Global Pulse

分类： health

  • 2,500 dead and rising — UN says DR Congo Ebola outbreak ‘growing exponentially’

    2,500 dead and rising — UN says DR Congo Ebola outbreak ‘growing exponentially’

    An Ebola outbreak raging across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is spreading at an exponential rate, with the official death toll surging past 2,500 and half of those fatalities recorded in just the last 20 days, the United Nations’ senior Ebola response coordinator confirmed Friday.

    This outbreak, the 17th recorded Ebola event in DRC history, is already the deadliest the country has ever faced, and is expanding faster than any previous Ebola outbreak on record. Speaking to reporters via remote connection from Bunia – the outbreak’s epicenter – Julien Harneis, the UN’s top coordinator for the crisis, painted a stark picture of the rapidly worsening situation.

    “The epidemic is spreading widely. It’s now covering an area that is bigger than France…. It is growing faster and wider than the Ebola response,” Harneis said. Experts believe the outbreak began spreading quietly for several weeks before it was officially declared by DRC authorities on May 15, giving the virus a critical head start on containment efforts.

    The virus has taken hold primarily in northern and eastern regions of DRC, where long-standing systemic vulnerabilities have created a perfect environment for unchecked spread: weak central government presence, crumbling and under-resourced health infrastructure, and decades of activity by dozens of armed armed groups that have destabilized communities.

    The international medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) echoed the UN’s alarm Friday, warning the outbreak is accelerating “at an alarming rate.” “This epidemic continues to spread, moving faster than the response can keep up,” MSF president Javid Abdelmoneim said in an official statement.

    The ongoing response effort has faced widespread criticism for its slow rollout and poor coordination, and is further complicated by deep-rooted mistrust of medical authorities among local populations. To date, confirmed cases have been reported across six DRC provinces, with some cases detected near the South Sudan border and a previous cluster in neighboring Uganda. Uganda, which recorded 20 cases and two deaths before containing its outbreak, declared itself Ebola-free last month.

    Complicating response efforts further, the current outbreak is driven by the Bundibugyo Ebola strain, for which no specifically approved vaccine or targeted treatment exists, though multiple clinical trials are currently underway. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Thursday that DRC will receive 70,000 doses of Ervebo, an approved vaccine that has proven highly effective against the more common Zaire Ebola strain.

    Earlier this month, WHO vaccine experts endorsed a full-scale human trial of Ervebo to test whether it provides cross-protection against the Bundibugyo strain. While early data from animal trials suggests the vaccine may offer partial protection, WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier emphasized Friday that “it is not yet known whether Ervebo is protective against the Bundibugyo virus in humans.”

    Bringing the outbreak under control, which spreads through direct contact with infected bodily fluids and causes life-threatening hemorrhagic fever, faces a host of additional barriers. Harneis pointed to widespread insecurity across eastern DRC and a chronically weak public health system as major obstacles.

    “The law and order is undermined, and the basic services, particularly health, have been fragmented,” he said, describing working conditions for frontline responders as “brutal.” Since the outbreak began, 160 healthcare workers have contracted Ebola, and 43 of those workers have died. Frontline teams have also faced repeated targeted attacks on ambulances and response facilities.

    Harneis added that a barely functional banking system has made it difficult to deliver timely wages to response workers, while recent cuts to international funding have reduced the response capacity of humanitarian organizations operating in the region by one third.

    In closing, Harneis issued an urgent call for expanded international support and resources. “If we provide more staffing, if we get more resources into remote areas across … the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, within months we can slow the transmission and move to stopping it,” he said. “If we do not, … then this epidemic will become more deadly. It will spread wider and it risks to spread into neighbouring countries.”

  • Rare disease drug Tavneos recalled in Republic of Ireland

    Rare disease drug Tavneos recalled in Republic of Ireland

    A critical recall of the rare autoimmune disease treatment Tavneos (generic name Avacopan) is now underway across the Republic of Ireland, following a sweeping decision by European regulators to pull the drug from the regional market.

