CDC HAN: Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak in Ethiopia 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to inform clinicians and health departments about a new outbreak of Marburg virus disease (MVD) in Ethiopia's South Ethiopia and Sidama regions. No suspected, probable, or confirmed cases of MVD related to this outbreak have been reported in the U.S. or other countries outside of Ethiopia as of Dec. 3, 2025. The risk of spread to the U.S. is considered low at this time; however, clinicians should be aware of the potential for imported cases. As a precaution, the health advisory summarizes CDC's recommendations about MVD case identification, testing, and biosafety considerations in clinical laboratories for U.S. health departments, clinical laboratories, and healthcare workers.

Resources Available to Help Detect Malicious AI Schemes
The FBI has released new materials aimed at helping organizations recognize and prevent the misuse of artificial intelligence by cybercriminals. Among these resources is a joint infographic from the FBI and the American Bankers Association Foundation outlining how AI-generated or altered media—commonly referred to as deepfakes—may be used to mimic trusted individuals. The infographic describes common indicators of a deepfake scam and emphasizes that fraudulent content can involve public figures as well as friends or family members. In a separate announcement the FBI provides additional detail on how bad actors employ AI-created text, images, audio, and video to carry out fraud schemes. The alert also offers practical steps organizations and individuals can take to protect themselves from suspected criminal activity.

These resources are highly relevant for the healthcare sector, where cybercriminals are increasingly combining AI-generated audio and video to mislead staff, initiate fraudulent requests, or facilitate phishing and social engineering attempts. As AI-driven manipulation tools become more sophisticated, healthcare organizations may benefit from reinforcing verification protocols, increasing staff awareness, and adopting layered security practices to reduce the risk of deception.

HHS Releases AI Strategy for Agency Efforts
Yesterday, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its AI Strategy focused on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) across its internal operations, research and public health efforts. The strategy is intended to support the Trump administration’s AI action plan and a Jan. 23 executive order, “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence.” The strategy focuses on five pillars: ensuring governance and risk management for public trust; designing infrastructure and platforms for user needs; promoting workforce development and burden reduction; fostering health research and reproducibility; and enabling care and public health delivery modernization for better outcomes. HHS said that this first document is focused primarily on improving internal operations, efficiency and federal use of AI as directed by the Office of Management and Budget.

2026 AHA Rural Health Care Leadership Conference
The 2026 AHA Rural Health Care Leadership Conference, February 8-11 in San Antonio, will gather more than 1,000 rural health leaders committed to exploring the most significant challenges facing rural health care providers, with a focus on innovative approaches to transform care delivery and business practices. The conference will feature top rural practitioners sharing actionable strategies and resources aimed at improving access to care, leveraging unique workforce approaches and implementing digital technologies. Click here for more information. The early bird deadline is Dec. 12. 

The Infectious Respiratory Disease Surveillance Dashboard from the Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) provides the latest data on hospital visits, seasonal trends, lab test positivity and demographic data. IDPH also tracks COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus information through the Illinois Wastewater Surveillance System dashboard.

Briefly Noted

The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) has released an assessment to help healthcare coalitions evaluate the current state of cybersecurity resilience in their jurisdiction and identify gaps, promising practices, and current policies at the coalition level.

Leading the News

Pritzker still deliberating controversial medical aid in dying bill

WAND
Gov. JB Pritzker has not decided yet if he will sign the medical aid in dying bill into law. Many consider the legislation to be the most controversial plan to pass out of both chambers this year.

253 5-star hospitals: Forbes

Becker’s Hospital Review

Forbes launched an inaugural quality ranking of U.S. general acute care hospitals Dec. 4, which analyzes data on outcomes, best practices, value and patient experience. 

Top 12 reasons patients don’t trust their healthcare providers

Becker’s Hospital Review

One in 4 patients say they’ve switched healthcare providers because they lost trust in them, marketing agency Monigle found.