Public Health Weekly

Synthesised from the week's L1 source notes under ../01 Sources/. The azimuth-curator
fleet role evolves this single note in place each cycle. azimuth reports recorded disease
outbreak notifications — the disease, the place, the case count and the alert level as the
reporting body published them — never a health prediction, never advice. Every claim links
to the L1 note it rests on. (Updated from the 2026-08-20 ingest.)

This week at a glance

• The WHO / CDC outbreak channel carries 154 active outbreak signals on the 2026-08-20
  pull — 114 watch / 40 alert, with no warning-level entry on the feed's own alert
  bands. The count eased two from 156 across the 08-18 → 08-20 span (10 notifications departed
  against 7 arrivals), still down from the 08-01 count of 161 (disease-outbreaks).
• Measles still dominates the slate by entry count at 63 of the 154 entries (eased from
  68 on 08-17 and 75 of 161 on 08-01), while diphtheria rose to 12 entries (from 9) on fresh
  Karachi and Minna (Nigeria) notifications. azimuth records each notification in the alert
  band the reporting body assigned it (disease-outbreaks).
• The highest single-entry case count remains the 58,000-case Chicken Pox notification in Gaza
  City (watch), unchanged across the span and still topping the feed's carried measles leaders.
  Behind it the measles ranks hold, with one fresh entrant: Guatemala City alert entries
  at 27,145 and 21,700, then a new Bangladesh 17,800 (alert) — its source summary
  reporting the country's 2026 measles death toll passing 900 — ahead of the carried Bangladesh
  16,408 (alert), Mongolia 15,475 (watch), Bangladesh 14,841 (watch) and 13,907
  (alert), and Mexico 11,771 (watch) / 11,748 (alert) (disease-outbreaks).
• The United States measles national notifications are led by a 2,318-case (watch) entry,
  its source summary still recording the 2026 US case total above the full-year 2025 total,
  alongside a carried 2,030-case (watch) entry; the separate weekly-tally entry that read 2,465
  on 08-17 now records 94 new infections for the latest week (mostly Pennsylvania). azimuth
  records the notifications and the reporting body's figures and attaches no assessment of
  trajectory (disease-outbreaks).

Reading the week

• The slate eased to 154 signals on 08-20, two below the 156 of 08-17 and still down from 161
  on 08-01; no warning-level notification present, the feed's highest band is "alert" at
  40 entries, with 114 in the lower "watch" band (disease-outbreaks).
• The case-count ranking held at the top with one new entrant: the 58,000-case Chicken Pox
  notification in Gaza City (watch) still sits above the carried Guatemala City measles pair
  (27,145 / 21,700 alert), now followed by a fresh Bangladesh measles 17,800 (alert) entry
  ahead of the carried Bangladesh 16,408 (alert). Measles still leads the slate by entry count
  (63 of 154); the US measles national notifications are led by a 2,318-case (watch) entry,
  its source note recording the 2026 US total above all of 2025. azimuth records each figure as
  the reporting body published it and attaches no assessment of trajectory (disease-outbreaks).
• azimuth records the notifications as the reporting bodies published them — disease, location,
  case count, alert level — and attaches no assessment of risk, spread or response. A measles-led
  slate of 154 signals with no warning-level entry, topped by a Gaza City chickenpox notification,
  is what the WHO/CDC channel carried on the 2026-08-20 pull — a modest churn across the 08-18 →
  08-20 span (10 notifications out, 7 in, led by the fresh Bangladesh 17,800-case measles alert),
  not the fully flat cycle of the 08-16/08-17 hold; nothing beyond that is inferred
  (disease-outbreaks).