    Manufactured by U.S.-based biotechnology giant Amgen and distributed globally through a network of regional partner pharmaceutical firms, Tavneos is specifically designed to treat adults living with severe, rare autoimmune conditions that trigger dangerous inflammation of blood vessels. Until recently, it had been authorized for use across the European Union, including Ireland.

    The chain of regulatory action began earlier this year, when Japanese pharmaceutical firm Kissei – which holds marketing rights to Tavneos in Japan – published safety data in May covering more than 8,500 Japanese patients treated with the drug since its 2022 launch in the country. The data showed 20 patient deaths among this treated group. To date, regulators have not confirmed whether Tavneos was the direct cause of these fatalities, and Amgen has previously pushed back on causal links, noting that “these figures include cases for which a causal relationship with the product could not be determined.”

    Despite the unresolved connection, European drug regulators moved forward with restrictive action. In July, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the EU’s top drug safety body, issued a formal recommendation to revoke Tavneos’ existing marketing authorization across the bloc. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, finalized and approved that recommendation earlier this August.

    In line with the EU decision, Irish health regulators have moved quickly to implement the recall. Distribution of Tavneos from Irish pharmaceutical wholesalers halted on 11 August, and on Thursday, the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), Ireland’s national drug safety watchdog, issued an official order to recall all remaining wholesale stock of the drug.

    According to reports from Irish public broadcaster RTÉ, around 60 patients in Ireland received Tavneos treatment before the EMA’s recommendation was issued. The HPRA clarified that the drug was only ever prescribed by specialist consultants with specific expertise in managing these rare vascular autoimmune conditions, and many of these clinicians had already begun transitioning patients to alternative treatments ahead of the formal recall.

    For patients currently undergoing treatment with Tavneos, the HPRA issued a clear public advisory: do not discontinue use of the drug without first consulting your treating specialist physician, to avoid dangerous health complications from unmanaged disease.

    The recall is not limited to Ireland. France’s national drug safety agency, ANSM, has announced that a full recall of all existing Tavneos batches across the country will launch on 19 August. Across the English Channel, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) confirmed back in June that it was conducting its own independent review of Tavneos’ benefits and risks, and has not yet issued a final decision. Outlets have contacted the MHRA for additional comment on the agency’s current stance following the EU’s withdrawal of authorization.

  • Tasmanian childcare centre on alert after child treated for tuberculosis, parents contacted

    Tasmanian childcare centre on alert after child treated for tuberculosis, parents contacted

    A northern Tasmanian childcare centre has activated public health protocols after health authorities confirmed a child who attended the facility was treated for tuberculosis, a rare but potentially fatal bacterial infection if left unaddressed.

    Goodstart Early Learning, which operates the Kings Meadow-based centre, was notified of the confirmed case by Tasmanian public health officials last week. According to a company spokesperson, the infected child has not set foot at the centre since mid-July, and also attended a second local childcare facility before the diagnosis.

    While tuberculosis causes roughly 1.3 million deaths globally each year, the disease is extremely uncommon in Australia, with an average annual incidence of just five cases per 100,000 people. The bacterial infection is fully preventable and curable with timely medical intervention, but poses a severe mortality risk to patients who do not receive prompt treatment.

    Following public health guidance, the centre has launched precautionary measures to contain any potential spread. Close contacts of the infected child, including both enrolled children and centre staff, have been prioritized for free testing arranged jointly by Public Health Tasmania and the Launceston General Hospital. The facility has remained open throughout the process, maintaining its usual rigorous hygiene and cleaning protocols to protect visitors and staff.

    In a statement, the Goodstart Early Learning spokesperson confirmed that the centre has followed both public health directives and its own internal infectious disease policies since receiving notification of the case. Centre leadership began reaching out to all parents this week to share full information from health authorities, noting that the overall risk of transmission to most families and educators remains low.

    Parents with any concerns about potential exposure have been urged to reach out to their local general practitioner or call the Tasmanian public health hotline at 180 671 738 for guidance and more information.

