Ebola

[Norman Alexander]

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

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

arstechnica.com

Don't tell RFK Jr. He will have it stopped by royal decree.

 

[dann]

BK. Titanji on bsky, June 9, 2026
WHO published the latest situation update on the Ebola outbreak. confirmed cases are now at 534 including 93 deaths in the DRC. CFR is about 17% but likely underestimate as investigation seeks to confirm cause of death from earlier in the outbreak.

Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus, Democratic Republic of the Congo & Uganda (WHO, June 8, 2026)​

 

[dann]

US urges Belgium to impose entry ban on travellers from Congo (BelgaNewsAgency, June 10, 2026)
The newspaper reports that US ambassador Bill White conveyed the request to the Belgian government. Last week, American diplomats across Europe were instructed by Washington to encourage host countries to align with US travel restrictions ahead of the World Cup, co-hosted in the US, which begins this week. Countries that fail to do so could face US entry restrictions.

 

[dann]

Gavin Yamey on bsky, June 12, 2026
We are a "coalition of epidemiologists, bioethicists, global & public health law scholars, civil liberties lawyers, medical professionals, & public health practitioners"
We condemn the proposal to relocate US citizens potentially exposed to Ebola to Kenya
International Human Rights Advocates Condemn Relocation of US Citizens with Ebola Exposure to Kenya (O'Neill Institute, June 1, 2026)

Wendy Orent on bsky, June 12, 2026
@joho.bsky.social and I talked about this for our upcoming podcast, We Want Them Infected. It's obscene.
1) our volunteers and citizens deserve to COME HOME. With proper precautions, they're no risk to the rest of us.
2) WHY THE HELL DUMP THEM ON KENYA?

 

[dann]

US Support for Ebola Response is Unclear Amid Opaque Funds Disbursement and Non-Engagement with WHO (Health Policy Watch, June 15, 2026)
Despite claims by the United States that it has allocated over $270 million to the Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak response, countries and groups dealing with the outbreak are in the dark about where the money is going.
Washington’s directive to US health experts not to deal with World Health Organization (WHO) officials is also hampering their involvement in the response, sources told Health Policy Watch.

 

[dann]

Ebola outbreak in DR Congo expands into large displacement camp (CIDRAP, June 12, 2026)
Among the dead are two victims who were living in a displacement camp in eastern DRC, which has been plagued by conflict between the government and rebel groups. According to Reuters, the mother and daughter, who died on May 31 and June 1 and later tested positive for Ebola, were living in a camp that’s hosting 30,000 internally displaced people in cramped and unsanitary conditions.

Ebola case count mounts as outbreak hits 1-month mark (CIDRAP, June 15, 2026)
“Testing remains one of the most significant weaknesses in the response, despite recent improvements in laboratory capacity and the arrival of hundreds of mobile test kits in eastern DRC, designed specifically for the Bundibugyo virus,” Kate White, the emergency medical coordinator for MSF in the DRC, said in a statement. “Many communities, especially those affected by ongoing insecurity, still have limited access to these kits, while treatment centres continue to face significant delays in receiving laboratory results.”

Ebola cases near 900 as officials say less than 10% of donations have made it to affected nations (CIDRAP, June 18, 2026)
Donors have pledged $910 million, but less than $90 million had been released for the affected countries, according to Africa CDC today during a press briefing. The new case numbers reflect 38 new infections and six new deaths.

 

[dann]

More than 70 medics infected with Ebola as DRC outbreak spreads ‘fast’ (AlJazeera, June 19, 2026)
Seventeen medics have died from Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as the death toll surpasses 200 in an outbreak tearing through a health system already weakened by years of conflict, displacement and chronic underfunding.
A senior World Health Organization (WHO) official confirmed the death toll on Friday and said that 75 healthcare workers had contracted the virus since Congolese authorities declared the outbreak on May 15.

 

[Minoosh]

Disclaimer: I Am Not An Epidemiologist

Ebola is a dreadful disease that makes you bleed from every orifice, but it’s not that easy to catch. The sufferer bleeds more, increasing others’ exposure to blood, but it’s still bloodborne - not easily transmissible through casual contact.

Not having a vaccine is not as big of a disaster as it could be for some other diseases, and tourists arriving by jetliners aren’t the likely population to be infected. Health care workers and family members would be much more at risk.

There are plenty of things travelers could bring in that would have a higher risk profile, because they are much harder to recognize and contain.

Isolation and proper sterile technique take care of a lot of the risk.

I hope I haven’t said anything totally ignorant.

