Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak DRC Uganda vaccines wrong strain
Travelers to eastern DRC and Uganda face an Ebola outbreak that licensed vaccines were not designed for. The strain is Bundibugyo, not Zaire. DRC reports 676 confirmed cases and 136 deaths as of June 10. Uganda reports 19 cases and 2 deaths. Source: WHO, NICD.
Travelers and health workers in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda are facing an Ebola outbreak that the world's licensed vaccines were not designed to stop. The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus, not the Zaire strain that current vaccines and approved treatments were developed against, which complicates the medical response. As of June 10, 2026, the DRC reported 676 confirmed cases, including 136 confirmed deaths, with 262 people hospitalized in isolation. Ituri province is the epicenter, accounting for 629 confirmed cases across 19 health zones, followed by North Kivu with 44 cases and South Kivu with three. In neighboring Uganda, health authorities reported 19 confirmed cases and two deaths, plus one probable case who died. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on May 16, 2026, and the Africa CDC declared a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security on May 18. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued travel health notices for the DRC and Uganda and put temporary entry restrictions in place for non-citizens who have recently been in the affected countries. Source: World Health Organization, U.S. CDC, and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.