Pandemic News and Research

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A pandemic is a global disease outbreak. During a pandemic, transmission can be anticipated in the workplace, not only from patient to workers in health care settings, but also among co-workers in general work settings. A pandemic would cause high levels of illness, death, social disruption, and economic loss. Everyday life would be disrupted because so many people in so many places become seriously ill at the same time. Impacts could range from school and business closings to the interruption of basic services such as public transportation and food delivery.

Emergency mental health admission costs for youth nearly quadruple over a decade

The total cost of emergency admissions for mental health among children and young people in England rose from £22.5 million in 2012/13 to £87.3 million in 2021/22, finds research published online in the journal BMJ Open.

20 May 2026

Ensitrelvir cuts household COVID-19 risk when given after exposure

Ensitrelvir, an oral SARS-CoV-2 3C-like protease inhibitor, reduced symptomatic RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 among household contacts when given within 72 hours after symptom onset in the infected index patient. In the phase 3 SCORPIO-PEP trial, COVID-19 occurred in 2.9% of ensitrelvir recipients versus 9.0% of placebo recipients, with similar overall adverse-event rates.

20 May 2026

Loneliness increased significantly over the past four decades in Japan

Despite widespread claims that social changes have intensified loneliness, no study has yet examined how loneliness has changed over time in Japan.

19 May 2026

Low-frequency ultrasound waves directly manipulate blood flow properties

For decades, ultrasound has been associated with diagnostics – a routine scan in a hospital room, a monitor displaying organs, tissues, or the first image of a baby.

18 May 2026

Bundibugyo virus outbreak triggers international public health emergency declaration

Pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 12 - Determination of a public health emergency of international concern, including a pandemic emergency of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR), the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), after having consulted the States Parties where the event is known to be currently occurring, is hereby determining that the Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), but does not meet the criteria of pandemic emergency, as defined in the IHR.

18 May 2026

Health experts outline symptoms and risks of shipboard hantavirus

It's one of the cruisegoer's biggest fears: a contagious disease outbreak at sea.

18 May 2026

Global collaboration can improve diagnosis and care for children with Kawasaki disease

International collaboration in research, diagnosis and care is critical to reducing the risk of serious heart conditions for children with Kawasaki disease worldwide, according to a new science advisory published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

18 May 2026

Scientists call for innovative strategies to combat tuberculosis superspreaders

Superspreading became a familiar concept to many during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior studies examining infectious disease epidemics, including those on COVID-19, have found that some individuals are much more likely to transmit infections to other people. Superspreading, when one person with an infection passes it to an unusually large number of other people, is a key feature of tuberculosis (TB) epidemiology.

15 May 2026

Genetic mapping in wastewater sets a new standard for pathogen surveillance

Tracking the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater, rather than just viral abundance, dramatically improves the ability to monitor and predict COVID-19 outbreaks, researchers report. Their study suggests that the new approach to wastewater pathogen surveillance could serve as a powerful predictive tool for public health, providing earlier and more accurate insight into emerging waves of infection.

15 May 2026

Healthy plant-based foods may improve pregnancy cardiometabolic markers

Higher-quality plant-based diets were associated with more favorable cardiometabolic biomarkers in pregnant U.S. women, especially higher HDL-C and lower TG/HDL-C ratio. Indices that emphasized healthy plant foods, rather than simply penalizing animal foods, showed the strongest links with insulin resistance and lipid markers.

15 May 2026

Research identifies significant spike in neurological disorders during the covid-19 pandemic

In 2021, neurological diseases affected 3.40 billion individuals worldwide, corresponding to 43.1 % of the global population. In China, rapid demographic shifts and lifestyle changes have contributed to a continued rise in the burden of stroke, dementia, and Parkinson's disease-a trend expected to persist.

15 May 2026

New research identifies the hidden stressors of modern digital classrooms

An international research team, led by the University of Warwick and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), in collaboration with Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, recently published a scoping review in the journal Cogent Education.

14 May 2026

Global health progress reversing in several critical areas, WHO warns

While there have been meaningful improvements in global health over the past decade, with millions benefiting from better prevention, treatment and access to essential services, persistent and emerging challenges mean that the world remains off track to achieve any of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

13 May 2026

Study reveals hidden airborne infection pathways in multi-family buildings

Airborne diseases like measles, influenza and COVID-19 can easily spread between units in multi-family buildings via a type of bathroom ventilation system commonly used around the world, new research suggests.

13 May 2026

Why is the US falling behind other high-income nations on survival?

A JAMA Network Open study found that the US recorded 12.7 million excess deaths compared with 17 peer high-income countries between 1999 and 2022. Circulatory and metabolic diseases drove much of the burden, while drug poisonings, alcohol-related deaths, and suicide sharply widened the gap among younger Americans.

12 May 2026

Physician mothers return to work sooner than many Canadian parents, study finds

Ontario physicians increased their workload in the first two trimesters of pregnancy, suggesting many may frontload clinical work before parental leave. Parental leave varied widely by specialty, with surgeons returning earliest and psychiatrists returning latest, highlighting persistent inequities in how medical practice supports childbearing physicians.

11 May 2026

Telemedicine has not significantly boosted healthcare costs, study finds

New UCLA-led research finds that use of telemedicine has not significantly increased visits and medical spending across all payer types.

11 May 2026

Andes hantavirus outbreak highlights global spillover and transmission risks

A Virginia Tech disease ecologist said the outbreak of Andes hantavirus aboard the international MV Hondius cruise ship underscores how little scientists still know about the viruses circulating silently in wild rodent populations before they spill into humans.

11 May 2026

Eating out regularly linked to higher obesity risk worldwide

New research to be presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026, Istanbul, Turkey, 12-15 May) suggests that no matter where people live, eating out instead of preparing meals at home is linked to weight gain and obesity.

11 May 2026

Did COVID-19 reshape fatherhood? New study finds Filipino dads stepped back, not up, after lockdown

A longitudinal study of 307 Filipino fathers found that COVID-19 lockdowns did not produce lasting increases in paternal caregiving, with routine care actually declining post-pandemic. Shifts in employment status emerged as the strongest predictor of changes in fathers' time spent with their children.

10 May 2026