Writer and medical historian. Author of Living With Enza, The Fever Trail & The Pandemic Century. http://markhonigsbaum.substack. @honigsbaum.bsky.social
London
Joined March 2012
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Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
This joyful dance marked the discharge of the last two patients from the #Ebola Treatment Centre in Mongbwalu, Ituri province, #DRC. No new positive cases have been recorded at the facility in the past five days, although suspected cases remain under surveillance.
The outbreak is far from over, but every life saved is worth celebrating. My deepest gratitude goes, as always, to the health workers who make these moments possible.
xitter.cf/GeorgesKisando/status/…
#ITURI: Au Centre de traitement d’Ebola (CTE) de Mongbwalu, en Ituri, aucun cas positif n’est actuellement signalé. Une nouvelle encourageante qui suscite la joie et l’espoir chez les équipes de riposte, après des semaines de lutte contre l’épidémie.
EKA NEWS
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
Nigeria is tracking 53 contacts linked to its sole confirmed Ebola patient, the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat, amid growing worries that the disease could be spreading undetected reut.rs/3UN720s
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
The Ebola patient was in Eastern DRC before transiting through Uganda and Ethiopia, and arrived in Nigeria on 3 October, with symptom onset on 7 October.
Uganda has zero Ebola cases!
@BBCWorld @UgandaMediaCent @NBSBreakingNews @ntvuganda @ubctvuganda @DailyMonitor @newvisionwire
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
#ebola
[How did the wife of a diplomat have “close contact” with an active Ebola patient?” ]
➡️ 🇳🇬🇺🇬🇪🇹 Race to Uncover Travel Path of Nigeria’s First Ebola Patient
- Nigeria’s lone Ebola patient was only ➡️ diagnosed almost two weeks after showing symptoms – and is reported to have ➡️ travelled to the capital, Abuja, from Uganda via Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.
- She entered Nigeria on 3 October, started showing symptoms on 7 October and was admitted to hospital two days later – but was only diagnosed on Tuesday (20 October), according to a statement from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Africa region.
-➡️ The patient is said to be the wife of an Ugandan diplomat. Uganda was declared Ebola-free in August after treating 20 people who had contracted the Bundibugyo virus imported from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
- ➡️ “Investigations are ongoing to establish the likely source of her infection and reconstruct her full travel and exposure history,” said the WHO, adding that Nigeria’s Health Ministry had identified 44 contacts.
- “[These contacts] are being monitored as efforts are intensified to find other people who may have been exposed. ➡️ Infection prevention and control measures are being ramped up in the private health facility where the patient sought care,” the WHO added.
- Kenya’s nine cases were all quarantined contacts of the first case, who died after travelling across the DRC, according to the country’s Health Ministry. Three are health workers, one is a hospital cleaner, and four are relatives of the patient.
- The ➡️ Kenyan government says it has traced 128 of the 130 identified contacts (98.5%) of the deceased, and they are all in quarantine.
- The case fatality rate in the DRC is over 48%, with most cases in Ituri province. ➡️ On Sunday, authorities in North Kivu introduced a week-long ban on people travelling from Ituri in a bid to slow transmission.
- North Kivu’s authorities have also suspended large sporting activities, concerts, parades and nightclubs. They have limited passenger numbers for vehicles and introduced mandatory vehicle disinfection, hand washing and temperature screening at checkpoints.
- In light of the Nigeria case, the WHO Africa region has urged countries to “maintain strong disease surveillance and rapid alert investigation, ensure laboratories can safely test suspected cases, keep rapid response and clinical teams ready for immediate activation, [and] reinforce infection prevention and control in both public and private health facilities.”
- ➡️ African health ministers will meet next week to discuss Ebola as Nigeria reported its first case, Kenya’s outbreak has infected nine people, and the DRC reported 9,455 cases.
- The meeting was announced on Wednesday by the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which ➡️ described Ebola as an “escalating threat to health security across the continent”.
