11 October 2026
Kenya's Ministry of Health said on 11 October 2026 that it had not recorded any new Ebola case since its first patient died on October 5.
Of 293 samples tested from 289 alerts, only the confirmed case was positive.
All 122 contacts of the patient have been identified; 108 are in quarantine and none has shown symptoms.
The patient, a Kenyan who travelled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo through Uganda, was confirmed on October 6 as Kenya's first imported case.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said Kenya has screened 667,675 travellers at 26 points of entry.
Kenya is the fourth country to record a case linked to the eastern Congo outbreak.
Samples tested:
293
Contacts in quarantine:
108 of 122
Travellers screened:
667,675
Why it matters for exams: Ebola's cross-border spread and contact tracing are core public-health topics in world-affairs papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Contact tracing Contact tracing — Identifying and monitoring people who were exposed to an infected person.
Imported case Imported case — An infection acquired outside the country where it is detected.
11 October 2026
Medical equipment worth Rs 450 crore, including ventilators, dialysis machines, digital X-ray machines and mammography machines, is lying unused in Kerala's government hospitals, including medical colleges.
The finding is in a report submitted to the government by Health Department Principal Secretary Dr Sharmila Mary Joseph, covering equipment procured over the past 10 years.
The inquiry was ordered by Health Minister K. Muraleedharan after several complaints; the covers of some machines had not even been opened.
Officials cited incomplete hospital buildings and a shortage of staff to operate the machines.
The minister said a detailed investigation would follow and action would be taken.
Value of unused equipment:
Rs 450 crore
Period of procurement covered:
past 10 years
Why it matters for exams: Public health spending, procurement and accountability in Kerala's health system are recurring governance topics.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
KMSCL Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd — The State company that buys medicines and equipment for government hospitals.
11 October 2026
The Lancet Commission on 21st Century Global Threats to Health has identified 17 major threats to human health over the next 75 years. It said malicious use of AI, including bioweapons, and nuclear conflict with nuclear famine carry risks of extinction, though their likelihood remains low. Other threats include air pollution, antimicrobial resistance, childhood malnutrition, climate breakdown and declining overseas aid. The commission measured each threat in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Limiting global heating to about 1.8C rather than 4.4C could prevent 1.89bn years of healthy life being lost. Prof Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, co-chairs the commission, whose findings were to be shared at the World Health Summit in Berlin on Sunday, 11 October 2026.
Threats identified:
17
Time horizon:
75 years
Healthy life-years saved at 1.8C vs 4.4C:
1.89bn
Why it matters for exams: Global health reports, DALYs and links between climate, AI and health are tested in UPSC-type questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
DALY Disability-adjusted life year — One DALY is one lost year of healthy life, counting both early death and years lived with illness or disability.
11 October 2026
The Union Health Ministry announced on 11 October 2026 that Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda would lay the foundation stone of the ICMR Centre for High Altitude Medicine and Public Health Research (ICMR-CHAMP) at Keylong on 12 October 2026. Keylong is in Lahaul & Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh. It will be ICMR's first dedicated centre for high-altitude medicine and public health research. Its mandate covers high-altitude physiology and acclimatisation, mountain medicine, climate-sensitive and emerging diseases, and disaster medicine. The Indian Council of Medical Research is setting it up under the Department of Health Research, with collaboration planned with the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS).
Centre:
ICMR-CHAMP
Location:
Keylong, Lahaul & Spiti, Himachal Pradesh
Why it matters for exams: New national health research institutions and their locations are common questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
ICMR Indian Council of Medical Research — India's apex body for biomedical research, under the Department of Health Research.
11 October 2026
Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya led the 94th edition of Fit India Sundays on Cycle in Varanasi on 11 October 2026.
The theme was 'Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat'; over 500 cyclists and more than 1,000 participants took part.
The event began at 6:00 AM at Namo Ghat, and the 5.5-km cycle rally went from Namo Ghat to Sampurnanand Sanskrit University.
Participants took the Nasha Mukt Bharat pledge.
Medallists from the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games were felicitated: Prachi Chaudhary (bronze, women's 400m), Parul Chaudhary (double bronze, 3000m steeplechase and 5000m), Jay Kumar (relay silver and bronze) and Raj Kumar Pal (gold with the men's hockey team).
