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For years, the United States has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into programs to prevent and control infectious diseases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But in the months leading up to a fast-moving Ebola outbreak, the Trump administration slashed aid to the country, leading to a cascade of consequences that probably hampered the detection of the outbreak and the response to it, six people involved in or familiar with the efforts in the region said. (Payne, 5/19)

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told ABC News on Monday that his agency is working to address the recent hantavirus and Ebola outbreaks, marking the first time he’s commented publicly on the Ebola outbreak since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed than an American had been infected with the virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). “Yeah, we’re working on it,” Kennedy told ABC News when asked if he was worried about the outbreaks. The secretary’s comments come after the CDC said a “small number of Americans" are directly affected by the current Ebola outbreak in the DRC. (Jones II, 5/19)

An American doctor exposed to the Ebola virus in Uganda will be admitted to a Prague hospital Wednesday. The doctor, who is not symptomatic for the disease, will arrive in Prague to undergo preventative hospitalization and observation. The Czech Ministry of Health said that he will be treated at the Bulovka University Hospital “under strict safety and anti-epidemic measures.” (Loesel, 5/20)

The American missionary doctor who contracted Ebola may have gotten infected while performing surgery on a patient for what he thought at the time was a gall bladder infection. (Weber and Sun, 5/19)

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Anne Ancia MD, MPH, told reporters today there were at least 500 suspected cases and 130 suspected deaths in a growing Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda. “We have significant uncertainty about the number of infections and how far the virus has spread,” Ancia said. “I don't think that we have the ‘patient zero’ for now.” (Soucheray, 5/19)

Doctors battling a rare strain of Ebola in central Africa will probably need to wait many months for a vaccine to be ready for human trials, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations said, underscoring the challenges health authorities face in combating the outbreak. CEPI and its partners will start the vaccine development process immediately for multiple candidates, Chief Executive Officer Richard Hatchett said in an interview Tuesday. However, lab testing and evidence from animal trials will be needed before human studies can begin, he said. Some potential candidates have undergone initial animal testing. (Kresge, 5/19)

An American woman who may have been exposed to hantavirus on board the MV Hondius cruise ship is now being forced to quarantine at a facility in Omaha, Nebraska. Angela Perryman, 47, anticipated having to stay at the National Quarantine Unit for a short time after arriving last week, but on Monday she was served with a federal order to remain quarantined for at least two more weeks, she shared with The New York Times. (Rudy, 5/19)

One might think the recent outbreaks of hantavirus aboard the Hondius and norovirus on the Ambition would rattle Colleen McDaniel’s enthusiasm for the mode of travel. Not so. “I’m currently on a European river cruise, and no one is talking about illness,” the Colorado-based editor in chief of review site Cruise Critic wrote in an email. “People are enjoying their excursions along the Rhine River, chatting socially and having a great time.” (Craw and Sampson, 5/15)