 

[dann]

Well, I'm also not an epidemiologist, but your "bloodborne" isn't true. Where did you get your information?
Ebola is also blood borne.

Ebola: Transmission (Wikipedia)
It is believed (!!!) that between people, Ebola disease spreads only by direct contact with the blood or other body fluids of a person who has developed symptoms of the disease. Body fluids that may contain Ebola viruses include saliva, mucus, vomit, feces, sweat, tears, breast milk, urine and semen. The WHO states that only people who are very sick are able to spread Ebola disease in saliva, and the virus has not been reported (!!!) to be transmitted through sweat. Most people spread the virus through blood, feces and vomit.
Entry points for the virus include the nose, mouth, eyes, open wounds, cuts and abrasions. Ebola may be spread through large droplets; however, this is believed (!!!) to occur only when a person is very sick. This contamination can happen if a person is splashed with droplets. Contact with surfaces or objects contaminated by the virus, particularly needles and syringes, may also transmit the infection. The virus is able to survive on objects for a few hours in a dried state, and can survive for a few days within body fluids outside of a person.

Use the link to see the sources of information. Most of them are from 2014!
Now compare this with what was claimed about transmission of SARS-CoV-2 for the first few years of the pandemic – in spite of evidence to the contrary.
In my country, the experts didn't really come around to recognizing aerosol transmission of C19 until early 2023 when they apologized for their hand-sanitizer narrative!
I don't expect to see a double-blinded RCT of ebola transmission any time soon!

Notice that I'm not claiming that ebola is actually airborne, but I sure as hell wouldn't recommend assuming that it isn't.
I also wouldn't count on this, "only people who are very sick are able to spread Ebola disease in saliva," which was also one of the claims during the early stages of the C19 pandemic before we learned that there was there was pre-symptomatic, post-symptomatic and asymptomatic transmission of the virus.


ETA: Take a look at this:
COMMENTARY: Ebola virus transmission via contact and aerosol — a new paradigm (CIDRAP, Nov 18, 2014)
The paragraph, HICPAC uncertainty about traditional modes of transmission, in particular.

 

[dann]

PBS News on bsky, June 23, 2026
Kenya's Health Minister Aden Duale was found in contempt of court on Monday for failing to halt the construction of an Ebola quarantine facility intended for Americans, despite existing court orders.
to.pbs.org/4ensq3w

Jonathan Howard on bsky, June 23, 2026
Jay Bhattacharya is behind this.

 

[Planigale]

Well, I'm also not an epidemiologist, but your "bloodborne" isn't true. Where did you get your information?
Ebola is also blood borne.

Use the link to see the sources of information. Most of them are from 2014!
Now compare this with what was claimed about transmission of SARS-CoV-2 for the first few years of the pandemic – in spite of evidence to the contrary.
In my country, the experts didn't really come around to recognizing aerosol transmission of C19 until early 2023 when they apologized for their hand-sanitizer narrative!
I don't expect to see a double-blinded RCT of ebola transmission any time soon!

Notice that I'm not claiming that ebola is actually airborne, but I sure as hell wouldn't recommend assuming that it isn't.
I also wouldn't count on this, "only people who are very sick are able to spread Ebola disease in saliva," which was also one of the claims during the early stages of the C19 pandemic before we learned that there was there was pre-symptomatic, post-symptomatic and asymptomatic transmission of the virus.


ETA: Take a look at this:
COMMENTARY: Ebola virus transmission via contact and aerosol — a new paradigm (CIDRAP, Nov 18, 2014)
The paragraph, HICPAC uncertainty about traditional modes of transmission, in particular.

There has been considerable experience with ebola and other similar viruses (VHF). They are contagious, spread by touch. They are very different from SARS-CoV 2 which everyone accepted was spread via the respiratory route, the only discussion was the exact details of the infectious particle size. The principle site of entry and reproduction and shedding of SARS-coV-2 was in the lungs, contact with blood, saliva etc. did not appear to be a significant risk for transmission with covid, but is for ebola. Bloodborne isn't a wrong word to use, it doesn't mean in cinical use that it is only spread in blood. Ebola doesn't appear to have as restricted a point of entry as SARS-CoV-2, and replicates in cells of the immune system (a bit like HIV), and then in the circulatory system so virus levels in blood are high. SARS-CoV-2 being found in blood only occurred in about 1/8 patients with covid, and was associated with worse outcomes. In contrast virus in blood seems universal in ebola.

 

[dann]

Soren Larsen (SEGL) on bsky, June 24, 2026
"This is the first case ever diagnosed on French soil. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is monitoring the situation 'very closely,' according to his office..."