  • In Benin, malnutrition and misinformed views contribute to widespread stunting in children

    In Benin, malnutrition and misinformed views contribute to widespread stunting in children

    In the rural commune of N’dali in northern Benin, smallholder farmer Sabi Bera Zakari holds a common but dangerous misperception about childhood malnutrition. While he occasionally worries that his children do not gain enough weight, he does not see stunted growth — impaired height development from chronic poor nutrition — as a problem to address. His view is not an anomaly in this dry, drought-prone region, where decades of efforts to curb stunting have failed to reverse one of the highest prevalence rates on the African continent.

    Development sociologist Boris Gloni, a former representative for The Hunger Project who has worked on anti-hunger initiatives across Benin for years, quickly identified that two of Zakari’s young daughters show clear signs of stunting. For years, Gloni has worked to shift harmful cultural and knowledge gaps around the condition, which the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) reports affects more than 30% of all children under age 5 in Benin — a startling statistic for a nation rich in natural resources with a widespread tradition of small-scale subsistence farming.

    Stunting, defined as height below the average for a child’s age caused by chronic malnutrition, often hides in plain sight: children who experience it may appear outwardly healthy to untrained parents. But public health experts warn that stunting that occurs during a child’s first 1,000 days — from conception to age two — is almost always irreversible, causing permanent damage to cognitive development and long-term physical health that limits opportunities throughout a person’s life.

    Deep-rooted misinformation and cultural norms are major barriers to progress. Gloni notes that many community members incorrectly believe feeding children protein-rich foods like milk and eggs regularly will make them permanently greedy, pushing them to steal to satisfy their cravings. Most households raise goats and chickens not for family consumption, but as a living emergency fund — animals are sold for cash only when a crisis hits, and even eggs are often sold rather than fed to growing children. “Our perception is wrong,” Gloni said. “People don’t have knowledge.”

    Dietary habits worsen the problem, compounded by worsening climate volatility. Most rural families in northern Benin rely heavily on starchy staples such as yams, cassava and maize, with almost no variation to add protein, vitamins or micronutrients. Many women work long hours in their garden plots from dawn to late afternoon, leaving young children without consistent access to food throughout the day, which further erodes nutrition.

    Northern Benin, a region of dry savannah, faces repeated, sporadic drought that disrupts crop and livestock production. In the most severe dry seasons, entire families survive on foraged wild vegetable soup, with almost no nutrient intake. Benin’s government has set a target to reduce national stunting prevalence to below 30% by 2030, but progress so far has been discouraging.

    Community volunteers like Douro Wonkourou Idrissou, a nutrition support worker in N’dali, travel door-to-door to screen children for malnutrition using color-coded measuring tapes that assess wasting by measuring upper arm circumference. While he cannot conduct formal height screenings for stunting, Idrissou says he feels deep sadness when he sees children falling far short of healthy growth markers. He says parents bear some responsibility for poor nutrition outcomes, but also lack the support and knowledge to make changes.

    Rolland Essou, who coordinates The Hunger Project’s work in northern Benin, says that despite years of intervention, stunting rates in the region have stagnated — and some data even shows national rates rising, not falling. This includes after the launch of the World Bank-funded “1,000 Days” program, a pilot initiative run by Benin’s National Agency for Food and Nutrition that began in 2024. The program provides micronutrient supplements for pregnant people and infants, and has established school canteens serving daily hot meals, but these efforts have not yet moved the needle on overall prevalence.

    Essou explains that systemic barriers will keep stunting a major challenge for years to come. Households most affected by childhood malnutrition tend to be led by young, illiterate parents with multiple children to feed, stretching limited resources even thinner. Zakari, for example, could not immediately name the ages of his children, and had to check his national ID to confirm his own age.

    Zakari’s neighbor Fati Aboubacar, a mother of five, says economic constraints make proper nutrition impossible for many families. Her household can only afford to serve eggs once a week. Even families that own livestock often cannot justify using them for food, Aboudou Salamatou, Zakari’s wife, explained: “When a chicken pecked at the dirt near her feet, she said the bird was one of many kept as money ‘in the bank,’ not for eating. Even the eggs the chickens lay may be sold for cash. “We would like to vary our food, but we don’t have the means,” she said. “When we have a little money, we invest it in the field, in health and in other problems.”

