Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus - Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya and Nigeria
6 November 2026
Situation at a glance
Since the publication of the previous Disease Outbreak News on 23 October 2026, the Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) outbreak has expanded geographically in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While some areas have seen a slight decline in cases, sustained, high-level transmission continues overall in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of 3 November 2026, a total of 10 668 confirmed cases, including 5198 deaths (crude case fatality ratio: 48.7%), have been reported across 67 health zones in eight provinces, with active transmission ongoing in 51 health zones. The high proportion of deaths occurring in communities, especially among young children, continues to highlight challenges in early case detection and timely access to appropriate care. Of the 512 deaths reported since 21 October, 335 occurred in communities and 177 in treatment centres. Since the last Disease Outbreak News, no new cases have been reported from Kenya or Nigeria. However, the high-level transmission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo indicates a continued need for readiness in the region, including cross-border surveillance, points of entry monitoring, timely case detection and coordinated preparedness and response measures. No new country has reported cases since the last Disease Outbreak News was published, however, two countries have medically evacuated confirmed cases among citizens: Switzerland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Based on the currently available information, WHO advises against any restriction of travel to, or trade with, States Parties experiencing and/or responding to the public health event.
Description of the situation
Cases have been reported in five countries since the declaration of the outbreak on 15 May 2026: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. The outbreaks in France and Uganda have been controlled since August while Kenya and Nigeria continue with ongoing response.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
An additional 964 confirmed cases, including 511 confirmed deaths, have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the previous
Disease Outbreak News was published.
On 5 November 2026,
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland reported the medical evacuation of one confirmed case (a health and care worker) from the Democratic Republic of the Congo; the case is now receiving medical care in London.
In the last 21-day period, as of 3 November, 1463 new confirmed cases were reported, with Ituri accounting for 710 cases, Nord Kivu for 640 cases, Haut-Uélé for 77 cases, Tshopo for 31 cases and Nord-Ubangi for 5 cases. No new cases were reported in Bas-Uélé, Sud Kivu or Sud-Ubangi during that period.
As of 3 November, cumulative confirmed cases have reached 10 668, including 5198 deaths and 2881 recoveries. The overall crude CFR is 48.7%.
Confirmed cases have now been identified in 67 health zones across eight provinces. Fifty-one of the 67 affected health zones reported at least one new case during the preceding 21 days, while 16 reported no recent cases. Beni, Bunia, and Mandima have reported the highest number of cases and deaths in the preceding 21 days. Ituri remains the most extensively affected province, with 28 of 36 health zones reporting cases during this outbreak, followed by Nord Kivu (17/34), Haut-Uélé (7/13), Tshopo (7/23), Bas-Uélé (4/11), Nord-Ubangi (2/11), Sud Kivu (1/34) and Sud-Ubangi (1/16). Yakoma in Nord-Ubangi province is the most recently affected health zone, reporting three confirmed cases.
Figure 1. Classification of health zones reporting confirmed cases of Bundibugyo virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as of 3 November 2026
While Nord Kivu reported the highest number of cases in the last seven days (232 cases as of 3 November), Ituri remains the most affected province, with 7485 cumulative confirmed cases and 3532 deaths. Nord Kivu follows with 2593 confirmed cases and 1422 deaths, and continues to record the highest provincial CFR, at 54.8%. Haut-Uélé has reported 470 cases and 208 deaths, while Tshopo has recorded 94 cases and 29 deaths. The less-affected provinces continue to report substantially fewer cases, but transmission persists in several of them. The continued occurrence of cases across multiple provinces shows that the outbreak remains geographically active even as intensity varies between health zones.
As of 3 November 2026, the average proportion of contacts seen daily over the previous 14-day period is 86%, remaining below the required threshold of 95.0%. Three provinces were at or above the 95.0% threshold for a daily average of the proportion of contacts seen over the previous 14-day period: Bas-Uele (99%, 435/440), Nord-Ubangi (95%, 28/29) and Sud-Ubangi (95%; 62/65). Four provinces were below the threshold: Haut-Uélé (85%; 1207/1420), Ituri (91% (9589/10 491), Tshopo (71%; 489/685) and Nord-Kivu (82%; 11 190/13 716). Strengthened contact follow-up is required, particularly in provinces below the target, to achieve the minimum threshold of 95.0%.
Figure 2: Number of confirmed Bundibugyo virus disease cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, by date of notification, as of 3 November 2026
Figure 3: Number of deaths among confirmed Bundibugyo virus disease cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by date of notification, as of 3 November 2026
Kenya
As of 3 November 2026, the cumulative confirmed cases reported in Kenya remains at nine. Since the last Disease Outbreak News, there has been one additional death, resulting in a total of two deaths reported in Kenya and a crude CFR of 22.2%. All eight secondary cases are epidemiologically linked to the imported index case and associated with one cluster (four family members of the index case and four health and care workers). As of 3 November, of the nine cases reported. five have recovered (all five were discharged on 3 November after meeting discharge criteria) while two cases are still receiving treatment.
There is currently no evidence of transmission outside this cluster and there have been no new confirmed cases since 19 October 2026. Additionally, all eight secondary cases were already under quarantine as known contacts when they developed symptoms.
As of 3 November, of the 135 cumulative contacts identified since the first confirmed case, eight subsequently became confirmed cases and nine contacts left Kenya (relevant National IHR Focal Points were notified). Of the remaining 118 contacts, 66 have completed the 21-day follow-up and 52 remain under monitoring, with follow-up expected to end on 11 November 2026.
