Ebola Bundibugyo Outbreak Surpasses 850 Cases as DRC and Uganda Race for Experimental Treatments

A fast-moving outbreak without a vaccine

The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola has infected 856 confirmed people and killed at least 198 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda since DRC health authorities declared the outbreak on May 15, 2026.cidrap The World Health Organization declared it a public health emergency of international concern two days later, on May 17.who Unlike the more common Zaire strain, no approved vaccine exists for Bundibugyo, and WHO estimates it could take up to nine months before a vaccine candidate is ready.redcross

Geographic spread accelerates across three provinces

The outbreak remains concentrated in DRC's Ituri Province, which accounts for roughly 91% of confirmed cases and nearly 80% of deaths.cidrap But the virus has spread into 31 health zones across three provinces — Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu — up from 25 just two weeks earlier.cidrap North Kivu has recorded the highest case fatality ratio at 56.7%, compared with 20.7% in Ituri.cidrap From June 7 to June 14 alone, confirmed cases grew by 60%, driven in part by expanded laboratory testing that cleared a backlog of samples.cidrap As of June 17, the DRC Ministry of Health confirmed 837 cases and 196 deaths, with 376 patients hospitalized in isolation.ecdc

Uganda has reported 19 confirmed cases and three deaths, all epidemiologically linked to travelers from the DRC — 14 of the 19 were imported directly.who No new cases have been detected in Uganda since June 5, but WHO still assesses the country's risk as high given sustained cross-border movement along the eastern DRC–western Uganda corridor.who Africa CDC has also warned that ten neighboring nations, including Rwanda, South Sudan, Kenya, and Tanzania, remain at elevated risk.redcross

Race for experimental treatments

No approved vaccine or specific treatment currently exists for Bundibugyo virus disease.who WHO and Africa CDC have identified three experimental candidates — Mapp Biopharmaceutical's MBP134 monoclonal antibody cocktail, Regeneron's REGN3479, and Gilead's obeldesivir as a post-exposure prophylaxis — for use in clinical trials.who A coalition of advocacy groups, including Public Citizen and Doctors for America, has sent an urgent letter to the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority demanding emergency access to MBP134.cidrap The DRC formally requested the treatment after confirmed infections surpassed 1,000.cidrap

Funding gaps and armed conflict threaten response

Africa CDC warned on June 18 of a $21.5 million funding gap, with contact tracing follow-up rates falling to 64.2% in Ituri and 56.4% in North Kivu.cidrap WHO and partners are seeking $518 million under a joint continental preparedness and response plan launched June 5.who Operations are complicated by active armed conflict: at least 44 attacks on healthcare facilities have been recorded in the DRC since January 2025, and a burial team was attacked in Mongbwalu health zone in mid-June.ecdc +1