The known unknowns of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

On the 17th of May the World Health Organisation declared a new outbreak of Ebolavirus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as an International Emergency. Ebola virus is an extremely nasty viral disease with a high death toll. But despite its severity, very little is known about the number of infections in this current outbreak, in part because this particular species of Ebola is a rare one. Headlines recently stated that modelling shows that the number of infections could be almost 1,000 more than recorded. We speak to Dr Ruth McCabe, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London, who worked on the modelling behind those estimates. Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Lizzy McNeill Sound Mix: James Beard Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Richard Vadon

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The known unknowns of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is an episode from More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC.

This episode is 8:58 long.

This episode was published on May 30, 2026.

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