Signal Ebola disease outbreak (Bundibugyo virus) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda — situation update

Summary

The WHO declared the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern on 17 May 2026. As of the DRC's 23 July report, cumulative cases stood at 2,905 with 1,269 related deaths and 722 people hospitalised in isolation. The previous day alone added 97 confirmed cases and 62 deaths, distributed across Ituri with 73, North Kivu with 18 and Haut-Uele with 3. Ituri province is worst affected, accounting for 2,595 cases and 1,077 deaths across 28 of its 36 health zones. Uganda's health ministry has begun the 42-day countdown required to declare the outbreak over. The WHO listed a molecular diagnostic reagent for Bundibugyo virus under emergency use for the first time and started enrolling patients in therapeutic trials, while the ECDC assessed infection risk for EU and EEA residents as very low.