Figure 4: Number of confirmed Bundibugyo virus disease cases in Kenya, by date of notification, as of 3 November 2026
Nigeria
On 20 October 2026, Nigeria reported one laboratory-confirmed imported case of BVD in the Federal Capital Territory Abuja. On 26 October 2026,
Switzerland reported the medical evacuation of the case, who remains in isolation and receiving medical care in Geneva, Switzerland.
As of 3 November, a cumulative of 62 contacts had been identified in Nigeria for follow up. Six contacts have successfully completed the 21-day follow-up period. National authorities, with support from WHO and partners, have intensified contact tracing, case investigation and infection prevention and control measures, including the provision of essential supplies and personal protective equipment for health workers. Investigations are ongoing to establish the likely source of infection and reconstruct the travel and exposure history. WHO has urged countries across the region to strengthen surveillance, laboratory diagnostic capacity, rapid response readiness and cross-border preparedness to mitigate the risk of further transmission.
Epidemiology
Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) is a severe 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 is thought to initially occur through close contact with the blood or secretions of infected wildlife, such as bats or non-human primates, and it subsequently spreads from person-to-person through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of infected individuals or contaminated surfaces and materials. 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 deceased individuals.
The incubation period for BVD ranges from two to 21 days, and infected individuals are not infectious until symptom onset. Early symptoms such as fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and sore throat are non-specific, which complicates clinical diagnosis and can delay detection. These symptoms then progress to gastrointestinal symptoms, organ dysfunction, and, in some cases, haemorrhagic manifestations.
The CFR from the previous two BVD outbreaks, reported in Uganda and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2007 and 2012, were 30% and 50%, respectively.
Differentiating BVD from other endemic febrile illnesses such as malaria is challenging without laboratory confirmation. Outbreak control relies on rapid case identification and investigation, isolation and care, contact tracing, safe burials and strong community engagement, as no approved vaccines or specific treatments currently exist for BVD.
Since first detected in May 2026, this BVD outbreak has rapidly evolved into a large and geographically expanding epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with sustained transmission, high mortality and an increasing risk of further international spread. The current outbreak is the second documented Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak in the country, after the 2012 outbreak, and the largest Ebola disease outbreak ever recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo irrespective of virus species. The population at greatest risk of exposure is concentrated in communities living in and moving through the health areas with active transmission.
Public health response
For detailed information about the ongoing public health response actions by the Ministry of Health, WHO and partners please refer to the latest situation reports published by the WHO Regional Office for Africa:
Ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo | WHO | Regional Office for Africa..
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in collaboration with WHO and partners, are continuing to implement and coordinate extensive public health measures. These include disease surveillance; laboratory testing; IPC; clinical care; community engagement; research; logistics; and support for response interventions and essential health services, including for the ongoing concurrent humanitarian crisis; engaging donors and mobilizing additional resources to address critical funding gaps and sustain response operations across affected and at-risk areas. A substantial scale-up is ongoing across all response pillars to get ahead of the outbreak.
On 23 October, the Tumaini platform vaccine trial was launched, with first participants enrolled in Bunia. Tumaini is a pivotal Phase 2/3 clinical trial of vaccine candidates against Bundibugyo virus (BDBV). The trial is an important step towards generating the evidence needed to better protect people against BVD and prevent future outbreaks. Based on available preclinical and early clinical evidence,
expert groups convened by WHO have recommended adding two new BDBV vaccine candidates to the ongoing Tumaini clinical trial in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for further clinical evaluation: ChAdOx1, developed by the University of Oxford with the Serum Institute of India, and Moderna’s mRNA-1469. The vaccine candidates will enter the trial following national approvals. WHO and partners are actively supporting the trial with technical, scientific and operational expertise.
Kenya
Kenya has maintained a high level of Ebola preparedness since the outbreak began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 2026; Screening continues at all designated points of entry and as of 5 November, a cumulative of 760 415 travellers have been screened. Health authorities in Kenya continue to implement public health measures including clinical care for the two remaining patients, including investigational therapeutics under approved protocols, testing at five designated laboratories including two mobile labs at the Ugandan border, and strengthening IPC measures. Psychosocial support is being provided to cases, contacts and health workers. Kenyan authorities continue to coordinate with counterparts in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on cross-border surveillance. The 42-day countdown to the end of the outbreak will begin once the last patient is discharged.
Nigeria
The National and State incident management system has been activated by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention to coordinate response. WHO and partners are working closely with health authorities to strengthen control measures, including case investigation, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, and provision of essential supplies including personal protective equipment for health workers. Nigeria has maintained a high level of alert for BVD since the outbreak began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 2026.
WHO risk assessment
On 14 August 2026, WHO reassessed the risk of the outbreak of BVD. The risk for countries sharing land borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo was separated from the risk for other countries in the African Region.
The risk in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was assessed as very high, the risk for countries sharing land borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo was assessed as high, and the risks for the rest of the African region and at the global level was again assessed as low. For further information, please see
WHO Rapid Risk Assessment-Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus, Democratic Republic of the Congo v4.
In light of the evolving situation and newly available information, the rapid risk assessment is currently being revised to reassess the risk in affected countries, the African region and globally.
WHO advice
Based on the currently available information, WHO advises against any restriction of travel to, or trade with, States Parties experiencing and/or responding to the public health event. The updated
Temporary Recommendations issued to States Parties on 24 August 2026 underscore the importance of coordinated outbreak control, strengthened cross‑border collaboration, and sustained surveillance and preparedness to prevent further regional spread and ensure an effective public health response. Rapid recognition of cases, testing and optimized supportive care can reduce mortality, and improve community perceptions and acceptance of health care within the response.
...
Since the publication of the previous Disease Outbreak News on 23 October 2026, the Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) outbreak has expanded geographically in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While some areas have seen a slight decline in cases, sustained, high-level transmission continues...
www.who.int
