15 May 2026
Ebola disease outbreak declared
DRC officially declares an Ebola disease outbreak in Ituri province, in the country’s northeast. Uganda Ministry of Health declares the Ebola disease outbreak in Uganda.
Ebola
What MSF Is Doing in Response to the Ebola Disease Outbreak in the DRC and Uganda
Updates from our teams who are responding to the Ebola disease outbreak in the DRC and Uganda.
Overview
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) officially declared an Ebola disease outbreak on 15 May in Ituri province, in the country’s northeast. On 17 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern. The next day, the Africa CDC declared a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS).
Unlike most previous Ebola disease outbreaks that occurred in the DRC, this one is caused by the Bundibugyo virus. "Ebola disease" is caused by a virus of the Orthoebolavirus family. The most well-known viruses in this group are the Ebola virus, the Sudan virus, and the Bundibugyo virus.
In the two previous known outbreaks of Bundibugyo virus disease, the case fatality rate was lower than outbreaks caused by the more common and deadly Ebola virus (between 25 to 40%). Yet, responding to this virus is particularly challenging as there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments available, unlike for the more common Ebola virus. Diagnostic of Bundibugyo virus requires virus specific PCR testing performed in laboratories with stringent biosafety. Currently, there is a shortage of Bundibugyo virus–specific test kits, and rapid decentralized testing will take time and effort to establish. No cartridge based assays compatible with equipment commonly available in MSF operational settings are currently available.
The outbreak was first identified following alerts of an unusual increase in deaths linked to a suspected viral haemorrhagic fever in Mongwalu health zone, northwest of Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MoH), MSF assessments conducted in affected areas found dozens of deaths had occurred since April, with suspected and confirmed cases also reported in Bunia and Rwampara health zones. Over the next few days, the outbreak spread far further in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, and most recently (21 May) South Kivu.
Nine cases have also been confirmed in Uganda as of 29th of May, the first one being the case of a Congolese man who was admitted in a Kampala hospital on 11 May and who died on 14 May. The Ebola disease outbreak was declared on 15 May by the MoH of Uganda.
MSF has vast experience in supporting responses to Ebola disease outbreaks. Our teams are preparing to rapidly scale up medical and operational support in affected areas alongside the Minstry of Health (MoH), WHO and local actors to strengthen surveillance, patient care, infection prevention and control, and community engagement efforts aimed at containing the outbreak as quickly as possible.
Which strain of Ebola is it, and what do we know about it?
We are not dealing with a “strain”, but with a virus. "Ebola disease" is a disease caused by any different viruses within the genus of Orthoebolavirus. The most well-known viruses are Ebola virus, Sudan virus, and Bundibugyo virus. Unlike most Ebola disease outbreaks that occurred in the DRC, this one is caused by the Bundibugyo virus.
What is the Bundibugyo virus?
This is the third detected outbreak involving the Bundibugyo virus, following outbreaks in Uganda in 2007-2008 and in DRC in 2012. The Bundibugyo virus was first identified in 2007 in Bundibugyo district in western Uganda, during which 131 cases were reported with 42 deaths. The estimated case fatality rate of the Bundibugyo virus is between 25 and 40 percent. In the two previously known outbreaks of Bundibugyo virus disease, the case fatality rate was lower than the more common and deadly Ebola virus.
How is MSF responding?
MSF has vast experience in responding to Ebola disease outbreaks and is mobilising a large-scale response to support and in collaboration with the DRC authorities. We have been an active partner in the response in many of these, including the Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak of 2012, as well as the one in Uganda in 2007. Our teams are working around the clock to prepare a large-scale response in DRC, in collaboration with the Congolese health authorities. We are currently deploying medical and logistics emergency staff. Essential medical supplies and equipment are currently en route to affected areas from Kinshasa, Uganda and Europe.
