asked if Overton believed an IUD is an abortifacient, which is a substance used to induce an abortion or terminate a pregnancy. Overton did not answer directly.
“If I’m confirmed as FDA commissioner, I’ll be fully briefed on all their prior decisions and make determinations according to the standards of safety and efficacy,” Overton said.
She has espoused anti-abortion views and supported reductions to the childhood immunization schedule. At the executive order signing, she touted the use of what she called “gold-standard science” and restoring vaccination authority to parents.
Overton was nominated for the job, in part, because she is a loyalist of the president, two sources familiar with the nomination tell ABC News.
She’s been described as a loyal staffer, particularly in the presidents’ efforts to overhaul the childhood vaccine schedule, according to a former senior administration official.
“Why would you not want your own loyalist in there?” the source said about Trump’s choice, adding “She [Overton] kind of goes along with things.” The former official supports Overton but has previously acknowledged that, “She’s been in the world of politics for a long time and understands everything’s about loyalty.”
Overton is a physician with a doctor of medicine degree from the University of New Mexico and also holds a doctorate from Johns Hopkins University.
Prior to her role as deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy, she was vice chair of the America First Policy Institute’s (AFPI) Center for a Healthy America, where Overton was also the chief policy officer, a nonprofit that aims to advance policies that it says put the American people first. AFPI was run by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins before Rollins was tapped to join the president’s Cabinet.
Several Trump administration officials held positions there before he was reelected, including Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
Prior to the hearing, Cassidy expressed “strong concerns” about Overton’s nomination because of her participation in the White House executive order overhauling the childhood vaccine schedule.
“That alone is almost disqualifying,” Cassidy wrote in a post on X.
Cassidy, a physician and liver doctor, has long championed the efficacy of vaccines and has grilled Trump’s health officials on their willingness to stand up to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including recently installed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Erica Schwartz.
In a statement to ABC News, Democratic Women’s Caucus Chairwoman Teresa Leger Fernández slammed the nomination.
“I call on my colleagues in the Senate to reject her nomination,” Fernández wrote, adding “Overton has publicly denied scientific fact and repeatedly launched conspiratorial attacks against our right to abortion access, the safety of mifepristone, and Planned Parenthood.”
Fernández added: “She is not qualified to serve as FDA Commissioner, and her extremist beliefs and loyalty to the Trump administration will put the lives of millions of women at risk.”
In a statement, Dr. Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, also criticized her nomination.
“The fact that Dr. Overton played a central role in an executive order that shrinks the childhood vaccine schedule and calls for splitting MMR into shots that don’t exist, all without new evidence, calls into question her scientific judgement,” Adalja said. “The fact that she has garnered the praise of the nation’s chief anti-vaccine propagandist, Secretary Kennedy, is also concerning.”
An illustration of Legionella pneumophila bacteria, the cause of Legionnaires’ disease. (Roger Harris/Science Photo Library/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — New York City is experiencing another cluster of Legionnaires’ disease just weeks after a cluster exposure in Manhattan was declared over.
So far, five cases and one death have been recorded, the New York City Health Department said on Thursday. Health officials said they are waiting for results for other potential cases.
Cases have been detected in the 10451 and 10456 ZIP codes, which includes parts of Melrose and Morrisania in the South Bronx.
The health department said it is actively investigating the cluster and that testing is underway for samples collected among cooling towers in the area.
Health officials are advising clinicians to be on the lookout for possible cases and to conduct testing if the disease is suspected.
An outbreak earlier this summer on the Upper East Side saw more than 90 cases and 11 deaths, which health officials found was linked to bacteria in some buildings’ cooling towers.
“I understand that New Yorkers may have heightened concerns following the recent Upper East Side cluster,” Dr. Alister F. Martin, NYC health commissioner, said in a press release. “We are taking immediate action. Water ecologists have sampled cooling towers in the affected area. Any cooling tower that tests positive will be directed to undergo full cleaning and disinfection immediately.”
Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by inhaling the Legionella bacteria in small droplets of water mixed in the air or contaminated water accidentally going into the lungs.
