Measles recently claimed its first U.S. lives of 2026, a fast-moving Ebola outbreak has become the second-largest on record and a lettuce-linked parasite has sickened more than 17,000 Americans. Here are five developments clinical leaders should know:
1. Pennsylvania recorded the nation’s first measles deaths of 2026.
Two unvaccinated Lancaster County, Pa., residents — one an infant, according to NBC News — died of measles-associated illness, the state’s first measles deaths in 35 years, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said Aug. 25. The state has logged more than 390 cases this year.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Gov. Josh Shapiro, D.-Pa., clashed publicly over the outbreak, with Ms. Kennedy calling the governor’s press conference “gaslighting” and Mr. Shapiro accusing the secretary of spreading misinformation that has fueled the outbreak.
2. U.S. confirmed measles cases have hit 2,777, a post-elimination high.
The 2026 tally has surpassed 2025’s 2,289 cases, which included three deaths. Nearly 20% of measles patients are hospitalized, and the disease kills 1 to 3 of every 1,000 people infected, the Pennsylvania health department said. An executive order issued by President Donald Trump Aug. 10 recommended splitting the measles, mumps and rubella shot into three separate vaccines — a move the American Academy of Pediatrics called “not feasible or safe.”
Leaders at seven pediatric systems told Becker’s they will not change their vaccine recommendations.
3. The Congo Ebola outbreak is doubling about every 20 days.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has confirmed 5,105 cases and 2,420 deaths as of Aug. 17, making it the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the country’s history. The Bundibugyo strain reached 2,000 deaths three times faster than the 2014-2016 West African epidemic and is spreading across 54 health zones in six provinces. The World Health Organization released 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine Aug. 17 — 20,000 for a phase 3 trial and 50,000 for front-line and health workers — as spillover reached Uganda, now controlled, and produced one traveler case in France.
4. Cyclosporiasis has sickened more than 17,000 Americans, and most cases are tied to imported lettuce.
The CDC has confirmed 17,180 U.S.-acquired cases across 48 states and the District of Columbia between May 1 and Aug. 24 — up from 1,180 during the same period in 2025. The intestinal parasite has caused 985 hospitalizations and two deaths, with the primary cluster traced to processed iceberg lettuce from central Mexico.
5. Michigan remains the outbreak’s epicenter.
The state has reported 14,277 cyclosporiasis cases, 335 hospitalizations and two deaths as of Aug. 20, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
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