MSF response in Ebola disease outbreak
MSF Geneva Operational Centre Response in DRC
In Ituri province, MSF continues to scale up Ebola response activities in support of the Ministry of Health and in collaboration with the community, particularly in Bunia, Mongbwalu and Fataki. In Mongbwalu – currently considered the epicentre of the outbreak in Ituri – MSF has started the construction of a 65-bed Ebola Treatment Centre (ETC) for suspected and confirmed cases. While the ETC is under construction, teams are supporting the General Referral Hospital of Mongbwalu by providing temporary isolation capacity, triage activities, reinforcement of infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, epidemiological surveillance, and health promotion activities. MSF is also supporting on safe and dignified burials. (Last update 29/05/2026)
MSF Brussels Operational Centre Response in DRC
Teams and materials have been sent to Ituri to support and scale up the response. On Friday, 22 May, 8 tons of materials (medicines, PPE, generators, and solar panels) were dispatched from Kinshasa to Bunia. Extra shipping from Kinshasa followed up, including vehicles. From Belgium, 68 tons of materials will be sent to Bunia on Thursday 29 May. A first team of emergency responders from the Pool d’Urgence Congo (PUC) arrived on 20 May. More people, including international staff, arrived and are en route to Bunia. These teams will support the medical response in Bunia and neighbouring health areas, and they have started reinforcing infection prevention and control (IPC) measures in more 20 health facilities. (Last update 29/05/2026)
MSF Paris Operational Centre Response in DRC
Our teams rehabilitated and opened an Ebola treatment centre on the 29th of May at the Munigi site in Goma. It has a capacity of 80 beds; some will be used to treat suspected cases, while others will be reserved for patients confirmed to have Ebola. We have also established an isolation ward at Kyeshero Hospital (which we already support with paediatric care, nutrition, and isolation in normal times) and supported staff training and the improvement of IPC measures. In addition, MSF sent a medical and logistic team to Butembo to start an assessment and identify potential needs, in collaboration with MoH. (Last update: 29/05/2026)
MSF Amsterdam Operational Centre Response in DRC
In Goma, OCA is working under the lead of OCP in the setup of the ETC in Munigi near Goma with a focus on water and sanitation. Additionally, we are strengthening existing programs in North and South Kivu, setting up triage in existing health facilities we support to start early detections/ isolation and ensuring training of staff. (Last update: 22/05/2026)
MSF Barcelona-Athens Operational Centre Response in DRC
In South Kivu, where several cases have been confirmed, MSF teams have started setting up two ETCs in Bukavu and Lwiro. At the same time, they are training health workers on infection prevention and control measures in both cities. (Last update: 29/05/2026)
MSF Paris Operational Centre Response in Uganda
On the 16th of May, MSF informed the Ugandan Ministry of Health that it was ready to intervene to support the public health authorities’ response, if needed. However, this support hasn’t been necessary yet. We, however, continue to be in close contact with the health authorities and follow up closely on the situation. In the past, MSF has intervened on several occasions in the country to support the Ugandan Ministry of Health in its response to Ebola outbreaks, notably by caring for sick patients and contacts, setting up Ebola treatment units, and improving infection prevention and control measures. The last Ebola disease outbreak in the country occurred in 2025. (Last update: 29/05/2026)
You can support our teams as they respond in the DRC and Uganda
msf.org.zaIf you're in South Africa and are wondering: Which organisation can I donate to that is responding to the Ebola disease outbreak? Our teams are working around the clock with the Congolese health authorities to prepare a large-scale response in the DRC. Emergency medical and logistics staff are being deployed, while essential supplies and equipment are on their way from Kinshasa, Uganda, and Europe to support urgent needs in affected areas. With decades of experience responding to Ebola disease outbreaks, donations help us deliver emergency medical care quickly during fast-moving crises.
Donate to a trusted organisation in South AfricaWhat to know about the 2026 Ebola disease outbreak
Early symptoms can include fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and sore throat. These can be followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, and, in some cases, bleeding. Anyone with symptoms should seek care immediately and avoid contact with others. There is no universally proven cure for Ebola disease, but early detection and supportive medical care significantly improve survival.
Ebola disease is an infectious viral hemorrhagic fever, transmitted to humans through direct contact with blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of infected animals. Human-to-human transmission occurs through close contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals.
There are currently two approved vaccines against Ebola disease, but neither is approved for use in cases of infection with the Bundibugyo virus. The Ervebo vaccine (rVSV-ZEBOV) can be used to limit the spread of the disease through a so-called “ring vaccination” strategy, meaning it is administered to people who have been in contact with an infected individual, secondary contacts, and healthcare workers. Another vaccine can be used both during outbreaks for people at risk of exposure to the virus, and as a preventive measure before outbreaks for frontline responders or those living in areas not yet affected by the outbreak.
However, these two vaccines are currently approved only against the most common virus responsible for Ebola disease (the “Ebola virus” formerly called the “Zaire virus”), which notably caused the devastating outbreak in West Africa between 2014 and 2016. Discussions are underway within the WHO to determine which vaccine candidates could be tested in emergency clinical trials against the Bundibugyo virus, as has been done in previous Ebola disease outbreaks. MSF is ready to contribute to this research, as it did during the trials conducted in the DRC in 2019. Those trials led to the approval and market release of two vaccines and treatments.
There is currently no approved treatment for patients with Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus. The two monoclonal antibody treatments, approved following clinical trials conducted in the DRC between 2018 and 2020, are also specific to the Ebola virus (formerly known as Zaire virus) and are not effective or approved for the Bundibugyo virus. Nevertheless, there are antiviral drugs and monoclonal antibody candidates for Bundibugyo virus whose efficacy has yet to be proven in clinical trials. Discussions are ongoing between Congolese health authorities, WHO and the company that produces this specific therapy to get started.
In the absence of targeted treatment, patient care relies primarily on symptom management and supportive care aimed at improving patients’ chances of survival: fluid replacement, oxygen therapy, and monitoring of blood and cardiac parameters. During the two previous outbreaks, the estimated case fatality rate for the Bundibugyo virus ranged from 25% to 40%.
It is difficult to make comparisons at this very early stage, but it is indeed concerning that the numbers have already passed previous Bundibugyo outbreaks. Previous Ebola disease outbreaks due to the Bundibugyo virus occurred in 2007 in Uganda (131 cases and 42 deaths) and in DRC in 2012 (Orientale Province – 38 cases, 13 deaths) - source CDC.