    NGO workers say intervention needs to begin even before birth to be effective. Razak Kotchoni, project manager for CASCADE Benin in Borgou, says the same harmful cultural norms that bar children from regular protein consumption also apply to pregnant people. Pregnant women are often discouraged from eating nutrient-dense cornmeal porridge because of the myth that it will cause excessive, uncontrollable hunger. “These standards are contributing factors to malnutrition,” Kotchoni said.

    His organization deploys community facilitators to lead reflective dialogues with elders, parents and other community members to challenge harmful traditional practices. One successful strategy has been training “model mothers” who demonstrate healthy nutrition practices to spread awareness through peer outreach. While some parents now reach out to volunteers like Idrissou when they notice their children are not growing properly, many others remain indifferent to the risk, he says.

    As Benin works toward its 2030 target, public health workers and community volunteers say closing knowledge gaps and addressing deep systemic poverty will be critical to turning the tide on a preventable public health crisis that robs generations of children of healthy development.

  • Congo to receive 70,000 doses of Ervebo Ebola vaccine which has been effective in past outbreaks

    Congo to receive 70,000 doses of Ervebo Ebola vaccine which has been effective in past outbreaks

    BUNIA, Democratic Republic of Congo – The World Health Organization, alongside global health partners, announced Thursday that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will soon receive 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, a move widely regarded as a critical reinforcement for local efforts to curb what health officials have called the fastest-moving Ebola outbreak on record.

    Ervebo, a vaccine that has proven effective at stopping Ebola outbreaks in previous public health emergencies, is formally approved to provide protection against the Zaire ebolavirus – one of the viral species that causes Ebola disease. It has not been authorized for use against the Bundibugyo virus, the specific pathogen driving the current outbreak in eastern DRC.

    In an official statement, WHO noted that while the full extent of Ervebo’s ability to protect against Bundibugyo remains unconfirmed, early findings from laboratory and animal studies indicate the vaccine could offer at least partial immunity against this strain. Of the 70,000 doses being allocated to Congo, 20,000 will be deployed for a Phase 3 clinical trial designed to formally measure how effective Ervebo is against the Bundibugyo virus. The remaining 50,000 doses will be prioritized for frontline medical workers and response teams, under guidance from WHO technical experts.

    As of the latest update, the ongoing outbreak in eastern Congo has recorded 5,208 confirmed cases, with 2,476 recorded deaths. The outbreak is spreading at an unprecedented pace: it has infected and killed more people more rapidly than any previous Ebola outbreak in history, moving roughly three times faster than the 2014-2016 West African Ebola epidemic, which remains the deadliest on record with more than 11,000 fatalities across the region.

    Responders have faced major structural challenges since the outbreak began. No vaccines or therapeutic treatments have ever been formally approved for the rare Bundibugyo virus, leaving response teams with few evidence-based tools to slow transmission. Further complicating containment efforts, the majority of new confirmed cases are being detected in communities that were not under active public health surveillance, a sign that the virus has spread widely and left contact tracing teams scrambling to contain undetected chains of transmission.

  • Vaccine breakthrough stops cancer returning in trial

    Vaccine breakthrough stops cancer returning in trial

    A groundbreaking clinical trial has delivered encouraging early results for a novel personalized cancer vaccine, marking what experts describe as a potential turning point in the global fight against skin cancer. Developed in a collaborative partnership between pharmaceutical giants Merck & Co. (known as MSD outside the United States) and biotechnology leader Moderna, the experimental treatment combines the newly developed vaccine, branded Intismeran, with Keytruda – a widely used existing immunotherapy drug for cancer care.

    The phase three clinical trial enrolled over 1,000 patients diagnosed with high-risk melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer. All participants underwent surgical removal of their tumors before receiving either the combined vaccine-drug treatment or Keytruda as a standalone therapy. Early data released by the two companies shows that the combination therapy significantly extended cancer-free survival periods for patients and cut the risk of melanoma spreading to distant organs compared to single-drug treatment.

