There’s An Ebola Outbreak. Here’s What Could Happen Next, From A Doctor

InnovationHealthcareThere’s An Ebola Outbreak. Here’s What Could Happen Next, From A DoctorByJesse Pines,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Jesse Pines is an expert in healthcare innovation and wellness.Follow AuthorMay 18, 2026, 04:00am EDTA colorized electron microscope image of the Ebola virus. The WHO has declared the Bundibugyo strain — for which no approved vaccine or treatment exists — a global health emergency after cases emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo and spread to Uganda in May 2026.gettyThe World Health Organization has declared a new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo a public health emergency of international concern. This is the most serious designation short of a pandemic emergency, which was how COVID-19 was classified. The announcement came just days after health officials confirmed a deadly, fast-moving strain of Ebola was spreading across one of the world’s most remote and conflict-torn regions. It had already crossed an international border.The current outbreak, centered in Congo's northeastern Ituri province, has been confirmed as the Bundibugyo strain: a rare and understudied Ebola virus for which no approved vaccine or treatment exists. As of this writing, at least 88 people have died and more than 336 suspected cases have been recorded across the health zones of Rwampara and Mongwalu, with additional cases confirmed in Bunia, Ituri's provincial capital. More alarming still, the virus has already reached Uganda. A 59-year-old Congolese man died of confirmed Bundibugyo Ebola in Kampala on May 14 as the first confirmed international spread of this outbreak. Then, on May 16, a second laboratory-confirmed case with no apparent link to the first was reported in Kampala. It was an individual who had traveled from DRC. This raises the alarming possibility that the exposure chain within Uganda is larger than currently known.MORE FOR YOUThis is Congo's 17th Ebola...