By Kerry Cullinan
healthpolicy-watch.news/race…
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
The Nigerian case involves a Ugandan woman who arrived in Nigeria's capital Abuja via Addis Ababa on October 5, Odianosen Ehiakhamen of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control told Arise TV on Tuesday.
reuters.com/business/healthc…
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
Today in the Financial Times @FT
“The genie is out of the bottle,” said Dr Ayoade Alakija, a WHO special envoy for Covid, who is based in Nigeria.
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
So it seems this Nigerian case, similar to the Kenyan one, travelled from Eastern DRC, and entered Uganda (by land) and caught a flight back to Nigeria. Same itinerary as the Kenyan index case. More info is needed on where the Nigerian entered from but more likely Mpondwe-Lhubiriha border post in Kasese rather than the Kisoro side.
Why? Congo's North Kivu province which directly borders Uganda is currently having an 'out of control' Ebola situation according to the UN, Africa CDC and NGOs like MSF that are trying to contain the disease there. The region has apparently overtaken Ituri province, the initial hot-spot, in cases
But the current war in the area means the situation is nuanced with North Kivu itself. For example Goma, a massive city of 1.5m people which is nearest to Kisoro district and is under M23 rebel control, almost has no ebola. It has registered only a handful of cases since the outbreak, in single digits which the rebel authorities immediately contained through tough measures.
Beni and Butembo on the other hand, 2 other massive urban hubs further north in the province, are swamped with thousands of cases and the situation in rural areas around them is also terrible. These areas, unlike Goma, are under DRC government control.
M23 in Goma has literally imposed a blockade on these neighbouring areas in the same province, heavily restricting movement of people from them to their city. Why? To protect "their" territory.
Early in the outbreak, Rwanda which shares a border with Goma at Gisenyi border post closed it's border, affecting livelihoods of thousands of congelese that rely on the busy border town for trade. Later things were eased a bit. But for Gomalese to entre Rwanda they still have to under go stringent checks and measures.
This is how Ugandan buses still trekk the Kampala-Goma route via Kisoro and Rwanda and back. Because the buses have to cross Rwanda also, via Kyanika (Uganda) and Gisenyi ( Rwanda) border posts, the two international border checks are a good buffer. Actually someone recently told me that the buses nolonger cross Gisenyi into Goma. The Congolese from the other side ( its only abt 5km) have to come by other means, present themselves by foot to Rwandan port health authorities at Gisenyi and enter the country to board Kampala-bound buses or go elsewhere in RW.
However on the other side in Western Uganda on Kasese side, it seems vigilance hss become lax since the outbreak ( DRC is so massive in size that 26 Ugandan districts share a border with it and hundreds, probably thousands of informal crossing 'panyas'/ routes). The Kivus or Ituri provinces are bigger in size than several African countries.
The 133-kilometer route from Butembo via Beni to Kasindi/Mpondwe-Lhubiriha border post into Kasese district especially seems to be risky for us right now. The Kenyan index case used that route to enter Uganda, and ended up at Entebbe airport and flew out to Nairobi without detection.
I think Uganda needs to completely close its land borders with DRC again as they did at the beginning of the outbreak, otherwise we will soon be swamped again @DianaAtwine
✍🏿Public Statement on Reported Ebola Case In Nigeria: We Call For Calm
and Vigilance.
Uganda has No cases of Ebola.
#MOHatWork
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
Nigeria has confirmed one imported case of #Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), becoming the fifth country to detect the virus since an outbreak of the disease was declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on 15 May 2026.
As per the Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria (@Fmohnigeria):
▶️ The patient is a woman with a recent travel history to Uganda.
▶️ Her symptoms began on 7 October, four days after she arrived in Nigeria, and she sought care at a private health facility in Abuja on 11 October.
▶️ A laboratory test confirmed Bundibugyo virus on 20 October.
▶️ She is currently in isolation and receiving medical care.
▶️ Investigations are ongoing to establish the likely source of her infection and reconstruct her full travel and exposure history.
The ministry, so far, reports that 44 contacts have been identified and are being monitored. Contact tracing is also underway.
Rapid identification of cases, timely follow-up of contacts and effective infection prevention and control are critical to contain the spread of the virus.
