Will Ebola have an impact on the World Cup?
Key takeaways
- While ticket prices, heat and politics have made headlines, Ebola has been a World Cup worry for DR Congo.
- https://p.dw.com/p/5F3YGDR Congo are to face Portugal, Colombia and Uzbekistan at World Cup 2026Image: Omar Havana/AP Photo/picture alliance Advertisement.
- Isabel Brosius, an infectious disease specialist from the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, is in DR Congo.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
While ticket prices, heat and politics have made headlines, Ebola has been a World Cup worry for DR Congo. The African nation have qualified for the first time in 52 years, but does the outbreak have wider implications?
https://p.dw.com/p/5F3YGDR Congo are to face Portugal, Colombia and Uzbekistan at World Cup 2026Image: Omar Havana/AP Photo/picture alliance Advertisement. The outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, specifically the Bundibugyo virus disease, has already caused 91 deaths in the country. The latest data from the World Health Organization, released on June 6, shows there have been 515 confirmed cases in the country and 19 in neighboring Uganda, which has seen at least two deaths.
Isabel Brosius, an infectious disease specialist from the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, is in DR Congo. She told DW that the outbreak is devastating a country that has been wracked by conflict on its eastern flank and a number of other significant public health threats.