The bacteria are found naturally in freshwater but amounts generally don’t lead to disease. The bacteria typically grow best in warm water and in warm to hot temperatures, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The disease does not generally spread from person to person, but infections can occur if the bacteria get into a building’s water supply, including in shower heads, sink faucets, hot water tanks, heaters, cooling towers and other plumbing systems.
Legionnaires’ disease has increased in prevalence over the last decade, reaching a peak of 2.71 cases per 100,000 in 2018, the CDC said. Cases dropped during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and then rebounded in 2021.
Although most people recover from Legionnaires’ disease with antibiotics, certain patients — including those who are immunocompromised or who suffer from chronic lung diseases — can develop complications that can be fatal.
About one in 10 people who develop Legionnaires’ disease will die from complications, according to the CDC. Among those who develop Legionnaires’ disease during a stay in a healthcare facility, about 1 out of every 4 people will die, the federal health agency added.
Health officials said any New Yorkers who live or work in the affected area, or visited since late August, should contact a healthcare provider immediately if they develop symptoms, such as fever, cough, shortness of breath or muscle aches.
(NEW YORK) — Taylor Farms is now pulling more than a dozen products with jalapenos from grocery stores across the United States.
It’s the latest recall as part of the salmonella outbreak that has made 345 people sick in 27 states. Restaurant chains Chipotle and QDOBA pulled jalapenos last week. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said this weekend grocery stores are also removing meat products that include jalapenos.
The list of 20 recalled foods includes dips, salsas and guacamole sold at grocery stores including Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Kroger.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a list of recalled products Sunday, which includes diced jalapenos and rice and bean burritos from Hannaford, as well as spicy pimento cheese dip, spicy Jarlsberg dip and spicy roast beef sandwiches from Kroger.
Stop and Shop and Hannaford pico de gallo salsa was also recalled.
Products recalled from Target include authentic guacamole, spicy guacamole, pico de gallo, mango pico de gallo, and taco dip. Walmart’s recalled products include mild pico de gallo and hot (or spicy) pico de gallo, while fiesta style salad shrimp was recalled from Trader Joe’s.
Whole Foods’ recalled products include salsa fresca medium, mild pico de gallo, spicy pico de gallo, medium salsa roja, and mild pineapple mango salsa.
Recalled products were sold under brand names including Taylor Farms, Trader Joe’s, Private Selection and Freshness Guaranteed. Some recalled products were unbranded.
The products were distributed across 26 states including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
They include a “best if used by” date up to and including Aug. 16, 2026.
In a statement to ABC News, Walmart said, “Safety is a top priority. When notified of recalls, we move swiftly to remove the impacted products from our stores and implement a sales block at our registers and online. We are working closely with our supplier, and customers who have this should discontinue use.”
This all underscores Taylor Farms’ broad reach within the U.S. food system. Last year, it said it made 40% of all salad kits sold in the U.S. and accounted for 265 million servings of fresh vegetables to Americans per week.
Taylor Farms, the massive food producer also linked to the record cyclosporiasis outbreak, said it received the jalapenos from Coast Citrus Distributors. The FDA had already traced that company to the salmonella outbreak across 27 states. The FDA said the jalapenos from Coast Citrus came from Sinaloa, Mexico.
“Taylor Fresh Foods is no longer sourcing products from this farmer and will be filling orders from alternative suppliers,” Taylor Farms said in a statement. “To date, Taylor Fresh Foods is not aware of any reported illnesses linked to its products containing jalapenos.”
ABC News reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services and GrubMarket, parent company of Coast Citrus Distributors, for additional comment on the recalled foods with jalapenos but did not receive a reply.
At the same time, the scope of the separate cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to Taylor Farms is expanding. An update on the FDA’s website says potentially contaminated iceberg lettuce was also distributed to Subway locations in July. Subway did not respond to an ABC News request for comment.
The Consumer Federation of America sharply criticized Taylor Farms for not being more transparent in its original recall notice about the brands and retailers potentially affected by the parasite.
