JONATHAN M. METSCH, Dr.P.H. – Tracking Emerging Public Health Challenges – July 23, 2026 -EBOLA
“Four deaths happened in just 24 hours.
The families were told they needed to bury the bodies themselves. Workers at the morgue were too busy to help. Nineteen people had already died in the camp that month, many more than usual.
Despite an influx of aid and health workers since the outbreak was first officially declared in May, the battle against Ebola remains a staggering challenge, and the camps are a stark example. Sanitary conditions are dire. Access to basic nutrition is limited. Patients vanish down winding alleys. Tracing people who may be infected is a Sisyphean task.
With the death toll from Ebola skyrocketing in Congo, attention has turned to these camps, where some of the country’s most vulnerable people live after fleeing violence elsewhere in the Ituri Province. More than 80 percent of new Ebola cases in eastern Congo are being detected outside known contact lists, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this month.
Many of the new infections are happening in communities where people have little to no access to health facilities — communities like these camps.” (1)
“At least 999 people have died from the Ebola outbreak in Congo, according to official data published overnight into Wednesday, a grim toll in what’s already been declared the fastest Ebola outbreak in history that is further complicated as some health workers have gone on strike.” (2)
“At least a dozen attacks on health facilities and workers have been recorded during Congo’s Ebola outbreak as safety fears restrict the response in the worst-affected region, authorities said Saturday.
Many health workers and other frontline workers in Ituri province have also gone on strike over unpaid salaries, further complicating response efforts in what’s been declared the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record. So far 2,181 cases have been recorded, including 864 deaths.”
Many of the attacks have been carried out by angry mobs who have stormed treatment centers or targeted response teams in the field, Pierre Akilimali, incident manager for the Ebola response, said at a press briefing in Bunia, the capital of Ituri.
The attacks are not limited to healthcare teams and affect frontline workers like burial teams, according to Dr. Adelard Lufongola, operations manager for the Ebola response.
“Members of the various response teams have been held captive in some health zones. Teams responsible for safe and dignified burials have been threatened and continue to be threatened in some cemeteries and within several communities,” Lufongola said at the briefing.” (3)
“Efforts to contain Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo did not begin well. Patients fled a treatment unit in Mongbwalu, a mining town, after community members set it on fire. Residents assaulted a burial team in the town of Katana and forced the crew to turn over a coffin. People living in the Kpangba displacement camp drove out health workers searching for Ebola contacts; the assailants insisted that the victims had not died of the disease. Similar antagonism hampered Ebola responses in 2014-16 and again in 2018.
Reactions like this would be easy to chalk up to poor education and anachronistic rituals: “Fear and ignorance as ebola ‘out of control’ in parts of west Africa,” as one Guardian headline put it in 2014. But unrest during epidemics is not about Ebola, Africa or education. It is something societies have struggled with for centuries, and it is evident in rich countries as well as poor ones, in modern times and medieval ones. During the Covid pandemic, Western doctors, nurses and health officials received not only applause and gratitude but also death threats. Patients denied that Covid existed as they died of the disease. Protesters carrying guns occupied sidewalks outside hospitals. Multitudes embraced treatments, such as ivermectin, that study after study showed to be ineffective. Vaccinators in Italy were assaulted. A German gas station attendant and a Michigan Family Dollar security guard were killed after asking customers to wear masks.
It can be difficult to imagine why those menaced by a deadly disease would threaten the people who are trying to protect them. But outbreaks elicit a contradictory mix of responses. They often unfold in three acts, wrote Charles E. Rosenberg, a medical historian: First, people deny reality and put off behavioral changes that might slow the spread. Then they demand explanations, often blaming “individual and community sins” or, in some cases, doctors. Finally, they take action. Then they have to contend with the aftermath of both the infections and the finger-pointing — the life-and-death consequences for themselves and their neighbors.
