Outbreak history on August 26

Historical outbreak-response milestones recorded on this calendar date, drawn from WHO Disease Outbreak News, CDC archives, and primary epidemiological literature.

• 1976

  Ebola

  Index case of Yambuku Ebola outbreak (Zaire, now DRC)

  Mabalo Lokela, a 44-year-old schoolteacher from Yambuku Mission Hospital in northern Zaire, was admitted with high fever — the first recorded case of what would become known as Zaire ebolavirus. The outbreak produced 318 cases and 280 deaths and gave Ebola its name (from the nearby Ebola River). Combined with the simultaneous Nzara outbreak across the border in Sudan, this event established the Ebola virus family in human medicine.

Browse the full outbreak history calendar for milestones across all dates.