Outbreak Watch

Ebola Disease

A live watch on the Bundibugyo ebolavirus epidemic in Central Africa: cases, status and the events that matter across the regions Avicena tracks. Select a region to focus the overview, the numbers, the map and the key events.

Colourised transmission electron micrograph of an Ebola virion, showing its characteristic filament shape. CDC Public Health Image Library.
On this page RegionsSituation Map Key EventsAffected Countries

Global

Public health emergency Updated 27 Jul 2026

The 2026 Central Africa epidemic is the third largest Ebola outbreak on record, the largest ever caused by Bundibugyo virus, and the fastest growing. It was declared on 15 May 2026 and WHO determined it a public health emergency of international concern on 17 May. The species matters: Bundibugyo is not Zaire, so the licensed vaccine and both licensed antibody treatments do not apply. WHO recommended against using Ervebo on 28 May. The response has run on isolation, contact tracing and supportive care while vaccines and therapeutics are developed from a standing start.

  • Key Facts
  • Six Ebola species are recognised. Countermeasures do not cross between them.
  • Ervebo, Inmazeb and Ebanga are licensed against Zaire ebolavirus only.
  • Bundibugyo had caused just two outbreaks before this one, in 2007 and 2012.
  • Africa CDC found no antigen rapid test met WHO specifications, so testing is PCR only.
  • The world's first Bundibugyo vaccine entered phase 1 trials on 23 July 2026.
  • Since 1976 there have been roughly 45 recorded outbreaks, about 37,900 cases and 16,600 deaths.
  • The largest remains West Africa 2013 to 2016, with 28,652 cases and 11,325 deaths.

By the Numbers

3,360
Confirmed cases
DRC, as at 27 Jul
1,487
Deaths
44.3 percent of confirmed
3rd
Largest ever
of 45 recorded outbreaks
0
Licensed countermeasures
for Bundibugyo virus
Ebola Outbreak Locations 8 locations tracked

Key Events 11 entries

Every Affected Country

Every country with a recorded human Ebola case since 1976, including imported cases and laboratory exposures, grouped by region. The 2026 epidemic rows move; the historical rows are settled.

Africa 13 countries

DR CongoActive epidemic, 17th outbreak

3,360 confirmed and 1,487 deaths in the 2026 Bundibugyo epidemic; 17 outbreaks since the virus was discovered at Yambuku in 1976, more than any other country

First reported 1976
Where Ituri; North Kivu; Yambuku; Kikwit; Bulape
IturiNorth KivuSouth KivuHaut-UeleTshopo
UgandaContained, declared over 28 Jul 2026

20 confirmed and 2 deaths in 2026, contained in 74 days with no community transmission; previously the 2000 Gulu outbreak (425 cases) and three Sudan virus outbreaks since 2022

First reported 2000
Where Kampala; Mubende; Bundibugyo; Gulu
KampalaWakisoMubendeBundibugyo
SudanHistorical, source of Sudan virus

The 1976 Nzara outbreak (284 cases, 151 deaths) was one of the two simultaneous outbreaks that first identified Ebola; recurrences in 1979 and 2004

First reported 1976
Where Nzara; Maridi; Yambio
GuineaHistorical, epicentre of the West Africa epidemic

Index country of the 2013 to 2016 West Africa epidemic, the largest on record; a 2021 resurgence was traced to a survivor still shedding virus about five years later

First reported 2013
Where Gueckedou; N'Zerekore
LiberiaHistorical

One of the three worst-affected countries in the West Africa epidemic

First reported 2014
Where Monrovia; Lofa
Sierra LeoneHistorical

One of the three worst-affected countries in the West Africa epidemic; Bombali virus, a sixth Ebola species with no known human cases, was found in bats here in 2018

First reported 2014
Where Kenema; Freetown
GabonHistorical

Three outbreaks between 1994 and 1997, several traced to contact with infected primates

First reported 1994
Where Mayibout; Booue; Makokou
Republic of CongoHistorical

Outbreaks in 2001 to 2003 and 2005, linked to the Gabon border region

First reported 2001
Where Mbomo; Kelle; Etoumbi
Cote d'IvoireHistorical, single case

One case, a scientist infected during a chimpanzee necropsy in Tai National Park; the only recorded human Tai Forest virus infection, and the patient survived

First reported 1994
Where Tai National Park
NigeriaHistorical, imported and contained

20 cases after a single infected traveller arrived in Lagos; contained within three months and widely cited as a model response

First reported 2014
Where Lagos; Port Harcourt
MaliHistorical, imported

8 cases imported during the West Africa epidemic

First reported 2014
Where Bamako; Kayes
SenegalHistorical, imported and contained

1 imported case, no onward transmission

First reported 2014
Where Dakar
South AfricaHistorical, laboratory acquired

1 case, a nurse infected while treating a patient evacuated from Gabon

First reported 1996
Where Johannesburg

Europe 6 countries

GermanyImported 2026, resolved

2 humanitarian workers medically evacuated from DR Congo and treated in Berlin; both recovered. Also the site of the original 1967 Marburg outbreak, a related filovirus

First reported 2026
Where Berlin; Marburg
FranceImported 2026, resolved

1 doctor infected on a humanitarian mission in DR Congo, confirmed 24 Jun 2026 and discharged 4 Jul

First reported 2026
Where Paris
SpainHistorical, imported

1 secondary infection in a nurse who treated a repatriated missionary, the first Ebola transmission recorded outside Africa

First reported 2014
Where Madrid
United KingdomHistorical, imported and laboratory

1 laboratory infection from a needlestick in 1976; imported cases in returning healthcare workers during the West Africa epidemic

First reported 1976
Where London; Glasgow
ItalyHistorical, imported

1 imported case in a returning healthcare worker; also a 1992 Reston virus event in imported monkeys, which caused no human illness

First reported 2015
Where Rome; Siena
RussiaHistorical, laboratory acquired

2 fatal laboratory infections, in 1996 and 2004, both from needlestick injuries

First reported 1996
Where Sergiev Posad; Koltsovo

North America 1 country

United StatesHistorical, imported and Reston

4 imported or locally transmitted cases during the West Africa epidemic, including 2 nurses infected in Dallas; separately, Reston virus events in imported monkeys from 1989, which caused seroconversion but no illness

First reported 1989
Where Dallas; Reston; New York

Southeast Asia 1 country

PhilippinesReston virus only, no human illness

Repeated Reston virus events in monkey export facilities and pig farms; workers seroconverted but none became ill. Reston is the only Ebola species not known to cause human disease

First reported 1989
Where Manila; Laguna

Source: WHO AFRO weekly external situation reports, WHO Disease Outbreak News, ECDC. Updated weekly, following the WHO AFRO situation report. Other trackers: H5N1 Bird Flu.