Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak remains active in DRC and Uganda

As of June 5, the Ebola outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus continued to affect both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Uganda had reported 19 confirmed cases and two deaths, including three new cases reported on June 5 that were contacts of confirmed cases.

The DRC remained the centre of the outbreak. ECDC reported that the DRC Ministry of Health had published updated figures showing 381 confirmed cases, 64 confirmed related deaths and 233 people hospitalised in isolation as of June 3. The update included 18 new confirmed cases and two new deaths.

The outbreak is concentrated most heavily in Ituri province, where ECDC reported 359 confirmed cases across 17 health zones. North Kivu had reported 19 confirmed cases across seven health zones, while South Kivu had reported three cases in one health zone. ECDC cautioned that data are being continuously reviewed and harmonised as samples from suspected cases move through laboratory confirmation.

Uganda’s cases show why the outbreak remains a cross-border concern. ECDC said at least seven cases were associated with local transmission events, while five had travel links to the DRC. Of nine cases with known geographical information, eight were reported in Kampala and one in the neighbouring district of Wakiso.

The U.S. CDC said it is responding to an outbreak in remote areas of the DRC and Uganda. It also said no Ebola cases linked to the outbreak had been confirmed in the United States and that the overall risk to the American public and travellers remained low. The same update said CDC and DHS had announced enhanced travel screening, entry restrictions and public-health measures on May 18 for affected air passengers from DRC, South Sudan and Uganda.

Those travel measures reroute affected passengers to Washington-Dulles, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, George Bush Intercontinental or John F. Kennedy airports, according to the CDC. South Sudan has not reported cases in the supplied evidence, but the CDC said it was included because it shares borders with affected countries.

The strain is central to the operating risk. The supplied Wikipedia excerpt says the epidemic is caused by Bundibugyo ebolavirus and notes that existing Ebola treatments were created for a different strain, Zaire ebolavirus. The WHO excerpt says support is being scaled up for DRC and Uganda through surveillance, contact tracing, clinical preparedness and management, supply delivery, community engagement and cross-border preparedness.

The CDC also reported that an American exposed while caring for patients in the DRC tested positive for Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus on May 17 and was transported to Germany for care. High-risk contacts linked to that exposure were moved to Germany and the Czech Republic and remained asymptomatic, according to the CDC update.

Some details remain limited in the supplied evidence. The packet does not provide a full line list of cases, a complete map of suspected cases, the latest WHO case totals, or a detailed explanation of how Uganda’s local transmission chains began. It also does not verify the current number of contacts under monitoring in DRC or Uganda.

The verified picture is still serious: confirmed cases are active in both DRC and Uganda, Uganda is still reporting new contacts as confirmed cases, and public-health agencies are leaning on isolation, laboratory confirmation, surveillance, contact tracing, travel measures and community engagement. The public reassurance that risk is low outside the affected region sits alongside a harder operating reality inside it: Ebola control depends on finding cases quickly, keeping clinics safe, and maintaining trust across borders before transmission chains widen.