Confirmed cases
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Live world tracker · Bundibugyo ebolavirus
2026 Ebola outbreak tracker: the Bundibugyo epidemic that outran the response.
The 2026 Bundibugyo epidemic is the largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the second-largest worldwide. It is also the first large outbreak of a strain that has no licensed vaccine and no approved treatment.
Confirmed deaths
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Recovered
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Case fatality
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Health zones
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Where it is.
Ituri is still the engine — more than four in five confirmed DRC cases. North Kivu is smaller and deadlier.
Province burden (circle ∝ cases)
Higher CFR
Uganda — ended
Imported (France)
By country.
Uganda contained twenty cases and closed the outbreak. One imported case reached France. The epidemic is a DRC story.
| Country | Status | Confirmed | Deaths | Recovered | CFR |
|---|
How fast it moved.
First thousand confirmed cases in about forty days after response activation. The 2018–20 Kivu outbreak needed roughly 235.
Cumulative confirmed cases & deaths — DRC
How this ranks
Bars show confirmed cases. 2026 total includes Uganda and the imported French case. West Africa 2013–16 remains in a different league.
Why this one is different.
Same family. Different virus. The tools built after West Africa and Kivu do not transfer cleanly.
Bundibugyo, not Zaire
This outbreak is driven by Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV), not Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV). Only two prior BDBV outbreaks are on record: Uganda 2007 and DRC 2012 — together a few hundred cases. Historical BDBV CFR sat roughly 25–50%. This epidemic is running hotter.
No licensed shot
Ervebo (rVSV-ZEBOV) and the licensed monoclonal treatments target Zaire glycoprotein. Cross-protection against Bundibugyo is partial in animals and unproven in the field. BDBV-specific VSV candidates exist on paper. They were not stockpiled.
The terrain
Ituri and North Kivu are conflict-affected, displaced, and hard to reach. Contact tracing has lagged the 95% target. Most new cases keep appearing outside known contact lists. That is how an outbreak outruns a response.
What to actually do.
Not medical advice. Public-health facts that do not change with the strain.
Transmission
- Not airborne in ordinary conditions.
- Spreads through blood, vomit, stool, semen, and contaminated surfaces.
- People are not infectious before symptoms.
- Funerals and hospitals are the classic amplifiers.
Risk outside the zone
- WHO has not advised travel or trade bans.
- CDC: risk to the U.S. public remains low; no outbreak-linked U.S. cases.
- Screening focuses on recent travel from affected health zones plus symptoms.
- One imported case does not make a European outbreak.
Care and vaccines
- No licensed vaccine or drug specifically for Bundibugyo.
- Treatment is supportive: fluids, oxygen, treating complications.
- Ervebo is built for the Zaire strain, not this one.
- This page is not medical advice.
The tape.
From a late-detected spillover in Mongbwalu to the largest Ebola event the DRC has ever logged.
FAQ
Short answers people actually search.
How many cases are there?
Confirmed totals sit at the top of this page and refresh from DRC situation reports. Almost all transmission is inside the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Uganda reported 20 confirmed cases and closed its outbreak. France recorded one imported case.
Which virus is this?
Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV). It is not the Zaire strain that drove West Africa 2013–16 and Kivu 2018–20. That is why Ervebo and the licensed antibody drugs do not apply here.
Where is it spreading?
Ituri is the epicentre. North Kivu has fewer cases and a higher fatality ratio. Additional provinces: Haut-Uélé, Tshopo, Bas-Uélé, South Kivu. Global risk outside the affected zone remains low in official assessments.
Sources
Confirmed cases and deaths follow DRC situation reports.