During an information meeting given on May 25, 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) indicated that the threshold of 1,000 people infected with the Ebola virus on the African continent had been reached. Some 200 people have already lost their lives in this new epidemic, detected at the beginning of May in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and these figures are likely to be underestimated.
According to the media Gizmodo, the spread of the Ebola virus seems to be out of control, according to WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: “The delay in detecting the outbreak means we now have to chase an outbreak that is spreading very quickly. We are urgently scaling up our operations, but for now, the epidemic is ahead of us.”
On May 16, 2026, the WHO officially declared this new epidemic as a “public health emergency of international concern”. The majority of cases have been recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo with a few others in Uganda. As a reminder, Ebola is a zoonotic disease, meaning outbreaks typically begin when a person is exposed to infected animals. The virus is then transmitted between humans through contact with infected bodily fluids.
While the African continent has already experienced several Ebola outbreaks, what is unique about this one is that it is caused by an uncommon strain of the virus called Bundibugyo, discovered in 2007. Like other strains, the Bundibugyo virus usually initially causes fever, body aches and other flu-like symptoms, but the infection can then progress rapidly, leading to widespread organ damage and severe hemorrhagic fevers.
Spread out of control?
Although health authorities officially identified the outbreak in mid-May, it had certainly started earlier, with some suspected cases already reported in April. However, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported the deaths of three volunteers who began showing symptoms in early May. These were among the first known cases. They could therefore have contracted the infection while handling dead bodies at the end of March, as part of another humanitarian mission in the region.
Currently, this is already the third largest Ebola outbreak on record. It follows the epidemic which struck West Africa between 2014 and 2016, having infected nearly 30,000 people and causing 11,000 deaths, as well as the one which had contaminated at least 3,470 people between 2018 and 2020 in the DRC.
Unlike other strains of the Ebola virus, there is currently no specific vaccine for Bundibugyo and it will be several months before it can be developed. Furthermore, on site, many humanitarian workers are exposed to the virus due to the lack of resources, particularly protective equipment.
If the situation therefore appears to be out of control, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus remains optimistic: “We are facing an extremely serious and difficult epidemic. The situation will get worse before it gets better. But we know this virus, and we know how to stop it. We have successfully contained all previous Ebola outbreaks, and we will succeed this time too.”