Edition:
94th
Cycle rally:
5.5 km, Namo Ghat to Sampurnanand Sanskrit University
Participants:
Over 500 cyclists, more than 1,000 participants
Why it matters for exams: The Fit India Movement, anti-drug campaigns and India's 2026 Asian Games medallists are likely sports and social-issue questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
10 October 2026
Women and Child Development Minister Bindu Krishna inaugurated the Ernakulam district launch of 'Ammaykkoppam', a Women and Child Development Department project to identify women with postpartum depression through an online survey and ensure them mental health support and care. The project has been started as a pilot, with the aim of keeping both mother and child safe, and is to be extended across the State if it succeeds. The Minister said postpartum depression is not the mother's fault and arises from physical and mental changes, including hormonal changes. She said the State government would soon announce a women's policy and implement it after discussions with stakeholders.
Scheme:
Ammaykkoppam
Department:
Women and Child Development
Pilot district launch:
Ernakulam
Why it matters for exams: New State welfare schemes, their names and target groups are standard Kerala PSC questions.
Kerala PSC
In plain words
Postpartum depression Depression after childbirth — A mood disorder some mothers develop after delivery; the pilot screens for it through an online survey.
10 October 2026
Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan addressed the Second Convocation of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Deoghar, Jharkhand, on 10 October 2026.
He noted that women made up 132 of the 173 graduating students.
He said the number of medical colleges in India has risen from 387 before 2014 to 846.
He described the convocation as a celebration of the aspirations of the Santhal Pargana region and called AIIMS Deoghar a symbol of balanced and inclusive development.
He recalled Bhagwan Birsa Munda, Sidho-Kanhu and Tilka Manjhi, and urged graduates to serve villages and tribal communities.
Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar and Union Minister of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav attended.
Graduates:
173, of whom 132 women
Medical colleges (before 2014 → now):
387 → 846
Why it matters for exams: The growth in medical colleges and the AIIMS network, and tribal icons of Jharkhand, are common exam topics.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
AIIMS All India Institute of Medical Sciences — Autonomous medical institutes of national importance; the first was set up in New Delhi in 1956.
10 October 2026
Health Minister K. Muraleedharan said on Saturday, 10 October, that the government will create 1,800 doctor posts, including specialist positions, in government hospitals.
The government will also fill 500 vacancies of nurses and pharmacists.
A letter has been sent on this to the Chief Minister, who holds the Finance portfolio.
He was inaugurating construction of primary health centre buildings at Chottanikkara, Thottur and Koovappady as part of the government's 100-day action programme.
All district hospitals will be made capable of working round the clock once enough doctors are available, he said.
Doctor posts to be created:
1,800
Nurse and pharmacist vacancies to be filled:
500
PHC buildings begun at:
Chottanikkara, Thottur, Koovappady
Why it matters for exams: Public health staffing and the State's 100-day action programme are recurring Kerala governance topics.
Kerala PSC
10 October 2026
The Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd (KMSCL) has begun procuring medicines directly from manufacturers instead of through intermediaries.
The step followed a directive of Health Minister K. Muraleedharan amid medicine shortages in government hospitals.
A 10 ml vial of insulin that cost ₹99.60 will now be bought at ₹73; a four-month supply at this rate saves about ₹18.50 crore.
Erythropoietin injections, earlier sourced through agents at ₹110 a dose, will now cost ₹80.
Manufacturers agreed to the lower prices on condition that KMSCL pays within two months of supply, which KMSCL accepted.
KMSCL plans to extend direct purchase to other medicines in short supply.
Insulin vial (10 ml), old price:
₹99.60
Insulin vial, new price:
₹73
Saving on four-month insulin supply:
₹18.50 crore
Erythropoietin per dose:
₹110 → ₹80
Payment window accepted:
Within two months
Why it matters for exams: Tests knowledge of Kerala's central drug procurement agency and how public procurement costs are reduced.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
KMSCL Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd — The State agency that buys and distributes medicines and equipment for Kerala's government hospitals.
Erythropoietin Erythropoietin (EPO) — A hormone injection that stimulates red blood cell production, used in kidney disease and during cancer treatment.
10 October 2026
Chief Minister Manik Saha said road accidents and fatalities in Tripura have fallen significantly, crediting joint work by the Transport and Police Departments. He spoke at an event at the Police Ground in A.D. Nagar, Agartala, where road safety equipment was distributed under the Road Safety Fund. He highlighted the PM RAHAT scheme, which offers a reward of up to Rs. 25,000 to Good Samaritans who help accident victims. He also noted cashless treatment of up to Rs. 1.5 lakh under Ayushman Bharat and CM-JAY. Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury and officiating Director General of Police G.S. Rao attended.