France detects first Ebola case in doctor returning from DRC
This is the first case ever diagnosed on French soil. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is monitoring the situation 'very closely,' according to his office, as quoted by Agence France-Presse.

France detects first Ebola case in doctor returning from DRC (LeMonde, June 24, 2026)

 

[Planigale]

For those interested WHO has issued comprehensive guidance on Ebola and similar viruses. I have read this and it is excellent. apart from the technical stuff, there is a lot of general info.

WHO issues comprehensive guidelines on filovirus disease, including Ebola and Marburg disease

As the Democratic Republic of the Congo is battling an Ebola disease outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) has released its first comprehensive guidelines for the clinical management of filovirus disease which include all types of Ebola and Marburg viruses.

www.who.int

 

[novaphile]

Ebola is an example of how cultural practices affect the spread of disease.

If your culture requires everyone in the village to touch, kiss, etc. the deceased, then ebola spreads like wildfire.

 

[The Atheist]

Except it's obviously not spreading like wildfire.

Given those cultural practices, pushback against modern medicine, the outbreak happening in the midst of a decades-old civil war, and a massive lack of resources, the fact that it hasn't spread beyond DRC's borders beyond the handful in Uganda and returning medical personnel shows that it's not spreading much at all.

Nasty business for sure, but definitely not one to panic about. Some people still will, though.

 

[dudalb]

Time to reread "The Hot Zone" a non fiction account of a near Ebola outbreak in the DC area when a number of lab animals imported from Africa proved to be carrying the disease.

 

[Minoosh]

Well, I'm also not an epidemiologist, but your "bloodborne" isn't true. Where did you get your information?
Ebola is also blood borne.

Use the link to see the sources of information. Most of them are from 2014!
Now compare this with what was claimed about transmission of SARS-CoV-2 for the first few years of the pandemic – in spite of evidence to the contrary.
In my country, the experts didn't really come around to recognizing aerosol transmission of C19 until early 2023 when they apologized for their hand-sanitizer narrative!
I don't expect to see a double-blinded RCT of ebola transmission any time soon!

Notice that I'm not claiming that ebola is actually airborne, but I sure as hell wouldn't recommend assuming that it isn't.
I also wouldn't count on this, "only people who are very sick are able to spread Ebola disease in saliva," which was also one of the claims during the early stages of the C19 pandemic before we learned that there was there was pre-symptomatic, post-symptomatic and asymptomatic transmission of the virus.


ETA: Take a look at this:
COMMENTARY: Ebola virus transmission via contact and aerosol — a new paradigm (CIDRAP, Nov 18, 2014)
The paragraph, HICPAC uncertainty about traditional modes of transmission, in particular.I

I read about an outbreak decades ago that was linked to many women getting prenatal vitamin injections with a single needle that was simply wiped down between uses. That would do it. Even though not "airborne," there is a *a lot* of blood associated with it that could easily stay viable on skin and other surfaces for some time. It wouldn't take shared needles. The risk are obviously real with a patient shedding that much live virus. We know how to mitigate that risk, but it requires a lot of effort.

 

[dann]

As Ebola deaths top 300, African officials meet to boost regional readiness (CIDRAP, June 26, 2026)

Could grow to be largest Ebola outbreak ever​

The outbreak, which is now the second largest in the DRC, shows no signs of slowing and currently standsat 1,155 confirmed cases and 304 deaths. Neighboring Uganda has 20 confirmed cases and two deaths. In a press conference yesterday, Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya, MD, MPH, warned that if contact tracing efforts don’t pick up, “for sure it will be the largest Ebola outbreak ever.”

 

[dann]

White House Adds Pandemic Response Staff as Ebola Cases Rise (Bloomberg News, July 1, 2026)

public health guy on bsky, July 1, 2026
but i was told by jay bhattacharya all these experts were incompetent compared to the great, all-knowing jay bhattacharya

 

[dann]

The Xylom on bsky, July 1, 2026
NEW: Kenya has never had an Ebola case. However, a planned quarantine facility exclusively serving Americans exposed to the virus in Africa has sparked massive protests, leading to a deadly police crackdown.
“Why can’t the facility be in America?” asked Lucy Kagure, mother of a killed protester.
Kenya Has No Ebola. But Trump's Planned Quarantine Facility Has Already Claimed Its First Life (The Xylom)

Gavin Yamey on bsky, July 1, 2026
This is THE question
If the facility is “too risky” to house Americans in America, why is it OK to house the facility in Kenya?
The answer, of course, is that to the Trump Administration only certain lives matter
Kudos to @alexip718.com for this story