WHO and partners are working with health authorities to strengthen efforts to stop the virus from spreading.
WHO urges all countries in the region to sustain a high level of readiness as the outbreak in the DRC continues to evolve.
WHO advises against any restriction of travel to, or trade with, affected countries, and continues to closely monitor and, where necessary, verify travel and trade measures in relation to this event.
WHO regularly reviews the latest information to update its assessment of the risks posed by the outbreak.
Read the full press release: bit.ly/487wX60
ALT Nigeria confirms imported case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease 20 October 2026 |News Release
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
Fear of catching Ebola is keeping many people in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo away from health centers, so fewer babies are being born in clinics and fewer children are getting routine vaccines reut.rs/3VEyihX
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
Africa CDC says over $700 million in Ebola response funds unaccounted for in Congo reuters.com/business/healthc…
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
Kenya confirms eighth Ebola case as regional outbreak spreads reut.rs/4isEPVJ reut.rs/4isEPVJ
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
Kenya has capacities to curb Ebola outbreak despite 7 confirmed cases. My grave concern is whether the DRC epidemic can be contained. It’s still on track to exceed the West Africa outbreak. The DRC’s weak health system, political conflict & public distrust pose major challenges
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
.@WHO welcomes the adoption of the #UNGA Political Declaration on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, and commends co-facilitators Armenia and Rwanda for their leadership in building consensus. This important milestone reflects a shared commitment to equity, global solidarity and collective action to make the world safer from future pandemics. We also welcome the ambition to successfully conclude negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing Annex.
who.int/news/item/12-10-2026…
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
Yet again:
All Ruᛋᛋіan scum that denies or trivializes the suffering they brought to our country, along with every Westerner who denies or trivializes it or dares to suggest we should give in to this evil or that we have brought it on ourselves, needs to and WILL burn in hell.
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
“We stand with British Jews” = terrorism in the eyes of @MetPoliceUK.
So absolutely we’re suing them.
Utterly disgraceful what they put @markbirbeck through.
There must be consequences for this.
We are proud to fund and provide legal representation for @markbirbeck's claim against the Metropolitan Police, issued today in the High Court in London.
CAA is providing litigation funding to enable Mr Birbeck, the founder of @OurFightUK, to challenge the lawfulness of his arrest five days after the Heaton Park synagogue terror attack.
Mr Birbeck was arrested on suspicion of committing a Terrorism Act offence, a public order offence, and a breach of the peace. Extensive footage shows Mr Birbeck calmly debating with pro-Palestine supporters while holding a sign that read “We stand with Britain’s Jews” immediately before his arrest.
We fully support this action and Mr Birbeck's determination to secure an acknowledgment from the police that their conduct was unlawful.
For years, CAA has provided free legal representation and litigation funding to people affected by antisemitism or victimised for standing with British Jews. Our litigation funding provides access to specialist lawyers and indemnifies claimants against adverse costs.
Mr Birbeck said: “I wanted to publicly display a simple message of solidarity with British Jews just a week after two of their community were killed outside a Manchester synagogue. I was arrested, and the charges brought against me that day are outrageous and baseless. I am grateful to CAA for taking on my case, and ensuring that the police are held accountable. Nobody should be left with a terror arrest on their record for taking such a stand”.
Mr Birbeck’s case is yet another galling example of two-tier policing in Britain. While Palestine activists repeatedly break our laws with impunity, a member of the public is seemingly unable to peacefully express support for British Jews without being arrested on suspicion of terrorism - a serious offence. This is a sobering reflection of the state of our justice system, and that is why CAA has intervened to see that the police answer for their conduct in court.
Those who stand with British Jews will always have our support, and we will not stand by while the law is turned on them instead of on those who threaten our community.
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
Very powerful letter from Highgate Synagogue to Mark Blake, the Green leader of Haringey council.
He tells them he is ‘embarassed’ by the ‘Zionism is racism’ motion.
