Open Outbreak

Should I be worried about Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda?

Updated · Graded from official assessments; nothing here is medical advice.

Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda · high

If you are in the affected area high
WHO assessed the risk in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as very high on 14 August 2026, in the update published on 25 September. In its 3 July 2026 update, WHO assessed Uganda as high after cross-border spread from the DRC. According to WHO
If you are elsewhere in the same country or region high
If you are elsewhere in the affected countries, the published national assessments are the same ones: WHO said the risk was very high in the DRC and high in Uganda in its August and July 2026 assessments. According to WHO
If you are travelling there soon high
US CDC travel notices are split by destination: on 4 August 2026 it told travellers to avoid all travel to Ituri and North Kivu and to avoid nonessential travel to Haut-Uélé and Tshopo, while on 28 August it recommended enhanced precautions for Uganda and for DRC provinces not affected by the current outbreak. According to US CDC
If you are elsewhere in the world low
WHO assessed the global risk as low on 14 August 2026, in updates published on 10 and 25 September. According to WHO

What is happening

This is a large Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak centered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2026, with official cross-border spread already documented to Uganda and one imported case reported in France earlier in the year. In WHO’s latest public update, the DRC had reported 7890 confirmed cases and 3799 deaths as of 2026-09-23, with 63 affected health zones across seven provinces: Bas-Uélé, Haut-Uélé, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Sud Ubangi and Tshopo. In WHO’s 2026-07-03 update, Uganda had 20 confirmed cases, two deaths and one probable death linked epidemiologically to transmission from the DRC. Media reports on 2026-10-06 said Kenya had confirmed its first linked case and death in Nairobi, with 27 to 28 contacts under follow-up; other media reports cited roughly 8400 to 8600 confirmed cases and roughly 4080 to 4148 deaths, but those figures are unverified and do not agree with each other. WHO says national authorities, WHO and partners are carrying out surveillance, testing, case finding, contact tracing and follow-up, infection prevention and control, clinical care, and regional preparedness, and as of 2026-09-23 the DRC had 32,342 contacts requiring follow-up and 26,980 seen in the previous 24 hours.

Who is affected and how it spreads

Ebola virus disease is a rare but very serious viral illness, and this outbreak is caused by Bundibugyo virus. The virus is thought to come from animals, probably fruit bats, and then spread between people through direct contact with the blood or other body fluids of a sick or dead person, or through contaminated objects and surfaces. People do not spread Ebola before symptoms start, and WHO says the incubation period is 2 to 21 days. WHO says approved vaccines and recommended antibody treatments exist for Ebola virus disease caused by Ebola virus, but no approved vaccine or therapeutic is listed for Bundibugyo virus disease.

What officials advise

What we are watching

Updates

Sources