The Ebola virus, especially the Bundibugyo strain, the current variant in the active outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda in Central Africa, is a serious killer. As of June 21, 2026, there were almost a thousand cases and at least 250 deaths from this Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak. This rare strain has a fatality rate between 25 percent and 90 percent, compared to the SARS-CoV-2 virus of COVID-19 fatality rate of 0.5 percent to 1 percent.
While Ebola is vastly more deadly than COVID, which is more rapidly transmitted than Ebola, this outbreak is primarily contained in sub-Saharan Africa, while the highly infectious COVID-19 has devastated 229 countries and territories around the globe. There were 704.7 million cases of confirmed COVID-19 and 7.1 million deaths, but the WHO estimated the actual toll to be between 15 and 30 million worldwide due to “indirect and unrecorded excess mortality.”
Ebola instills a greater fear among people because of its high fatality rate, and the fact that there is currently no vaccine against the Bundibugyo virus.
This, once again, highlights the life-saving value of vaccines, which three anti-vax radio hosts in the United States had minimized and declared useless and dangerous during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, until they themselves were all infected and died of COVID-19. On their deathbed, they were apologizing to the millions of their audience, admonishing them to get vaccinated. Their misguided anti-vax stand and pronouncements had surely caused countless COVID infections and deaths. Misinformation could, indeed, be deadly, deadlier than the virus itself.
While there is no confirmed Ebola within the United States and in the Philippines as of this writing, we have to be well-informed and vigilant nonetheless, especially about travel to those cities affected by the outbreak.
RPT: “Federal health agencies have established proactive monitoring and travel restrictions. For example, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the CDC have restricted the entry of non-citizens and lawful permanent residents who have been in areas with active outbreaks—such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or Uganda—within the last 21 days.”
The current globally available vaccines like Ervebo (Merck) and Zabdeno/Mvabea (Johnson & Johnson) are uniquely designed for the more common Zaire ebolavirus species, responsible for the Ebola outbreak in 2014-2016, the largest in history, where 11,325 died among the 28,646 cases, a case fatality rate of 39.5 percent.
RPT: ‘Health authorities and scientists are fast-tracking new tools to combat the Bundibugyo outbreak:
- rVSV Platform Candidate: The World Health Organization (WHO) considers a new single-dose shot using the same platform as Ervebo to be the most promising candidate.
- Moderna mRNA Vaccine: Development is underway on an mRNA-based candidate targeting the surface proteins of the Bundibugyo virus.
- Timeline: The Africa CDC estimates that a targeted vaccine could be ready for human clinical trials in the affected regions toward the end of 2026.
There is no question that vaccines will help contain this outbreak and save lives.
Because there is no vaccine or specific antiviral cure for this strain, medical teams on the ground are relying strictly on aggressive supportive care—such as fluid replacement—to lower mortality rates, alongside standard isolation and contact-tracing protocols.”
Hopefully, the Ebola virus could be contained where it is endemic right now and not become another pandemic.
If Ebola invades our shores, God forbid, I pray that we (our government and our people) would not sacrifice medical science in favor of civil rights and behave as unwisely and irresponsibly as many of us did during the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing to the devastating death rates.
Creatine: safe?
Use of the creatine supplement appears to be trending. Creatine is a natural compound made from amino acids (building blocks of protein) that supplies energy to body cells. About 95 percent of the body’s creatine is stored in skeletal muscles to fuel high-intensity physical activities. The rest is in the brain, liver, kidneys, and other tissues.
The body naturally produces about half of the daily creatine needs in the liver and kidneys, and the other half comes from animal-based foods like red meat and fish. Creatine enhances athletic performance, improves muscle recovery, reduces muscle damage, provides bone support, increases anabolic hormones, and also benefits cognitive function.
Creatine is considered generally safe and is sold as an over-the-counter drug. It comes in powder, chewables, and pills. The popular Collagen Peptides (Amino acid) supplement does not contain creatine.
Since creatine supplements have potential adverse side effects, do not take them without first consulting your physician.
Caution: Dental implant
Dental implants are highly advertised, confusingly suggesting it is the best solution for missing or damaged teeth. In this era of tissue preservation in all forms of surgical management, preserving teeth as long as possible is naturally best. Removing teeth and doing dental implants without considering other simpler and safer solutions is reckless, because dental implants have potentially severe, even life-threatening, complications.
Dental implants are artificial tooth roots, typically made of titanium, that are surgically drilled into the jawbone. Since our mouth is full of bacteria, the potential complications include infection of the gums and the bones, nerve injury with numbness and tingling, maxillary sinus (behind the nose) perforation for upper jaw implants, causing cavernous sinus thrombosis in the brain area, and mechanical issues like loose or fractured screws.
The cost of a dental implant per tooth is about $1100 to $2300 in the Philippines and ranges between $3,000 and $6000 in the United States, prompting Americans to travel to Cebu or Manila for dental implants, especially for multiple teeth. The savings more than cover the expenses for airfare, hotel, food, Grab (Uber, Lyft, inDrive), and, plus a bonus, a vacation in pristine beach resorts.
The rate of infection in dental implants ranges between 5 and 10 percent, which is medically too high. Severe bone degradation affects 10 to 20 percent of patients in the long term. Death from a dental implant is rare.
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Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, Health Advocate, medical missionary, newspaper columnist, and Chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the United States. He is a decorated recipient of the Indiana Sagamore of the Wabash Award in 1995, presented by then Indiana Governor, US Senator, and later a presidential candidate, Evan Bayh. Other Sagamore past awardees include President Harry S. Truman, President George HW Bush, Astronaut Gus Grissom, pugilist Muhammad Ali, distinguished educators, renowned scientists, etc. (Wikipedia). Websites: FUN8888.com, Today.SPSAtoday.com, and philipSchua.com. On Amazon.com, search for “Where is My America?” Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com