Good Samaritan reward:
up to Rs. 25,000
Cashless treatment:
up to Rs. 1.5 lakh
Scheme:
PM RAHAT
Fund:
Road Safety Fund
Why it matters for exams: Central and state schemes for accident victims, such as PM RAHAT, are a recurring scheme-based question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
10 October 2026
Dr Sanjeeb Kumar Sahoo and Dr Amaresh Chandra Panda of the BRIC-Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar, feature in the world's Top 2% scientists list for 2026.
The list is compiled by Stanford University and published by Elsevier.
Both scientists have appeared on the list every year from 2019 to 2026, eight consecutive years.
Dr Sahoo, in Clinical Medicine with the sub-field Pharmacology and Pharmacy, is ranked 302 of 166,116 authors in his sub-field and 51,868 globally.
Dr Panda, in Biomedical Research with the sub-field Developmental Biology, is ranked 908 of 167,121 authors in his sub-field and 41,810 globally.
The 2026 edition of the list includes 6,954 Indian researchers.
Rankings use a composite score built from total citations, the h-index and the hm-index, and exclude self-citations.
The underlying data is the August 2026 update prepared by John P. A. Ioannidis and published in the Elsevier Data Repository.
Institute:
BRIC-Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar
Scientists named:
Dr Sanjeeb Kumar Sahoo and Dr Amaresh Chandra Panda
List compiled and published by:
Stanford University; published by Elsevier
Indian researchers in the 2026 list:
6,954
Consecutive years listed:
2019 to 2026, eight years
Why it matters for exams: The Stanford-Elsevier Top 2% scientists list and the institutes whose researchers appear on it are common questions on research recognition.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
h-index Hirsch index — A number that is high only when a researcher has many papers that are each cited many times.
BRIC Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council — The council under which several central biotechnology research institutes were brought together.
10 October 2026
Applications were invited for temporary vacancies at the Punalur Taluk Headquarters Hospital in Kollam district.
The posts are Dialysis Technician and Lab and Blood Bank Technician.
Applicants must hold registration with the Kerala State Paramedical Council.
The upper age limit is 40 years.
Applications will be received until 3 pm on October 19.
The telephone number 0475 2228702 was given for further information.
The notice was issued through the Information and Public Relations Department of the Government of Kerala.
Hospital:
Punalur Taluk Headquarters Hospital
Posts:
Dialysis Technician; Lab and Blood Bank Technician
Required registration:
Kerala State Paramedical Council
Age limit:
40 years
Last date:
October 19, 3 pm
Why it matters for exams: Paramedical posts in Kerala's taluk hospitals require Kerala State Paramedical Council registration, a condition Kerala PSC general awareness papers test.
Kerala PSC
In plain words
Taluk Headquarters Hospital Taluk Headquarters Hospital — A government hospital at the taluk level, above a community health centre and below a district hospital.
10 October 2026
The LBS Centre announced a spot allotment for M.Sc. (M.L.T.) admissions for the 2026 academic year, to be held on October 13, 2026.
The allotment is for seats in the Medical Trust Institute and MIMS Allied Health Sciences College, both self-financing colleges.
It will be held at the LBS district facilitation centres, and candidates on the rank list published at www.lbscentre.kerala.gov.in must attend in person and register by 11 am.
Candidates who have already taken admission in a self-financing college through an earlier allotment must bring a No Objection Certificate.
A token fee is payable if a seat is allotted at the spot allotment.
Vacancy details are to be published on the LBS Centre website. The announcement carries the contact numbers 0471-2560361, 362, 363 and 364.
Spot allotment date:
October 13, 2026
Course:
M.Sc. (M.L.T.)
Colleges:
Medical Trust Institute; MIMS Allied Health Sciences College
Reporting deadline:
11 am, in person
Why it matters for exams: The LBS Centre is the Kerala agency that conducts allied health sciences and paramedical admissions, a recurring Kerala PSC general awareness point.
Kerala PSC
In plain words
M.L.T. Medical Laboratory Technology — The discipline covering clinical laboratory testing of blood and other samples.
NOC No Objection Certificate — A letter from the college already holding a candidate's admission, allowing a move to another seat.