Changelog

• 2026-08-20 — daily-ingest synthesis (2026-W34): absorbed the 2026-08-18 through 08-20 pulls; the slate eased to 154 active signals (114 watch / 40 alert; no warning-level entry) from 156 on 08-17, a modest churn of 10 departures against 7 arrivals. Measles eased to 63 of 154 (from 68); diphtheria rose to 12 (from 9) on fresh Karachi and Minna (Nigeria) entries. The 58,000-case Gaza City Chicken Pox notification (watch) still tops the feed; a fresh Bangladesh measles 17,800 (alert) entered the case-count leaders (source summary: 2026 measles death toll passing 900), ahead of the carried Guatemala City 27,145/21,700 (alert) and Bangladesh 16,408 (alert). US measles national notifications led by 2,318 (watch, 2026 US total above all of 2025); the weekly-tally entry that read 2,465 on 08-17 now records 94 new infections (mostly Pennsylvania). Updated the at-a-glance and reading sections. Observed-only framing held (disease-outbreaks).
• 2026-08-17 — daily-ingest synthesis (2026-W34): the 08-17 pull matched 08-16 exactly — 156 active signals (115 watch / 41 alert; no warning-level entry), measles unchanged at 68 of 156, the 58,000-case Chicken Pox notification in Gaza City (watch) still the highest single entry, and US measles holding at 2,465 (watch). Zero additions, zero departures and zero case-count changes across all 156 matched entries — the first fully flat 24-hour cycle in the tracked series. Updated the at-a-glance and reading sections to record the hold. Observed-only framing held (disease-outbreaks).
• 2026-08-16 — daily-ingest synthesis (2026-W33): absorbed the 2026-08-07 through 2026-08-16 pulls after a curator gap. The 08-16 feed carries 156 active signals (115 watch / 41 alert; no warning-level entry), easing from 161 on 08-01; measles leads 68 of 156 (from 75). New top single-entry case count: a 58,000-case Chicken Pox notification in Gaza City (watch), now the feed's highest, above the carried Guatemala City measles 27,145 (alert) and 21,700 (alert); a fresh Bangladesh measles 16,408 (alert) also entered. Mongolia 15,475 (watch), Bangladesh 14,841 (watch) / 13,907 (alert), Mexico 11,771 (watch) / 11,748 (alert) and Dhaka 11,549 (watch) held; US measles rose to 2,465 (watch, source note: 2026 US total surpasses all of 2025). Updated the at-a-glance and reading sections; observed-only framing, no health advice (disease-outbreaks).
• 2026-08-01 — daily-ingest synthesis (2026-W31): absorbed the 2026-07-31 and 2026-08-01 pulls. The 08-01 feed carries 161 active signals (117 watch / 44 alert; no warning-level entry), easing from 165 on 07-30; measles leads 75 of 161 (from 78). The top case-count ranks all carried — Guatemala City measles 27,145 (alert) and 21,700 (alert), Mongolia 15,475 (watch), Bangladesh 14,841 (watch) and 13,907 (alert), Mexico 11,771 (watch) / 11,748 (alert), Dhaka 11,549 (watch) — as did the US measles 2,318 (watch, source note: 2026 US total surpasses all of 2025). Two-day churn minor and confined to small entries: five low-case notifications departed (measles Ghaziabad 129 / Uganda 12 / Colombia 6, Diphtheria Inchiri 19, a zero-case alert) against one zero-case arrival. Updated the at-a-glance and reading sections; observed-only framing, no health advice (disease-outbreaks).
• 2026-07-30 — daily-ingest synthesis (2026-W31): absorbed the 07-26 through 07-30 pulls after a 5-day curator gap. The 07-30 feed carries 165 active signals (120 watch / 45 alert; no warning-level entry), easing from the prior cycle; measles leads 78 of 165. Top case counts: Guatemala City measles 27,145 (alert) and 21,700 (alert), Mongolia 15,475 (watch), a new Bangladesh 14,841 (watch), Bangladesh 13,907 (alert), Mexico 11,771 (watch) / 11,748 (alert), Dhaka 11,549 (watch). Notable arrivals: US measles 2,318 (watch, source note: 2026 US total surpasses all of 2025), Whooping Cough Santander 3,171 (watch), Measles Punia 2,089 (watch), Measles Peru 1,233 (watch). Rewrote the at-a-glance and reading sections; observed-only framing, no health advice (disease-outbreaks).
• 2026-07-25 — daily-ingest synthesis (2026-W30): 07-25 pull carries 173 signals (down from 177 on 07-24; 127 watch / 46 alert); no warning-level entry. No id-matched field mutations. Eight entries departed: Measles Pakistan 4,541 (alert) and Measles Dhaka 4,460 (alert) were the largest departures; Polio Sudan 2 (watch) and five zero-case outbreak-news-today entries also left. Five new zero-case CDC entries entered: Unknown Disease US alert, two California Unknown Disease watch, Lassa watch, and E. coli alert (McDonald's Quarter Pounder cluster, Mountain West states). Top case-count ranking unchanged from 07-24; Guatemala City measles 27,145 (alert) remains highest single entry (disease-outbreaks).
• 2026-07-24 — daily-ingest synthesis (2026-W30): 07-24 pull carries 177 signals (up from 169 on 07-23; 127 watch / 50 alert); no warning-level entry. Bangladesh 120,000-case alert entry departed the feed; highest Bangladesh measles entry now 13,907 cases (alert). Guatemala City gains a new top-entry at 27,145 cases (alert) alongside the carried 21,700-case alert and a 6,209-case alert — three distinct Guatemala City alert entries on this pull. Mongolia 15,475 (watch) and Mexico three entries (11,771 watch / 11,748 alert / 11,111 alert) carried forward unchanged (disease-outbreaks).
• 2026-07-23 — daily-ingest synthesis (2026-W30): 07-23 pull carries 169 signals (down from 184 on 07-20); no warning-level entry. Bangladesh measles 120,000 cases (alert) unchanged; Guatemala 21,700 (alert) and Mongolia 15,475 (watch) carried forward; Mexico now shows three distinct entries: 11,771 (watch), 11,748 (alert), 11,111 (alert). Bangladesh also carries two additional watch entries (11,549; 10,949) (disease-outbreaks).
• 2026-07-21 — daily-ingest synthesis (2026-W30): absorbed the 07-18 through 07-20 pulls; the 07-20 feed carries 184 notifications (133 watch / 51 alert), down from 198 on 07-17, with no warning-level entry this pull (the Sudan El Taweisha measles warning dropped off). Measles leads 95 of 184; largest entry measles Bangladesh 120,000 cases; other majors Guatemala City ~21,700, Mongolia ~15,475, Mexico ~11,771 (disease-outbreaks).
• 2026-07-18 — daily-ingest synthesis (2026-W29): 07-16 and 07-17 pulls identical (198 entries, 144 watch / 53 alert / 1 warning); net change vs 07-15 baseline = -1 entry (Measles/Dhaka 3,065-case alert + Lassa/Iowa watch retired; Unknown Disease/HAI watch added). Warning level unchanged: measles El Taweisha, Sudan, 300 cases, 9 pediatric deaths. Largest alert entry: measles Bangladesh 120,000 cases (disease-outbreaks).
• 2026-07-15 — first Public Health Weekly cycle (2026-W29): theme un-held (the hold was
  ingest-pending; the WHO/CDC channel is public-domain, surfaced, and carries 21 committed L1
  days). Wrote the at-a-glance and reading sections from the live 2026-07-15 pull: 199 active
  notifications (144 watch / 54 alert / 1 warning), measles leading at 105 incl. the Sudan
  warning-level outbreak (300 cases), alert-level entries clustering in the US (16) and
  Bangladesh (6). Observed-only framing, no health advice (disease-outbreaks).