When armed community members remove a child from an Ebola treatment unit, “we may view that as irrational, illogical, kind of anti-science,” says Megan Schmidt-Sane, an American medical anthropologist who has briefed humanitarian groups fighting the current Ebola outbreak on ways to adapt public health advice to people’s realities. “We know that this is about so much more than that. It’s about history and culture and politics and even just about how people love and care for others in their family who are sick. And to reduce it to something like ‘resistance’ that needs stamping out in a really militaristic, heavy-handed response — that’s the exact wrong way to go.” Only when we understand these tendencies, she and other scholars say, can we navigate them.” (4)
“Dr. Desire Duabo, head of the Nyankunde health zone, told Mongabay that the exchange of gunfire began after the commander of the Patriotic and Integrationist Front of Congo (FPIC) militia and his bodyguards were killed by gunmen, who have not been identified, not far from the treatment center. Active since 2019, the FPIC is one of the many armed groups operating in the region.
“The situation has been extremely tense over the past two days. We are under a lot of stress. The patients have remained at the Ebola Treatment Center and are being cared for by our local staff,” Duabo, who remained on site, told Mongabay by phone.
Describing the situation as unprecedented, he added: “All Ebola response activities [in the area] have been brought to a standstill. Contact tracing for confirmed cases has stopped, alerts can no longer be investigated, and we are no longer able to conduct safe and dignified burials. The situation needs to change.” It is unclear when or if humanitarian workers will return to the area.” (5)
“Kenyan activists on Monday accused authorities of violating a court order from last month halting the setting up of an American-backed Ebola quarantine center after reports surfaced that Americans were being quarantined in the country.
The center was meant to take in and quarantine Americans evacuated from Congo, where an Ebola outbreak that erupted two months ago has so far killed at least 930 people, out of the 2,344 cases confirmed there.
A U.S. humanitarian organization, the Samaritan’s Purse, said over the weekend that seven of its American staff from Congo were being quarantined in “large military tents” for 21 days in Kenya, adding that none had so far shown symptoms of Ebola.
The organization did not say where in Kenya their workers were quarantined but local media have reported that military tents in Laikipia Air Base would house the U.S.-backed Ebola facility. The air base is about 185 kilometers (115 miles) north from Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, near the town of Nanyuki.” (6)
“The current outbreak presents additional challenges. There are no approved vaccines or treatments for the rare Bundibugyo virus variant and medical personnel could not quickly confirm the illness because available tests only worked for more common strains, such as Ebola and Sudan virus. Blood samples had to be sent about 1,500 kilometers to the capital, Kinshasa, for testing and confirmation, which caused dayslong diagnosis delays and surrendered precious time to the advancing virus.
“This detection delay enabled the virus to circulate within the population and among health care workers for weeks (possibly as early as February) without Ebola-specific interventions,” according to a report by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies.
Other conditions complicating the response, according to the Africa Center, include:
Some areas, including part of South Kivu province, are controlled by armed groups such as the M23 militia. Encountering such groups on the way to health centers deters patients and medical personnel.
Crowded displacement camps — more than 5 million people have been uprooted in the three affected provinces — make responses difficult and the virus spread easily. Deaths have been reported at three camps hosting tens of thousands of people.
The remote eastern DRC already had limited health resources, including too few doctors, nurses and medicines. Violence worsened those shortages. Access to clean water and hygiene also is limited.
Food insecurity affects nearly 10 million people in the region, decreasing resilience against Ebola and other illnesses.
The area is home to transient people who work in artisanal gold mines. Those groups attract sex workers and smugglers who could spread the disease as they move on. “Authorities in Mongbwalu, one of the main gold mining towns, believe that more than 80 people died from Ebola before the outbreak was detected.” (7)
“At HCA Florida Brandon Hospital, emergency department manager Shawn McCready said large international events require medical teams to prepare for a wide range of health emergencies.
“We have to prepare for everything,” McCready said, recalling his experience serving on the medical team for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
According to the CDC, Ebola spreads through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of a person who is sick or has died from the disease. It is not spread through the air.
