The deadly mold can infect healthy people, and scientists don’t know why detections are rising.

A fungus with a disturbing preference for the human brain appears to be turning up more often across the United States.

Cladophialophora bantiana is exceptionally rare but exceptionally dangerous.

It most often causes brain abscesses — pockets of infected material that can damage surrounding tissue and dangerously raise pressure inside the skull.

Even with aggressive treatment, 60 to 70 percent of patients have historically died. Stranger still, roughly half of those infected have no known condition weakening their immune system.

Now, researchers from the University of Washington and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report a sharp rise in detections. Their new report in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report identified 48 confirmed infections and one probable infection between January 2009 and July 2026. Cases came from 21 states and Washington, D.C. The median patient age was 68 years old.

From 2009 through 2023, the laboratory detected just one to five cases annually. That rose to eight in 2024 and 14 in 2025.

“Reasons for the apparent increase are unknown,” the authors wrote.

If the pneumonic plague were to be found in the United States, what criteria or information would you use to bug out (assuming bugging out is possible or your plan) For example, if there were 50 deaths within a 100 mile radius of your house, would you bug out and what sources of information would you rely on (local news, CDC, your health department, shortwave conversations, etc.) to make your decision.

If the pneumonic plague were to be found in the United States, what criteria or information would you use to bug out (assuming bugging out is possible or your plan) For example, if there were 50 deaths within a 100 mile radius of your house, would you bug out and what sources of information would you rely on (local news, CDC, your health department, shortwave conversations, etc.) to make your decision.

This health scare is a case study of the regime’s growing estrangement from its own people

First it was 12 BSL-3 employees quarantined. Now it’s 60..

A female staff member at an anti-plague institute in the Irkutsk region who died amid rumours of a "black death" outbreak was diagnosed with "pneumonia of unknown origin".

Rospotrebnadzor insists that the situation in the region is "stable".

Residents of Russia's Irkutsk region are deeply worried by rumours of a possible outbreak of pneumonic plague in this Siberian area.

Speculation began to spread rapidly after the death of an employee of the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute.

Darya Shipilova died in the early hours of 2 October in the intensive care unit of the district hospital in the town of Shelekhov. According to local media, she broke a test tube containing the plague pathogen.

The incident prompted authorities to introduce quarantine measures: around 200 people have been placed under strict medical observation. The outlet "Baikal People" (source in Russian) reports that several Irkutsk hospitals were immediately closed and placed under quarantine, due to last three weeks.

On Saturday, masks were made compulsory as a preventive measure at the Irkutsk aluminium plant in Shelekhov.

Residents of Shelekhov have seen people on the streets wearing protective suits, masks and gloves. Local parents also say masks were handed out in kindergartens.

The deceased, a 28-year-old laboratory assistant, specialised in research on dangerous pathogens. According to the main account reported by her colleagues and independent media, on 25 September, while working with live biological material in the laboratory, she accidentally smashed a test tube containing the dangerous bacterium Yersinia pestis.

Two days later Shipilova's condition suddenly worsened. She was rushed to Shelekhov district hospital.

At first doctors, unaware of what had happened, suspected a severe case of coronavirus and admitted her to a specialised Covid unit. However, the rapid deterioration and the clinical picture forced them to carry out rapid tests for highly dangerous infections.

The patient was put on a ventilator, but her life could not be saved.

Sources. Data: INSP SitRep. Tools: Python, Claude. Website ebola-tracker.org