The Bundibugyo virus was first confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo in May 2026. Africa CDC declared a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security on 18 May 2026 as the outbreak grew.
It has since spread to four African countries and remains active in two. More than 9,500 people have been infected, with nearly 4,600 deaths. The World Health Organization has called it the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever.
Africa CDC will convene national health officials in an extraordinary virtual meeting on 28 October. The meeting is intended to coordinate the response and help prepare for a Heads of State and Government Summit led by Burundi President Évariste Ndayishimiye, the African Union chairperson.
Dr. Jean Kaseya, the director general of Africa CDC, said Ebola was affecting three regions of Africa. He called for urgent action and political leadership at the highest level, urging countries to accelerate their work, strengthen coordination and fully mobilise the continent’s expertise and capacity.
The outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments. It has spread across Central, Eastern and Western Africa.
Uganda recorded 20 cases in the latest outbreak and declared itself “Ebola-free” in July. The WHO declared the Ugandan outbreak over on 27 August.
Yet infections were subsequently identified in Kenya and Nigeria. Kenya announced its first case on 6 October, involving a man who had travelled from Congo through Uganda and arrived in Nairobi on 3 October. He tested positive on 5 October and died that day.
Kenya’s total has risen to nine cases, including four relatives of the first patient and four health workers. Authorities identified 135 contacts linked to those patients, with 134 in quarantine.
In Nigeria, the first patient was a woman who had returned from Uganda earlier in the month. She developed symptoms on 7 October and was admitted to a private hospital in Abuja on 11 October.
Olajumoke Babatunde, director of the public health laboratory service at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said three levels of molecular testing had confirmed the case as Bundibugyo.
Muhammad Pate, Nigeria’s health minister, said officials were “doing everything possible to contain this case”. Authorities are tracing 44 people who had contact with the patient.
One French national has also been infected. The doctor, who was doing humanitarian work in a transmission zone in Congo, caught the virus in June and recovered after treatment at a specialised facility in France. France is the only non-African country to have recorded a case in this outbreak.
Comments (0)