Sunday, November 1, 2026
Ebola has killed 5,026 in Congo since May.
Congo’s health ministry says 5,026 people have died of Ebola since May, out of 10,351 infected. This strain, Bundibugyo, has no vaccine and no treatment. A third of the dead never reached a clinic. Staff at one treatment center walked out Friday over four months of unpaid wages. Cases have turned up in Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria.
A sickness called Ebola is making people very ill in Congo, a country in Africa, across the whole ocean from us. It only spreads by touching a sick person’s blood or sick, so the doctors there are very careful. It is not here, and the grown-ups have it.
Why it worksA five-year-old takes one vivid detail for the whole event, so the death count stays out and two facts stay in: it spreads by touch, and it is across the ocean. Cantor found that physical facts like far away calm this age better than odds do. Expect “could it come here?” Say no, it is not here, and the doctors are watching.
- “Could I get Ebola?”
- No. It’s in Congo, in Africa, very far away, and it only spreads by touching a sick person’s blood or sick. You’re safe.
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Since May, Ebola has infected 10,351 people in Congo and killed 5,026, nearly half. There’s no vaccine for this strain, so stopping it means finding everyone a sick person touched, like a contact list. Eight in ten new cases come from people nobody was tracking.
Why it worksThis age is building chains of cause and effect, so the script gives them one: no vaccine, so you trace every contact, and eight in ten new cases come from people nobody traced. The unpaid staff are a fairness question they will argue well. Expect “why don’t they just pay them?” Say the workers are tired of asking, and said so.
- “Why isn’t there a shot for this one?”
- This strain has no vaccine or treatment yet. Trials are under way.
- “How does it spread?”
- Only by contact with a sick person’s blood or vomit.
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Would you keep working an Ebola ward after four months without pay? Staff at a clinic in Ituri walked out Friday with five patients inside. Second: a nurse was killed last week by locals who said health workers spread the virus. When half the sick die and nobody trusts the clinic, who walks in?
Why it worksA teenager can hold two things at once: the strikers have a case, and walking out leaves five patients with nobody. The second question is harder, because the people attacking health workers are frightened too. Kuhn calls arguing a skill you practise, so let them run it. Expect “would you stay?” Answer honestly.
- “Why is this Ebola killing so many?”
- No vaccine for this strain. A third of the dead never saw a clinic.
- “Why would health workers walk out now?”
- Four months unpaid. One said feeding his family is now a real problem.
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Based on the headline: Ebola has killed 5,026 in Congo since May.