Ebola Bundibugyo surpasses ten thousand cases, WHO fears international spread

The Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare variant for which no approved vaccines or therapies exist, has an estimated mortality rate between 30% and 50%. According to the figures reported, the outbreak has surpassed 10,000 cases and caused nearly 5,000 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as reported by il Messaggero citing Africa CDC data.

For the first time, three African regions are simultaneously affected by the outbreak, according to a statement by Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya, who warned: “No country can consider itself safe”.

The World Health Organization had declared on May 17, 2026 a public health emergency of international concern for the epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, as reconstructed by the timeline reported by Wikipedia based on communications from the WHO and Médecins Sans Frontières.

The expansion of the outbreak to three regions simultaneously marks a leap from the situation described at the time of the May emergency declaration, when the epidemic was confined to Congo and Uganda. The absence of approved vaccines or therapies for the Bundibugyo strain remains the element that distinguishes this outbreak from other Ebola epidemics for which already authorized prevention tools exist: for the Zaire strain, for example, approved vaccines exist that were used in previous epidemics in the same region, an option that is not available here.

The death toll, nearing 5,000 out of more than 10,000 recorded cases, places the toll of this outbreak among the most severe in recent years for the disease, according to the figures released so far by regional and international health authorities. The declaration of a public health emergency of international concern remains the instrument through which the WHO can call for resources and coordination among the countries involved, but the extension to a third region, reported by Africa CDC, indicates that the containment measures adopted so far have not halted the spread of the virus.