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Ebola outbreak in DR Congo and Uganda

The Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus currently affects multiple countries, including the DR Congo (Ituri, Kinshasa) and Uganda (Kampala). The latest case counts are unknown, and the official risk assessment is classified as "very high" by WHO.

Personal risk
Risk low

WHO global risk is low; for travellers without contact to cases or funerary/healthcare settings in affected provinces the risk is very low.

WHO global assessment
Risk very highWHO
As of: 01 January 1970 · Source: WHO
Published by Dominik Martin · Software engineer and data aggregator· Methodology last reviewed: 17 May 2026· Methodology version 1.0
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Latest coverage

As of: 09/07/2026, 06:22
  1. Medical Xpress
    A rare, Ebola-like virus is spreading. Are we prepared?
  2. Bloomberg.com
    Experimental Ebola Trial Begins in Congo as Death Toll Tops 500
  3. CIDRAP
    Ebola deaths top 500 as DR Congo health workers threaten to strike

External coverage via Google News, refreshed automatically. Editorial responsibility for the listed articles lies with the publishing outlets, not InfectRisk. Only the dossier text above is editorially curated.

What is known so far

On June 18, 2026, ECDC published practical guidance to improve Ebola preparedness. On the same day, CDC provided an update on the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. On June 24, 2026, the first imported Ebola case in Europe was confirmed, prompting ECDC to call on EU Member States to strengthen their preparedness. In a report dated June 26, 2026, ECDC addressed communicable disease threats, including Ebola. On July 2, 2026, WHO began patient enrollment in a scientific trial to identify the first effective treatments for Bundibugyo virus disease. On the same day, WHO added the first diagnostic test for Ebola Bundibugyo virus to its Emergency Use Listing. On July 3, 2026, WHO reported a rapid increase in confirmed cases and deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a total of 1481 confirmed cases, including 1460 from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and 20 from Uganda. On July 6, 2026, WHO declared the Ebola outbreak in the DR Congo and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

Pathogen: Bundibugyo virus

The pathogen is the Bundibugyo strain of ebolavirus, a rare species first identified in western Uganda in 2007. Unlike the Zaire strain (for which a licensed vaccine and monoclonal-antibody therapeutics are available), WHO states that no Bundibugyo-specific therapeutics or vaccines are currently approved. Ebolaviruses are typically transmitted through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person, contaminated surfaces, or infected animals; airborne human-to-human transmission is not well established, and contact-and-droplet precautions are considered effective in clinical settings. Symptoms typically appear 2 to 21 days after exposure, beginning with fever and general illness, and can progress to severe, often fatal haemorrhagic disease.

Travel and exposure risk

WHO advises that contacts or cases of Bundibugyo virus disease should not travel internationally unless it is part of an appropriate medical evacuation. Because the hotspots are partly urban (Bunia, Kinshasa, Kampala) and semi-urban, and because the region sees high population mobility, WHO and Africa CDC consider the risk of cross-border spread to be high. For travellers without direct contact to ill people or to funerary or healthcare settings in the affected health zones, individual risk based on current knowledge remains low. Anyone returning from affected regions who develops symptoms (fever, vomiting, diarrhoea or unusual bleeding) within 21 days should self-isolate and contact a health authority or clinic by phone without visiting in person unprotected.

Official response

WHO is coordinating the response with the national health authorities of DR Congo and Uganda, with Africa CDC and with neighbouring-country authorities; contact tracing, surveillance, risk communication and infection prevention are being scaled up in the affected health zones. Africa CDC additionally cites ongoing insecurity in the region, gaps in contact listing, infection-prevention challenges and the proximity of affected areas to Uganda and South Sudan as compounding risk factors. Because no approved vaccine or Bundibugyo-specific therapeutic is available, the response focuses on classical outbreak control, supportive clinical care and on studies of platform-spanning therapeutic candidates.

What we don't track

InfectRisk tracks respiratory infections (influenza, COVID, RSV) in 36 countries, based on national surveillance systems. Ebola is a haemorrhagic disease and is outside our app data stream; the authoritative sources are WHO and Africa CDC. This page consolidates the official notifications and their assessment; it is not medical advice. In case of suspected exposure or symptoms, contact your public-health authority or a clinic by phone.

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Sources

Content reviewed on 17 May 2026 by Dominik Martin. The page is updated when new official assessments become available; the review date at the top reflects the latest revision. Corrections or additions: email dominik@infectrisk.com.
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