    Unlike traditional cancer treatments, this new therapy leverages the same mRNA technology that powered many widely used COVID-19 vaccines to create a one-of-a-kind treatment tailored to each patient. To develop the personalized jab, scientists first sequence the DNA of a small sample taken from the patient’s tumor during surgery. This genetic data allows them to design a vaccine that targets unique mutations present in the patient’s cancer cells, training the immune system to specifically identify and attack any remaining cancer cells that may cause recurrence.

    Clinical and public health leaders have welcomed the early findings, while urging caution as the full trial data has not yet been published or subjected to independent peer review. Professor Peter Johnson, National Clinical Director for Cancer at NHS England, called the development an exciting advance in immuno-oncology. “Most existing cancer immunotherapies work by broadly freeing up the immune system to target cancer, but this new approach directly directs the immune system to the patient’s unique tumor,” Johnson explained in an interview with the BBC’s Today Programme. He added that the NHS is already making preparations to roll out this new class of treatment to patients once it receives regulatory approval.

    Dr. Lennard Lee, a consultant medical oncologist and associate professor at the University of Oxford, noted that the results carry implications far beyond melanoma treatment. “This trial provides the first large-scale proof of principle that personalized cancer vaccines actually work,” Lee said. Cancer Research UK’s head of prevention and early detection, Dr. Talisia Quallo, echoed the cautious optimism, stating that “this research shows real promise, but the interim data must undergo full independent review before we can draw definitive conclusions. Continued investment in this line of research is critical to expanding access to personalized treatment that helps more cancer patients live longer, higher-quality lives.”

    Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel described the trial outcome as a “pivotal moment” for cancer research worldwide. Beyond melanoma, the two companies are already running clinical trials for similar personalized mRNA vaccines targeting three other common cancer types: lung, bladder, and kidney cancer. Following the announcement of the early results, share prices for both Moderna and Merck rose sharply in global markets.

    Even if the trial’s positive results hold up through full review, the treatment still faces multiple regulatory and access hurdles. It must first receive formal approval from global medical regulators, followed by a separate approval process before it can be made routinely available to patients through the UK’s National Health Service. Full detailed results from the phase three trial are scheduled to be presented at an international medical conference in October this year.

  • Aged care program for 830,000 Australians to be extended

    Aged care program for 830,000 Australians to be extended

    After weeks of uncertainty over its future that threatened continuity of care for hundreds of thousands of older Australians, the Albanese federal government has confirmed it will extend the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) through June 2029, and will keep the program separate from the broader Support At Home initiative long-term. The announcement was made jointly Thursday by federal Health Minister Mark Butler and Aged Care Minister Sam Rae, bringing much-needed clarity to service providers and the 830,000 senior Australians who rely on the CHSP for daily living support.

    The CHSP is a subsidized, government-contracted service that caters to seniors who need partial assistance to remain living independently in their own homes. It covers essential daily support ranging from domestic cleaning and grocery shopping to medical transport and community social connection activities. Senator Rae emphasized that for most seniors beginning their journey into aged care support, the CHSP acts as a critical first entry point into the national aged care system.

    “Providers told us they needed certainty. And, importantly, all the people told us that they needed continuity of care,” Senator Rae said of the decision to extend funding and lock in the program’s independent status beyond 2029. Prior to the announcement, widespread uncertainty about a potential full merger into the Support At Home program had pushed a number of providers – including multiple local councils across the country – to begin withdrawing from the CHSP. Around 1,300 providers currently deliver CHSP services across Australia, with nearly 40 percent of program clients residing in regional and rural areas outside major metropolitan centers.

    The federal government plans to open a new round of public and sector consultation during the extended funding period to refine the CHSP’s long-term operating framework, following confirmation it will remain separate from Support At Home. Industry peak body Ageing Australia quickly welcomed the announcement, with chief executive Tom Symondson noting that the removal of uncertainty would prevent widespread service closures and cuts that many providers had already begun planning for.

