CDC raises Ebola response to highest level as DRC outbreak spreads
CDC moved its Ebola response to the top tier as the DRC outbreak topped 1,000 confirmed cases and crossed into Uganda. U.S. entry screening and travel limits are already in force.
CDC lifted its Ebola response to its highest level on June 26 as the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo passed 1,000 confirmed cases, making it the third-largest Ebola outbreak on record, and spread across the border into Uganda. The escalation is reserved for the most severe public-health emergencies and moves more staff and resources into the operation. The risk to Americans remains low.
The trigger is the speed and reach of the outbreak, not a new form of the disease. The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola and began after the DRC and Uganda declared outbreaks on May 15, 2026. Since then, the virus has spread beyond its early clusters into Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces and into Kampala. The situation is highly dynamic in a setting marked by insecurity, humanitarian strain and heavy movement of people and goods. WHO and Africa CDC launched a joint continental preparedness and response plan on June 5, seeking US$518 million.
This is the 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC. WHO put the DRC at 515 confirmed cases and 91 deaths and Uganda at 19 confirmed cases, including two deaths and one probable death, by June 6. The Bundibugyo species has no vaccine or specific treatment yet, though candidate vaccines and therapies are being studied.
Enhanced travel screening and entry restrictions began on May 18, and since May 22 only U.S. citizens or nationals have been allowed to enter from the DRC, Uganda or neighboring South Sudan if they had been there in the previous 21 days. Non-essential travel to the affected provinces is discouraged, and travelers should monitor for symptoms for 21 days after leaving.
The first clusters in the 2026 outbreak were identified among health care workers in the DRC, and CDC's genomic sequencing pointed to a new spillover from an unknown animal host. CDC's MMWR records only two previous outbreaks of Bundibugyo virus disease, one in Uganda in 2007 and one in the DRC in 2012. There are no confirmed U.S. cases tied to the outbreak.
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