2026-06-12

Public Health Digest: June 5–12, 2026

The Bundibugyo ebolavirus outbreak in DRC surged to 689 confirmed cases by June 11 (+82% in nine days), with the US PHSA entry ban expiring June 17 and no extension yet announced — a critical deadline coinciding with the World Cup's opening week. Six FDA food and product recalls were issued, including Clover Hill Dairy Listeria expanding to all cheeses (9 sick, 1 dead) and Beekeeper's Naturals nasal spray recalled for Aspergillus contamination. US measles cases reached 2,073 — on pace to exceed the 2025 post-elimination record.

CDC / WHO Health Risk Update @NeoDrop Official

This week at a glance

Date	Event	Entity	Scope	Type
Jun 11	DRC Ebola confirmed cases hit 689, +82% in 9 days; CFR 20.2%	WHO / DRC MOH	DRC, Uganda	Outbreak escalation
Jun 17	US PHSA entry ban expiry — no extension detected as of Jun 12	CDC / HHS	US borders	Travel restriction deadline
Jun 11	World Cup opens in Mexico City; DRC team in 21-day bubble	FIFA / US gov	North America	Outbreak/event intersection
Jun 1	CEPI funds 4 Bundibugyo vaccine candidates; all preclinical	CEPI	Global	Vaccine pipeline
Jun 6	US surgeon Dr. Peter Stafford discharged from Berlin's Charité	Charité Hospital	Berlin, Germany	US case recovery
Jun 11	Hantavirus NQU: 8 remain at Nebraska quarantine unit, ship resumes Jun 13	CDC	US	Outbreak winding down
Jun 5	$750K evacuation: American from Pitcairn Island after hantavirus exposure	US State Dept	South Pacific	Emergency evacuation
Jun 9	Clover Hill Dairy expands to ALL cheese — Listeria, 9 sick, 1 dead	FDA / CDC	NC, NY, VA, MD, NJ, DC	Recall expansion
Jun 11	Moringa recall expanded a 2nd time — 119 cases / 36 states	FDA	36 US states	Recall expansion
Jun 11	New Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak — 62 confirmed, source unknown	FDA	US	New outbreak
Jun 12	Beekeeper's Naturals nasal spray — Aspergillus contamination	FDA	Amazon nationwide	Drug recall
Jun 11	US measles: 2,073 cases in 2026; on pace to exceed 2025 record	CDC	40 jurisdictions	Surveillance milestone
Jun 12	ACIP remains blocked by court order; no June 24 agenda posted	Federal court / CDC	US	Vaccine policy
Jun 4	New World screwworm: first US mainland detection since 1966	Texas DSHS	Zavala County, TX	State alert
Jun 11	New CDC travel notice: Malaria in Yemen, Level 2	CDC	Yemen	Travel notice

Ebola Bundibugyo PHEIC: outbreak breaks 689 cases, ban expiry looms

The epidemic accelerates

The Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has entered what WHO calls an accelerating phase. As of June 11, the DRC Ministry of Health reported 689 confirmed cases and 139 confirmed deaths, up from 378 confirmed cases and 63 deaths on June 2 — a net gain of 311 cases (+82%) and 76 deaths (+121%) in nine days. 1 Uganda's count remains at 19 confirmed cases, 2 deaths, and 1 probable death — all linked to cross-border importation chains. 1

WHO's Disease Outbreak News update DON606, which captures data through June 6, reported 515 confirmed cases and 91 deaths in DRC, plus a combined DRC-Uganda total of 534 confirmed/93 dead. 2 WHO noted that some of the case increase reflects expanded testing capacity and a backlog of previously collected samples, not solely new infections: "The increase is in part due to the scale up of testing and diagnostic capacities, enabling testing of the backlog of previously collected samples." 2

The outbreak has spread to 25 health zones across 3 DRC provinces (Ituri, Nord-Kivu, Sud-Kivu), up from 16 zones on June 1. Ituri Province accounts for 94% of confirmed cases (487 of 515 per DON606). Nord-Kivu's case fatality rate is 64% (16 deaths among 25 confirmed), compared with Ituri's 15% — a gap that likely reflects delayed care-seeking and health system strain in Nord-Kivu. 2 A Lancet Infectious Diseases analysis published June 9 estimated true cumulative infections could reach 1,354 — roughly double the official confirmed count — pointing to "substantial undiscovered transmission" in eastern DRC. 3

Contact tracing coverage remains a critical gap: the 24-hour follow-up rate for the 5,040 identified contacts in Ituri stood at just 43.2% per DON606. 2

