On May 16, 2026, the Democratic Republic of Congo made a public statement confirming the idea of several researchers: Ebola had been spreading for months before anyone had noticed it, marking the 17th time that Ebola has spread through the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1976. Just two days after the World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, over a hundred cases had been reported. As of May 29, 2026, this outbreak has accumulated over 1,200 confirmed and suspected cases and at least 241 deaths, therefore marking it as the third-largest Ebola outbreak on record. The worst part? It’s still growing.
What is Ebola?
Ebola is a severe viral illness that is caused by a family of viruses called orthoebolaviruses that live in fruit bats, whose habitats include both Central and West Africa. The way that it spreads is through direct contact with fluids such as blood, vomit, or an infected person’s bodily fluids, and even through contaminated surfaces. Unlike COVID-19, it doesn’t spread through casual contact or the air, which makes it far less transmissible and widespread. There are four strains of Ebola that are known to infect humans, with varying levels of danger, as there exist different levels of treatment for each strain.
- Zaire – Responsible for the largest known outbreaks of Ebola during 2014–2016 in West Africa and 2018–2020 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Treatment is possible with approved vaccines and monoclonal antibody therapies, but if left untreated, the fatality rate can be as high as 90%.
- Bundibugyo – The new strain behind the 2026 outbreak is considered less deadly than Zaire, with a fatality rate of 25–40%, but no targeted treatment or approved vaccine exists.
- Sudan – Responsible for the first recorded Ebola virus outbreak in 1976, which was primarily located in what are now South Sudan and Uganda. At the time, it was considered an extreme threat due to it being the first known Ebola outbreak encountered by the international medical community. Its fatality rate was around 41–65%, with no approved vaccine as of 2026.
- Taï Forest – An extremely rare strain of the Ebola virus, with only one known human case. However, this strain did not originate from Central Africa but rather from the Congo River Basin in Central Africa. The sole human case originated in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa, in 1994.
Why this outbreak is different.
Following the devastating 2014–2016 West Africa epidemic caused by the Zaire strain, the whole world invested significantly in cures for Ebola, which worked, as monoclonal antibody treatments and vaccines that were developed helped bring the outbreak back under control. However, the tools that were developed could only prevent the Zaire strain; none of the other strains were affected by these tools. The new outbreak, which is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, has no approved vaccine or treatment, which effectively leaves us in the same position we were in during 2014, relying upon contact tracing, case isolation, and safe burials.
The area where the strain was found is also a major issue, as it is located in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, an area with years of armed conflict, minimal healthcare infrastructure, and constantly moving populations. With a past history of treatment centers being attacked, foreign aid has decreased significantly. Additionally, with the U.S. reducing funding to the World Health Organization, it has had a much smaller presence, not helping the situation at all. With all these barriers, it is very likely that the true number of cases could be double the reported cases, meaning that the virus was most likely infecting people for months before the first case was officially identified.
Should you be worried?
If you don’t live within South Sudan, Uganda, or the Democratic Republic of Congo, your risk of being infected is extremely low. The CDC, or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the primary national public health agency of the United States, rated the overall risk to the American public as low. The EU’s ECDC, or European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, also rated the likelihood of infection for people in Europe as low.
The reason behind the low-risk rating is the transmission method, which requires direct contact with bodily fluids, making it highly unlikely to become widespread in developed countries with strong healthcare systems. Additionally, the U.S. has banned entry for any non-citizens who have recently been to South Sudan, Uganda, or the Democratic Republic of Congo. It has been screening American citizens who are returning from these areas as well. Due to these precautions, there have been no confirmed cases linked to the outbreak in the U.S.
However, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the same cannot be said. As $500 million in international humanitarian response funding and drug trials for Bundibugyo-specific treatments are beginning following the World Health Organization announcement. While it is likely that treatment options will be found for the new strain, it still remains unacceptable that the country that has been the site of 17 outbreaks since 1976 continues to face each new epidemic with no targeted tools and degraded infrastructure. The issue isn’t scientific anymore; the disease can be prevented and stopped.
Now the real issue is political.