Timelines
How the main stories unfold, day after day: each timeline gathers the articles about one event, with a summary.
- Russia keeps a tight lid on a suspected plague death as the US and WHO seek answers
Daria Shipilova, a 28-year-old employee of the Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia, died on October 2 after being hospitalized for pneumonia, and claims that pneumonic plague could have caused her death have raised global public health concerns. Russia's public health watchdog said she died from 'pneumonia of unknown etiology', that tests found 'no microorganisms associated with the patient's professional activities' and that 197 of her contacts were monitored; the World Health Organization said public risks were low, and Marco Rubio said Moscow should 'share more information with the world'. President Donald Trump said the U.S. was willing to help Russia and that he had a call scheduled with Vladimir Putin, and Russia said on October 7 that it was open to such a call; Trump also said he did not think the case was linked to a possible bioweapon and that Russia says the situation is 'under control'. Russian authorities are keeping a tight lid on information about the death, state-controlled media have steered clear of the subject, and a top WHO official said the agency does not know exactly how the lab worker died and called on Russia to provide more information. On October 8, the watchdog denied that the lab worker had spread infection to another person.
- Congo's Ebola outbreak tops 4,000 deaths as Kenya confirms its first case and death
Congo's Ebola outbreak had recorded more than 4,000 deaths by 2 October, authorities said, in what has become the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history. On Tuesday 6 October, authorities said a Kenyan citizen who had been living in Congo before returning to Nairobi over the weekend had become Kenya's first confirmed case of Ebola and the country's first death from the disease. The man had lived in Congo for the past seven years and fell ill about a month ago; he was treated at various hospitals before travelling by road to Kampala, Uganda, where he boarded a flight to Nairobi. On 7 October, the outbreak was reported to be spreading rapidly to new hot spots in Congo where patients have little or no support, with responders describing a 'chaotic' response.
- New York Governor Hochul declares a measles emergency as cases rise in rural areas
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a measles emergency as cases rise in rural parts of the state. As of Saturday, 108 cases had been reported in New York this year, the most since 2019, when the state was the epicenter of a national outbreak. The declaration comes amid a national resurgence of the highly contagious viral illness.
- Chester County has more measles cases than most US states
Chester County now has more measles cases than most entire states in the country, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on 5 October. The paper notes that nine out of ten unvaccinated people who come in contact with measles will get sick.