#Bundibugyo virus disease, multi-country - Situation #Update (#UK HSA, May 28 '26): 1,198 cases and 263 deaths in #DRC

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    The following relates to an ongoing outbreak, with data current to 27 May 2026

    ° Disease or pathogen: Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD)

    ° Location: Multi-country

    ° Status: Update

    ° Reporting date: 15 to 27 May 2026

Summary

    -- On 15 May 2026, an outbreak of Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus was declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. 

    -- On 16 May 2026, the WHO Director-General determined that the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.

    -- As of 26 May 2026, 1,198 Bundibugyo virus cases (including 1,077 suspected and 121 confirmed) and 263 deaths (246 suspected and 17 confirmed) have been reported in the DRC. 

    -- Confirmed cases have been reported in Ituri (110 cases), North Kivu (10 cases), and South Kivu (one case) provinces.

    -- In Uganda, as of 27 May 2026, 7 confirmed cases (including one death) have been reported. 

    -- This is an increase of 5 confirmed cases since the last report. 

    -- The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the 5 new cases have clear links to the first 2 confirmed cases.

    -- On 22 May 2026, Charite University Hospital in Berlin reported that the citizen of the United States who was medically evacuated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo with Ebola disease, has tested positive for Bundibugyo virus upon confirmatory testing. The case is under observation and receiving treatment in the high-security area of the hospital’s specialised isolation unit. The case’s wife and children, who are classified as high-risk contacts, are currently asymptomatic and quarantined in a separate part of the unit. Initial Ebola PCR tests for the family members were negative.

    -- To control the spread of the outbreak, WHO has supported with the deployment of rapid response teams, the delivery of medical supplies and the strengthening of surveillance. Other response activities include infection prevention and control assessments, the set-up of safe treatment centres, and community engagement.

    -- On 21 May 2026, the United Kingdom announced that it has allocated up to £20 million in new aid funding to the response to the outbreak.

    -- This represents the 17th recorded outbreak of Ebola disease in the DRC since the virus was first identified in 1976, with the last reported outbreak ending in December 2025 in Kasai Province. Bundibugyo virus was first identified in 2007 in Bundibugyo district, western Uganda. A second outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus was reported in DRC in 2012.

    -- As of 27 May 2026, no imported cases associated with this outbreak have been reported in the UK. Previously in 2015, an imported case of Ebola virus disease was reported in the UK associated with the 2014 to 2016 West Africa outbreak.

    -- The WHO assesses the risk of this event as low at a global level, high at the regional level and very high at a national level. 

    -- The risk of the current Ebola outbreak to the UK population is assessed as low.

Further information

    ° Ebola: overview, history, origins and transmission

    ° Ebola virus disease: clinical management and guidance

    ° Ebola and Marburg haemorrhagic fevers: outbreaks and case locations

    ° UKHSA blog:  What is Ebola and how does it spread?

    ° Algorithm for the management of samples suspected of Ebola Virus Disease (in Spanish)

    ° NaTHNaC country information page: Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda

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Source: 

Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/outbreaks-under-monitoring-in-2026/outbreaks-under-monitoring-week-21-week-ending-24-may-2026

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