Open Outbreak

Should I be worried about Filoviruses (Ebola and Marburg)?

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

Filoviruses (Ebola and Marburg) · Attention: elevated

If you are in the affected area no assessment
No agency has published a risk assessment for people in the affected area. Check your national health authority for guidance.
If you are elsewhere in the same country or region no assessment
No agency has published a risk assessment for people elsewhere in the same country or region. Check your national health authority for guidance.
If you are travelling there soon high
WHO said on 25 September 2026 that the risk for countries sharing land borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo was high. In the same notice, WHO advised against restrictions on travel to or trade with affected countries. According to WHO
If you are elsewhere in the world low
WHO said in its 25 September 2026 update that the global risk was low. According to WHO

What is happening

Officially, the active filovirus event documented here is the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. WHO’s 25 September 2026 update says that, as of 23 September, the outbreak had reached 7,890 confirmed cases and 3,799 deaths across 63 health zones in seven provinces. WHO says the latest geographic expansion increases the risk of cross-border transmission, and earlier 2026 notices documented linked transmission in Uganda as well as medically evacuated cases detected in France and Germany. No WHO Disease Outbreak News item in the retrieved material confirms a new Marburg outbreak in the last week, and the latest official Marburg notice here is Ethiopia’s declaration on 26 January 2026 that its outbreak had ended. Separately, media reports include an unverified Ghana Marburg story claiming 2 confirmed cases and 2 deaths, and unverified social posts about a Kenya Ebola case reporting 1 confirmed case, 1 death, and 28 contacts under observation, while officials say response measures center on surveillance, isolation, contact tracing, safe burials, infection prevention, and cross-border coordination.

Who is affected and how it spreads

Ebola and Marburg viruses are filoviruses that can cause severe viral haemorrhagic fever in people and other primates. The retrieved sources describe spread mainly through direct contact with an infected person’s body fluids or with contaminated objects, and healthcare-associated spread is a recurring risk. Outbreaks often begin after spillover from animals, and the sources point to bats as an important reservoir. WHO outbreak guidance uses 21 days of follow-up for contacts, while supportive care and strong infection prevention remain central, with vaccine and treatment availability differing by virus.

What we are watching

Updates

Sources