10 October 2026
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant constituted a Standing Committee on Judicial Well-being on 10 October 2026, World Mental Health Day.
Justice K.V. Viswanathan, Judge of the Supreme Court of India, chairs the committee.
Its members are Dr. Savita Malhotra, former Dean of PGIMER Chandigarh and Professor and Head of the Department of Psychiatry; Mr. Rajat Mitra, psychologist and Director and Co-founder of Swanchetan Society for Mental Health; Ms. Mrinal Kanwar, Advocate-on-Record of the Supreme Court of India; and Ms. Aarti Singh, Registrar (J), Centre for Research and Planning, Supreme Court of India.
The committee is to be a continuing institutional platform that identifies areas needing institutional intervention, coordinates welfare measures, develops guidance and periodically reviews support initiatives for judicial officers.
It was set up on the findings of a study by the Supreme Court's Centre for Research and Planning on the well-being of District Judiciary officers, which covered occupational stress, workload, exhaustion, staffing, infrastructure, transfers, work-life balance and institutional support.
The press release refers to the Nauru Declaration on Judicial Well-being, adopted on 25 July 2024, which calls for systemic and evidence-based measures to protect the physical and mental health of judges.
It also notes that the United Nations General Assembly in March 2025 designated 25 July every year as the International Day for Judicial Well-being.
Chairperson:
Justice K.V. Viswanathan
Constituted by:
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant
Members besides the chair:
Four
Nauru Declaration on Judicial Well-being adopted:
25 July 2024
International Day for Judicial Well-being:
25 July
Why it matters for exams: Supreme Court committees, their chairpersons and the international days behind them are regular general knowledge questions in PSC papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
PGIMER Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research — A central medical institute at Chandigarh.
AoR Advocate-on-Record — An advocate entitled to file cases in the Supreme Court on a party's behalf.
District Judiciary District Judiciary — The subordinate courts in the districts, below the High Courts.
10 October 2026
Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot made statements to the press at Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo on 3 October 2026. He cited 8000 recorded cases and 4000 deaths in the current epidemic, a quarter of them children under 5. He called Bunia the epicentre of the most deadly Ebola epidemic in the DRC's history and the second most serious in world history. After visiting the Rwampara Ebola treatment centre he said France plans to strengthen its support, with humanitarian funding proposed in the coming budget discussions.
Recorded cases:
8000
Deaths:
4000
Location:
Bunia, DRC
Date of statement:
3 October 2026
Why it matters for exams: Outbreak geography, health diplomacy and a country's foreign minister are common general-awareness questions.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
Ebola Ebola virus disease — A severe, often fatal viral haemorrhagic fever spread by contact with infected body fluids.
Background
The International Health Regulations (2005) are a binding international legal agreement involving 196 countries, including all the Member States of the World Health Organization.
Their aim is to help the international community prevent and respond to acute public health risks that can cross borders, while avoiding unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade.
The IHR Emergency Committee is made up of international experts who give technical advice to the WHO Director-General.
The Committee gives its views on whether an event is a public health emergency of international concern, on the Temporary Recommendations that should be taken, and on the termination of such an emergency.
The Director-General makes the final determination, based on the Committee's advice, information from States Parties, scientific experts and an assessment of the risk to human health, of international spread and of interference with international travel.
Temporary Recommendations automatically expire three months after they are issued, so Emergency Committees are reconvened at least every three months.
The Regulations define such an emergency as an extraordinary event that is determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response.
Countries involved in the Regulations:
196
Life of a Temporary Recommendation:
Three months
Who makes the final determination:
The WHO Director-General
Why it matters for exams: Who declares a public health emergency of international concern, how many countries the Regulations bind and the three-month life of Temporary Recommendations are the standard questions on global health governance.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
IHR International Health Regulations (2005) — The binding agreement under which countries detect, report and respond to cross-border public health risks.
PHEIC Public health emergency of international concern — An extraordinary event that poses a public health risk to other States and may need a coordinated international response.
Emergency Committee IHR Emergency Committee — The panel of international experts that advises the WHO Director-General on such an emergency.
10 October 2026
The Health and Family Welfare Department of Meghalaya released on 30 September 2026, by No. Health.91/2025/59, a review of operationalising Tura Medical College and strengthening Tura Civil Hospital infrastructure.
Only 37 teaching faculty have been mapped as on date, against the 97 that the National Medical Commission requires for an annual intake of 50 MBBS seats.
