{
  "id": 19590,
  "title": "Diseases: Congo Ebola outbreak worsens",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/01/krankheiten-ebola-ausbruch-im-kongo-verscharft-sich",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-01T15:49:32.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/technik/forschung-innovation/krankheiten-ebola-ausbruch-im-kongo-verschaerft-sich/100244429.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is worsening despite weeks of efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO). The situation is actually worsening, with the WHO noting the largest outbreak the country has ever experienced. Emergency measures are needed to control the outbreak, according to the WHO. In the past week, there were as many infections (567) and deaths (296) reported as in any single week before. The WHO has recorded 3,605 laboratory-confirmed cases, including 1,587 deaths. 651 patients have survived the infection. The largest outbreak in Congo previously occurred between 2018 and 2020, with 3,317 confirmed cases. Higher numbers are partly due to improved monitoring and more laboratory tests, but the increase is largely due to the spread of the outbreak. Only around 80% of contacts of infected individuals are observed for three weeks to see if they become infected, whereas experts say 95% observation is needed. The difficult security situation, with rebel conflicts, hundreds of thousands of displaced people, and a large mistrust of the population complicates matters. Fewer people reach treatment centers, and family members often attend the deaths, mistaking them for something else. Burials are particularly risky as those who handle the bodies become highly infectious and can easily infect family members while washing them. Aid organizations provide families with protective suits and other measures for safe and dignified burials. This outbreak is of the Bundibugyo variant, for which there is no approved vaccine yet. A test with a newly developed vaccine is underway. The outbreak may have begun as early as January, possibly earlier, as stated by a research of three scientists on the ground in Congo reported by the scientific journal \"Science\". The epidemic had already started by mid-May, according to local experts, who identified Mongbwalu, a remote gold mining town, as a possible epicenter. A patient in need of medical help may have brought the virus from a rural area to the city when he hunted and ate wildlife. Ebola viruses are transmitted to humans from animals, such as when hunting and eating wild animals like bats.",
  "summary": "Rebels, mistrust and lack of vaccine: In the Congo, the Ebola virus is spreading rapidly. The disease may have been rampant for much longer than previously thought.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}