Health · Ebola deaths hit 1,900 · ArchiveEbola Outbreak Started 3 Months Early as Deaths Hit 1,900Aired August 11, 2026 at 9:54 AM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00Genetic sequencing has pushed the start0:02of the Democratic Republic of Congo's0:04Bundibu strain Ebola [music] outbreak0:06back to February, three to four months0:07before the emergency was officially0:09declared on May 15th. The February start0:11means the fast-moving virus was0:13spreading [music] undetected through0:14February, March, and April. While no0:17emergency response had been triggered,0:18more than 4,200 confirmed cases have now0:21been counted with 1,900 deaths in what0:24is described [music] as the fastest0:25growing Ebola outbreak on record. The0:27sequencing analysis identifies February0:30as the most likely origin and the World0:32Health Organization [music] is0:33recommending a new course of action for0:35a virus that has no bundio specific0:38protection. [music]0:39The plan is to test the approved Zire0:41strain Ebola vaccine in a full-scale0:43human trial to [music] reduce severity0:45in Bundugio patients. Monitoring runs0:48over 42 days [music] with at least two0:50dozen participants at the Wampara0:52treatment center. In Aturi province,0:54five of the 69 displacement camps0:56reported Ebola cases last [music] week.0:58Crowding and limited health access there1:00make isolation, contact tracing, and1:02care exceptionally difficult, raising1:04the danger that camps become [music]1:06transmission hubs. Cases have also been1:08diagnosed in neighboring Uganda with no1:10community spread reported there so far.1:13This account has not yet received1:14broader independent confirmation [music]1:16and the central question is whether the1:18cross strain trial can reduce severity1:19quickly enough to keep displacement1:21camps from becoming hubs [music] and to1:23keep the detections in Uganda from1:24turning into community spread. For more1:27[music] stories that matter, like and1:29subscribe.Explore with HeyDexFollow via RSSThe shortThe short ↗Related coverageBackgroundOct 21 09:53 UTCAbuja Ebola patient in isolation as Nigeria traces 44 contactsBackgroundOct 21 08:18 UTCKenya’s Ebola cases reach nine as first quarantined contacts near release