    “Without it, many have been forced to consider closure or service reductions. I hope that much of that can be avoided with today’s announcement,” Symondson said. He added that the extension period must be used to address longstanding flaws in the program, including outdated contracts and insufficient funding levels that have left many communities without adequate support. “It’s critical that we use this time to look at existing contracts and make sure they’re sufficient to provide the support needed for local communities. Many are outdated with woefully inadequate funding to deliver for the needs of the community, which must be urgently addressed,” he said.

    Alongside the CHSP extension announcement, Senator Rae also defended the federal government’s controversial integrated assessment tool, an algorithm-driven decision-making system that has faced crossbench opposition and passed a disapproval motion in the Senate in recent months. Rae argued that the tool, which has been added to the national aged care assessment system, delivers more equitable and efficient assessment outcomes, and has successfully reduced wait times and improved accuracy for applicants. The government has since introduced reforms to give seniors the right to appeal algorithm-generated decisions to a human reviewer, and Rae acknowledged further improvements can be made to the prioritization process.

    While Rae noted that the broader single assessment system that includes the tool was a formal recommendation of the aged care royal commission, he confirmed the algorithmic tool itself was never explicitly recommended by the royal commission inquiry.

  • ‘Breakthrough’ mRNA cancer drug curbs melanoma in large trial

    ‘Breakthrough’ mRNA cancer drug curbs melanoma in large trial

    In a transformative development for cancer care, pharmaceutical firms Merck and Moderna announced Wednesday that their personalized messenger RNA (mRNA)-based cancer therapy delivered promising positive results in a large-scale late-stage clinical trial, successfully reducing the recurrence of melanoma. The breakthrough finding has sent shockwaves through the global medical and financial communities, pushing Moderna’s share price up 145% to $154 and lifting Merck’s stock by more than 12% to $152.

    The experimental treatment, named intismeran autogene, leverages the same foundational mRNA technology that powered the development of highly effective Covid-19 vaccines nearly a decade after the platform was first mainstreamed by the pandemic. While researchers have spent decades working to adapt mRNA technology for cancer treatment, this trial marks the first time an mRNA-based cancer drug has delivered positive outcomes in a large, phase-three level clinical study.

    “Today marks an extraordinary milestone for Moderna, for mRNA science and, most importantly, for patients with cancer,” Moderna Chief Executive Stephane Bancel emphasized in an official statement.

    The roughly one-year trial enrolled 1,137 participants who had undergone surgical removal of melanoma tumors. Patients were split randomly into two groups: two-thirds received the new personalized mRNA therapy in combination with pembrolizumab, the current gold-standard treatment for melanoma, while the remaining third received only pembrolizumab. The companies confirmed they will unveil full trial data at an upcoming international oncology conference and have already begun preparing regulatory submissions to seek formal approval for the treatment.

    Independent oncology experts have welcomed the results as a watershed moment for cancer immunotherapy. Lennard Lee, an oncologist and assistant professor at the University of Oxford who was not involved in the trial, called the outcome “very encouraging” and noted that the full dataset is now eagerly anticipated by the global research community.

    Marco Gerlinger, a professor of oncology at London’s Barts Cancer Institute, echoed the praise, pointing out that the results do more than benefit melanoma patients – they serve as long-awaited “proof of principle that personalised cancer vaccines work.” “I think it is fair to call it a breakthrough in the development of new cancer immunotherapies,” Gerlinger said, while adding that the initial press announcement lacked granular full-trial details that will be critical for further assessment.

    Unlike traditional one-size-fits-all cancer treatments, the personalized mRNA therapy works by first collecting a tissue sample from a patient’s tumor, mapping its unique genetic mutational “fingerprint,” then designing a custom mRNA treatment targeted to that specific signature. Similar to Covid-19 mRNA vaccines, the treatment delivers synthetic molecular instructions wrapped in microscopic lipid bubbles that enter the body’s cells and trigger them to produce specific targets that train the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells.

