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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). As of August 20, 2026, there have been 5290 confirmed cases and 2516 deaths reported. The official risk assessment by WHO for this situation is "very high".

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: 20 August 2026 · Source: WHO
Published by Dominik Martin · Software engineer and data aggregator· Methodology last reviewed: 17 May 2026· Methodology version 1.0
Data checked: 20 August 2026Editorially reviewed: 17 May 2026Editorial review older than 90 days
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5290
confirmed
0
suspected
2516
deaths
Source: ECDC, as of 20 Aug
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Latest coverage

As of: 23/08/2026, 07:59
  1. AP News
    Here’s data showing Congo’s Ebola outbreak is on track to surpass history’s largest
  2. CIDRAP
    WHO delivers Ebola vaccine to DR Congo to see if it can protect against Bundibugyo strain
  3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | CDC (.gov)
    Ebola Outbreak: Current Situation
  4. UN News
    DR Congo receives 70,000 Ebola vaccine doses as Bundibugyo outbreak spreads
  5. World Health Organization (WHO)
    WHO and Africa CDC welcome the allocation of Ebola vaccines to the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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 May 17, 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. On August 12, 2026, WHO reported a total of 4686 confirmed cases and 2186 deaths in the DRC, with most cases occurring in Ituri province. On August 6, 2026, Africa CDC and WHO called for urgent, community-led action to contain Ebola in the DRC. On August 20, 2026, WHO and Africa CDC welcomed the allocation of Ebola vaccines to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The situation remains critical as transmission continues and the outbreak expands into new health zones.

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 35 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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