Ebola

[dann]

Helen Branswell on bsky, July 8, 2026
#Ebola update: DRC reported 84 new cases (59 already dead) on 7/6. That brings their confirmed totals to 1708 cases, 580 of whom have died. On 7/6, 12,190 contacts of cases were on the monitoring list; 75% of them were reached that day. insp.cd/sitrep-n053-...
https://bsky.app/#

 

[Planigale]

"They grabbed me from behind and started punching me, hitting me with spades and machetes," says Daniel Uyirwoth Welo, one of four Red Cross volunteers injured when a crowd tried to open a coffin carrying someone who had died from Ebola.

The 27-year-old and his colleagues were attempting to carry out a safe burial at a cemetery in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, last month when they were attacked. The assault was triggered by rumours - circulating locally and online - that the coffin was empty.

Some in the crowd said, "No Ebola doesn't exist," Welo told BBC Verify, adding that others believed the Red Cross team was there only "to get money".

Ebola misinformation is fuelling attacks on health workers in DR Congo

False claims about Ebola are linked to attacks on treatment facilities, assaults on health workers and disruptions to burials.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[dann]

Ebola workers strike as CDC head says agency’s response will last months (CIDRAP, July 8, 2026)
To add to an already difficult public health crisis, some healthcare workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have gone on strike, saying they are fighting an Ebola virus in an outbreak with inadequate equipment and low wages, the Associated Press (AP) reports. While no official strike has been declared, workers are leaving their jobs at clinics and treatment centers amidst the growing outbreak.

Ebola Cases Climb 25% as UN Warns Outbreak May Push One Million Into Poverty (Health Policy Watch, July 10, 2026)
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ebola outbreak is the fastest-growing on record, Africa CDC told its weekly briefing on Wednesday, with confirmed cases up 25% over the past week to 1,759 and deaths reaching 600.
The outbreak’s reproductive number is 1.4, meaning every 10 infections lead to roughly 14 more, while the case fatality rate is 34%, officials said. At Africa CDC’s previous press conference a week earlier, on 30 June, the toll stood at 1,406 cases and 438 deaths.

Ebola outbreak in DR Congo still outpacing response (CIDRAP, July 10, 2026)
Chikwe Ihekweazu, MBBS, MPH, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, told Reuters that 80% of new Ebola patients in Ituri province—the epicenter of the outbreak—are not on contact lists of existing patients. That suggests the outbreak, which is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, is largely spreading undetected.

Africa CDC calls for more protection for health workers as deadly Ebola outbreak shows no sign of slowing (CIDRAP, July 13, 2026)
The leader of the Africa Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (Africa CDC), is calling for stronger protections for first responders, including more gear and enhanced safety protocols in light of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which is officially entering its second month and showing little signs of slowed transmission.
Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya, MD, MPH, said that, as of July 9, 112 healthcare workers have been infected with Ebola since the outbreak began, including 35 who died. The outbreak now stands at 1,947 cases, and 704 deaths, with the vast majority of those in the DRC.

 

[dann]

Ebola cases surge past 2,000, now fastest-growing outbreak in history (CIDRAP, July 15, 2026)
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is now the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history, with 2,011 cases, including 754 deaths recorded in the past two months, officials said yesterday.
And now workers at the Bunia General Hospital have gone on strike, joining other health professionals in Ituri province who said Congolese officials have not paid them during the outbreak.

 

[Planigale]

One can't help think that the US withdrawal from WHO and refusal to co-ordinate with WHO and cutting of USAID has contributed. If nothing else to the shortage of PPE.

The UK destroyed $billions of unneeded PPE at the end of covid. In reality of course even if they had offered the PPE to DRC there wouldn't have been the infrastructure to store it locally.

 

[dann]

Death toll in Ebola outbreak in DR Congo approaches 1,000 (CIDRAP, July 20, 2026)
At least 930 people have now died in the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with 37 new deaths recorded in 24 hours over the weekend. Congolese health officials said there were 2,344 cases confirmed as of Saturday.

 

[dann]

Ebola death toll tops 1,000 (CIDRAP, July 23, 2026)
The death toll in the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has officially topped 1,000, with 1,035 fatalities reported yesterday among 2,557 cases. Ituri province in the DRC accounts for 90% of all virus activity, and the case-fatality rate of the outbreak is now at 40%. Ituri is home to several refugee camps housing up to 1 million Congolese. The camps lack basic water or other sanitary systems, with conditions worsening since the second Trump administration cut foreign aid.

 

[dann]

First volunteer vaccinated in the world's first Bundibugyo vaccine trial (University of Oxford, July 24, 2026)
'With Bundibuyo cases increasing at a concerning rate in the DRC, this epidemic shows no signs of stopping. The need for a vaccine against this specific Ebolavirus becomes more urgent every day.'

 

[dann]

Africa CDC chief says ‘no magical solution’ for intensifying deadly Ebola outbreak (CIDRAP, July 30, 2026)
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to move faster than the response amid “intense” community transmission, with government officials announcing the death toll has surpassed 1,500.
In an update today, the Congolese government said 3,442 cases have been reported, with 1,521 deaths, according to the Associated Press. Cases and deaths have risen sharply over the past week, in what was already the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history. The case-fatality rate is a sobering 44%.

