Given its speed, scale and scope, the Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease that broke out in the Democratic Republic of Congo in mid-2026 could become a global epidemic.
I am an infectious disease epidemiologist with experience in managing the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in my country, Sierra Leone. Drawing lessons from Sierra Leone and having watched the mid-2026 outbreak in the DRC, I conclude that it risks become a global epidemic.