    First conceptualized decades ago, mRNA technology rose to global prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic, when Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech rolled out highly effective vaccines that dramatically reduced rates of severe illness and death from the virus. Since then, researchers have raced to adapt the platform to a wide range of other diseases, with cancer being the most high-priority area of research.

    Melanoma is among the most aggressive forms of skin cancer, with more than 330,000 new cases diagnosed across the globe in 2022 alone. Looking ahead, Bancel confirmed that the two companies will continue expanding research into intismeran autogene, testing it in combination with pembrolizumab and other existing anti-cancer therapies, as well as a standalone treatment, across a wide range of tumor types and disease stages. Upcoming trials will explore the therapy’s effectiveness for lung, bladder, and kidney cancers in addition to melanoma, opening the door for a potential revolution in personalized cancer care.

  • Trump nominates aide Heidi Overton to lead US Food and Drug Administration

    Trump nominates aide Heidi Overton to lead US Food and Drug Administration

    Former U.S. President Donald Trump has selected Dr. Heidi Overton, a senior domestic policy advisor serving in his White House, as his nominee to head the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). If the U.S. Senate votes to confirm her appointment, Overton will step into the role vacated by former FDA commissioner Marty Makary, who resigned from the post in May following public disagreements with the White House over the public safety risks of flavored vaping products.

    In a public post shared to his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, Trump lavished praise on his nominee, calling Overton a “rockstar” within his administration. He emphasized that she has built a reputation for tackling the nation’s most intractable policy challenges and delivering practical solutions aligned with the administration’s priorities for the country.

    Overton, who regularly briefs the president on domestic health policy matters, made headlines earlier this month during an Oval Office announcement focused on rolling back the number of mandatory childhood vaccinations. During that event, she delivered sharp criticism of so-called “blue states” led by Democratic governors and legislatures, urging these jurisdictions to adopt the White House’s new framework, which she described as the “gold standard” for vaccination policy.

    Should she secure confirmation, Overton will inherit a broad set of core responsibilities at the FDA, ranging from verifying the safety and effectiveness of all prescription medications sold in the U.S. to overseeing federal regulation of tobacco and nicotine products. Like most senior health officials in the second Trump administration, Overton is a staunch ally of the White House’s “Make America Healthy Again” policy movement.

    Before joining the administration, Overton served as chief policy officer at the America First Policy Institute, a conservative Washington D.C.-based think tank closely aligned with Trump’s policy agenda. A well-known opponent of abortion rights, she has previously labeled abortion “corrosive” to women’s health and has repeatedly called on the FDA to tighten restrictions and crack down on medication abortion access.

    Continuing his endorsement on Truth Social, Trump argued that Overton’s leadership is urgently needed at the agency to maintain the United States’ global position as a leader in scientific discovery and medical innovation. He added that Overton is “smart and respected by all” and that her tenure at the FDA would continue the administration’s commitment to putting “America First” and building a healthier nation.

    Industry and political sources familiar with the selection process have confirmed that Overton is Trump’s third pick for the FDA commissioner role, after the president’s first two choices — acting FDA head Kyle Diamantas and former Republican Congressman Brad Wenstrup — withdrew from consideration. Her nomination comes at a fraught moment for federal public health policy: the administration is already facing widespread criticism over its slow response to a national cyclospora parasite outbreak, and conservative activists are ramping up pressure on the FDA to restrict access to abortion medications.

    A native of the southwest, Overton earned her medical degree from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and went on to complete postgraduate public health training at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

  • Lindsay Clancy’s trial put postpartum psychosis in the spotlight. Experts want progress to follow

    Lindsay Clancy’s trial put postpartum psychosis in the spotlight. Experts want progress to follow

    As the high-profile trial of Massachusetts mother Lindsay Clancy enters its fourth week, the horrific tragedy at the center of the case has dragged a little-discussed, life-threatening maternal mental health condition into the national spotlight: postpartum psychosis. The case, which has sparked urgent conversations about gaps in maternal mental health care, is renewing calls to formally classify the condition as a distinct disorder in American psychiatry’s official diagnostic handbook.

