Ebola

[Orphia Nay]

I saw that the WHO has recently announced a Health Emergency on a new strain of Ebola with no vaccine yet.

Hoping our resident medical gurus will reply with info.

 

[dann]

Maybe one of the people who were laid off at CDC will volunteer to do it for free!
That appears to be how the health agencies do it nowadays:
CDC Asks Workforce to Volunteer for Airport Ebola Screenings (Bloomberg, May 26, 2026)

 

[dann]

Uganda has closed the border to DR Congo. (DR.dk, May 27, 2026)
Effective immediately.

 

[Planigale]

UKHSA has some good information, although their web site is quite unfriendly.

Ebola: overview, history, origins and transmission

www.gov.uk

Background​

Ebola disease (EBOD) is a severe disease caused by orthoebolaviruses, members of the filoviridae family, which occurs in humans and other primates. The disease was identified in 1976, in almost simultaneous outbreaks in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)) and Sudan (now South Sudan).

Between 1979 and 1994, no human cases or outbreaks were detected. However, since 1994, outbreaks have been recognised with increasing frequency.

Until 2014, outbreaks of EBOD were primarily reported from remote villages close to tropical rainforests in Central and West Africa. Most confirmed cases were reported from the DRC, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Uganda. In 2014, an EBOD outbreak was reported for the first time in West Africa, involving Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. During this outbreak, which was ongoing between 2014 and 2016, there was intense transmission in urban areas, resulting in over 28,000 reported cases. Multiple countries including Italy, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Spain, the UK and the US reported imported EBOD cases associated with this outbreak.

Four species of orthoebolavirus are known to cause disease in humans:

• Ebola virus disease (EVD): caused by Ebola (Zaire) virus (orthoebolavirus zairense, EBOV)
• Sudan virus disease (SVD): caused by Sudan virus (orthoebolavirus sudanense, SUDV)
• Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD): caused by Bundibugyo virus (orthoebolavirus bundibugyoense, BDBV)
• Tai Forest (formerly Ivory Coast) virus (orthoebolavirus taiense, TAFV)

Reston virus (orthoebolavirus restonense, RESTV), was first detected in 1989 in Reston, Virginia (US), in a colony of monkeys imported from the Philippines. It had caused severe illness outbreaks in non-human primates linked to imported animals. Several research workers became infected with the virus during these outbreaks but did not become ill. In 2008, RESTV was isolated from sick pigs in the Philippines. Several animal facility workers developed antibodies, but none reported any symptoms.

A sixth species of Ebola virus was discovered in bats in Sierra Leone in 2018 and named Bombali virus (orthoebolavirus bombaliense, BOMV). It is not yet known if this species is pathogenic to humans.

ECDC is also a good source

Ebola disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda

On 17 May 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola virus disease outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

www.ecdc.europa.eu

As of 27 May 2026, the outbreak of Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus is still affecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, with increasing numbers of confirmed and suspected cases and deaths being reported. On 26 May, the Ministry of Health in DRC reported a total of 121 confirmed cases (including 17 deaths) and 1 077 suspected cases (including 238 deaths) in Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu provinces. Uganda has reported seven confirmed cases, including one death. Three of these cases are linked to travel from DRC.

Although information remains limited, we assess the likelihood of infection for people living in the EU/EEA to be very low. ECDC continues to monitor the situation closely and will update its assessment as new information becomes available. A weekly update on this outbreak is available in the weekly communicable disease threats report.

VHF isn't my area of expertise but I'll try and clarify issues.

To be clear this was not produced in, nor did it escape from a laboratory!

 

[dann]

WHO warns of playing catch up with large Ebola outbreak (CIDRAP, May 26, 2026)
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda is worsening, as organizations are playing catch up with an outbreak that was likely occurring for weeks before it was identified.“We are urgently scaling up operations, but at the moment the epidemic is outpacing us,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, told the press yesterday, adding that countries bordering the DRC should take action to enhance surveillance at border crossings.

 

[dann]

To be clear this was not produced in, nor did it escape from a laboratory!

But it's African, so it should be possible to find some way of blaming it on Barack Hussein Obama.

 

[Orphia Nay]

Thank you @dann and @Planigale for the info.

