Ebola Outbreak 2026
WHO now warns this is on track to become the deadliest Ebola outbreak ever recorded, capable of surpassing the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic that killed more than 11,000 people. It stands at 4,965 confirmed cases and 2,327 deaths, almost all in the DRC, a case fatality rate near 47 percent, and is the fastest-moving Ebola outbreak on record. It was declared in May, but genetic sequencing showed the virus had been circulating unnoticed since February, giving it a months-long head start. WHO expects it to peak within about six months.
The response is unusually hard: the areas are remote and caught in conflict near the South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda borders, strikes by unpaid health workers have slowed containment, and more than 100 health workers have been infected, about 35 fatally. The outbreak is the rare Bundibugyo species, for which there is still no approved vaccine or treatment; the licensed Zaire vaccines and drugs were not made for it. A new study in Nature Medicine found it began with a fresh animal-to-human spillover of a strain distinct from past ones, with the animal source still unknown. It has spread across six provinces and 60 health zones, the two most recent in North Kivu, and more than 300 children have died. In a hopeful sign, DRC launched an Ervebo vaccination campaign on August 27, 2026, prioritizing health workers, alongside a Phase 3 trial testing whether the vaccine cross-protects against Bundibugyo.
Outbreak Map
Hover a country for case details. The CDC advisory is tiered by province within the DRC (Level 4 in Ituri and Nord-Kivu, Level 3 in Haut-Uele and Tshopo, Level 2 elsewhere); the map shades the DRC at the highest level in effect. See the full breakdown below.
Data from ECDC · Africa CDC · WHO Disease Outbreak News · WHO Situations Page · WHO PHEIC Declaration (May 17). Confirmed = lab-confirmed. Total deaths includes deaths among confirmed, probable, and suspected cases. CFR calculated from confirmed cases and confirmed deaths only.
Vaccine note: No licensed vaccine or specific therapeutic exists for Bundibugyo virus. Ervebo and ZABDENO/MVA-BN-Filo are licensed for Zaire ebolavirus only.
How Did the 2026 Ebola Outbreak Start, and Why Did It Come Back?
The outbreak's first known victim was a 50-year-old woman on the outskirts of Mongbwalu, a gold-mining town in Ituri province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. She died on January 25, 2026 after vomiting blood. Her mother died six days later, and her husband fell ill but recovered. At the time, none of it was recorded as Ebola.
Congo did not declare an outbreak until May 15, 2026, nearly four months after that first death, and the WHO declared a global health emergency two days later. By then the virus had a long head start. That delay is one reason officials believe the epidemic is far larger than the confirmed count: the WHO estimates the true number of infections could be three to four times higher than reported, and says roughly 80% of new cases are turning up outside known contact lists.
The virus behind it is the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which had not caused a recorded outbreak since 2012. Between outbreaks it survives quietly in animal hosts, most likely fruit bats in central Africa's forests, and crosses into people through close contact with an infected animal, often while hunting or handling bushmeat. From there it spreads person to person, and here it has been fuelled by limited healthcare access and armed conflict in Ituri that has repeatedly disrupted the response.
Sources: Forbes (John Drake, Aug 2026) · WHO Disease Outbreak News
About Ebola
What is Ebola?
Ebola is a rare but serious illness caused by a group of viruses called orthoebolaviruses. There are six known species. The one active right now is called Bundibugyo virus, named after the district in Uganda where it was first identified in 2007. It is not the same as the more well-known Zaire strain. Bundibugyo has a lower death rate and has only caused two previous outbreaks, both smaller than this one.
How does it spread?
Ebola does not travel through the air, water, or food. You cannot catch it by being in the same room as someone. It only spreads through direct contact with the blood or body fluids (sweat, vomit, or saliva) of a person who is already showing symptoms. People who care for sick patients and those who handle the bodies of people who died from Ebola are at the highest risk. A person with Ebola is not contagious until their symptoms begin.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms start between 2 and 21 days after contact with the virus. They usually begin with fever, tiredness, muscle aches, and headache, similar to the flu. Within a few days, vomiting, diarrhea, and severe stomach pain set in. Despite what movies show, heavy bleeding is actually uncommon. It occurs in fewer than half of cases and usually only later in the illness. Early supportive care, mainly fluids and treatment of symptoms, greatly improves the chance of survival.
Why did it come back after over a decade?
