Health Matters
Monthly Newsletter | May 2026
Ebola Declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern on 17 May 2026 following a rapidly expanding Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern Ituri province.
The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus, had already recorded 336 suspected cases and at least 87 deaths by the time of the declaration, making it the largest documented Bundibugyo outbreak in history. The index case is believed to have been a nurse who died at the Evangelical Medical Centre in Bunia.
Cases have been concentrated around two mining towns, Mongwalu and Rwampara, where high population mobility has accelerated transmission. The outbreak has crossed borders: two laboratory-confirmed cases, including one death, have been reported in Uganda’s capital Kampala, and a further case has been identified in Kinshasa.
The Bundibugyo strain presents a particular challenge because, unlike the better-known Zaire strain, there are no approved vaccines or therapeutics.
The WHO has stressed this does not constitute a pandemic emergency, but has urged border nations to strengthen surveillance and activate emergency preparedness systems.
Hantavirus Outbreak Linked to Atlantic Cruise Ship
An unusual hantavirus cluster linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius has been reported by the WHO and is under active monitoring by the UKHSA.
As of 13 May 2026, 11 cases (8 confirmed, 2 probable, 1 inconclusive) and 3 deaths had been identified among passengers and crew, all linked to the Andes hantavirus strain. Human-to-human transmission of Andes virus, while extremely rare, is known to occur with prolonged and close contact, such as within a cruise ship environment.
Separately, Argentina has recorded 101 confirmed hantavirus cases this season, with 32 deaths. The UKHSA assesses the risk to the UK public as very low: rodents in the UK carry Seoul hantavirus, not the Andes strain, and human-to-human transmission has not been documented for any European or Asian hantavirus strains. Estimates vary, but there are thought to be between 10,000 and 100,000 cases every year, mainly in Europe and Asia.
There is currently no specific antiviral treatment or licensed vaccine for hantavirus. Management is supportive. Healthcare workers should be aware that occupational groups such as forestry workers, farmers and military personnel face elevated exposure risk in endemic regions.
Palantir and the NHS: A Contract Under Pressure
The UK government is actively weighing whether to invoke a break clause in its £330 million contract with US data analytics firm Palantir Technologies for the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP), a centralised data hub drawing on NHS staff and patient records.
Health Minister Zubir Ahmed has indicated the contract could be terminated early if rival providers can deliver equivalent outcomes, with a formal break clause review expected in spring 2027. Opposition to Palantir has been substantial: over 50,000 patients have written to local trust boards urging rejection of the FDP; the British Medical Association passed a motion opposing the rollout in 2025 and has since advised doctors to limit engagement; and civil society organisations including Amnesty International and the Good Law Project have called for termination.
Critics point to unresolved concerns around data privacy, the absence of a patient opt-out, Palantir’s links to military surveillance and border enforcement, and a contractual structure that leaves all intellectual property and software with the supplier.
NHS users have also reported the platform as difficult to use.
Palantir has contested these characterisations, arguing that NHS data remains under NHS control and that the FDP delivers clinical value.
UK Healthy Life Expectancy Falls — and the Inequality Gap Widens
New analysis from the Health Foundation, drawing on ONS data for 2022–2024, reveals that healthy life expectancy in England has declined by approximately two years over the past decade.
The UK is now among only five of the world’s 21 wealthiest nations to record a fall in healthy life expectancy, with the second steepest decline overall.
The differences are concerning: people in the most affluent areas can expect around 19 more years in good health than those in the poorest communities. Men in Blackpool and women in Hartlepool have a healthy life expectancy of just 51 years, compared with 69–70 years in Richmond upon Thames.
The inequality gap has widened by 22% for men and 17% for women between 2011–2013 and 2021–2023. The BMA estimates health inequalities now cost the UK economy approximately £82 billion annually in 2025–26 prices. Contributing factors include poverty, poor housing, obesity, and the enduring legacy of COVID-19.
The government has committed to halving the healthy life expectancy gap and adding five years to healthy life expectancy by 2035, but experts warn that without structural investment in the social determinants of health, those targets will prove difficult to achieve.
Vaping and Cancer: The Evidence Strengthens?
A major scientific review published in Carcinogenesis in March 2026 concluded that nicotine-based e-cigarettes likely cause cancers of the lung and oral cavity, representing what the authors describe as the most definitive assessment to date that vaping increases cancer risk.
The multidisciplinary Australian analysis, led by UNSW Sydney, identified a consistent pattern of DNA damage, oxidative stress and carcinogenic signalling pathways in vaping users, alongside known carcinogens, including nitrosamines and toxic metals, in e-cigarette aerosol. Dual users of cigarettes and e-cigarettes face compounded rather than reduced risk.
The findings have prompted debate: some experts caution that the conclusions may overstate the evidence, noting that e-cigarettes lack the combustion products responsible for most smoking-related carcinogenicity, and that vaping retains value as a harm-reduction tool for established smokers.
Cancer Research UK maintains that no good evidence yet establishes that legal UK e-cigarettes cause cancer. Clinicians are nonetheless advised to counsel patients, particularly young people who have never smoked, that vaping is not risk-free, and that the long-term cancer burden of the vaping generation will not be fully apparent for years.
One-Minute Cancer Injection Rolled Out Across the NHS
NHS England has begun rolling out a subcutaneous formulation of pembrolizumab (Keytruda, MSD) that reduces treatment time by up to 90%, replacing an intravenous infusion that could take up to two hours with a subcutaneous injection administered in as little as 60 seconds.
The innovation covers 14 cancer types, including lung, breast, head and neck, and cervical cancers, and is expected to benefit around 14,000 patients annually in England. Phase 3 trial data confirmed comparable pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety between subcutaneous and intravenous delivery.
Beyond patient convenience, the change carries significant implications: eliminating the need for specialist sterile IV preparation frees up pharmacy and oncology capacity, and NHS England projects savings of over 100,000 hours of preparation and treatment time annually.
Health Secretary, at the time, Wes Streeting welcomed the rollout as part of the government’s National Cancer Plan.
For health equity, the shift merits attention: shorter, simpler appointments may improve attendance and completion rates in communities with transport barriers or caring responsibilities, groups that have historically faced poorer cancer outcomes.
Editorial note
This newsletter was compiled with AI-assisted research support. All content has been reviewed editorially.