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Expecting the unexpected: the next outbreak will not necessarily look like the last
 

Expecting the unexpected: the next outbreak will not necessarily look like the last

David R Murdoch Sarah Jefferies
New Zealand medical journal, Vol.139(1637), pp.10-13
26/06/2026
:
https://hdl.handle.net/10523/51559
editorial
Two unusual outbreaks in the first half of 2026 have attracted the attention of public health authorities and media alike. Aboard the MV Hondius, a Dutch-flagged expedition vessel returning from South America, a strain of hantavirus produced a cluster of severe illness—a seemingly unusual presentation for a group of viruses not generally associated with outbreaks in cruise ship settings. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a rapidly evolving outbreak of Ebola virus disease caused by Bundibugyo virus crossed into Uganda and prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
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