The Bundibugyo strain last caused a recorded outbreak in 2012 in DRC. Between outbreaks, the virus quietly survives in animal hosts, most likely fruit bats living in the forests of central Africa. It does not disappear; it waits. When a person comes into close contact with an infected animal, such as through hunting, handling, or eating bushmeat, the virus can jump into humans. From there, it spreads person-to-person through the community, particularly in areas with limited healthcare access. The remote, conflict-affected regions of Ituri Province in DRC create exactly those conditions.
Is there a vaccine or treatment?
The two approved Ebola vaccines, Ervebo and ZABDENO, were designed for the Zaire strain only. They do not work against Bundibugyo virus, so there is still no licensed vaccine for this outbreak. That is starting to change: on July 24, 2026 Oxford gave the first-ever human dose of a Bundibugyo-specific vaccine (ChAdOx1 BDBV) in an early safety trial, and a second candidate is close behind. Neither is ready for widespread use yet. There are also no approved antiviral drugs for Bundibugyo, so doctors treat patients by managing symptoms: giving fluids, managing pain, and treating complications as they arise. See the treatments section below for where each candidate stands.
Sources: WHO Ebola fact sheet · CDC Ebola FAQ · CDC Health Alert Network HAN00530
Treatments & Vaccines in Development
There is still no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain behind this outbreak, but 2026 brought two firsts: the first-ever Bundibugyo treatment trial is enrolling patients in DRC, and Oxford has given the first human dose of the first Bundibugyo vaccine. Here's where things stand.
The first-ever trial to look for an effective treatment for Bundibugyo virus disease. It began enrolling patients in DRC in July 2026 and is testing a pan-ebolavirus monoclonal antibody (MBP134) and the antiviral remdesivir — alone and combined — to see whether they improve survival.
WHO →A separate study called EBO-PEP is testing whether an oral antiviral pill, obeldesivir, can stop illness in people who have already been exposed to the virus, such as the contacts of a known case. A simple pill given after exposure would be a major practical advance in remote outbreak areas where infusions are hard to deliver.
STAT →The world's first vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain to reach people. Oxford gave the first human dose on July 24, 2026 to a 37-year-old volunteer in the UK. It uses the same viral-vector platform as the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID vaccine, redesigned to target a Bundibugyo protein. The Phase 1 trial enrolls 50 healthy adults aged 18 to 55 to check safety and immune response, with results expected in September; if they hold up, the vaccine could join the DRC Phase 3 trial in early autumn. The Serum Institute of India is racing to make large quantities (about 620,000 doses so far) in case later trials and emergency use are needed.
BBC / Gavi / Bloomberg →A second single-dose candidate from IAVI, built on the same viral-vector platform as Ervebo and flagged by WHO experts as promising specifically against Bundibugyo. Developers estimate several more months before enough doses exist for a Phase 3 trial. Moderna has separately begun a Phase 1 trial of an mRNA Bundibugyo vaccine in Canada, with results expected in September; like the Oxford shot, it could be added to the DRC Phase 3 trial in early autumn if the early data support it.
WHO expert advice →These two licensed Ebola vaccines are highly effective, but only against the Zaire species (Ervebo is about 84% effective there), and their protection against the Bundibugyo virus driving this outbreak is unproven. On August 27, 2026 DRC launched an Ervebo vaccination campaign in Kisangani, capital of Tshopo province, prioritizing frontline and health workers under a compassionate-use program; it is expected to cover 14 health zones across Tshopo, Bas-Uele and Haut-Uele. More than 50,000 of the 70,000 approved stockpile doses had arrived. Of those, about 50,000 are for frontline and health workers and 20,000 for a Phase 3 trial measuring how well the vaccine works against Bundibugyo; in the trial, known contacts of cases are individually randomized to Ervebo or a placebo. Lab and animal data, plus a report that nine previously-Ervebo-vaccinated people who later caught Bundibugyo all survived, suggest it may offer at least partial cross-protection, especially against death, but that is what the trial is meant to prove.
WHO / Africa CDC →Announced August 28, 2026: Egypt-based Minapharm and its Berlin subsidiary ProBioGen won up to $16.5 million from CEPI to develop a Bundibugyo-specific vaccine on their MVA-CR19 platform, the same family of technology behind a licensed smallpox and mpox vaccine. It is the fifth CEPI-backed Bundibugyo candidate and the only one designed to trigger both antibody and T-cell responses for longer-lasting immunity. It moves through preclinical work into an early Phase 1 safety trial in Africa. CEPI aims to bring at least two Bundibugyo vaccines to emergency use.
CEPI / Minapharm →