Kampala — Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) is a severe and often fatal form of Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus, one of the Orthoebolavirus species.
It is a zoonotic disease, with fruit bats suspected to be the natural reservoir. Human infection occurs through close contact with the blood or secretions of infected wildlife, such as bats or non-human primates, and subsequently spreads from person to person through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of infected individuals or contaminated surfaces.
Transmission is particularly amplified in health-care settings when infection prevention and control (IPC) measures are inadequate, and during unsafe burial practices involving direct contact with the deceased.
The incubation period for BVD ranges from 2 to 21 days, and individuals are usually not infectious until symptom onset.
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Early symptoms are non-specific, including fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and sore throat, which complicates clinical diagnosis and can delay detection. These progress to gastrointestinal symptoms, organ dysfunction, and, in some cases haemorrhagic manifestations.
Case fatality rates in the past two BVD outbreaks, reported in Uganda and in DRC in 2007 and 2012, have ranged from approximately 30% to 50%.
Differentiating BVD from other endemic febrile illnesses such as malaria is challenging without laboratory confirmation using PCR or antigen/antibody-based assays. Control relies on rapid case identification, isolation and care, contact tracing, safe burials, and strong community engagement, as no approved vaccines or specific treatments currently exist for BVD.
On 16 May 2026, the Director-General of WHO, after having consulted the States Parties where the event is known to be currently occurring as defined in the provisions of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR), determined that the Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in DRC and Uganda constitutes a PHEIC.
It is currently thought that the event originated in the Mongbwalu HZ, DRC, a high-traffic mining area, with cases subsequently migrating to Rwampara and Bunia to seek medical care. Ituri province borders South Sudan and Uganda (and Bunia HZ is less than 500km from Uganda). A full epidemiological investigation and trace back exercise is ongoing.
Ituri's role as a commercial and migratory hub and proximity to Uganda and South Sudan increases the risk of regional exportation and cross-border transmission.
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This is the 17th Ebola disease outbreak in the DRC since 1976. The last Ebola disease outbreak in the country was declared on 4 September 2025 with total of 64 cases (53 confirmed, 11 probable), including 45 deaths (CFR 70.3%), reported from six health areas in Bulape Health Zone, Kasai Province. The end of the outbreak was declared on 1 December 2025. The last BVD outbreak was reported on 17 August 2012 by the DRC Ministry of Health in Province Orientale. A total of 59 cases, 38 confirmed and 21 probable cases, including 34 deaths were reported. The outbreak was declared over on 26 November 2012 by the MOH.
