Geopolitics · Wednesday, 19 August 2026
DR Congo Ebola outbreak now deadliest on record
The World Health Organization said on August 18 that DR Congo's Ebola outbreak has become the deadliest in the country's history, with over 5,000 confirmed infections and more than 2,320 deaths, surpassing the 2018-2020 outbreak. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the epidemic is spreading at unprecedented speed and is not yet under control, and that the Bundibugyo strain involved has no currently approved vaccine or treatment. The outbreak, declared in May, has now reached a sixth province.