In May 2026, an epidemic of Ebola was reported in the Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), it is the 17th Ebola outbreak in DRC and only five months after the end of the previous outbreak.

Imported cases from Ituri have been reported in North Kivu Province, as well as in Uganda’s capital city of Kampala. A case in South Kivu was also reported to have been imported from Tshopo province on 21 May. The epidemic is caused by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, which may complicate response efforts as existing Ebola treatments were created for a different strain, the Zaire ebolavirus. The outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 16 May 2026. There have been 101 confirmed deaths in D.R. Congo and two deaths in Uganda, as of 7 June and 8 June 2026 respectively. Poor healthcare infrastructure in the region and an ongoing armed conflict hinder detection, treatment and prevention of the disease; it is considered likely that the true scale of the outbreak could considerably exceed the confirmed numbers.

Links:
Epidemic of Ebola Disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda determined a public health emergency of international concern

Ebola disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda

Kenyan court blocks Trump admin from dumping Ebola-exposed Americans there

Current information about Ebola – RIVM

Ebola disease – WHO

Ebola outbreak – DRC 2026

‘Als het zo doorgaat, wordt dit de grootste ebola-uitbraak ooit’

Africa CDC and WHO call for urgent, community-led action to contain Ebola in the DRC