WHO DON606 epidemic curve: confirmed Ebola cases and deaths by reporting date in DRC, mid-May to early June 2026 — DRC confirmed Bundibugyo ebolavirus cases and deaths by reporting date, through early June 2026. 2

CDC's MMWR scenario models, published June 11, project starkly different trajectories depending on isolation rates. At the 20% isolation rate closest to current conditions, 65% of model simulations predict the DRC outbreak will exceed 20,000 cases within three months. At a 70% isolation rate, only 5% of simulations predict an outbreak of 10,000 or more cases. The model put the median basic reproduction number (R₀) at 2.51. 4 As the paper states: "If, however a high proportion of patients were to enter isolation (70%), only a one in 20 chance is projected for an outbreak with ≥10,000 cases within 3 months." 4

WHO's rapid risk assessment (around June 10) rates the situation as very high risk for DRC, high for Uganda and neighboring countries, and low globally. WHO continues to recommend against any travel or trade restrictions on DRC or Uganda. 2

US entry ban expires June 17

The 30-day Public Health Service Act (PHSA) order signed by CDC on May 18, 2026 — suspending the entry of travelers who had been in DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan within the prior 21 days — expires June 17. A May 22 amendment from HHS extended the ban to lawful permanent residents (green card holders). 5 As of June 12, no extension, modification, or renewal had appeared in the Federal Register, CDC's Health Alert Network, CBP/DHS notices, or the State Department's website. CDC's own traveler page describes the suspension as "temporary," effective "for 30 days while CDC completes a public health risk assessment." 6

The four designated airports for enhanced health screening of arriving passengers from the three countries remain: Dulles (IAD, active since May 20), Atlanta (ATL, May 22), Houston (IAH, May 26), and JFK (May 28). No US domestic Ebola case has been detected. 1

World Cup opens amid travel tension

The 2026 FIFA World Cup opened June 11 in Mexico City (Mexico vs. South Africa), with more than a million fans expected in North America over the tournament. The Trump administration pressed European countries to impose travel restrictions on travelers from Central Africa; Belgium explicitly declined, and the European Commission stated it saw "no evidence that additional measures are needed upon entry." 7

The DRC national team qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1974 and is playing all three group-stage matches on US soil — June 17 vs. Portugal (Houston), June 24 vs. Colombia (Guadalajara, Mexico), and June 28 vs. Uzbekistan (Atlanta). The team was required to complete a 21-day isolation bubble in Belgium; a planned warm-up match against Chile in La Línea, Spain was cancelled by the city's mayor. White House World Cup task force director Andrew Giuliani confirmed the DRC delegation must maintain the 21-day bubble or risk being barred from entering the US. 7 8

For general fans attending World Cup matches, the risk from Ebola remains low. Oliver Johnson, a global health academic at King's College London, told Al Jazeera: "Ebola has never really spread in a high-income country environment… because it's not airborne." 8

One US recovery; six others under monitoring

American missionary surgeon Dr. Peter Stafford was discharged June 6 from Berlin's Charité University Hospital after recovering from Bundibugyo ebolavirus infection. He had tested positive May 17 while providing humanitarian care in DRC and was admitted to Charité's special isolation unit on May 20 in serious condition. Six other US citizens — healthcare workers and close contacts at high exposure risk — were separately transferred to Germany and the Czech Republic for 21-day monitoring; all remain asymptomatic. 9

Response funding and vaccine pipeline

US direct Ebola response funding now exceeds $220 million, after the State Department announced an additional $20 million on June 10 for preparedness in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Sudan. 10 The US currently supports 100 health facilities in DRC — 6 Ebola Treatment Centers and 94 health centers.

On the vaccine front, CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) announced accelerated funding for four Bundibugyo candidates on June 1: IAVI's rVSV platform ($3.2M, clinical trial entry in 7–9 months), Moderna's mRNA platform (up to $50M, concurrent manufacturing), the Oxford/ChAdOx1 candidate produced by the Serum Institute of India ($8.6M, trial-ready in 2–3 months), and Public Health Vaccines' rVSV platform ($1.9M). A fifth candidate — Soligenix's heat-stable protein subunit vaccine (ThermoVax® platform, 2-year stability at 40°C) — applied for CEPI funding as of June 8. 3 11 All five candidates remain preclinical — none had registered a clinical trial on ClinicalTrials.gov as of June 12.

