What is Ebola ?

Ebola virus disease is caused by the Orthoebolavirus zairense species. 

It is a Zoonotic Disease / Zoonotic diseases (or zoonoses) are infectious illnesses caused by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi that are naturally transmitted between vertebrate animals and humans.

It was first discovered in 1976 during outbreaks in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Sudan (now South Sudan), with the Zaire outbreak killing 88% of the 318 infected individuals at the time.

There have been numerous outbreaks since, and the current one in DRC in Ituri is the 17th outbreak of the Ebola virus.

See the map below from the USA CDC to show previous outbreak information. https://www.cdc.gov/ebola/outbreaks/index.html

What makes this current outbreak (2026) worrying, is that there are more than 5000 people with the virus so far, and contact tracing needs to be carried out. Sadly over 2000 people have already died.

• Britain pledges an additional £50 million to support Ebola Outbreak
  On 1st September Britain pledged an additional £50 million ($67.56 million) to support efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), bringing its total financial contribution to £78 million in an aim to address the country’s largest-ever epidemic, which has surpassed 6,000 confirmed cases. An allocation of £20 million was made in May 2026.… Read more: Britain pledges an additional £50 million to support Ebola Outbreak
• Africa CDC update
  Ebola in DRC remains serious and continues to evolve. When it was declared on 15 May, 1 province and 2 health zones were affected. On 1st Sep, 6 provinces and 60 health zones are affected representing an area of 240,000 km² comparable to size of the United Kingdom or 5 times the size of Switzerland.… Read more: Africa CDC update
• Live Ebola Map
  #EbolaOutbreak #EbolaVirus #Ebola #pandemic #PHEIC Here is a live map showing the Ebola cases, which is regularly updated. In just 3 months cases are over 5000, with no signs of control of the virus. In fact at the present time it is claiming one life every 30 minutes. liveebolamap.com Live Ebola Map — Track the… Read more: Live Ebola Map
• Uganda Ebola outbreak ended
  July 28, 2026, Uganda authorities declared that the Bundibugyo virus outbreak in Uganda had ended – this marks a crucial milestone in outbreak control. There were a total of 20 confirmed cases, with 2 deaths during the outbreak which started from an imported cases of Ebola from the DRC. The outbreak in DRC is far from… Read more: Uganda Ebola outbreak ended
• Uganda Ebola cases rises to 5
  Cases in Uganda rise to 5 Ugandan authorities confirmed on Saturday that there were three new cases of the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, which to date has neither a cure nor a vaccine. “The three new cases include a Ugandan health worker, a driver and a Congolese national who travelled from Ituri Province… Read more: Uganda Ebola cases rises to 5