This synagogue, where I saw British/ Israeli @EmilyDamari1 being welcomed has responded in blistering form:
‘If this motion does not mean that Jews in Haringey who have family or friends in Israel, or who attend our synagogue, or who maybe aren't religious but believe that there is a place for a haven for the tattered remnant of the most persecuted race on earth, are considered by you and your party as racists and by implication fair game for ostracism, intimidation, violence or worse, please explain to us what else it means.
‘And if that is indeed what it means, and we are pretty sure that those who voted for it believe that is precisely what it means, how can we as Jews feel safe when the largest party of the borough we live in, entirely peacefully up to now, publicly align yourself with the most virulent jew-hating racists of all, Hamas and the Nazis.
‘As it is, despite living in one of the most peaceful and crime free parts of the borough, we have had as a synagogue to invest substantial sums in building terrorism-proof fences round our premises, and employ both volunteers and professional security with stab vests to ensure we can continue to function not just as a place of worship but as a focus for our community.
‘In addition to our daily threat of the kind of lethal attacks we saw in Manchester and closer to home in Golders Green, we are having to cope with myriad, not so trivial, microaggressions such that our elderly are frightened to identify as Jewish when going into an NHS hospital, parents are worried about sending their children to universities for fear of the abuse they are likely to receive, and young Jews starting their careers are hiding their identity in case it damages their prospects or leads to ostracism and abuse in the workplace.
‘That is a direct result of you and your comrades' obsessive and ignorantly one-sided view of one of the world's most intractable conflicts and your determination to bring that obsession into every facet of life here in Britain.’
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
Esvelt's new argument is therefore less about identifying a particular pathogen than testing whether an ordinary explanation can account for the available facts. For now, the information needed to distinguish an unrelated illness from a laboratory-acquired infection remains unavailable publicly.
☣️ MIT biosecurity scientist Kevin Esvelt has revisited the Irkutsk laboratory death, this time examining the strongest benign explanation for Russia's unusually extensive containment response, and arguing that even this scenario leaves important questions unanswered.
In a new seven-part analysis, Esvelt considers whether 28-year-old Daria Shipilova could have died from an unrelated infection while Russian authorities appropriately responded to the possibility of exposure to dangerous pathogens studied at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute.
Under this scenario, initial testing could have excluded some pathogens without immediately ruling out others, justifying hospital quarantines, security involvement and heightened precautions. Subsequent negative results would explain why restrictions were eventually eased, even if the cause of her pneumonia remained unidentified.
Esvelt explicitly acknowledges that such a response could have been justified. If Russia releases sequencing data consistent with this explanation, he says he would praise its containment measures as worthy of emulation.
His challenge concerns the likelihood of an unrelated fatal illness. Citing historical mortality statistics for pneumonia among otherwise healthy young adults and published laboratory-infection data, Esvelt constructs a model suggesting that laboratory acquisition could be approximately 100 times more likely than an unrelated fatal pneumonia.
That figure is a model-based estimate, not a measured probability for Shipilova's case. It depends on assumptions about laboratory exposure rates, workforce size, infection fatality and the applicability of historical population data. The actual clinical and laboratory evidence needed to test those assumptions has not been released.
The analysis also does not establish that Shipilova contracted plague, that an engineered organism was involved, or that Russian authorities have identified and concealed a pathogen.
Russia says extensive testing found no dangerous pathogens among her contacts, that inspections identified no laboratory accident and that precautionary measures are being wound down. WHO, however, still does not know what caused her fatal pneumonia and has requested additional information.
Esvelt's new argument is therefore less about identifying a particular pathogen than testing whether an ordinary explanation can account for the available facts. For now, the information needed to distinguish an unrelated illness from a laboratory-acquired infection remains unavailable publicly.
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
The evidence this was plague is thin. Pneumonic plague needs close contact to spread, so a 200-person watch list doesn't fit. A lab accident would mean immediate antibiotics (assuming drug susceptibility), which no one has reported. Quoted in The Atlantic: theatlantic.com/health/2026/…
Mark Honigsbaum retweeted
For people who are treating Annie Jacobsen as if she has any insight into disease response or security, please stop. The book is abiological. It’s not how anything works. She’s a gripping writer, but her message (and facts) are just wrong. More on that later.
