Recent confirmation of a localized Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ituri province—with 13 laboratory-confirmed cases, 246 suspected infections, and roughly 65 deaths as of mid-May—has reinforced trader expectations that no pandemic will emerge in 2026. Public-health agencies including Africa CDC, WHO, and national laboratories have activated rapid detection, contact tracing, and isolation protocols that successfully contained the prior DRC outbreak within months. Historical patterns show Ebola virus disease rarely sustains sustained human-to-human transmission beyond initial clusters when surveillance infrastructure is engaged early, and genomic sequencing results expected within days should clarify the strain and transmissibility. While ongoing regional conflict and population movement raise the possibility of limited cross-border spread to Uganda or South Sudan, these factors have not produced the exponential growth or international seeding required for pandemic classification under standard epidemiological thresholds.