Compared with one week ago, July 23. See post 47: 2,557 cases, 1,035 deaths.

 

[dudalb]

I have to repeat; you reall wnat to read "The Hot Zone",

 

[dann]

Ebola outbreak in DR Congo now second-deadliest in history (CIDRAP, Aug 3, 2026)
As of yesterday, DRC officials reported 3,695 cases and 1,623 deaths.
In a new Disease Outbreak News report from the World Health Organization (WHO), the agency says the outbreak is intensifying, and the crude case fatality ratio (CFR) now stands at 44%. Transmission rates are increasing, and in the last week of July, the highest weekly number of reported cases (567) and deaths (296) to date were recorded, the WHO said. There have been 151 cases among healthcare workers, including 44 deaths (CFR 29%).

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Meanwhile, in the kinder, gentle world we all used to know.

Health Canada authorizes vaccine clinical trial for Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus

On July 30, 2026, Health Canada authorized Moderna to move forward with a Phase I clinical trial for its candidate mRNA vaccine for Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus.

www.canada.ca

 

[novaphile]

Bundibugyo?

It really did.

Too soon?

 

[dudalb]

The condemnation of Fauci is opening the gates to Ebola. Too many public health officials will be afraid to enforce any rules if they interfer with "business".

 

[dann]

WHO, Africa CDC urge scale-up of efforts to contain Ebola outbreak (CIDRAP, Aug 7, 2026)
While Uganda’s outbreak has been declared over after 20 cases and two deaths, there are now 4,053 confirmed Ebola cases in the DRC and 1,850 deaths. It’s already the second deadliest Ebola outbreak in history and is showing no signs of slowing down, with an average of 75 new cases each day.

 

[dann]

Bundibugyo?
It really did.
Too soon?

How to pronounce Bundibugyo:
(I think. She's not a phoneticist.)
What is Ebola Bundibugyo? (Columbia Medicine on YouTube, May 28, 2026 – 1:13 min.)

At 52 sec.–>

 

[dann]

The condemnation of Fauci is opening the gates to Ebola. Too many public health officials will be afraid to enforce any rules if they interfer with "business".

On the contrary, the current U.S. health authorities don't give a ◊◊◊◊ about rules and regulations when it comes to imposing (actually draconian) restrictions on people!

Americans who responded to Ebola outbreak are quarantined in Kenya, despite court order (Politico, July 17, 2026)
The Trump administration said Monday Americans in Congo, where Ebola is spreading, must spend three weeks in a third country before coming home.

And Americans who are actually infected with the virus are sent to Germany for treatment!

 

[dann]

We prepared for Ebola — but not this Ebola (StatNews, Aug 10, 2026)
Preparation for the next Ebola outbreak focused on the wrong species, showing a global health blind spot
When most people hear “Ebola,” they think of a single disease caused by a single virus.
Scientists know better. Ebola virus disease is caused by several distinct virus species capable of causing devastating outbreaks in humans, each with important biological differences that influence diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics, and outbreak response. Yet for much of the past decade, global preparedness efforts have largely focused on a single species: Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV).

We prepared for the coronavirus, but not this coronavirus ...

 

[dann]

WHO chief says most Ebola deaths in DR Congo still happening in the community (CIDRAP, Aug 7, 2026)
“The epidemic is far from being under control,” Tedros said during his opening remarks. “It had a big head start, and we are still playing catch-up. What concerns me most is where people are dying: at home, in their communities, outside treatment centres, and outside known contact lists. Every death like that points to a chain of transmission we have not yet found.”

 

[dann]

Ebola outbreak now deadliest ever in DR Congo as death rate reaches 46% (CIDRAP, Aug 17, 2026)
With a staggering 2,325 deaths, the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic of the Congo (DRC) has now killed more people than 2018-20 outbreak, which killed 2,299, making it the country’s deadliest Ebola outbreak ever.
The largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded was a 2014-16 outbreak in West Africa, which killed 11,325 over two years.

WHO delivers Ebola vaccine to DR Congo to see if it can protect against Bundibugyo strain (CIDRAP, Aug 20, 2026)
Today the World Health Organization (WHO) announced it has allocated 70,000 Ervebo doses for use in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to help combat its fast-growing Ebola outbreak.
Ervebo is a vaccine targeting Ebola Zaire, the most common strain of the hemorrhagic fever, and not Bundibugyo, the strain causing the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever recorded.

As DR Congo Ebola outbreak tops 5,500 cases, calls for more resources intensify (CIDRAP, Aug 24, 2026)
The official tally is 2,642 deaths and 5,515 infections, but "we are detecting just 30 to 40%," Kyeng Mercy, PhD, MPH, epidemic intelligence unit lead at the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said at a press briefing last week. "If you have to look at the real burden, we should be over 10,000 to 15,000 cases."
Abdulsalami Nasidi, MD, PhD, who helped launch the Africa CDC, told Al Jazeera that the outbreak was “getting out of hand. This is no longer just a national or regional issue; it is a global issue. If it spreads to neighbouring places with lower immunity, it will be a disaster.”
In a press release today, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that viral spread is outpacing control measures, necessitating a dramatic increase in all response efforts.