Ebola reaches 4,665 cases; jalapeño Salmonella recall expands: Health risk update, Aug. 7–14, 2026
This week's official updates put Ebola travel restrictions, jalapeño-linked recalls, a 13,895-case Cyclospora surveillance total, and new vector-borne disease guidance for immunosuppressed patients at the top of the action list.
The week's signal
The most consequential change this week is not a new U.S. case. It is the combination of a fast-growing international outbreak, a widening food-safety investigation, and new guidance for people whose medications blunt their immune response. This issue covers official updates published or materially updated from August 7 through August 14, 2026, with a Friday cutoff at 5 p.m. ET.
CDC's current situation page reports 4,665 confirmed Bundibugyo virus disease cases and 2,184 confirmed deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as of August 12. It also reports 20 confirmed cases and two deaths in Uganda as of August 13, plus one confirmed case in France; those figures bring the reported total across the three countries to 4,686 confirmed cases and 2,186 confirmed deaths. No case from this outbreak has been confirmed in the United States, and CDC still assesses the risk to the American public and travelers as low. 1
WHO's weekly report, using data through August 9, gives a separate DRC snapshot: 4,381 confirmed cases, 2,011 confirmed deaths, and a 45.9% case-fatality ratio. Ituri accounted for 85.8% of cases and 80.6% of deaths. The difference from CDC's later figure is a date and reporting cut-off difference, not a contradiction. 2
In the United States, CDC's August 14 page still lists 345 Salmonella illnesses, 36 hospitalizations, and no deaths across 27 states in the jalapeño-linked outbreak. Investigators trace the outbreak to peppers grown in Sinaloa, Mexico, and distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors. The page links to recalls by Whole Foods Market, Taylor Fresh Foods, and NatureBest for products made with the peppers. 3
A separate CDC surveillance update counted 13,895 laboratory-confirmed domestically acquired Cyclospora cases, 740 hospitalizations, and two deaths from May 1 through August 10. Cases were reported in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico; CDC also knew of at least 10,455 additional reports needing further investigation. 4
For clinicians, the CDC Health Alert Network issued a new advisory on August 11 about severe arboviral disease in people receiving B-cell-depleting or B-cell-modulating medicines, especially anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies. In published case reports summarized by CDC, mortality was approximately 40% and many survivors had long-term neurologic effects. The practical change is diagnostic: antibody tests can be delayed or absent in these patients, so clinicians should consider molecular testing and consult state or local health departments. 5
Actions for households and facilities
| Alert | Who should act | What to do now |
|---|---|---|
| Jalapeño-linked foods | Anyone who bought recalled dips, salsa, guacamole, sandwiches, prepared foods, or fresh jalapeños; restaurants and retailers | Do not eat, sell, or serve recalled product. Discard it or return it, then wash and sanitize food-contact surfaces. Whole Foods' recall covers products sold online and in TX, OK, LA, AR, WI, MI, IL, IN, IA, MO, KY, and OH, with best-before dates from August 7–16. Product-specific PLU codes are in the FDA notice. 6 |
| Food to Live green powders | Anyone with Food to Live SuperGreens, moringa, kale, wheatgrass, spirulina, algae, or SuperGrass powder; the products were sold nationwide online | Do not eat. Check the product-specific lot and UPC against FDA's list. One readily searchable example is Organic SuperGreens: 8-ounce UPC 810097461475, lots SO-72697 through SO-79374. Return it or discard it; no illnesses had been reported when FDA posted the recall. 7 |
| Marketside Tomato Bisque Soup Kit | Households and food businesses in the listed Walmart distribution states | Do not eat, serve, sell, or distribute the 14-ounce (397 g) kit, UPC 194346474004, use-by 8/22/26. It was distributed to select Walmart stores in 28 states, from Arkansas through West Virginia; the FDA notice has the complete state list. Discard or return it and clean surfaces. 8 |
| Grand Central Bakery Potato Sourdough | Anyone who bought the bread in the Seattle–Tacoma area on August 10 | Discard Potato Market Loaf 20 oz (UPC 733163001576), Potato Table Loaf 20 oz, or Mini Potato Loaf 12 oz. The recall followed discovery of a pallet nail; no illnesses or injuries had been reported. 9 |
| Tyenne (tocilizumab-aazg) injection | Hospitals, infusion centers, wholesalers, and pharmacies | Quarantine and stop distributing, dispensing, or using lot 16UI07 of the 400 mg/20 mL vial, NDC 65219-594-20, product code 590120, expiration 08/2028. The lot was distributed nationwide and may contain glass particles. Return it through Fresenius Kabi's recall process. 10 |
| Heat illness in Alabama | Anyone working, exercising, or spending time outdoors in this week's extreme heat; risk is higher for older and younger people and people with heart disease, diabetes, obesity, poor circulation, stroke history, or certain medication use | Drink fluids, avoid alcohol and caffeinated drinks, use air conditioning or shade, reduce strenuous activity during the hottest hours, and never leave a person or pet in a parked vehicle. Confusion, very high body temperature, loss of consciousness, or hot skin can signal heat stroke, a medical emergency. 11 |
What the outbreak numbers mean
The case totals above are surveillance snapshots, not counts of infections acquired during this seven-day window.
