Global Virus Network to Host International Media Briefing on Ebola Outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

On Wednesday, June 10, 2026 at 8:00–9:00 a.m. EDT / 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM GMT, frontline experts from the DRC, WHO, Africa CDC, and leading Ebola experts will discuss outbreak response, diagnostics, vaccines, and the Bundibugyo strain

TAMPA, Fla., June 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Global Virus Network (GVN), an international coalition of leading virologists with more than 90 Centers of Excellence and Affiliates in over 40 countries dedicated to advancing pandemic preparedness, will bring together frontline outbreak leaders directly involved in the response effort in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), together with senior leaders from the World Health Organization, Africa CDC, and the international scientific community, on Wednesday, June 10.

Featured Speakers

• Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum, MD, PhD
  Director General, Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Democratic Republic of the Congo

  2026 Virchow Prize Laureate who helped identify Ebola virus disease during the first known outbreak in 1976 and later co-invented the Ebola treatment mAb114 (Ebanga).

• Professor Salim S. Abdool Karim, MBChB, PhD
  Yusuf Hamied Chair in Global Health & Director, CAPRISA; Global Virus Network Center of Excellence
  Special Advisor to the Director-General, World Health Organization
  Chair, Africa CDC Emergency Consultative Group

  Joining from the Democratic Republic of the Congo

• Professor Robert F. Garry Jr., PhD
  Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Tulane University School of Medicine, Global Virus Network Center of Excellence

• Professor Sten H. Vermund, MD, PhD
  Chief Medical Officer, Global Virus Network
  Dean, University of South Florida College of Public Health

• Professor Christian Bréchot, MD, PhD (Moderator)
  Vice Chair, Board of Directors, Global Virus Network
  Director, University of South Florida Microbiomes Institute
  Former President, Institut Pasteur
  

The briefing will provide journalists with access to experts in outbreak response, public health preparedness, virology, and infectious disease research. Discussion topics will include the current outbreak, scientific and operational challenges, the Bundibugyo strain, diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics, regional preparedness, and implications for global health security.