WHO warns new Ebola outbreak in Africa could surpass 2014 epidemic
WHO issues alarming forecast on Ebola outbreak (photo: Getty Images)
The number of confirmed Ebola cases linked to a major outbreak in East Africa is rising rapidly and is expected to soon reach 500, Sweden Herald reports.
Outbreak details, death toll
The media reports that, according to the latest official WHO data, a total of 471 infections have been confirmed in the region so far. The disease has already claimed 82 lives.
The vast majority of cases have been recorded in Congo-Kinshasa. Meanwhile, the dangerous virus continues to spread across the region, with 19 confirmed cases now reported in neighboring Uganda.
Over the past 24 hours, health officials have recorded a sharp increase in infections, and the situation could deteriorate significantly.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), if decisive action is not taken immediately, the current wave could become more severe than the outbreak that devastated West Africa more than a decade ago.
"That scale is possible," CDC Director Jason Asher said at a press conference, commenting on the risk of a repeat large-scale epidemic.
Background
In mid-May 2026, the World Health Organization declared an international public health emergency due to the Ebola outbreak in Africa. The epicenter of the infection, a rare Bundibugyo strain, was the Ituri province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from where the virus later spread to neighboring Uganda.
The situation is complicated by the fact that there are currently no officially approved vaccines or specific treatments for this particular strain.
Within two weeks, the situation worsened significantly, and the WHO described the outbreak as extremely concerning. The number of suspected cases in the DRC quickly exceeded 1,000, while deaths reached at least 246.
According to medical organizations, such a rate of spread has never been recorded before in the history of Ebola outbreak monitoring.
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