Isis Lamphier, director of infection prevention at HCA Florida Brandon Hospital, said the facility has been closely monitoring the outbreak, following CDC guidance and working with the local health department. The hospital has provided Ebola training for staff, stocked specialized personal protective equipment (PPE) and reviewed protocols for safely caring for suspected patients.
Lamphier said proper preparation becomes even more important as international visitors arrive from around the world.
“So it’s really important if your city has one of the tournaments happening in your city, that you’re well prepared, because you’re going to be seeing an abundance of travelers coming in,” she said. “And you want to be prepared for Ebola or for any diseases that might not be native to your region, but could be native to a region where someone might be coming from.”
She added that correctly removing protective equipment is one of the most critical steps in preventing exposure after treating a patient with Ebola.
Federal health officials continue to emphasize that early identification, isolation of suspected patients, and proper infection-control measures remain key to preventing the spread of Ebola in the United States.” (8)
“A humanitarian worker is being monitored at a specialist hospital in London after potential exposure to the Ebola virus.
The UK resident was medically evacuated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where the worker had been treating patients with the disease, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.
UKHSA said the person was evacuated as a “highly precautionary measure”, adding: “The individual is not currently displaying any symptoms and remains well, but as a precautionary measure they have been evacuated on a flight chartered solely for the evacuation.
“They are now being assessed and monitored in isolation by infectious disease specialists at a London hospital.”” (9)
Canada imposes temporary Ebola travel ban, https://www.africanews.com/2026/07/20/canada-imposes-temporary-ebola-travel-ban/
As the Ebola outbreak rages, new treatments are headed into trials. Will they work?, https://www.pharmavoice.com/news/ebola-outbreak-gilead-mapp-drug-vaccine-who/825584/
Health Workers May Get Experimental Ebola Vaccine Strategy as Outbreak Grows, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-20/health-workers-may-get-experimental-ebola-vaccine-strategy-as-outbreak-grows
FDA Grants Emergency Authorization for Bundibugyo Ebola Test, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-21/fda-grants-emergency-authorization-for-bundibugyo-ebola-test
1.‘We Will All Die From Ebola Here’: Virus Stalks Crowded Camps in Congo, by Finbarr O’Reilly, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/23/world/africa/ebola-camps-congo-water-aid.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
2.Nearly 1,000 people dead from Ebola outbreak in Congo amid health worker strike, By Prosper Heri Ngorora, and Constant Same Bagalwa, https://fortune.com/2026/07/22/nearly-1000-people-dead-from-ebola-outbreak-in-congo-amid-health-worker-strike/
3.Safety fears limit Ebola response in Congo, with more than 12 attacks on health facilities and workers recorded, by Prosper Heri Ngoror and Constant Same Bagalwa,, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/safety-fears-limit-ebola-response-in-congo-with-more-than-12-attacks-on-health-facilities-and-workers-recorded
4.Why Epidemics Breed Rage at Health Workers, By Sheri Fink, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/magazine/ebola-health-workers.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
5.WHO evacuated health workers from Ebola treatment center due to armed clashes, by Elodie Toto, https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/who-evacuated-health-workers-from-ebola-treatment-center-due-to-armed-clashes/.
6.Ebola quarantine center for Americans is up and working in Kenya despite a court ban, activists say, By EVELYNE MUSAMBI, https://apnews.com/article/kenya-us-ebola-quarantine-center-538f4832f10e42942b4dafbb3c297ebb
7.As Ebola Spreads in DRC, Past Outbreaks Provide Map for Success, https://adf-magazine.com/2026/07/as-ebola-spreads-in-drc-past-outbreaks-provide-map-for-success/
8.CDC expands Ebola travel precautions as Tampa Bay hospital reviews preparedness, BY Fadia Patterson, https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2026/07/20/cdc-expands-ebola-travel-precautions-as-tampa-bay-hospital-reviews-preparedness
9.Health worker monitored for Ebola in London hospital after working in DRC, by Nadeem Badshah, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/21/health-worker-being-monitored-for-ebola-in-london-hospital-after-working-in-drc
curated by Jonathan M. Metsch, Dr.P.H.
Clinical Professor of Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai