The World Health Organization now says there are hundreds of suspected cases and 139 deaths in the burgeoning epidemic

Paul Nuki

Global Health Security Editor,

in Geneva

Paul Nuki is Global Health Security Editor at The Telegraph. A senior journalist and former editor at the Sunday Times, he leads coverage on global security threats including epidemics, biosecurity, and international health crises. He has also written and reported extensively on the conflict in Israel and the Middle East.

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Published 20 May 2026 2:43pm BST

The Ebola outbreak in central Africa could be twice as big as currently reported, according to a study published by Imperial College London.

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said there were nearly 600 cases and 139 deaths in the outbreak that is sweeping hard-to-reach areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s north east.

However, a study published by the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, part of Imperial, suggests there could be up to…