 

[dann]

Jonathan Howard on bsky, May 27, 2026.
I just got back from Uganda. No one checked me for Ebola. (TheHill, May 27, 2026)
US CDC seeks staff for Ebola screening as outbreak response expands (Reuters, May 26, 2026)

Jack's House Radio Free NAFO on bsky, May 27, 2026
Huh. Imagine that.
https://bsky.app/#

The Vertlartnic on bsky, May 27, 2026
“Ebola Is Probably Mostly Not Airborne” Is Good Enough For Us
https://bsky.app/#

 

[dann]

Death of doctor treating Ebola patients raises fears among Congo health workers (Reuters, May 27, 2026)
Doctors, relatives and Red Cross volunteers gathered in the eastern Congolese city of Bunia for the burial of a doctor who died after treating Ebola patients, underscoring growing fears among frontline health workers as the outbreak worsens.

Several photos. Those surgical masks won't do much to protect the people wearing them.

 

[dann]

Judy Stone on bsky, May 29, 2026
rump admin not protecting US citizens in need of care, not letting them return to US d/t #Ebola concerns
thehill.com/policy/healt...

Ebola spreads as concerns grow over US response (TheHill, May 28, 2026)
An Ebola outbreak in the Congo is fast outpacing containment efforts in the region as questions and concerns mount in the U.S. over the Trump administration’s preparedness and response.
Health experts are warning that the outbreak, driven by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, could be even more difficult to contain than any in the past.
(...)
“Increased conflict and cuts to global aid funding have dismantled defenses at exactly the wrong moment. The lesson from every previous outbreak is clear: delays cost lives,” said Bob Kitchen, vice president of emergencies for the IRC, said in a statement.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said the risk of Ebola spreading to the American public remains low.
Still, the Trump administration has cracked down on international travelers and is taking steps to ensure Americans infected or exposed to the virus remain overseas.

Jeremy Faust on bsky, May 28, 2026
The government’s job is to protect Americans.
Here's perfect distillation of what the Trump administration thinks about the best among us—US workers who put themselves in harm’s way to help others with Ebola. Watch this 8-second video I captured. It's real, live on the CDC’s website, as of May 27.

Madhu Pai on bsky, May 28, 2026
Every single outbreak, we see the same pattern of response
- Rich nations tell themselves that everything will be fine if they just ban travel and close their borders
- Politicians make knee-jerk reactions to appease their base, ignoring everything scientists tell them

Madhu Pai on bsky, May 28, 2026
- Global solidarity is thrown around, but never realized in concrete terms (e.g. sharing tools, funding, expertise)
- Media goes into a click-bait frenzy, often resorting to stigmatizing reporting and stereotypes
- Funding starts flowing once people in rich nations get infected

Madhu Pai on bsky, May 28, 2026
- Experts in rich nations are highlighted, not those who are actually at the frontlines
- After heroic efforts, the outbreak is controlled
- Everyone promptly forgets the lessons learnt
- We go into a phase of neglect and amnesia
Until the next outbreak, and then we repeat the cycle, all over

Madhu Pai on bsky, May 28, 2026
Oh forgot, in the middle of all this, a disinformation gang will start peddling ivermectin and snake oil therapies, and do their best to undermine public health & science

And apropos of ebola and "global solidarity," this one from the thread about the US blockade of Cuba.

 

[dann]

Krutika Kuppalli on bsky, May 28, 2026
There are no approved vaccines or therapeutics for #Bundibugyo, but several promising candidates are being prioritized by WHO for trials
Therapeutics:
MBP134
Maftivimab
Remdesivir & Obeldesivir

Vaccines:
rVSV-Bundibugyo (IAVI)
Oxford ChAdOx1 Bundibugyo
www.who.int/news/item/28...

 

[dann]

Hantavirus outbreak linked to cruise ship travel, Multi-locations (WHO, May 28, 2026)
In this recent outbreak of ANDV infection reported on a cruise ship, human-to-human transmission has also occurred. Considering the ongoing epidemiological studies and environmental sampling after the disembarkation of all passengers from MV Hondius, the exact mode(s) through which human-to-human transmission occurred and their relative contributions are yet to be fully understood.

Therefore, at present, WHO is operating under the assumption that ANDV transmission:

• may include contact with an infected individual or contaminated surfaces,
• and/or through-the-air transmission (via direct deposition of infectious respiratory particles onto exposed facial mucosal surfaces--mouth, nose or eyes)
• and/or airborne transmission (via inhalation of infectious respiratory particles).

