Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in Congo kills 139 as vaccines remain months away
Death toll from the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa rose again on Wednesday (20 May 2026). Concurrently, two American nationals exposed to the virus arrived in Europe to receive intensive care. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that vaccines are still months away.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there are currently more than 600 suspected cases and 139 deaths attributed to the virus, most of them in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). ‘We expect the numbers to continue to rise. We know that the scale of the outbreak in the DRC is much larger,’ he said.
Containment efforts are expected to be very difficult due to the rare Bundibugyo strain. Unlike the Zaire strain, which already has a vaccine, Bundibugyo has no approved vaccine or treatment, with a case fatality rate of between 30% and 50%.
The outbreak is considered to have been poorly detected. Anaïs Legand, WHO technical official for viral haemorrhagic fever and viruses, said the outbreak is believed to have begun several months ago. The situation is worsened because the outbreak epicentre lies in a region affected by conflict, with cases detected in the rebel-held city of Goma.
Two American healthcare workers are currently being evacuated to Europe for specialist care.
Although WHO states the global pandemic risk remains very low, the threat to countries in the Central African region remains high. Uganda reported two cases and one suspected death linked to transmission from its neighbour, Congo.
International health officials are haunted by painful memories of the West Africa outbreak of 2013-2016 that claimed more than 11,000 lives. The main focus now is to strengthen security at medical research facilities, such as the National Biomedical Research Institute in Goma, to prevent further spread amidst instability.
Analyses by Imperial College London and WHO indicate Ebola cases in Congo could exceed 800 to 1,000 due to undetected spread of Bundibugyo.
The latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 500 cases in a week, far faster than the major 2014 outbreak. WHO has designated the risk as high.
WHO has declared an international public health emergency for the Ebola outbreak in Congo, but it has not yet been categorised as a global pandemic.
The Ministry of Health confirms there have been no Ebola cases in Indonesia after WHO declared the Congo outbreak an international health emergency.
The WHO has declared a global health emergency over the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda, with 131 deaths reported and the virus spreading to Uganda’s capital.