Pressure Systems edition
Congo Ebola Surge and Australian Bird Flu Threaten Global Biosecurity
August 18, 2026
What this edition shows
The World Health Organization confronts an unprecedented Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo while Australian wildlife agencies grapple with advancing H5N1 bird flu strains. Simultaneously, biomedical facilities like Polytechnique Montréal scramble to reinforce Canada's pandemic preparedness against collapsing biological oversight.
Reporting and analysis behind this edition 10 sources
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Congo Ebola outbreak ‘global emergency’ as infections pass 5,000: WHO
Officials warn they are continuing to identify new chains of transmission, which need to be broken to stop the spread.
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DR Congo Ebola outbreak set to become deadliest on record, WHO warns
Outbreak to eclipse West Africa's Ebola outbreak of 2014 to 2016 if it continues at current pace, WHO chief says.
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Ebola outbreak caused by new ‘animal transmission’: What that means
More than 2,000 people have died after contracting the latest strain of the Ebola virus.
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Ebola outbreak in DR Congo becomes deadliest in country’s history
A top UN official says 'speed, scale, and solidarity' needed 'before this virus gets even further ahead of us'.
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WHO: Ebola can be contained in months if enough funding is provided
The World Health Organization says the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo can be brought under control in three months.
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Can a vaccine built for one Ebola virus stop another? The World Health Organization is about to find out
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended prioritising the Ervebo vaccine for testing in a clinical trial in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The vaccine was originally developed to protect against Zaire ebolavirus, the species responsible for the devastating west African epidemic jus…
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Why is the latest Ebola outbreak worsening?
Virus spreading in DRC faster than containment efforts.
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Is bird flu infecting humans? How would we know?
Bird flu is circulating among birds on the Australian mainland. So with the confirmed number of detections growing, you may be wondering about the risk of birds infecting humans. So far in 2026, no humans in Australia have been diagnosed with the currently circulating strain. And evidence from overs…
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We don’t know how well threatened species fight off bird flu – but we need to
Lethal bird flu is now spreading in Australia. This is bad news for many native species. New federal government analysis suggests close to one in five Australian bird and mammal species is at high, very high or extreme risk. But this risk assessment omits something vital – how genetically well-equip…
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Inside the Montreal lab finding ways to prepare Canada against future pandemics
In a biomedicine laboratory at Polytechnique Montréal, animal protein grows in a bubbling orange solution as researchers in white lab coats take samples with large syringes.