For Cyclospora, CDC's August 11 page says the 13,895 cases cover illness acquired in the United States from May 1 through August 10. The median onset date was July 7, with reported onset dates ranging from May 1 through August 2. CDC estimates a six-week lag between illness onset and reporting, so the number will continue to change even if no new common exposure is found. The count includes the multistate investigation linked to recalled iceberg lettuce, but it is broader than that one outbreak. 4
For Salmonella, the outbreak page is current as of August 14 but the 345 illnesses reflect infections identified over an earlier period. The practical signal is the traceback and the product list: if a household or business handled the recalled peppers or a prepared food made with them, removing the food and cleaning the contact surfaces matters more than waiting for a symptom. CDC advises medical care for bloody diarrhea, diarrhea lasting more than three days, fever above 102°F, vomiting that prevents drinking, or signs of dehydration. 3
The Ebola figures also have different clocks. WHO's report is a DRC-only count through August 9; CDC's later table includes DRC through August 12, Uganda through August 13, and a travel-associated case in France. CDC says the counts are rapidly changing and that suspected cases and deaths in the DRC are temporarily excluded while investigations and data standardization continue. 1
Travel and vaccine watch
Ebola travel rules are still the itinerary-changing item
CDC recommends avoiding all travel to Ituri and Nord-Kivu in the DRC, avoiding nonessential travel to Haut-Uélé and Tshopo, and taking enhanced precautions in other DRC provinces and Uganda. Travelers should avoid contact with bodily fluids, dead bodies, healthcare facilities for nonurgent care, traditional healers, and bats or nonhuman primates. People should monitor for symptoms during travel and for 21 days after leaving; anyone who becomes ill should isolate, not travel, and call a healthcare facility before arrival. 1213
The new week-specific development is the continued U.S. entry restriction described on CDC's page: people who have been in the DRC within 21 days of their flight cannot board commercial flights with U.S. destinations, while U.S. citizens and nationals who were in Uganda or South Sudan but not the DRC must use designated airports for enhanced screening. CDC says its August 12 order under 42 CFR 71.40 renewed the temporary restrictions. Confirm the current airline and airport requirements before booking or changing a trip. 1
WHO's August 11 update adds a response-side change rather than a new destination level: a US$3 million Wellcome grant will expand rapid assessments of community perceptions, care-seeking, trust, and barriers to response. WHO says early findings are already informing community surveillance, hotlines, psychosocial support for health workers, ambulance delays, and treatment-center reception. 14
Mpox guidance is travel- and risk-specific
A San Diego County advisory dated August 10 reported the county's first confirmed clade I mpox case: a resident who had traveled to Western Europe. The illness was mild, the patient was recovering, and no additional cases or symptomatic contacts had been identified at the time of the advisory; the county assessed the general-population risk as low. The advisory says the two-dose JYNNEOS vaccine is recommended for people vulnerable to mpox, including international travelers who anticipate sexual or intimate contact, and that booster doses are not currently recommended. 15
That is not a new universal U.S. childhood or adult schedule change. The CDC ACIP meeting page, dated July 10, lists the June meeting as cancelled and the next regular meeting for October 21–23; no new routine-schedule vote was identified in the official material reviewed for this window. 16
State and clinical signals
San Diego County's West Nile alert. A county health alert dated August 7 reported four resident West Nile virus cases since June 5, compared with two total cases from January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2025. One 2026 case was neuroinvasive disease in a healthy young adult. The county also announced a more sensitive and specific whole-blood PCR assay through California's public health laboratory. Clinicians should consider West Nile virus in acute meningitis, encephalitis, acute flaccid paralysis, or prolonged fever; the alert asks providers to report meningitis and encephalitis, including cases awaiting a definitive diagnosis. 17
Who needs a different arbovirus workup. CDC's August 11 HAN advisory says patients taking B-cell-depleting or B-cell-modulating medicines can have prolonged incubation, prolonged viremia, atypical illness, and delayed or absent antibody responses. For a febrile or neurologic illness in this group, clinicians should take a detailed travel and mosquito/tick exposure history, favor molecular testing such as RT-PCR or metagenomic sequencing, and consult the health department about specimens. Patients should use EPA-registered repellent, long sleeves, screens or air conditioning, and tick checks. 5
Southern Appalachia is an emerging tick-risk area. An August 13 MMWR report from Biltmore Forest, North Carolina, found 287 blacklegged ticks among 373 collected at 25 residential properties. Of 48 adult blacklegged ticks tested, 19 (39.6%) carried Borrelia burgdorferi; researchers also detected Borrelia miyamotoi and the human-active strain of Anaplasma phagocytophilum. The study is local and its human illness data were largely self-reported, so it does not establish a regional case rate. It does support greater clinical awareness and bite prevention for residents and visitors in western North Carolina and nearby southern Appalachia. 18
Bottom line
- Check the refrigerator, freezer, pantry, and food-service inventory for jalapeño-linked products, Food to Live green powders, Marketside Tomato Bisque Soup Kit, and Seattle-area Potato Sourdough. Match the exact product, date, lot, UPC, or PLU before eating anything.
- If you take an anti-CD20 or other B-cell-modulating medicine, treat mosquito and tick prevention as part of your infection-risk plan and tell clinicians about the medication before testing for a febrile or neurologic illness.
- If you are traveling to the DRC or Uganda, verify the destination level, the 21-day symptom-monitoring period, and the U.S. entry rules before departure. Do not travel while symptomatic.
- Ask about two-dose JYNNEOS only if you fit the mpox risk or travel context; the San Diego advisory does not announce a routine-schedule change.
- In western North Carolina and other wooded areas, use repellent, wear protective clothing, and check your body, clothing, gear, and pets for ticks. In extreme heat, use air conditioning or shade and treat confusion or unconsciousness as an emergency.
References
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- 11Alabama Department of Public Health, Heat illnesses can be prevented, August 12, 2026
alabamapublichealth.gov
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