WHO Declares Ebola Outbreak in Congo, Uganda a Global Health Emergency
However, the outbreak has not met the criteria of a pandemic.
I guess the World Health Organization (WHO) discovered it couldn’t hype up the hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship.
WHO declared the Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda a global health emergency due to 300 cases and 88 deaths.
The majority are in Congo. Only two cases have appeared in Uganda.
However, the outbreak has not met the criteria of a pandemic.
WHO wrote on X:
Highlights from Disease Outbreak News on #Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo Virus Disease, Democratic Republic of the Congo & Uganda – 16 May 2026:
🔴 As of 15 May, a total of 246 suspected cases and 80 deaths (4 deaths among confirmed cases) have been reported. 65 contacts have been listed, with 15 identified as high-risk.
🔴 Most of the suspected cases are between 20 and 39 years old, with females accounting for over 60%, suggesting significant risks associated with household and caregiver transmission.
🔴 Insecurity in the affected areas and movement restrictions are hampering the surveillance and follow up efforts. Several listed contacts became symptomatic and died before they could be isolated.
🔴 Ituri province’s role in #DRC as a commercial and migratory hub and proximity to #Uganda and South Sudan increases the risk of regional exportation and cross-border transmission.
Highlights from Disease Outbreak News on #Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo Virus Disease, Democratic Republic of the Congo & Uganda – 16 May 2026:
🔴 As of 15 May, a total of 246 suspected cases and 80 deaths (4 deaths among confirmed cases) have been reported. 65 contacts… pic.twitter.com/uwUZJFyRpH
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 17, 2026
The CDC ramped up its response to the outbreak:
The agency plans to deploy additional staff to the affected countries and will provide technical support including laboratory testing, contact tracing and surveillance through its country offices, said Satish Pillai, the CDC’s Ebola response incident manager, on a call with reporters Sunday. It has also activated its emergency response center.
“The risk to the United States remains low,” Pillai said. The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus strain and has no approved vaccine or treatment. Infected people can transmit Ebola when they are symptomatic, he added.
We’ve seen Ebola outbreaks through the years in Africa, especially in Congo and Uganda.
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Comments
Global? Please stop.
Ebola seems horrible but mercifully it does not seem to have asymptomatic carriers which significantly lowers the transmission rate. Sounds like this is a cluster for a quarantine and as much humanitarian aid as feasible.
ebola (especially zebov) is a pathogen of a much higher order than wuhan–agree quarantine in situ but also close airports to international travel for a given time as feasible–containment, palliative care and natural attrition the only known counters to the virus
It could possibly become global if those countries do not close their borders.
Hello? McFly?! Anybody home??
It’s pretty much just Townshend and Daltrey now… 🙂
Horrible, painful way to go
My heart is full for these people
If you’ve been to Africa, you understand whether real poverty is
Just clean running water, no where to be found
How do I put this?
No.
We’re not doing this. You know, I know, we all know Ebola outbreaks burn quickly and don’t spread far as a result. There is a regional issue, but not a global one. You’re trying to stir up panic to relive the days when people mistook you for relevant.
Get lost.
Say, what if the U.S. put strict controls on any visitors from affected countries and patrolled our borders against illegals?
It’s kind of crazy but it just might work!
2014 Obama forgot to block air traffic and an infected Liberian (Thomas Eric Duncan) boarded a plane for Dallas. Disembarked and then wandered around until he became seriously ill. He died in hospital.
But the CDC has it all under control. Except when it doesn’t.
“On October 10 (two days after Duncan died), Vinson flew commercially from Dallas to Cleveland, Ohio, to visit family and plan her wedding. She had a low-grade fever (99.5°F) and called the CDC beforehand; she was cleared to fly. She returned to Dallas on October 13 and was diagnosed shortly after. This led to contact tracing for passengers and significant media scrutiny, though her family emphasized she was “in no way careless.”
Amber Vinson (29 years old): The second infected nurse.
Nina Pham (26 years old): The first Dallas healthcare worker to contract Ebola. She reported a low-grade fever on October 10 and tested positive on October 11–12.
There go my vacation plans.
WHO declares ebola outbreak in the Congo?
I dunno.
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