A large outbreak of Bundibugyo virus disease is taking place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). As of 19 May 2026, over 500 suspected cases and 130 deaths have been reported in the country, with 30 cases laboratory-confirmed, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Most cases to date have been reported in the Ituri Province and one case has been reported in Goma, North Kivu Province.
One American citizen has been exposed to the virus in a healthcare setting in DRC. According to the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this person and six high-risk contacts are being medically evacuated to a special isolation ward in Germany.
In addition, Uganda has reported two imported cases in people who had travelled from DRC.
Although information remains limited, the ECDC assesses the likelihood of infection for people living in the EU/EEA to be very low.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is deploying experts to support the response to the ongoing Ebola disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
ECDC Director Dr Pamela Rendi-Wagner met with Dr Jean Kaseya, the Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, to discuss the current situation and ongoing efforts.
On 17 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola virus disease outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
What is ebola?
According to WHO, Ebola disease is a severe, often fatal illness affecting humans and other primates.
The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals (such as fruit bats, porcupines and non-human primates) and then spreads in the human population through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials (e.g. bedding, clothing) contaminated with these fluids.
The average Ebola disease case fatality rate is around 50%. Case fatality rates have varied from 25–90% in past outbreaks.
The first Ebola disease outbreaks occurred in remote villages in Central Africa, near tropical rainforests. The 2014–2016 Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa was the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak since the virus was first discovered in 1976. There were more cases and deaths in this outbreak than all others combined. It also spread between countries, starting in Guinea then moving across land borders to Sierra Leone and Liberia.
It is thought that fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are natural hosts of the orthoebolavirus.
People can get infected with the virus from another person by direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with:
- the blood or body fluids of a person who is sick with or has died from Ebola disease; and
- objects or surfaces that have been contaminated with body fluids (like blood, feces, vomit) from a person sick with the disease or who has died from the disease.
Symptoms
The incubation period or interval from infection to onset of symptoms varies from 2 to 21 days. The symptoms of Ebola disease can be sudden and include fever, fatigue, malaise, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. These are followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain rash, and symptoms of impaired kidney and liver functions. It is important for health and care workers to be on the lookout for these symptoms.
Despite a perception that bleeding is a common symptom, this is less frequent and can occur later in the disease. Some patients may develop internal and external bleeding, including blood in vomit and faeces, bleeding from the nose, gums and vagina. Bleeding at the sites where needles have punctured the skin can also occur.
21.05.2026.
SOURCE
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2026/transcript-update-on-ebola-outbreak-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-and-uganda-5-18-2026.html https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/ecdc-activates-eu-health-task-force-deploying-experts-support-ebola-outbreak-response https://www.who.int/health-topics/ebola#tab=tab_1
