Health

Ebola in DR Congo: The 1976-2026 Outbreak History

DR Congo's 2026 Ebola outbreak, declared 15 May 2026 in Ituri Province and confirmed a WHO public health emergency of international concern on 17 May, is cause…

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VIRUS DISCOVERED

Ebola Is Identified for the First Time

A hemorrhagic fever outbreak swept villages near Yambuku Mission Hospital between September and October 1976, spread largely by reused, unsterilized needles. Internation…

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KIKWIT OUTBREAK

Hospital Transmission Forces a New Response Model

Nineteen years after Yambuku, Ebola returned, spreading substantially inside Kikwit General Hospital before international teams introduced strict barrier nursing that ha…

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NEW SPECIES FOUND

Bundibugyo Virus Is Identified in Uganda

An unusual hemorrhagic-fever cluster in western Uganda turned out to be caused by a virus roughly 32% genetically divergent from Zaire ebolavirus, a new Ebola species th…

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VACCINE ERA

The Kivu Epidemic: Fought Inside a War Zone

DRC's 10th recorded outbreak, and the first ever fought inside an active conflict zone, brought Ervebo vaccination to large scale for the first time and eventually ended…

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SURVIVOR LINK

A Flare-Up Traced Back to a 2018-2020 Survivor

Genomic sequencing linked a small February-May 2021 outbreak to the earlier Kivu epidemic, a rare case of viral persistence in a survivor re-emerging years after recover…

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16TH OUTBREAK

Bulape: Contained in Under Three Months

DRC's 16th recorded outbreak, caused by Zaire ebolavirus, was declared 4 September 2025 in remote Kasai Province and declared over by 1 December 2025 after fast contact…

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PHEIC DECLARED

Bundibugyo Virus Outbreak Declared, WHO Emergency Follows

WHO was alerted 5 May 2026 to a high-mortality illness in a mining area of Ituri Province; Bundibugyo virus was confirmed 15 May, and WHO declared a public health emerge…

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DEADLIEST EVER

Outbreak Becomes DRC's Largest and Deadliest

By mid-August 2026, confirmed cases and deaths had both surpassed the 2018-2020 Kivu outbreak, making this DRC's worst Ebola crisis on record, while remaining the world'…

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