The virus does not exhibit transmission dynamics consistent with highly transmissible airborne pathogens (such as measles).

ANDV: Andes virus

As for measles:

The contagion scale: which diseases spread fastest? (Gavi, Aug 6, 2025)
In first place for most contagious is measles.
(...)
The R0 number for measles is between 12 and 18.
(...)
Measles is extraordinarily virulent, spreading through tiny airborne particles released during coughing or sneezing. It doesn’t even require direct contact. It’s so infectious that an unvaccinated person can catch the virus just by entering a room where an infected person was present two hours earlier.

 

[angrysoba]

.

To be clear this was not produced in, nor did it escape from a laboratory!

If the story gets bigger, you can bet that those claims will start being circulated from some of the usual suspects.

 

[dann]

Betty C. Jung on bsky, May 27, 2026
Why Ebola Isn't Going to "Go Airborne"
And stop sounding so excited about it
Why Eboloa Isn't Going to "Go Airborne" (Substack, May 26, 2026)

Esther on bsky, May 31, 2026
I disagree, there is already evidence of airborne risks. Governments it would seem have learned no lessons from COVID. Why are Doctors wearing FRSM masks? Why hasn’t the precautionary principle been applied. We already know when we cough it produces aerosols. When we vomit it’s aerosol producing

T. Ryan Gregory on bsky, May 31, 2026
Virologists love typological thinking. Even when [it] leads them to be wrong over and over again (including about COVID being airborne!), they will confidently cling to it.

Esther and Gregory's posts are both the beginnings of their own threads.
Pretty persuasive, in my opinion.

 

[EHocking]

Brazil is treating two suspected Ebola cases. In two different cities/states and (possible) sources. One patient returned from Congo and the other from Uganda.

 

[Puppycow]

Moderna gets $50 million to develop mRNA Ebola vaccine against Bundibugyo

Amid a raging Ebola outbreak, officials "urgently accelerate development" of vaccines.

arstechnica.com

 

[dann]

WHO drastically downsizes Ebola case count in DR Congo outbreak (CIDRAP, June 2, 2026)
Yesterday and today, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reduced the official case count of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda from nearly 1,000 cases to 321 confirmed cases, including 48 deaths in the DRC.
Another 116 cases are suspected. In Uganda, the new case count is 11 confirmed cases, one confirmed death, one probable case, and one probable death.
But rather than signaling good news, relief organizations caution that the mixed messaging is part of a broader, chaotic picture of an outbreak that may have been simmering for months and could take several more months to contain.
(...)
2 Brazilian patients test negative
In Brazil, two patients with suspected Ebola infections after recent travel to the DRC received negative test results. Similarly, a suspected case-patient in Italy has also tested negative for the deadly virus.

WHO chief says response is ‘catching up’ to Ebola outbreak (CIDRAP, June 3, 2026)
After visiting health officials and frontline responders in the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in recent days, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said today that, despite numerous challenges, he feels hopeful about stopping the outbreak.
In a press briefing, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanam Ghebreyesus, PhD, said there have been 344 confirmed Ebola cases and 60 confirmed deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the outbreak began, along with 15 confirmed cases and one death in neighboring Uganda.
But labs in the DRC have been able to work through the backlog of tests, reducing the number of suspected cases to 116 from more than 1,000, Tedros said.

 

[Orphia Nay]

Thanks for the better news, @Puppycow and @dann .

 

[dann]

Bad news!

Ebola spreads to area under Islamic State control as cases mount (CIDRAP, June 4, 2026)
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reached Mambasa, a part of the country run by Islamic State militants, the Wall Street Journal reported today.
Health workers do not travel to the area, which is chaotic and violent, making containment and contact tracing impossible, sources told the paper.
In related news, Reuters reported that residents attacked an Ebola burial team in South Kivu province earlier this week, exposing the coffin and body of an Ebola patient, which is a major transmission risk.

BNO News on X, June 5, 2026

 

[dann]

‘We Live With Fear’: In Congo, Doctors Face Ebola With Little Protection (KFF Health News, June 5, 2026)
Travel bans and conflict have disrupted supply chains, leaving health workers without Ebola tests and protective gear needed to contain the outbreak.