Available treatments at DRC field sites include: Mapp Biopharmaceutical's MBP134 pan-ebolavirus antibody cocktail, Regeneron's maftivimab (Inmazeb, 500 doses deployed), and Gilead's obeldesivir/remdesivir. 3

The Uganda-DRC border has been closed since May 27. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported "underground cross-border activity" as a result, creating unmonitored transmission risk. 12

What to do:

Avoid nonessential travel to DRC (CDC Level 3). Use enhanced precautions if traveling to Uganda or South Sudan (CDC Level 2).
Travelers who visited DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan in the past 21 days should contact their state health department. Watch for fever, severe headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, or unexplained bleeding within 21 days of travel.
The US entry ban expires June 17 with no publicly announced extension — watch the Federal Register and CDC travel pages for any update.
Healthcare workers returning from affected areas: follow CDC's 21-day tiered monitoring protocol and call CDC's VSPB line at 770-488-7100 for clinical consultation.

Hantavirus MV Hondius: monitoring winds down

The Andes virus (a hantavirus) outbreak linked to the expedition cruise ship MV Hondius has continued its decline. As of June 11, 8 people remain at the National Quarantine Unit (NQU) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, down from 13 at the June 5 checkpoint. Ten repatriated passengers have returned home to complete their 42-day monitoring period under state health department supervision — all are symptom-free. 13

Two Texas residents who had disembarked MV Hondius before the outbreak was identified completed their 42-day monitoring on June 6 with no sign of infection. Texas DSHS Chief State Epidemiologist Varun Shetty, MD, thanked the passengers for their willingness to "collaborate with public health throughout the monitoring period." 14 CDC's current assessment: "The risk of a pandemic caused by this outbreak and the overall risk to the American public and travelers is extremely low." 13 The MV Hondius is scheduled to resume passenger operations June 13. No Andes virus cases have been confirmed in the United States from this outbreak.

One logistical footnote: the Trump administration spent $750,000 chartering a private yacht, the Titaina Explorer, to evacuate one unnamed American woman from Pitcairn Island — a British territory in the South Pacific with roughly 50 inhabitants and no commercial airport. The woman had been aboard MV Hondius; after the ship, she flew to San Francisco and then transited Tahiti to reach Pitcairn, reportedly without disclosing her hantavirus exposure to French Polynesian health authorities, who then rejected an initial evacuation to Tahiti. The Titaina Explorer departed Pitcairn on June 5, bound for Easter Island (Chile), from which she could board commercial flights home. The cost came from the State Department's emergency "K Fund," already at its lowest balance in seven years due to Iran war evacuations and Ebola-related logistics. 15

Food & product safety recalls

Six new or expanded FDA recalls were announced this week.

Clover Hill Dairy — all soft cheese (Listeria)

Clover Hill Dairy (Mechanicsville, MD) expanded its Listeria monocytogenes recall on June 9 to cover all cheese products, not just the original soft ricotta/requeson. The outbreak now involves 9 patients — 8 hospitalized, 1 dead. 16 The Listeria strain has been genetically matched to 2023 isolates, making this a multi-year cluster that predates the current recall by three years.

Cheese was distributed May 4–30 across North Carolina, New York, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Washington DC, through bulk distributors, retail stores, and direct-to-consumer sales. Retail packaging comes in 10-, 12-, and 14-ounce clamshell containers bearing plant number 24-128. The cheese was also repackaged in bulk containers (2-gallon and 5-gallon buckets) and sold under at least five other brand names: KESSO, QUESOS LA RICURA, IZALCO, DE MI PUEBLO, and RIO LINDO. Some repackaged product bears no identifying labels. Nelson & Isa Lacteos LLC (Bayshore, NY) issued a downstream recall for 1-lb clamshells sold in New York between May 15–28. All Clover Hill Dairy cheese production and distribution has ceased. 16

Clover Hill Dairy soft ricotta requeson in a clear plastic clamshell with handwritten label — Recalled Clover Hill Dairy soft ricotta/requeson bearing plant number 24-128. 16

Action: Discard any soft cheese from Clover Hill Dairy or with plant number 24-128 on the label. Listeria causes serious illness in pregnant individuals, adults 65+, and the immunocompromised — seek care immediately for fever, muscle aches, nausea, or diarrhea after consuming soft cheese.

Moringa capsules — second recall expansion (119 cases, 36 states, Salmonella)

Total Nutrition Inc. (Deer Park, NY) expanded its moringa supplement recall for the second time on June 11, adding Lot 2748 to both the TNVitamins and Doctor's Pride Ultra Potent Complete Green Superfood Moringa Capsule lines. TNVitamins now has four recalled lots (2507199, 2512-304, 2793, 2748); Doctor's Pride has two (2507199, 2748). Both are white bottles of 120 capsules sold on Amazon, Walmart, Target, and company websites. 17 The linked Salmonella outbreak currently involves 119 confirmed patients in 36 states, 32 hospitalizations, and no deaths. 18

Action: Stop using and discard all listed lots. Salmonella symptoms — diarrhea, fever, stomach cramps — typically appear 6 hours to 6 days after exposure.

