█ EBOLA OUTBREAK TRACKER // BUNDIBUGYO STRAIN // DRC & UGANDA 2026 _
UPDATED May 20, 2026 · 8:00 AM CT
> OUTBREAK STATUS
Suspected Cases 600+
Confirmed Deaths 139+
Lab Confirmed 51
Case Fatality 30–50%
Strain Bundibugyo
WHO Status PHEIC
PHEIC Declared 2026-05-17
Vaccine NONE approved
> BY COUNTRY
DRC (Ituri) 600s / 139d
Uganda (Kampala) 2c / 1d
Germany (treatment) 1 (US mssnry)
Czech Republic 1 (monitoring)
s=suspected c=confirmed d=deaths
> RECENT UPDATES
2026-05-20 [src] Stafford "barely able to stand" at departure • transported in sealed isolation pod
2026-05-20 [src] WHO: 600+ suspected cases, 139 deaths — "numbers will keep rising"
2026-05-20 [src] Stafford confirmed at Charité; wife Dr. Rebekah Stafford + 4 children also in Germany
2026-05-20 [src] Cases confirmed in Goma — rebel-held city 230 miles from epicenter
2026-05-20 [src] WHO: 4-week detection gap; outbreak started ~2 months ago; first death April 24
2026-05-19 [src] US missionary Peter Stafford airlifted to Berlin Charité Hospital
2026-05-19 [src] 6 high-risk US contacts traveling to Germany + Czech Republic
2026-05-19 [src] US funds 50 treatment clinics in DRC/Uganda via CERF/OCHA
2026-05-18 [src] US CDC travel restrictions: DRC, Uganda, South Sudan (21-day)
2026-05-17 [src] WHO declares PHEIC — Bundibugyo strain, DRC & Uganda
LOADING MAP DATA_
[ █ SUPPORT ]
> SELECT LOCATION
🇨🇩 DRC — Ituri Province
ACTIVE OUTBREAK • 600+ suspected • 139 dead
🇺🇬 Uganda — Kampala
2 confirmed • 1 dead • travelers from DRC
🇺🇸 Peter Stafford — US Missionary
Admitted to Berlin Charité • wife + 4 children also in Germany
🇺🇸 US High-Risk Contacts
Dr. Rebekah Stafford + 4 children (Germany) • Dr. LaRochelle (Prague)
🇺🇸 US Response
CDC • State Dept • Travel restrictions
> DRC — ITURI PROVINCE — ACTIVE OUTBREAK
Suspected cases600+
Lab confirmed51
Deaths139+
Case fatality rate30–50%
Virus strainBundibugyo virus (BDBV)
Approved vaccineNONE for Bundibugyo
Active zonesBunia • Mongbwalu • Nyakunde • Goma • Butembo
Spread distanceCases in Goma — 230 miles from epicenter
WHO statusPHEIC declared May 17, 2026
First known deathApril 24, 2026 — Bunia
Detection gap~4 weeks undetected — tested for Zaire strain (negative)
Vaccine pipelineOxford/Serum Institute candidate — 2–3 months to clinical trials
The Bundibugyo strain has no approved vaccine or therapeutic. Unlike the more common Zaire strain (which has the rVSV-ZEBOV / Ervebo vaccine), Bundibugyo response relies entirely on supportive care, isolation, and contact tracing. The outbreak went undetected for weeks because initial tests targeted the Zaire strain and came back negative.
Cases have been confirmed in Goma — a rebel-held city of over 1 million people, 230 miles from the Ituri Province epicenter. WHO called this a major concern for regional spread.
> UGANDA — KAMPALA
Confirmed cases2
Deaths1
SourceTravelers from DRC
LocationKampala
StatusMonitoring underway
US CDC staff in Uganda100 personnel
Both confirmed cases in Uganda involve individuals who traveled from DRC. Uganda has significant CDC presence — 100 US CDC staff in-country providing disease tracking, contact tracing, specimen collection and viral sequencing support.
> PETER STAFFORD — US MISSIONARY
PatientDr. Peter Stafford, 39 — general surgeon, burn care specialist
HospitalNyankunde Hospital, Ituri Province, DRC
AffiliationSerge Christian mission organization
How exposedOperated on 33-yr-old patient with abdominal pain — gallbladder suspected — patient died next day of undetected Ebola
Symptoms onsetWeekend of May 17–18 • chills, fever, muscle aches, fatigue, nausea
Tested positiveSunday May 18
Condition at departureBarely able to stand • transported in sealed isolation pod
TreatmentCharité University Hospital, Berlin — isolation ward
WifeDr. Rebekah Stafford, 38 — treated same patient • Germany • asymptomatic
Children4 young children — Germany with mother • asymptomatic
Dr. Patrick LaRochelle, 46Exposed via 2nd patient • Bulovka Hospital, Prague • asymptomatic
Stafford wore full surgical PPE during the procedure — gown, gloves, hat, glasses — but surgical-grade protection is not sufficient to prevent Ebola exposure. The patient he operated on was buried before being tested, meaning the Ebola diagnosis came only after Stafford developed symptoms. He self-quarantined immediately upon onset.
"There were people in full PPE, completely covered, and he's hanging on them barely strong enough to walk. He looked really tired and really sick." — Dr. Scott Myhre, Serge East & Central Africa director
> US HIGH-RISK CONTACTS
Total contacts6 — all asymptomatic as of May 20
Germany (5)Dr. Rebekah Stafford, 38 • 4 young children • quarantine + monitoring
Czech Republic (1)Dr. Patrick LaRochelle, 46 • Bulovka Hospital, Prague • monitoring
Status (May 20)Arrived in Europe • no symptoms reported
Dr. Rebekah Stafford treated the same patient as her husband Peter Stafford. Dr. LaRochelle was exposed through a separate Ebola patient. None of the 6 contacts are currently showing symptoms. All are in quarantine for the 21-day Ebola incubation window.
> US RESPONSE
Travel restrictionsDRC • Uganda • South Sudan — 21-day rule
Restrictions issuedMay 18, 2026 (CDC + DHS)
Treatment clinics50 clinics funded in DRC, Uganda, Congo
Funding channelCERF / OCHA (UN humanitarian fund)
CDC staff in DRC30 personnel (country office)
CDC staff in Uganda100 personnel
Diagnostic testsCurrent tests effective for Bundibugyo strain
Africa CDC Director General Dr. Jean Kaseya criticized US travel restrictions: "Travel restrictions are not a solution and could potentially increase the risk rather than reducing it. The fastest path to protecting all countries in the world is to aggressively support outbreak control at the source. Global health security cannot be achieved through borders alone."
Public health experts note that cuts to US CDC under the Trump administration and the official US withdrawal from WHO may hamper response coordination. CDC is providing remote and on-the-ground assistance including disease tracking, contact tracing, specimen collection and viral sequencing.
> ABOUT THIS OUTBREAK

