What is Ebola and how can it be contained?

Ephrat LivniMon May 18 2026 - 07:57 • 6 MIN READA team in Gbarnga, Liberia, buries a woman who died during a Ebola outbreak in 2014. The World Health Organisation has declared a global health emergency after an outbreak of the virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Photograph: Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times

An outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring Uganda has prompted the World Health Organisation to declare a global health emergency.About 80 deaths have been attributed to the disease in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the outbreak was first identified.

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What is Ebola and how can it be contained?

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