Beekeeper's Naturals saline nasal spray — Aspergillus contamination

Beekeeper's Naturals (Covina, CA) voluntarily recalled Lot #5950 (Exp. 02/2028) of its Saline Nasal Spray on June 11 after confirming yeast levels above acceptable microbiological limits and possible Aspergillus spp. contamination. The company says a clerical error caused the lot to ship to Amazon before test results were available. 19 A total of 585 units were sold on Amazon between April 2–24, 2026. Four adverse reaction reports (sinus congestion, irritation, or infection) have been received. Amazon directly notified all purchasers of the affected lot. The company warns that people with weakened immune systems or lung diseases face a "reasonable probability" of serious, life-threatening infections including invasive sinusitis and lung infection from Aspergillus contamination. 19

Action: Check your Amazon orders — if you received Lot #5950, stop use and follow up with your healthcare provider if you have symptoms, particularly if you are immunocompromised.

Other recalls this week

Product	Hazard	Lots / Distribution	Action
Azuma Foods Tako Wasabi (Seasoned Octopus with Wasabi)	Undeclared fish allergen	US allergy alert June 12; lot details not yet disclosed	Do not consume if you have a fish allergy 20
Steve's Real Food Freeze-Dried Chicken Recipe (1.25 lb)	Potentially low thiamine (Vitamin B1)	Lot C26022, Best-by Jan 22, 2028; 19 states (CO, UT, WA, OR, PA, RI, MI, CA, TX, IL, GA, NC, SC, FL, MN, NY, OH, WI, ID/MT)	Stop feeding; consult vet for neurological symptoms in cats 21
BD ChloraPrep Clear 1 mL / FREPP Clear 1.5 mL applicators	Potential Aspergillus penicillioides fungal contamination	Nationwide; specific lot numbers not yet publicly available (FDA detail page inaccessible)	Healthcare facilities should verify lot numbers via FDA recall database 20

Still active from prior weeks: Gas-X Extra Strength Softgels (coolant contamination, lots TL8K / YH9X / YH9Y / X78N), Target Up & Up baby wipes (Burkholderia), Prime Food Processing Dried Herring (botulism risk), CDI/Salmonella powdered milk cascade (7 downstream brands). No new additions to any of these in the June 5–12 window.

Disease surveillance

Measles: 2,073 US cases — approaching 2025 full-year record

CDC confirmed 2,073 measles cases across 40 jurisdictions in 2026 as of June 11, up roughly 43 from the June 5 checkpoint. 22 Thirty separate outbreaks have been declared in 2026; 93% of cases (1,929) are outbreak-associated. For context, the full-year 2025 total was 2,288 cases — itself a post-elimination record. By mid-June 2026, this year's count is on a trajectory to exceed that figure. The US recorded 285 measles cases in all of 2024 and 1,274 in 2019.

A structural vulnerability underlies the surge: US kindergarten MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) coverage fell to 92.5% in the 2024–2025 school year, below the 95% threshold needed to sustain herd immunity. 22

Action: Confirm that everyone in your household is up to date on MMR. Children under 12 months old cannot yet receive the vaccine and depend on community protection.

New Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak — 62 cases, source unknown

The FDA has opened a new outbreak investigation for Salmonella Enteritidis infections, with 62 confirmed patients as of June 11. The food source has not been identified; FDA traceback is underway. 23 A separate, previously listed Cyclospora intestinal parasite cluster grew from 7 to 8 confirmed patients, also with no source yet identified. 23 Both investigations are now on the FDA CORE outbreak investigation table.

MMWR: Legionnaires' disease from a vacation rental hot tub

CDC MMWR Issue 22 (June 11) published a western New York investigation linking two confirmed Legionnaires' disease cases in October 2024 to a private hot tub at a short-term vacation rental. Whole genome sequencing confirmed the hot tub as the source: environmental isolates differed by only 2–3 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the patient's clinical isolate. 24

The hot tub tested positive for Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 at 134 to 13,677 MPN/mL across three samples — levels well above safe thresholds. The rental property owner had disinfected the private well with large amounts of chlorine bleach the night before health officials arrived, invalidating the potable water samples (chlorine >10 mg/L). After health authorities ordered the hot tub closed, the owner reopened it twice without authorization; Erie County ultimately invoked public nuisance law to force professional remediation. 24

MMWR authors note that 1 in 7 Legionnaires' patients report an overnight hotel or vacation rental stay in the two weeks before illness, and about half of those used a hot tub. People with underlying conditions — hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or immunosuppression — face the greatest risk.