    Clancy, who admitted to killing her three young children — 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan — in January 2023, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder. Her legal team argues that she was incapacitated by severe postpartum psychosis triggered after the birth of her third child, a condition that left her grappling with debilitating hallucinations and delusions. One month before the killings, Clancy explicitly told her mother Paula Musgrove and then-husband Patrick Clancy that she was experiencing intrusive thoughts of harming her children. Musgrove testified this week that her daughter repeatedly insisted the disturbing thoughts were not her own, saying “This isn’t me, I’ve never been like this before” — a claim Musgrove confirmed aligned with Clancy’s prior behavior.

    Clinical and forensic psychologist Paul Zeizel testified Wednesday that Clancy’s condition left her unable to recognize the wrongfulness of her actions or adjust her behavior to comply with the law. Prosecutors, however, argue the killings were a premeditated, intentional act. What is not debated by medical experts is the dangerous nature of postpartum psychosis, which is classified as an urgent medical emergency. Symptoms of the condition include rapid-onset mania, depression, hallucinations, and fixed false delusions that pull patients completely out of touch with reality. Experts note the condition has a distinct “waxing and waning” pattern that can lull loved ones into a false sense of security: Patrick Clancy testified that on the day of the killings, his ex-wife appeared to be having one of her best days, playing outside with the children to build a snowman. Hours later, when he returned home from picking up dinner, he found his children dead and Clancy gravely injured from a suicide attempt.

    That seemingly sudden shift is a classic hallmark of the condition, explained Jennifer Payne, a reproductive psychiatry expert at the University of Virginia. “A woman can appear fine one minute and be really ill a little bit later,” Payne said. While the exact causes of postpartum psychosis remain under-researched, experts have linked it to dramatic hormonal shifts after childbirth and a history of prior mental health conditions. In rare severe cases, between 1% and 4% of experiences with the condition result in harm or death to children or the mother, according to existing research.

    The biggest barrier to better awareness, screening, and treatment, patients and providers agree, is that postpartum psychosis is not formally recognized as a distinct disorder in the American Psychiatric Association’s *Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)* — the definitive reference guide used by clinicians, medical schools, and insurance providers across the U.S. Advocates like Veerle Bergink, professor of psychiatry and director of the Mount Sinai Women’s Mental Health Center, have spent years pushing for the condition’s inclusion, arguing that formal classification is the foundational step to advancing care.

    “You can only investigate and talk about the disease if you give the disease a name, and if it has criteria,” Bergink explained. Without formal listing in the DSM-5, the condition is often omitted from medical school curricula, fails to attract research funding, lacks a standard insurance billing code, and leaves patients without a clear pathway to care. For Meghan Cliffel, a postpartum psychosis survivor who experienced rapid-onset hallucinations and delusions eight months after giving birth to her second daughter in 2015, this lack of recognition feels like deliberate erasure.

    Clifel recalled that within 24 hours of her first symptoms, she was handcuffed to a gurney and admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where she spent 12 days receiving treatment. She recovered with a multi-pronged care plan including therapy and lithium, and later safely had a third child by starting prophylactic lithium treatment immediately after birth. Even so, her road to recovery was marked by uncertainty: unlike common conditions such as breast cancer, which offer clear, step-by-step care pathways, postpartum psychosis leaves patients fumbling for support in the dark, she said.

    Calling the lack of DSM-5 classification “bananas”, Cliffel said the Clancy trial is a critical turning point for the maternal mental health community. “We cannot be surprised when tragedy happens, and instead, we can proactively build to care for mothers and families,” she said. Experts stress that postpartum psychosis is a highly treatable condition: common interventions include mood stabilizers like lithium, antipsychotic medications, electroconvulsive therapy, and inpatient psychiatric care, and most patients fully recover with timely, appropriate intervention. Advocates now hope the attention from the Clancy trial will accelerate efforts to formalize the condition’s recognition, building a standardized care system that catches symptoms early and prevents future tragedies.