The 2026 Ituri Province Ebola epidemic began in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and is caused by the Bundibugyo virus (BDBV), a rare strain of the Ebola family. The WHO declared this a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on May 17, 2026 — the highest level of global health alert. The outbreak does not currently meet criteria for a pandemic emergency.

A working theory is that the index case was exposed to infected animals during a wildlife trip. WHO genetic sequencing is underway to pinpoint the origin.

> EBOLA STRAINS — BUNDIBUGYO vs. ZAIRE

There are six known species of Ebola virus. The two most significant in terms of outbreaks are Bundibugyo and Zaire.

Bundibugyo (BDBV) — THIS OUTBREAK

First identified 2007, Uganda
Approved vaccine NONE
Approved treatment NONE
CFR (historical) ~25–35%
Notable outbreaks Uganda 2007, DRC 2012
Human-to-human Yes (close contact)

Zaire (EBOV) — most common

First identified 1976, DRC
Approved vaccine Ervebo (rVSV-ZEBOV)
Approved treatment Inmazeb, Ebanga
CFR (historical) ~50–90% untreated
Notable outbreaks W. Africa 2014–16, DRC 2018–20
Human-to-human Yes (close contact)

The lack of any approved vaccine or therapeutic for the Bundibugyo strain makes this outbreak significantly harder to control than recent Zaire-strain outbreaks.

> VIRUS BASICS

Transmission: Ebola spreads through direct contact with blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people or animals. Fruit bats are the natural reservoir. It does NOT spread through air, water or casual contact.

Incubation period: 2 to 21 days from exposure to symptom onset.

Symptoms: Sudden fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, sore throat — followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases internal and external bleeding.

Pandemic potential: Low. Ebola does not spread through respiratory routes, limiting pandemic risk. However, it can spread rapidly in healthcare settings without proper PPE.

> OFFICIAL SOURCES

• WHO Emergency Response
• Africa CDC (Africa Centres for Disease Control)
• US CDC — Ebola
• ECDC (European Centre for Disease Prevention)
• ReliefWeb — humanitarian data

> ABOUT THIS TRACKER

Free and independent. No paywall, no subscription. Data sourced from WHO situation reports, Africa CDC, Reuters, AP and verified news sources. Updated manually as new information becomes available.

Built by HoursandCo. If this has been useful to you, a tip is appreciated but never required.

█ SUPPORT THIS TRACKER

EBOLA OUTBREAK TRACKER v1.0 // DATA: WHO · AFRICA CDC · REUTERS // BUILT BY HOURSANDCO UNOFFICIAL — NOT A PUBLIC HEALTH AUTHORITY