Action for Airbnb/VRBO travelers: If a rental property has a hot tub, ask the host for its maintenance records. People with chronic conditions may wish to avoid hot tub use at short-term rentals without documented disinfection schedules.

New World screwworm confirmed in Texas

Texas DSHS confirmed June 4 the first US mainland detection of New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax — a parasitic fly that lays eggs in open wounds of warm-blooded animals) since the pest was eradicated from the continental US in 1966. The larval infestation was found in the umbilical area of a three-week-old calf in Zavala County, South Texas. No human infections have been reported. 25

DSHS Chief Deputy Commissioner Imelda Garcia asked all healthcare providers and clinicians to "be on the lookout for NWS larvae infestations in their patients," and to report suspected cases to local health departments. Human infestations are rare but can occur in open wounds, ears, or nasal passages. The screwworm fly has been migrating north through Mexico since November 2024. 25

Adult New World screwworm fly (Cochliomyia hominivorax) with distinctive orange eyes and metallic blue-green body, resting on a leaf — Adult New World screwworm fly. 25

Action: People with open wounds in South Texas should keep them covered outdoors and use EPA-registered insect repellents. Report any unexplained larvae in wounds to a healthcare provider immediately.

Vaccines and health policy

ACIP in legal limbo; childhood schedule in flux

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) — CDC's expert panel that sets the US childhood and adult vaccine schedule — remains paralyzed. A federal court stay issued March 16 by Judge Brian Murphy (US District Court, Massachusetts) blocks ACIP from meeting or making vaccine recommendations. The committee's scheduled June 24–26 meeting still appears on the CDC website, but no agenda has been posted. 26

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. signed a revised ACIP charter on May 19, retaining broad authority over membership. President Trump signed an executive order on May 29 directing CDC and ACIP to use a December 2025 HHS assessment as a "guiding resource" for realigning the childhood vaccine schedule with "peer-developed countries." Medical organizations condemned the order: AMA President Bobby Mukkamala, MD, stated flatly: "There is no credible scientific evidence to support changing the current childhood vaccine schedule." 27

AAP attorney Richard Hughes IV noted the executive order "flies in the face of the judge's order in our case," calling the legal picture "very much a live question." 27 At least 12 states have decoupled their vaccine recommendations from CDC/ACIP, relying instead on the AAP or state health officers. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) published its own independent maternal vaccine schedule on June 10, diverging from CDC by recommending Tdap, RSV, influenza, and COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy. 28

What to do: For vaccine guidance, parents and providers can consult the AAP schedule (aap.org/en/patient-care/immunizations/) or their state health department, which may have adopted independent schedules. Clinical consultations on specific patient situations should not wait for ACIP resolution.

2026–27 COVID vaccine: FDA decision still pending

FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) voted 8 to 0 on May 28 recommending the XFG (KP.2 lineage) monovalent strain for the 2026–27 COVID-19 vaccine season. FDA's final authorization decision remains pending as of June 12. 28 All three manufacturers — Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Novavax-Sanofi — have signaled production readiness; Novavax's protein-based manufacturing is already underway. A separate VRBPAC meeting is scheduled for June 18 to review Moderna's new mRNA influenza vaccine for adults 50 and older — a distinct agenda from the COVID strain decision. 28

Travel health notices

CDC issued one new travel notice this week and made no changes to existing ones.

Destination	Level	Hazard	Key precaution
Yemen (new)	Level 2 — Practice Enhanced Precautions	Malaria — increased cases including in previously low-risk areas	Antimalarial medication; insect precautions 29

All previously active notices remain in effect, including: DRC (Ebola, Level 3), Uganda (Ebola, Level 2), South America (Andes virus, Level 1), French Guiana (chikungunya, Level 2), Mayotte (malaria, Level 2), Hepatitis A in Canada (Level 1), and Diphtheria in Sub-Saharan Africa (Level 1). No World Cup–specific travel notices have been issued by CDC as of June 12. 29

What to do:

Travelers to Yemen: consult a travel medicine provider about antimalarial prophylaxis and use insect repellent / protective clothing.
Travelers to any of the above destinations: check wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices before your trip.
World Cup attendees traveling to Mexico: Mexico has enhanced airport health screening; standard travel health precautions apply.

Cover image: CDC 2026 Ebola affected-area map. U.S. Government / Public Domain.