The effort has run for more than a year, with repeated exercises to identify willing and qualified in-service doctors, three rounds of advertisements, and consultations with doctors in Tura on the shortage of specialists.
The review recommends completing and commissioning the 150-bedded and 80-bedded blocks under construction on the Civil Hospital, Tura campus, so that patients can use them sooner.
That would add to the bed capacity of Tura Civil Hospital, which is to serve as the teaching hospital for the college.
Teaching faculty mapped:
37
Faculty the NMC requires:
97
Annual intake proposed:
50 MBBS seats
Blocks under construction:
150-bedded and 80-bedded
Rounds of advertisement:
Three
Why it matters for exams: The faculty norms of the National Medical Commission and the gap between sanctioned seats and available teachers are a live policy question in medical education.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
NMC National Medical Commission — The regulator that sets faculty, infrastructure and seat norms for medical colleges in India.
10 October 2026
Malaysia ordered school closures on 9 October 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Johor, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang and Selangor, affecting about two million students. Kuala Lumpur's Air Pollutant Index stood at about 170, in the unhealthy band above 100; readings above 200 are very unhealthy and above 300 hazardous. Under the rule applied, schools are to close when the API reaches 150 or higher. Fires have burned across six Indonesian provinces, scorching at least 200,000 hectares, and Indonesia's health ministry has recorded more than 170,000 respiratory infections. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called the haze worrying, spoke with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and asked the foreign minister to seek an urgent meeting of ASEAN environment ministers. Malaysia is also stepping up cloud seeding, and Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek promised parents more advance notice of future closures.
Kuala Lumpur API:
about 170
School closure threshold:
API 150
Students affected:
about two million
Area burned in Indonesia:
at least 200,000 hectares
Respiratory infections recorded:
more than 170,000
Why it matters for exams: Transboundary haze is the standard example of a regional environmental problem handled through ASEAN cooperation.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
API Air Pollutant Index — Malaysia's air quality scale; readings above 100 are unhealthy and above 300 hazardous.
10 October 2026
The World Health Organization observes World Mental Health Day on 10 October 2026 with the theme 'Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change'. The theme asks governments to place people who have themselves lived with mental health conditions at the centre of policy, law and service design. WHO's campaign page draws on survey data from its Mental Health Atlas 2024. Only 9 per cent of countries have fully moved from institution-based to community-based mental health care, while 53 per cent are in the early stages of that shift. Some 49 per cent of reported psychiatric hospital admissions are involuntary and 23 per cent of hospital stays last longer than a year. Where countries do have a mental health policy or plan, 80 per cent developed it in consultation with people with lived experience, but only 37 per cent involve them in training primary health care workers.
Date:
10 October 2026
Theme:
Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change
Countries fully shifted to community-based care:
9%
Involuntary psychiatric admissions:
49%
Hospital stays longer than a year:
23%
Why it matters for exams: World Mental Health Day themes and WHO Mental Health Atlas figures are standard material for health and social-sector questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Mental Health Atlas WHO Mental Health Atlas — WHO's periodic country-by-country stocktaking of mental health policies, services and spending.
10 October 2026
The Union Health Ministry is observing World Mental Health Day on 10 October 2026 with the theme 'Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change'.
Tele-MANAS, the free round-the-clock counselling helpline on 14416, was launched on 10 October 2022.
As of October 2026 it had received about 47.75 lakh calls, that is 47,75,644 calls, through 53 operational cells spread across all 36 States and Union Territories.
In recorded caller profiles, women accounted for 43.78% and men for 54.18%, and people aged 18 to 45 made up 73.2% of callers.
The District Mental Health Programme has been sanctioned in 767 districts, and mental health services have been integrated into over 1.83 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.
MANN Jaagriti, a community awareness initiative, is being run to reduce stigma and encourage early help-seeking.
These efforts sit within the National Mental Health Programme.
Theme 2026:
Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change
Tele-MANAS helpline:
14416, launched 10 October 2022
Calls received:
about 47.75 lakh (47,75,644)
Tele-MANAS cells:
53 across all 36 States and UTs
District Mental Health Programme:
sanctioned in 767 districts
Why it matters for exams: The Tele-MANAS helpline number, its launch date and the district coverage of the mental health programme are standard health scheme questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Tele-MANAS Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States — A national tele-mental health service offering free counselling on a toll free number in several languages.