Conflicts can spread infectious diseases while making outbreaks harder to detect

What the report says

The Conversation Africa reports that an Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, which also reached Uganda, may have gone undetected for weeks in a region affected by armed conflict. Médecins Sans Frontières investigated in May 2026 and reported at least 55 deaths since early April. On May 17, the WHO Director-General declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, calling for coordinated international action.

The article uses that outbreak to examine a wider problem: wars can increase infectious-disease risks while also weakening the systems that reveal outbreaks. Drawing on WHO Disease Outbreak News entries from 1996 to 2024 and conflict records across 236 countries and territories, the authors found reported patterns consistent with conflict damaging clinics, laboratories, vaccination, sanitation, aid access and disease reporting. They caution that the WHO archive is selective and reflects outbreaks that were detected and published, not all outbreaks that occurred.

The Conversation Africa says reported polio outbreaks were more common during civil wars, in line with evidence that insecurity can disrupt vaccination. Cholera reports also rose, especially one and two years after fighting began, possibly reflecting the gradual breakdown of water, sanitation and healthcare. The article cites Yemen’s war-linked cholera epidemic as context, while noting the study cannot prove causation.

One contrasting finding was that influenza was reported less often during conflict. The authors say this may not mean flu spreads less; laboratories, testing supplies and national reporting networks may fail during violence. The broader significance is that pandemic early-warning systems rely not only on technology, but on functioning health services and safe access in the places where outbreaks may be hardest to see.