The deadly Ebola virus is spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. 88 people have already died and more than 330 people are sick. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak an international health emergency – the second highest warning level after the pandemic. But how dangerous is the current Ebola outbreak? How fatal is the disease? And how contagious is the Bundibugyo Ebola virus that causes it?
Local outbreaks of the Ebola virus are not common in Central Africa, but they do occur from time to time. However, the current outbreak is of particular concern due to the rapid increase in cases. The first suspected cases were reported on May 5, 2026 in Ituri Province in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On May 14, analyzes of patient samples in a laboratory in Kinshasa confirmed Ebola disease in 13 of these cases. The cause is the Bundibugyo Ebola virus (BDBV), one of three viruses that can cause major Ebola outbreaks.
What is the current status of the Ebola outbreak?
The number of people suffering from Ebola increased dramatically over the weekend. According to the WHO, as of May 17, 2026, almost 340 potential Ebola cases had already been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There are also numerous other outbreaks of the disease in the northeast of the Congo that have not yet been diagnosed in detail, as the WHO reports.
“The increasing number of suspected cases and clusters of deaths in Ituri province all point to a far larger outbreak than previously detected and reported,” the WHO said. There were already two confirmed Ebola cases in neighboring Uganda on May 15th and 16th. Both people became ill independently of one another and had previously been in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The World Health Organization warns that there is a significant local and regional risk of further spread, including across countries.
The WHO officially declared the Ebola outbreak in Congo a public health emergency of international concern on May 17. This rating is the second highest, one level below a global pandemic.
How great is the risk of spread?
The situation is explosive because the outbreak is not taking place in a remote, isolated village, but in an area characterized by strong, cross-border exchanges. Through intensive mining and trade, this part of Ituri Province is closely linked to South Sudan and Uganda. The affected cities of Bunia and Rwampara are also urban centers with high population mobility, as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta explains.
What makes matters worse is that there have been armed conflicts in this border triangle for years. According to the WHO, more than 270,000 refugees live in Ituri alone, and more than 1.9 million people are considered to be in acute distress and need help. The ongoing conflicts are making it difficult for disease surveillance teams and medical support staff to reach patients. Because of these conditions and the high mobility of the population, tracing chains of infection is sometimes almost impossible, which makes containing the Ebola outbreak even more difficult.
According to the WHO, the rest of the Congo and its immediate neighboring countries are currently at particular risk. The World Health Organization currently classifies other countries as not yet at acute risk.
Which virus is responsible?
Ebola disease can be caused by several related viruses from the orthoebolavirus group. Three types of viruses in particular are considered to be potential triggers of major outbreaks: the Zaire ebolavirus (Orthoebolavirus zairense), the Sudan ebolavirus (Orthoebolavirus sudanense) and the Bundibugyo ebolavirus (Orthoebolavirus bundibugyoense), which is responsible for the current outbreak. This virus was first detected in Uganda in 2008 and is genetically very different from the other two variants.
The Bundibugyo Ebola virus causes similar symptoms to the other Ebola viruses: After an incubation period of two to 21 days, infected people initially develop fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. “These early symptoms tend to be non-specific, complicating the diagnosis, which can delay detection,” explains the WHO. Later, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, confusion and organ function disorders occur. Only in the late stages of hemorrhagic fever do internal and external bleeding occur, through which blood can escape from the nose, mucous membranes and body openings.
An illness with the Bundibugyo Ebola virus is fatal in 30 to 50 percent of cases. Unlike the Zaire Ebola virus, there is no vaccination and no direct antidote against the Bundibugyo Ebola virus. Sick people are primarily treated symptomatically.
How contagious is the Ebola virus?
Ebola viruses are considered to be very infectious but not highly transmissible. That sounds like a contradiction, but it describes two different processes: To infect a person and trigger Ebola fever, just a few viruses are enough. That is why Ebola viruses are considered highly infectious. However, in order to be transmitted to another person, they must come into direct contact with body fluids such as blood or saliva. Objects or clothing that are contaminated with body fluids from a sick person can also lead to infection.
The Ebola virus cannot be transmitted through the air or via droplet infection, as is the case with cold viruses or the coronavirus. In addition, infected people are only contagious once Ebola fever has broken out in them. As long as they are still in the incubation period and do not show any symptoms, affected people are not contagious. That is why the Ebola virus is considered only moderately transmissible.
What measures are being taken?
“Non-pharmaceutical measures are crucial to combating Ebola,” explains infectiologist Anne Cori from University College London. “This includes patient identification and isolation, contact tracing and safe burials.” The latter is a particularly important point because people who die from Ebola are particularly contagious even after their death. At the same time, especially in Africa, the dead are washed and dressed by relatives, which means they come into direct contact with body fluids.
In order to prevent the further spread of Ebola, controls are now to be introduced on highways within the Democratic Republic of Congo and at the country’s airports in order to identify people with fever and thus potential Ebola patients. WHO and CDC as well as African health organizations are preparing to send teams to the affected region.
Source: World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control (CDC)